CuriosityStream rebrands as Curiosity as business expands

Clint Stinchcomb

US factual company CuriosityStream is rebranding itself with the shortened name Curiosity, while its flagship SVOD service is now to be retitled Curiosity Stream.

The Maryland-based firm says the move is to better reflect the “dynamic and diverse business” that it has grown into after more than six years of operation.

Aside from its streaming service, Curiosity is also comprised of the linear Curiosity Channel, originals prodco Curiosity Studios and the recently acquired One Day University.

As TBI reported exclusively last month, Curiosity is launching a new linear network in Europe after agreeing a deal with German media group Spiegel, while in June, the company inked a deal for more than 80 hours of new programming from millennial-focused channel operator and producer Insight TV.

This movement follows rapid expansion for the company, with a 120% increase in total revenue last year and a 50% rise in its SVOD subscriber base to approximately 15 million at the end of Q4 2020, compared to around 10 million at the same point in 2019.

The streamer, which reaches more than 175 countries, specialises in factual content, ranging from science and technology to history, natural history and lifestyle programming. It has a library of more than 3,000 on-demand titles, including more than 900 originals such as Pompeii: Disaster Street, Prehistoric Worlds and Stephen Hawking’s Favorite Places.

The company went public on the NASDAQ stock exchange in October last year, following a merger with special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) Software Acquisition Group – that left the company well capitalised, with zero debt and an estimated $180m of cash on the balance sheet on closing.

At the time, president and CEO Clint Stinchcomb told TBI that the company planned to increase its content library up to 12,000 titles over the next five years, through a mix of original programming and acquisitions.