BBC Studios Strikes Deal With Screen Media

EXCLUSIVE: BBC Studios and Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment-backed Screen Media have struck a multi-year deal for 2,500 hours of content including BBC dramas Sherlock, Ripper Street, Happy Valley and Silent Witness.

The shows will populate Chicken Soup-owned Crackle Plus’ streamers including Crackle, Popcornflix, and Chicken Soup for the Soul, with more than 300 hours coming next month. More content will be added each month throughout the multi-year agreement.

BBC dramas Sherlock, Ripper Street, Happy Valley and Silent Witness are all included along with the likes of The Three Musketeers and doc series A Life in Ten Pictures, which will be given its U.S. premiere in June.

“The BBC has been producing highly sought-after content for years and we expect this content to perform exceptionally well on our streaming services,” said William J. Rouhana Jr, CEO of Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment. “The long-term nature of this agreement enables us to plan ahead to maximize the value of the content to our viewers as well as our advertisers, the BBC, and us.”

“We are ecstatic to bring to the Crackle Plus audience premium content from the BBC,” said David Fannon, president of Screen Media. “With the Benedict Cumberbatch series, Sherlock, their extensive catalog of quality series and movies, and brand new titles that have yet to be released, this agreement provides Chicken Soup for the Soul with a wide array of unique and high quality content. Screen Media could not be happier than to announce this agreement with the BBC.”