Broadcasting company Sinclair recently sold its free advertising-supported streaming TV (FAST) service. SHAKE to ai/”>Thinking about the media, a startup offering cloud-based streaming solutions for FAST and over-the-top (OTT) services. The new owners have ambitious plans for the streamer, including international expansion, tripling its on-demand content library, and becoming an ai-native streamer with advanced search capabilities.
CordCuttersNews broke the news of the deal, which was officially closed two weeks ago. The acquisition comes amid an increase in FAST viewership among users looking to save money as more premium streamers increase their subscription prices. According to Samba TV, 1 in 3 US users will subscribe to FAST services in 2023.
When Sinclair launched STIRR in 2019, the service had more than 100 free, ad-supported live TV channels and more than 5,000 hours of TV shows and movies. At the time of writing, the live channels have been removed from the streaming platform, but there is still on-demand content.
STIRR will receive three times as much on-demand content in the coming months, Thinking Media founders Todd Carter (CEO) and Scott Schlichter (president) told TechCrunch.
“The only thing we didn't bring on for various reasons are the local stations that Sinclair took from its station group,” said Schlichter, founder of digital talent and brand agency Dogma Studios. “But we have a big interest in local, we have a big interest in news… We're actively exploring that and trying to rebuild it. From a linear point of view, you will see content very familiar to what was there before.”
The company is currently renegotiating many of its previous content licensing deals, so by the end of March, viewers should start to see many titles return to STIRR, as well as new content.
Image credits: SHAKE
STIRR is adding more niche categories to target a broader audience. By June, STIRR will add categories such as travel & exploration, fitness & wellness, cooking, automotive, technology & innovation, fashion, home improvement & DIY, education, gaming, and news & opinion, among others. STIRR's catalog is relatively empty at the moment, featuring only a few genres such as adventure, comedy, documentaries, drama, horror, mystery, sports, and children's content.
“If you think about the television market today, it tends to be one-size-fits-all and they tend to target a small number of very large general audiences. We are interested in a large number of smaller, niche, intent-driven audiences,” said Carter, who previously co-founded technology and media company SEEEN.
Thinking Media is also working to secure international rights to support its growth plans. By the first and second quarter of 2024, STIRR will expand to the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand and Ireland. It will also launch content and programming in Spanish in LATAM territories.
STIRR is currently available on the web, Apple TV, iOS and Android devices worldwide. It will soon roll out to other smart TV platforms like Tizen, Amazon Fire and Roku once “the transfer to those app store accounts from Sinclair Broadcast Group to Thinking Media is complete,” the company said.
“(STIRR has) between 8.5 and 10 million installs across all major platforms. “We want to embrace that and make sure you realize that this is still our home and that we will bring you the content that you want and add to it and provide new features that we think you will enjoy,” Schlichter added.
Image credits: Screenshot from STIRR.com
In addition to content, Thinking Media also plans to integrate its proprietary features into the platform, starting with “Key Video Moments,” which addresses second-screen behavior by turning mobile phones into a companion device. Specifically, bringing search engine results to STIRR.
“We are talking about timing; having your cell phone and your TV synchronized while you watch,” Schlichter said, using the popular competition show “Hells Kitchen” as an example. By providing a web user experience to STIRR, viewers could simultaneously search for a recipe while watching their favorite chef.
“If you're a fan of a show and you want to get more involved in some way with that show, there's no way to do that on any existing platform… you're on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Discord, or Reddit, but not (the streaming service). And that's where this idea of TV web integration and user journeys comes in,” Carter said.
“Video Highlights” is also partially a social feature, Carter added. Viewers can share their findings on social media and messaging platforms.
STIRR's user interface is simpler than its FAST competitors, so the introduction of innovative features is expected to give the service a new life.
“There's this incredible opportunity to think of STIRR as a laboratory for TV web innovation… so we can take what Sinclair Broadcast Group created and take it to the next step,” Carter added.
Thinking Media has already made other technological improvements to STIRR's platform, including replacing its video player with a new “interactive” one that transmits HLS (HTTP live streaming) and ultra-low latency, ready for “synchronized audiences,” Carter explained. There is also WebRTC support, which leads us to believe that STIRR will eventually have a live chat feature.
Additionally, the company changed the entire back-end, which is now based on a content data graph, similar to Google Knowledge Graph since it gathers data from various sources.
