The First of Two New Series to Be Executive Produced by Ashton Kutcher
Lead Sponsors Include Acorns and Handy.com
COS COB, Conn., July 18, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (“CSS Entertainment”) (Nasdaq: CSSE ), a growing media company with online video on-demand (“VOD”) networks that provide positive and entertaining video content for all screens, today announced the production launch of its new series The Fixer , which will be executive produced by actor and investor Ashton Kutcher. The show is aimed at helping millennials overcome their financial struggles and the issues that cause them.
Following CSS Entertainment’s business model of signing sponsorships prior to producing a series, The Fixer will have several lead sponsors, including Acorns and Handy.com . The Fixer is the first CSS Entertainment series to have multiple major sponsors. In another first, two of these sponsors are also portfolio companies of Sound Ventures, Kutcher’s venture fund. “Incorporating some of my portfolio companies into a TV series and creating short-form video to accompany the series is a great marketing tool for these companies that is organic and has massive reach,” said Kutcher.
A show like The Fixer is extremely topical and relevant in today’s economy. Kutcher noted there are over 44 million Americans today with student debt totaling over $1.4 trillion. “These millennials have just spent a fortune on their education and have to find a way to pay back their immense debts while also making a living,” he said. “Their inexperience with personal finance has led to overspending, a lack of financial planning, and a lack of knowledge that puts these kids in terrible financial situations. It is important not only to help them learn how to pay off their loans, but also to lay the groundwork for them to achieve success without being held back by legacy financial concerns.”
“We have to close the savings gap, get people investing early and often, and raise financial literacy levels. Millennials are facing new generational challenges. They have stressful and complicated financial burdens that many don’t know how to resolve,” said Noah Kerner, chief executive officer of Acorns. “Our mission at Acorns is to look after the financial best interests of the up-and-coming, so we build tools that put the power of wealth-making into everyone's hands. We hope this show will get more people talking about these issues and introduce our solutions to anyone who can benefit from them.”
The series will consist of ten 30-minute episodes and will be hosted by Dan Rosensweig, chief executive officer of Chegg, Inc. “At Chegg, we are dedicated to helping lessen the financial burden on students and recent graduates and removing obstacles that stand in the way of their education and financial success,” Rosensweig said, noting that financial issues aren’t always black and white and can extend beyond loans and overspending. “There tend to be other underlying issues behind student’s financial problems. In the series, we dig deep to uncover the underlying issues that are impacting millions of students,” said Rosensweig.
“We are excited to begin production on The Fixer ,” stated William J. Rouhana, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of CSS Entertainment. “This series gets us to 20 out of our total goal of 60 half-hours of TV episodes that we expect to create this year. This is also the first time one of our series will have multiple lead sponsors, each of which bring unique and innovative ideas to the series. Pairing millennials with a ‘fixer’ who introduces them to resources and companies that can help, like our sponsors, will provide a crash course in money management. We are aiming to lessen the burden and stress and give millennials the tools they need to take control of their lives and their finances.”
“We are thrilled to support a show like The Fixer . As the leading platform for home services such as house cleaning , with operations across the country, we believe in creating meaningful, flexible income opportunities that help our Handy professionals achieve their financial goals on their own schedules,” said Umang Dua, chief operating officer at Handy.
ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENT
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. is a growing media company building online video on-demand (“VOD”) networks that provide positive and entertaining video content for all screens. The company also curates, produces and distributes long- and short-form video content that brings out the best of the human spirit, and distributes the online content of its affiliate, A Plus. The company is aggressively growing its business through a combination of organic growth, licensing and distribution arrangements, acquisitions, and strategic relationships. The company is also expanding its partnerships with sponsors, television networks and independent producers. The company’s subsidiary, Screen Media, is a leading global independent television and film distribution company that owns one of the largest independently owned television and film libraries. The company also owns Popcornflix ® , a popular online advertiser-supported VOD (“AVOD”) network, and four additional AVOD networks that collectively have rights to exhibit thousands of movies and television episodes. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks (including those set forth in the offering circular) and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ from the forward-looking statements. The company expressly disclaims any obligations or undertaking to release publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect any change in the company’s expectations with respect thereto or any change in events, conditions or circumstances on which any statement is based. Investors should realize that if our underlying assumptions for the projections contained herein prove inaccurate or that known or unknown risks or uncertainties materialize, actual results could vary materially from our expectations and projections.
INVESTOR RELATIONS James Carbonara Hayden IR james@haydenir.com (646) 755-7412
MEDIA CONTACT Kate Barrette RooneyPartners LLC kbarrette@rooneyco.com (212) 223-0561
