Variety:
The Criterion Collection announced that the Criterion Channel, stocked with over 1,000 classic and contemporary art-house films, will launch April 8 in the U.S. and Canada. The Criterion Channel will be regularly priced at $10.99 per month or $99.99 for an annual subscription.
Movies in Criterion Collection’s catalog include Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth,” Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive,” Akira Kurosawa’s “The Seven Samurai,” Sidney Lumet’s “12 Angry Men,” Robert Altman’s “3 Women,” George Sluizer’s “The Vanishing,” Fritz Lang’s “M,” Charles Laughton’s “The Night of the Hunter,” Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love,” Ingmar Bergman’s “Persona,” the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night,” and Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove.”
Were you looking for yet another streaming service to spend 10+ per month on? Well, here you go.
I was not looking for this service.
What I want is one ring to rule them all for $45/mo.
Eh. This is fine and in fact kind of what secondary streaming services should do. It appeals to a very targeted group of people, serious film buffs. It’s the general purpose but secondary services that, I think, will have a harder and harder time. Starz, Crackle, etc.
I already have Netflix, Hulu and Prime (the latter because I got Prime for the shipping, really). The last thing I need is more TV.
Criterion has done a bunch of very good work over the years. I hope they can get some revenue with this service.