Future Today reached a new distribution deal with Cox to launch its Fawesome, HappyKids and FilmRise channels on Cox Contour TV and Contour Stream Player.
The agreement follows Future Today’s deal with Comcast to launch its channels on Xfinity Flex and X1. Cox Contour is a licensed version of X1 and the Stream Player is a licensed version of Flex.
Future Today called its new Cox distribution expansion an important piece of its expansion plans. The company said in April its channel users were up more than 125% year over year and streaming hours were up more than 100% year over year. The company also said its viewership is up nearly 30% since the beginning of the pandemic.
"We are pleased to be offering Cox customers all of our channels through Contour TV and Contour Stream Player," said Vikrant Mathur, COO and co-founder of Future Today, in a statement. "In these trying times with families sheltering at home, the family and entertainment channels will be particularly compelling to viewers and are watched more than any other channels in their class across our platform."
RELATED: Future Today terminates merger deal with Cinedigm
The Cox deal is Future Today’s second agreement with a pay TV provider. Future Today’s channels are also available on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple, Android, LG, Samsung, Vizio and Xbox devices, and the company has also created branded streaming channels for Lego, Adventure 2 Learning and others.
Future Today remains an independent AVOD provider at a time when many peers like Pluto TV, Xumo and Tubi have been acquired by big media companies ViacomCBS, Comcast and Fox, respectively.
Earlier this year, Future Today announced that it had terminated its previously announced merger agreement with Cinedigm, which intended to buy Future Today for $45 million in cash and $15 million in Cinedigm common stock.
"The acquisition of streaming services by the big studios, which are focused on harnessing those assets to launch their brands, has made us a better fit and partner for large OEMs and entertainment companies looking for an entity to activate and monetize their video content," said Mathur. "An OEM seeking to launch 50 or even 100 channels on short order could do that quickly by using our assets, which are also already proven to attract audiences."