Media company Sinclair recently sold its free, ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) service STIRR to Thinking Media, a startup providing cloud-based streaming solutions for FAST and over-the-top (OTT) services. The new owners have ambitious plans for the streaming service, including expanding internationally, increasing its on-demand content library threefold, and transforming it into an AI-centric streamer with advanced search capabilities.
Cord Cutters News first reported the deal, which officially closed two weeks ago. The acquisition comes at a time when there is a growing interest in FAST (free ad-supported streaming) services, with more users turning to them to save money amidst rising subscription prices for premium streamers. According to Samba TV, one in three U.S. users had subscribed to FAST services by 2023.
When Sinclair launched STIRR in 2019, the service featured over 100 free, ad-supported live TV channels and more than 5,000 hours of TV shows and movies. As of now, the live channels have been removed from the streaming platform, but on-demand content is still available.
Thinking Media founders Todd Carter (CEO) and Scott Schlichter (president) revealed that STIRR will see a significant increase in on-demand content in the coming months.
“The only thing that we did not bring over for a variety of reasons are the local stations that Sinclair took from their station group,” Schlichter, who is the founder of digital talent and brand agency Dogma Studios, stated. “But we have a big interest in local, we have a big interest in news. We are exploring that actively and trying to build that back up. From a linear standpoint, you’re going to see very familiar content to what was there before.”
The company is currently renegotiating many of the former content licensing deals, so by the end of March, viewers should start to see a lot of titles return to STIRR, as well as brand-new content.
Image Credits: STIRR
STIRR is expanding its content categories in order to appeal to a wider audience. By June, STIRR plans to include categories such as travel and exploration, fitness and wellness, cooking, automotive, technology and innovation, fashion, home improvement and DIY, education, gaming, and news and opinion, among others. At present, STIRR’s catalog is limited, featuring only a few genres like adventure, comedy, documentaries, drama, horror, mystery, sports, and kids’ content.
“If you think about the TV market today, it tends to be one size fits all, and they tend to target a small number of very large, general audiences. We’re interested in a very large number of smaller niche intent-oriented audiences,” Carter, who previously co-founded technology and media company SEEEN, said.
Thinking Media is also working on securing international rights to support its growth plans. STIRR is set to expand to the U.K., Australia, New Zealand, and Ireland in the first and second quarters of 2024. It will also introduce Spanish-language content and programming in LatAm territories.
STIRR is currently available on the web, Apple TV, iOS, and Android devices worldwide. It will soon be available on 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 completed,” the company stated.
“[STIRR has] 8.5 to 10 million installs across all the major platforms. We want to embrace that and make sure you realize this is still home and that we’re going to bring you the content that you want and we’re going to add to that and provide new features that we think you’ll enjoy,” Schlichter added.
Image Credits: Screenshot of 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’re talking about syncing; having your mobile phone and your television in sync while you’re watching,” Schlichter said, using the popular competition show “Hell’s Kitchen” as an example. By bringing a web user experience to STIRR, viewers could simultaneously look up a recipe while watching their favorite chef.
“If you’re a fan of a show and you want to somehow get more involved with that show, there’s no way to do that on any existing platform you are off to 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.
“Key Video Moments” 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 introducing innovative features will hopefully breathe new life into the service.
“There’s this incredible opportunity to think of STIRR as a lab for TV web innovation for us to build on 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 streams HLS (HTTP live streaming) and ultra-low latency, ideal for “synchronized audiences,” explained Carter. The platform also now has WebRTC support, signaling a possible live chat function in the future.
Additionally, the company revamped the entire back end, which is now based on a content data graph similar to Google’s Knowledge Graph, as it consolidates data from various sources.
