MENLO PARK, CA--(Marketwired - April 23, 2015) - Curious.com, a platform for lifelong learning, today announced the launch of a new offering called CuriousTV to deliver a free, 24x7 learning experience, uninterrupted by advertising. Specifically designed for distribution on third-party platforms, CuriousTV will be available through the Roku® platform, Healthline, and Intelity. Curious has also updated its own iOS app to broadcast all 10 CuriousTV channels: Biz, Music, Tech, Photo, Craft, Life, Code, Health, Brainy and Food. Whether at a desk, on the go, in a hotel room or on the living room couch, lifelong learners can engage in healthy channel surfing.
Curious will publish a "TV Guide" a week in advance so learners can RSVP for interesting courses, get reminders before they air, and invite friends and family to learn with them -- all for free. With the new Apple Watch, learners will be able to RSVP for sessions right from the wrist, view the TV Guide to see what's playing and receive notifications. In addition, as part of its programming lineup, Curious will broadcast daily "Live Learning Sessions" from the Curious studio that will include live demonstrations, guest interviews, and audience interaction. Viewers can ask questions that teachers will answer on-air.
"CuriousTV is a big step towards our vision of helping busy people learn more throughout their lives," said Justin Kitch, CEO of Curious.com. "We have so much amazing content on Curious now, with more lessons added every day. CuriousTV gives us 10 channels to showcase that content 24x7, and get more people learning, both on Curious and with other platforms. Finally, couch surfing that's good for your mind and your body!"
Binge watching turns into a healthy indulgence with CuriousTV
Recognizing that consumers learn in different ways and prefer different mediums, Curious recently built a dedicated custom studio to transform the best and most popular interactive lessons from its library into flat video, ideally suited for viewers seeking a more entertaining experience. Beginning today, anyone can go to Curious.com/tv and click on the CuriousTV button to discover content culled from the Curious lesson library, which now contains more than 15,000 high-quality, hand-curated lessons and courses from more than 1,500 teachers. Curious has taken all the hunting and frustration out of the online learning process by finding experts on topics ranging from how to play guitar, speak French, master Excel or even make a prom dress out of duct tape come to life through effective and engaging lessons.
Curious broadens distribution by reaching across the Roku platform, Intelity and Healthline
In addition to broadcasting over Curious' properties, the company will roll out curated and relevant content to third-party platforms. Roku customers will be able to add the CuriousTV channel to their Roku players and Roku TV™ models via the Roku Channel Store. Healthline, a consumer health site that provides authoritative, approachable and actionable health content, will offer a custom health learning channel to its audience, and Intelity, the leading provider of guest service technology to the hospitality industry, will offer a newly created catalogue of courses curated specifically for a "learning respite" in guest rooms at hotels that feature the company's ICE (Interactive Customer Experience™) platform. Curious plans to announce additional distribution agreements in the coming months.
"We're focused on offering our customers the very best in streaming entertainment available on their TV whenever they want," said Ed Lee, vice president of content at Roku. "With its vast selection of free and subscription content, the CuriousTV channel is a welcome addition to our lineup of more than 2,000 streaming channels and we're confident our customers will enjoy viewing the rich learning content anytime they want."
"We're committed to delivering high-quality and engaging content through our award-winning software to improve the in-room guest experience," said David Adelson, Intelity president and CEO. "We look forward to offering learning content that is enjoyable and easy to consume for guests of our global hotel partners."
Curious+ Subscription package
Starting immediately, Curious members can choose from two learning packages. Free members can access all 10 channels of CuriousTV for free, plus get "anytime access" to 1,000 of the most popular introductory lessons from the Curious Library. Members who purchase a subscription for a few dollars a month, called Curious+, get "anytime access" to every lesson (15,000 and growing fast) in the Curious Library. Curious+ members can participate in the live office hours and other subscriber only events on CuriousTV. Curious is currently offering a charter membership to its subscription service for $8.99 per month, or $59.99 per year. Both the monthly and annual memberships come with a 7-day free trial.
To get Curious, please visit curious.com or the App Store and select the option that works for you.
Roku is a registered trademark and Roku TV is a trademark of Roku, Inc. in the U.S. and in other countries.
About Curious:
Founded in 2012, Curious.com Inc's mission is to connect the worlds' best teachers with eager lifelong learners everywhere. Curious is a platform for people who want to grow their interests and skills throughout their lives. The Curious Lesson library offers more than 15,000 lessons from 1,000s of teachers on 100s of subjects such as practical skills, foreign language, coding, music, DIY, juggling and crafts. You can learn anytime, at your own pace, at your desk or on the go. Learners can access related exercises, assignments and attachments to master new skills and interact with teachers. Curious also provides a range of free, easy-to-use tools for teachers that enable them to market, share and monetize their lessons to millions of learners. Curious is a private company funded by Redpoint Ventures, GSV Capital, Bill Campbell, Jesse Rogers and Justin Kitch based in Menlo Park, CA. For more information visit curious.com.
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