COS COB, Conn., Sept. 24, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment (Nasdaq: CSSE) announced today a new Crackle original documentary, Vince Carter: Legacy. The documentary will be available for free exclusively on Crackle beginning Friday, October 1.
Vince Carter: Legacy explores the transformation of the NBA’s longest career athlete, Vince Carter, from dunking into history, playing through the pain, and evolving to create a legacy unlike any player before him.
“While I was blessed with God-given ability, it was the dedication to my craft and the respect for the game I was taught and tried to exemplify every day that allowed me to play 22 seasons,” Carter said. “I hope viewers can see and feel my appreciation for the game and why I chose to play so long.”
Featuring never-before-seen footage, the documentary includes interviews with NBA stars Julius ‘Dr. J’ Erving, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Kidd, Dominique Wilkins as well as notable sportscasters Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson, illustrating Carter’s rise to fame over his unprecedented basketball career which spanned 22 seasons and eight NBA franchises. The documentary offers exclusive access from the NBA, following the eight-time NBA All-Star and Olympic gold medalist as he prepares for his emotional and historic farewell season.
“Vince Carter: Legacy is a story about one man’s dedication to his craft and we hope that the next generation of NBA hopefuls will be inspired by this uplifting documentary,” said Jeff Meier, Head of Programming for Crackle Plus. “We are thrilled to offer this documentary to the growing Crackle Plus slate of sports programming.”
Vince Carter: Legacy was directed by Justin Polk. The film was co-executive produced by Lineage and THINK450, with Blake Armstrong, Laurie Berger, and Katie Zakula producing.
“Sports stories aren't told from the sidelines and the press box anymore. During Vince's career, sports media evolved from top-down, outside-in storytelling to first-person, player-directed storytelling. So Vince got to conclude his career by telling his story his way,” said Burton Chawla, Head of Sports at Lineage. “Vince was at the center of this project, but he was also a great partner. We're confident that making players executive producers and giving them creative input is the right decision, and we intend to keep doing so in future productions,” added Anthony Rodriguez, founder and CEO of Lineage.
As one of the only AVODs continually adding original and exclusive programming that uplifts, entertains, and inspires audiences, Crackle adds Vince Carter: Legacy alongside original and AVOD exclusive sports titles including Promiseland, chronicling the rise of Memphis Grizzlies star and reigning NBA Rookie of the Year Ja Morant. Previously, the network premiered On Point, a docuseries that follows top-ranked college basketball players Romeo Langford, Scottie Lewis and Emmitt Williams as they compete in summer AAU season, and Anything is Possible: The Serge Ibaka Story, a documentary about the journey of LA Clippers player Serge Ibaka from the cement courts of The Republic of Congo to the NBA. Vince Carter: Legacy will be featured in the Free Throws, Free Shows Basketball Channel with these titles as well as Hurricane Season, Hoop Dreams, More Than a Game, and the Crackle original documentary The Green Wave.
Vince Carter: Legacy is distributed worldwide by Screen Media, a Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. company and the supplier of exclusive and original content to Crackle Plus.
The Crackle Plus networks are currently distributed through 50 touch points in the U.S. with announced plans to expand to over 64 touch points including Amazon FireTV, RokuTV, Apple TV, Smart TVs (Samsung, LG, Vizio), gaming consoles (PS4 and XBoxOne), Plex, iOS and Android mobile devices and on desktops at Crackle.com. Crackle is also available in approximately 500,000 hotel rooms in the Marriott Bonvoy chain.
ABOUT CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL ENTERTAINMENT
Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, Inc. (Nasdaq: CSSE) operates streaming video-on-demand networks (VOD). The company owns Crackle Plus, which owns and operates a variety of ad-supported and subscription-based VOD networks including Crackle, Popcornflix, Popcornflix Kids, Truli, Pivotshare, Españolflix and FrightPix. The company also acquires and distributes video content through its Screen Media subsidiary and produces original long and short-form content through Landmark Studio Group, Chicken Soup for the Soul Unscripted, APlus.com and Halcyon Television. Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a subsidiary of Chicken Soup for the Soul, LLC, which publishes the famous book series and produces super-premium pet food under the Chicken Soup for the Soul brand name.
ABOUT LINEAGE
Lineage is an independent creative studio and agency headquartered in Los Angeles, CA, with teams and clients around the world. As pioneers of athlete-driven content in the social, digital, and streaming age, Lineage has partnered with superstar athletes, teams, and player organizations across the sports landscape for over a decade. In 2015, Lineage won an Emmy for “The Mask,” an MSG Network original series starring New York Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist that combined broadcast, social, and experiential storytelling. In addition to sports, Lineage maintains a roster of clients including musicians, entertainers, and Fortune 500 companies. For more information, visit lineagedigital.com.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this press release, and on the current expectations of management and are not predictions of actual performance. Such assumptions involve a number of known and unknown risks and uncertainties, including but not limited to our core strategy, operating income and margin, seasonality, liquidity, including cash flows from operations, available funds, and access to financing sources, free cash flows, revenues, net income, profitability, stock price volatility, future regulatory changes, price changes, the ability of the Company’s content offerings to achieve market acceptance, the Company’s success in retaining or recruiting officers, key employees, or directors, the ability to protect intellectual property, the ability to complete strategic acquisitions, the ability to manage growth and integrate acquired operations, the ability to pay dividends, regulatory or operational risks, and general market conditions impacting demand for the Company’s services. For a more complete description of these and other risks and uncertainties, please refer the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2020, filed with the SEC on March 31, 2021, and for further information regarding our recent acquisition of the Sonar library and related assets, please see our Current Reports on Form 8-K, as amended, filed with the SEC on May 27, 2021 and July 1, 2021. If any of these risks materialize or our assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof and the Company expressly disclaims any obligation 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.
INVESTOR RELATIONS
Taylor Krafchik
Ellipsis
csse@ellipsisir.com
(646) 776-0886
MEDIA CONTACT
Kate Barrette
RooneyPartners LLC
kbarrette@rooneypartners.com
(212) 223-0561
