Defy Media’s Break is expanding into the movie streaming business.
The humor website has landed a deal with Lionsgate to bring its audience a curated selection of free movies, the companies announced Wednesday. Under the Movies on Break banner, Break will showcase 200 rotating titles from the studio’s library, including Winter’s Bone, Swimming with Sharks, The Descent and others.
Movie on Break will be available via the brand’s website, mobile apps and Roku platform. Support for Xbox will also be added.
Defy president Keith Richman said Break’s core millennial audience has increasingly turned to over-the-top options. “As we’ve continued to launch mobile and OTT devices, our engagement numbers have taken off with viewing sessions on Xbox and Roku eclipsing 30 minutes,” he added. “With our ability to promote the movie offering to our 49 million YouTube subscribers, 70 million website visitors and the 22 million people who have downloaded our apps, we believe we are further positioning Break to be one of the dominant a la carte offerings of the future.”
Movies on Break launches Wednesday with 80 films across eight categories, including “Screen Junkies Approved” and “Before They Were Famous.” A new category will debut each week with eight to 10 new titles, selected by the Break editorial team and editor-in-chief Jack Moore.
“Break has built an enormous, engaged viewing audience by creating and curating world-class video content,” added Lionsgate president of worldwide television and digital distribution Jim Packer. “Our long-term partnership with Break is one of the many strategies we’ve created to deliver content to our next generation online audiences.”
Lionsgate is a minority investor in Break, which launched in 2007 and merged with Alloy Digital in 2013 to form Defy.
