After topping America’s fast-food market for nearly a decade while remaining closed on Sundays, Chick-fil-A, the Christian-owned fast-food chain known for its signature chicken sandwich, is expected to join the crowded video streaming market this year alongside familiar brands like Netflix, Amazon and Hulu.
According to Deadline, the fast food giant has been working with a number of major production companies to create family-friendly shows, particularly in the unscripted genre. The company is also looking to license and acquire content.
Chick-fil-A did not immediately respond to questions from The Christian Post about its plans for the streaming market, but Deadline reported that the company has invested in a family-friendly gameshow from Glassman Media, which is the same company that produced NBC’s “The Wall.” Chick-fil-A has reportedly ordered 10 episodes of the game show.
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Though Chick-fil-A is known for its popular chicken sandwiches served at more than 3,000 restaurants across the United States, it has previously dabbled in content creation. In 2021, the company produced a series of short, animated films called “Stories of Evergreen Hills.”
The company’s independently managed trust also helped found Trilith Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, Forbes reported.
According to the report, Chick-fil-A’s CEO Dan Cathy, spent millions of dollars transforming 730 acres of farmland 25 miles south of Atlanta into the biggest movie studio in North America outside of Burbank, California.
Streaming statistics cited earlier this month by Forbes show that Americans spend an average of just over three hours every day streaming content. Some 99% of all U.S. households pay for at least one or more streaming services.
And with some 260.28 million subscribers, Netflix dominates the video streaming service market.
Since the release of the report, many people such as Giovanni Bertone “John” Campea, a Canadian YouTuber, film and media critic, have raised questions about the decision by the chicken sandwich giant.
“If you are like me, your first reaction comes in somewhere in the neighborhood of what? Chick-fil-A doing a streaming service? Ok. But the more I thought about it, the more I thought … it’s actually, to me, not that crazy,” Campea said in a reactions video posted on YouTube.
“Now, on the one hand, it is because it’s a fast-food restaurant. What do they know about the entertainment industry? Side note, they’ve got some side businesses that have dabbled in the entertainment industry,” he continued.
Campea noted that Chick-fil-A’s decision initially seemed “crazy” to him because the streaming market is so crowded today that some companies have folded while others have merged.
“We’re seeing smaller streamers dying off and being shut down. All that kind of stuff, it seems like a weird time to launch one,” he said.
He noted, however, that Chick-fil-A’s focus on the family-friendly market could lead to success.
“If they wanted to be a streaming service that focused on family-friendly content then you know what? So many of the great inventors have always said, listen, you want to strike it big, find a need and fill it. … Is there a niche out there for a streaming service that’s completely just dedicated to family-friendly content? They could find themselves an avenue,” Campea said.
“I mean, they could find a lane. Whether or not there’s going to be a bunch of people signing up for $9.99 a month, I don’t know. Maybe you’ll get three free chicken sandwiches a month with a subscription and there’s the advertising aspect of this, too, right? What if they use this streaming service [and it] really is nothing more than a big marketing campaign for the restaurant?”
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