In a cost-cutting move by WarnerMedia in the wake of its acquisition by AT&T, Turner and Warner Bros. Digital Networks are to shut down the FilmStruck indie film streaming service, as of Nov. 29.
“We’re incredibly proud of the creativity and innovations produced by the talented and dedicated teams who worked on FilmStruck over the past two years,” Turner and Warner Bros. said in a statement on Friday.
The subscription streaming service operated by Time Warner’s Turner unit offered art house, indie and foreign films by partnering with Warner Bros. Digital Networks to also present classic Hollywood titles from the Warner Bros. film library.
“While FilmStruck has a very loyal fanbase, it remains largely a niche service. We plan to take key learnings from FilmStruck to help shape future business decisions in the direct-to-consumer space and redirect this investment back into our collective portfolios,” the WarnerMedia statement read.
The closure of FilmStruck is not unexpected as AT&T’s WarnerMedia division is at work on a new direct-to-consumer streaming service that will feature its full portfolio of entertainment brands, including HBO.
A WarnerMedia streaming service will put the company, recently acquired by AT&T, square into the race for streaming audiences alongside Disney, which is currently prepping a family-friendly subscription video service that it plans to bundle with other streaming products ESPN+ and Hulu.
FilmStruck launched in the U.S. in November 2016, as it offered exclusive streaming access to the art house oriented Criterion Collection, which moved from Hulu to FilmStruck that year.
In other cuts, Warner Bros. earlier shut the doors on its subscription business DramaFever, which specialized in Korean dramas and other international programming. And Turner Entertainment also shut down its Super Deluxe digital studio soon after Turner owner Time Warner completed its sale to AT&T.
This article originally appeared in The Hollywood Reporter.
