The wholesome network Great American Family bought the Sony Christian streaming site Pure Flix to enlarge its family-oriented, faith-based platform.
In a statement released by Great American Family on May 11, the company shared it “will build on the multi-faceted, multi-channel family and faith media brands in the portfolio” and decided to merge with Pure Flix because it shares a similar mission “to serve and delight consumers in the family and faith categories.”
Great American Media President and CEO Bill Abbott, who will also serve as CEO of Pure Flix, explained his reasoning behind the decision.
“In a media environment where programming and distribution business models are in a constant state of flux, this agreement provides a rare opportunity to maximize our potential with the expertise, market knowledge (sic) and content creation capabilities of a world class (sic) partner like Sony Pictures,” he said. “This merger will allow us to further our commitment to original, quality content and makes Great American Media and Pure Flix leaders in a large and under-served market.”
'Hallmark Channel' Rival 'Great American Family' Purchases Christian Streaming Service 'PureFlix' To Produce More "Faith And Family-Friendly" Entertainment – Bounding Into Comics https://t.co/idEtqeW45Z
— TheCommonNerd (@CommonNerd1791) May 25, 2023
Ravi Ahuja, chairman of global television studios and corporate development for Sony Pictures, noted, “Family-friendly entertainment remains an important segment of the industry.”
“And merging these two entities will create the greatest opportunity to achieve more scale for Pure Flix as it continues to build its subscriber base. Bill and the Great American Media team have been successfully leading the Great American Family and Great American Living brands, and we believe they have a winning plan to take Pure Flix to even greater heights,” he continued.
In November 2022, actress Candace Cameron Bure told The Wall Street Journal she left the Hallmark Channel because she believed that the Great American Family will keep traditional marriage at the core,” excluding same-sex couples in its movies.
Following her comments, “One Tree Hill” actress Hilarie Burton slammed Bure on Twitter, calling her a “bigot.”
“I don’t remember Jesus liking hypocrites like Candy. But sure. Make your money, honey,” she wrote.
Burton added, “You ride that prejudice wave all the way to the bank.”