As strange as it may sound, Chick-fil-A is getting into the streaming business. Established in 1946, Chick-fil-A is a fast food chain that specializes in chicken, particularly its signature chicken sandwich, which helped it stand apart from the traditional beef hamburgers of restaurants like McDonald’s, Burger King, and Wendy’s. Chick-fil-A operates 3,059 restaurants in 48 states as well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and Canada and is known for being closed on Sundays based on the religious traditions of its late founder, S. Truett Cathy, a Southern Baptist.
It appears Chick-fil-A is looking to move beyond fast food as, according to Deadline, the company is planning to launch its own streaming platform. The fast food restaurant has been working with production companies, including some of the major studios, to license and acquire family-friendly shows for the platform. Chick-fil-A is particularly looking into unscripted television series, including a family-friendly gameshow from The Wall‘s Glassman Media. The budget for unscripted television series is believed to be in the range of $400,000 per half-hour. Michael Sugar’s Sugar23 is also developing an original program that has been given a 10-episode order. The streaming service is expected to launch later this year.
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Why does Chick-fil-A want to Get Into Streaming?
The idea of a fast food chain getting into the entertainment space is not entirely new. From 1998 until 2003, McDonald’s produced a series of animated direct-to-video VHS series sold at McDonald’s locations titled The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald, from Rugrats creators Klasky Csupo. In 2006, Burger King released three video games under the banner of Kings Games, which included Sneak King, PocketBike Racer, and Big Bumpin. Yet Chick-fil-A’s attempt to get in on the streaming game, particularly at a time when the streaming wars have seen major platforms like Peacock and AppleTV+ struggle, is interesting.
Due to the restaurant’s ties to the Southern Baptist religion, Chick-fil-A has found itself at the center of more than a few controversies. The organization has made a number of offensive statements regarding same-sex marriage and, in 2012, was found to have donated over $5 million, via the WinShape Foundation, to groups that oppose same-sex marriage. As recently as 2018, Chick-fil-A was donating to another anti-gay marriage organization, Fellowship of Christian Athletes, but donations ceased in 2019. While Chick-fil-A has a reputation for its great customer service and food, it also has a negative connotation for supporting the oppression of LGBTQ+ rights, which has led to multiple boycotts.
While Chick-fil-A getting into the streaming war seems odd, it also might have a winning strategy. The company is looking for family-friendly entertainment, meaning it might be courting a faith-based audience that matches the company’s conservative views. Chick-fil-A could become the number one stop for faith-based streaming programs, making it a must-have for many houses. This could also make the company a major partner for faith-based production outfits like Angel Studios. Chick-fil-A might have found an audience and demographic it can easily cater to, and with a popular brand name that makes it an easy sell.