Dove Channel Brings Hundreds of Family-Friendly Christian Movies and Shows to Smartphones, Tablets and Roku
NEW YORK — Christians seeking family-friendly entertainment for their children will be able to do so without commercial interruption in the comfort of their living rooms with the new streaming service, Dove channel.
The platform functions much like Netflix, except it solely focuses on streaming faith-based and family friendly content. It will also give lesser-known filmmakers an outlet to release their movies and shows.
Cinedigm, a leading content distributor in the U.S., has partnered with The Dove Foundation, an organization which has specialized in rating movies for family friendliness for over 25 years, to launch the new service.
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"In the old days the networks got to decide what was broadcast or a movie company got to decide what would be released theatrically," said Bill Sondheim, president of Cinedigm Entertainment Group, at a luncheon at ABC Kitchen on Wednesday. "In the future, that content is going to be available to anyone. And it's going to be up to consumers to decide and vote with their pocketbook, Android or iPhone what it is they want to watch."
The Dove channel takes ratings on content to the next level by allowing parents to set content parameters for the specific age groups of their children.
Sondheim explained that parents with children of different ages in their household can set the parameters for each child differently. Even though the Dove channel will feature family-friendly content, some of these movies will deal with adult situations which parents might not want young children to see.
Parents could make one special setting for their 5-year-old and another for their 15-year-old, providing a safe experience for each child, according to Sondheim.
"We have now moved into what I consider the next generation for Dove," said Dick Rolfe, CEO of The Dove Foundation who's celebrating the availability of the new service.
"Because we are now no longer just an advocate for family-friendly entertainment, but we are now providing access to it and that is so important nowadays because with digital technology the way it is, parents are all the more confused because there are that many more platforms they can choose from for content.
"With this new Dove channel, we're able to provide the same values and criteria that we have always, but in this case in a walled garden of only Dove-approved content," Rolfe added.
And even though the Dove channel mostly appeals to Christians for its faith-based content, the service will also provide family-friendly shows and movies that are unrelated to Christian themes which can be appreciated by anyone looking for wholesome programming.
The Dove channel will be available on smartphones, tablets, mobile browsers and Roku starting Sept. 15. The service will be available for $4.99 per month with a one week free trial. There is also a free version of the Dove channel that will be available with ads.
