Cinedigm’s DOVE CHANNEL Taps Chonda Pierce to Host “Chonda Pierce Presents: Stand-Up For Families”
For the First Original Programming for DOVE CHANNEL, “The Queen of
Clean” Will Bring Three One Hour Family Friendly Comedy Specials To The
Faith and Family Focused Streaming Channel
LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Cinedigm (NASDAQ: CIDM) announced today a deal with Christian comedian,
television host and author Chonda Pierce to host three one-hour episodes
of “Chonda Pierce Presents: Stand-Up For Families” which is expected to
premiere exclusively on Cinedigm’s DOVE CHANNEL in late March leading up
to Easter.
Chonda Pierce, often billed as “The Queen of Clean,” will bring her
trademark combination of fierce wit and southern charm to the
family-friendly episodes. “Chonda Pierce Presents: Stand-Up For
Families” will be designed for families to safely enjoy together without
worrying about offensive language or subject matter. In addition to
Pierce’s opening monologue, each episode will feature four different
clean comedians performing individual sets. Like all content on Dove
Channel, the series will carry The Dove Foundation’s Seal of Approval.
Since its launch on September 15, 2015, Dove Channel has rapidly
generated over 380,000 installations on Android, iOS and Roku, and is
also available on Amazon’s Streaming Partners Program. With more than
130,000 registered users and an estimated 20,000 active subscribers
already, Dove is gaining strong momentum as the premiere streaming
channel for faith and family audiences. In addition to the Dove Channel,
Cinedigm also operates streaming channels CONtv and Docurama. In
aggregate, Cinedigm’s channels have over 1.6 million downloads and
230,000 registered users, growing over 45% and 277%, respectively, since
the end of the last quarter, September 30, 2015.
“Chonda Pierce Presents: Stand-Up For Families” is the first of a new
original programming initiative launched by the network. Dove Channel is
planning to greenlight several series, both scripted and non-scripted,
to premiere on the channel over the next year.
“We are delighted to team up with the gifted Chonda Pierce to create and
deliver a fun yet clean comedy series that will appeal to audiences of
all ages,” said Bill Sondheim, President of Cinedigm Entertainment
Group. “This series marks the next step for Dove Channel, as we ramp up
our slate of original productions, and we are excited and proud to be
taking that step with Chonda, who understands our Dove audience and
brings with her a devoted fan base.”
“It’s not always easy to find good, clean comedy,” said Pierce. “So I am
proud to partner with Dove Channel and recruit some of my favorite
comedians to help put together a show that will be funny but also
reflect positive values.”
“Chonda’s laser-sharp humor and inspirational point of view are right in
line with The Dove Foundation’s mission of bringing values-based content
to audiences,” said Dick Rolfe, CEO and Co-founder of the Wyoming,
Michigan based group. “Her involvement elevates the series and
guarantees that it will be smart, funny and appealing to young and old
alike.”
Executive Producers are Pierce and her manager, Andrew Tenenbaum of
Creative Management and Productions, along with Bill Sondheim and
Yolanda Macias of Cinedigm. Stephen Yake, whose credits include the
stand-up special, “Chonda Pierce: I’m Kind of a Big Deal” is the
director. The episodes will be filmed at the Contemporary Music Center,
in Brentwood, Tennessee, in front of a live audience on February 11th
and 12th, 2016.
About Chonda Pierce:
Chonda Pierce is the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America)
certified top-selling female comedian of all time with 8 Gold DVD’s,
signifying sales of more than 50,000 units, and 3 Platinum DVD’s
signifying sales of more than 100,000 units.
Pierce recently starred in LAUGHING IN THE DARK, a deeply personal
feature documentary exploring her struggles with depression and the
sudden death of her husband and her ability to overcome these traumatic
events through faith and humor. The picture was released via FATHOM
EVENTS as a one night theatrical event across 520 theaters on October 27, 2015.
With over 125 theaters sold out for this initial screening and due to
overwhelming demand, an encore screening was held on November 17, 2015
in 420 theaters. The picture ultimately earned over $1.1M at the
domestic box office in just two nights. In addition, it has been
endorsed by celebrities including Roma Downey, Kevin Sorbo, Sherri
Shepherd, Monica Crowley, Corbin Bernsen and Duck Dynasty’s Miss Kay
Robertson.
Pierce has received five Daytime Emmy nominations for her work
co-hosting the talk show, ASPIRING WOMEN, on the Total Living Network
and her first television special, “This Ain’t Prettyville!” which aired
on CMT (Country Music Television). She has served as host of the
Inspirational Country Music Awards and Christian Music Hall of Fame
Awards and also co-hosted the GMA Dove Awards in 2012. She has appeared
on “The View,” “Entertainment Tonight,” CBN and the Fox News Channel,
and her comedy is regularly featured on XM Radio’s Laugh USA and Sirius
Satellite Radio’s Blue Collar Comedy.
In December, she appeared in the top-rated Hallmark Channel holiday
movie, CHRISTMAS LAND and in the spring will begin a 40 city national
comedy tour. http://chonda.org/about/
ABOUT CINEDIGM:
Cinedigm is a leading independent content distributor in the United
States, with direct relationships with thousands of physical retail
storefronts and digital platforms, including Wal-Mart, Target, iTunes,
Netflix, and Amazon, as well as the national Video on Demand platform on
cable television. The company’s library of films and TV episodes
encompasses award-winning documentaries from Docurama Films®, next-gen
Indies from Flatiron Film Company®, acclaimed independent films and
festival picks through partnerships with the Sundance Institute and
Tribeca Films and a wide range of content from brand name suppliers,
including National Geographic, Discovery, Scholastic, NFL, Shout
Factory, Hallmark, Jim Henson and more.
Additionally, given Cinedigm’s infrastructure, technology, content and
distribution expertise, the Company has rapidly become a leader in the
quickly evolving over-the-top digital network business. Cinedigm’s first
channel, DOCURAMA, launched in May 2014, and is currently available on
iOS, Roku, Xbox and Samsung, with additional platforms currently being
rolled out. Cinedigm launched CONtv, a Comic Con branded channel in
partnership with WIZARD WORLD, on March 3, 2015. The Company’s third OTT
channel, DOVE CHANNEL, launched on September 15, 2015 and is a digital
streaming subscription service targeted to families and kids seeking
high quality and family friendly content approved by Dove Foundation.
Cinedigm™ and Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp™ are trademarks of Cinedigm
Corp. [CIDM-G]
ABOUT THE DOVE FOUNDATION:
The Dove Foundation (http://www.dove.org)
founded in 1991, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to encouraging
the entertainment industry to create, produce and distribute a greater
proportion of movies that are appropriate for family viewing; and to
seeing the public better equipped to identify family-friendly movies and
more deeply committed to support them. Hundreds of thousands of visitors
each month rely on www.dove.org
for up-to-date reviews of movies, DVDs and books.
Contacts
Cinedigm Public Relations:
Maggie Begley/MBC
Office:
310.390.0101
Mobile: 310.749.3055
Maggie@mbcprinc.com
or
The
Dove Foundation:
Dick Rolfe, CEO
616.803.9010
movies@dove.org
