Chicken Soup for the Soul

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment is a self-help, consumer goods and media company based in Cos Cob, Connecticut. It is known for the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series. The first book, like most subsequent titles in the series, consisted of inspirational true stories about ordinary people's lives. The book became a major best-seller and something of a social phenomenon because of its ability to change others' perspective of certain topics. The books are widely varied, each with a different theme. Today Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC continues to publish about a dozen[7] new books per year.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment
TypePublic
NASDAQ: CSSE
IndustryPublishing
Licensing
Internet
Consumer packaged goods
Entertainment
FoundedJune 28, 1993[1]
FounderJack Canfield[2] and Mark Victor Hansen[3]
Headquarters
Cos Cob, Connecticut, U.S.[4]
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
William J. Rouhana, Jr.[5]
(Chairman & CEO)
Amy Newmark[6]
(Publisher)
WebsiteChickenSoup.com

The company has branched out into other categories such as food,[8] pet food,[9] and television programming.[10][11]

History

Motivational speakers Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen collaborated on the first Chicken Soup for the Soul book, compiling inspirational, true stories they had heard from their audience members. Many of the stories came from members of the audience of their inspirational talks. The book was rejected by major publishers in New York but accepted by a small, self-help publisher in Florida called HCI.[12]

After the success of the first book, Canfield and Hansen, with HCI, published additional, similar Chicken Soup for the Soul titles.[13] Later, they published Chicken Soup for the Soul books for specific demographics, such as Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul, which came out in 1997[14] and was a major best-seller.[15] New Chicken Soup for the Soul titles and sequels to existing books have been published on a regular basis since the first book came out in 1993.[13] As of 2020, the series included more than 250 titles.[16]

In 2008, the founders, Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen, sold the company to a new ownership group led by William J. Rouhana and Robert D. Jacobs.[17] Since then all new titles have been published by Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC and distributed by Simon & Schuster.[1]

Under the new ownership group, Chicken Soup for the Soul has expanded into other products besides books. The company markets pet foods under the brand Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover's Soul and a line of soups, sauces and other prepared foods[18] under the brand Chicken Soup for the Soul.

In 2009, author Adeline Lee Zhia Ern was found to have plagiarized the story "Happiness" by Sarah Provençal from Jack Canfield's Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul IV.[19]

In 2013, the company announced plans to produce a television series and movie with Alcon Entertainment. Chicken Soup for the Soul has produced television programming with other partners, including PBS.[20] In 2016, Chicken Soup for the Soul acquired a majority stake in the website A Plus.

Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment went public in 2017.[21] Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment now owns Screen Media Ventures, LLC, a leading global independent television and film distribution company, and Popcornflix, an ad-based online video service.

On March 28, 2019, it was announced that Sony Pictures Television would sell a majority stake of Sony Crackle to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment, with the service rebranded as "Crackle" again.[22][23]

On December 15, 2020, Sony traded its remaining shares in Crackle for a yet to be disclosed preferential stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment effectively giving them control of the ad-supported streaming service.[24]

Awards

The original series held a spot on the New York Times Best Seller list continuously from 1994–1998.[25]

Chicken Soup for the Soul: What I Learned From the Dog was named "Best Anthology" of 2010 by the Dog Writers Association of America.[26]

See also

Notes
  1. "What is Chicken Soup for the Soul?". chickensoup.com. 2014-02-06. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  2. Jack Canfield biography Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at official website
  3. Mark Victor Hansen biography Archived July 8, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at official website
  4. Contact page at official website
  5. William J. Rouhana, Jr. biography at official website
  6. Amy Newmark biography at official website
  7. "Amazon.com: chicken soup for the soul - Chicken Soup for the Soul / Paperback: Books". amazon.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  8. Webley, Kayla (10 September 2012). "Pop Chart". TIME.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  9. "Chicken Soup for the Soul". chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  10. Alcon Entertainment (8 August 2013). "Alcon Entertainment Prescribing 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' -- LOS ANGELES, Aug. 8, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --". prnewswire.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  11. "Video: Chicken Soup for the Soul : Food and Family - Watch PBS Specials Online - PBS Video". PBS Video. Archived from the original on 24 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  12. Canfield, Jack; Hansen, Mark Victor; Newmark, Amy (25 June 2013). Chicken Soup for the Soul 20th Anniversary Edition: All Your Favorite Original Stories Plus 20 Bonus Stories for the Next 20 Years: Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Amy Newmark: 9781611599138: Amazon.com: Books. ISBN 978-1611599138.
  13. "Results for 'chicken soup for the soul' [WorldCat.org]". worldcat.org. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  14. Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul. worldcat.org. OCLC 733779771.
  15. "Independents/Chain Bestseller List". nytimes.com. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  16. "Facts & Figures". chickensoup.com. 2013-09-16. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  17. Serving Up A New Chicken Soup, Publishers Weekly, 2 February 2002.
  18. "Home - Chicken Soup for the Soul Foods". chickensoup.com. Archived from the original on 27 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  19. Adeline Lee's apology on Silverfish Books website Archived January 8, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
  20. "Chicken Soup for the Soul: Food & Family - August 2014 on PBS". YouTube. 3 July 2014. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
  21. Sheetz, Michael (2017-08-18). "Chicken Soup for the Soul stock debuts on Nasdaq after crowdsourced IPO". CNBC. Retrieved 2019-06-22.
  22. Hayes, Dade (2019-03-28). "Sony Crackle Gets Reboot Via Chicken Soup For The Soul Joint Venture; Eric Berger To Depart After Deal Close". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  23. "Sony Sells Crackle Majority Stake to Chicken Soup for the Soul | Hollywood Reporter". www.hollywoodreporter.com. Retrieved 2020-11-12.
  24. "Sony Trades Crackle Equity For Stock; Full Control Of Streamer Goes To Chicken Soup For The Soul Entertainment". Deadline. December 15, 2020. Retrieved December 15, 2020.
  25. "Chicken Soup for the Soul Awards, Announcements, and Recognition". Chicken Soup for the Soul. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
  26. "Chicken Soup for the Soul Awards, Announcements, and Recognition". Chicken Soup for the Soul. Chicken Soup for the Soul Publishing, LLC. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 11 March 2018.
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