Chick-fil-A apparently wants to give a new meaning to the term “chick flicks.”
The Atlanta-based chicken sandwich chain is planning its own streaming service as early as this fall, according to the publication Deadline.
The company earlier this year had published a job listing for an entertainment producer who would oversee production of scripted and unscripted shows, according to Fox Business. Chick-fil-A would launch those shows on a “Play” app it is set to launch this fall.
Chick-fil-A would not comment on the reports at this time. But the reports suggest the company is going into a bit of a different direction than drive-thru banana pudding shakes.
According to Deadline, Chick-fil-A has been working with major production companies on family-friendly, scripted and unscripted shows, including a gameshow from the same production company behind NBC’s "The Wall."
Chick-fil-A is not the first restaurant chain to consider such a move. Starbucks in June announced “Starbucks Studios,” which will produce original entertainment. Starbucks is working with the production company Sugar23, which is behind the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.
Chick-fil-A is also working with Sugar23, according to Deadline.
Indeed, Sugar23 works with several brands on entertainment production, including the consumer product company Procter & Gamble as well as the beverage company AB InBev, which started working on its own entertainment division last year.
Chuck E. Cheese, meanwhile, is producing a gameshow with Magical Elves, the production company behind Top Chef.
By getting into the entertainment business, the brands can both generate revenue and get valuable marketing for their core business—in the case of Chick-fil-A and Starbucks, the running of actual restaurants.
That said, restaurant chains have over the years gotten into the production of television shows or small films.
Starbucks in 2016 produced two seasons of a program called Upstanders about people making a difference in their communities. It produced a six-part documentary in 2019 called This is Football and another program that year called Hingakawa.
Chipotle Mexican Grill, meanwhile, produced various short films over the years such as A Love Story as well as Back to the Start and its sequel A Future Begins.
But Chick-fil-A apparently plans to take this even further with its own app and a roster of shows that could appear this year. In other words, the chain plans to both feed and entertain its customers.
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