Turner & Criterion Collection Creating FilmStruck Streaming Service for Classic Movies

With streaming sites catering more and more to the tastes of people all over the world, it was only a matter of time until the great silver screen classics finally reached the platform -- and it's finally happening with FilmStruck. Turner Classic Movies and the Criterion Collection are teaming up for their own Netflix-like streaming service, coming out later this year.

The move to create a new streaming site was announced last Tuesday through a press release, saying they'd be creating a service dedicated for those who "love independent, art-house, and international cinema."

Besides its FilmStruck venture with TCM, Criterion is also planning something called the Criterion Channel, their own premium service, which will not only provide access to their titles (over 1,100), but also extra content like special features and top-ten lists from filmmakers. The site will have films from "many major studios and independent distributors."

Currently, Criterion's library of titles can be partially found on Hulu, and subscribers of the service will still be able to watch these films until November, when it'll only be possible to stream them through FilmStruck and the Criterion Channel.

FilmStruck will have 500 films available at all times, while the Criterion Channel will include the entire library at subscriber's will.

Peter Becker, the president of Criterion, recently spoke to IndieWire more at length about the project.

"If you ask me, it's long overdue," said Becker when asked why Criterion was launching the service. "I think there's a real gap in the marketplace for a genuinely robust, well-curated, supplementally rich streaming service for the kind of audience that has come to appreciate what both TCM and Criterion do. It's sorely needed."

The site will be released at some point next fall, though a date has yet to be announced. At this point, it's unclear where in the world will the service be available when it's first launched.