On July 10th, SPF launched a premiere of a series, “SPF Entertainment Presents”, that highlights licensed films presented by hosts in a scripted format, complete with interstitials like interviews, trivia, and more during planned breaks. The first event was a double feature of The Being (1983) and Blood Diner (1987) by cult horror director Jackie Kong.
Because the stream included the entire films, SPF was contractually obligated to host this on a private server vs broadcasting on public channels where copyright algorithms could have shut the stream down at any moment. Unfortunately, the stream proved to be more popular than we had predicted, and many suffered an inability to watch the live stream in its entirety. Although most did not get to see the entire broadcast live, some were able to, and we offered a ‘replay’ on the next morning for a limited window of time before we had to remove it.
We were so excited to share this event with everyone and were very disappointed that even after hours of tech and stress checks prior to launch that things did not go smoother. We know that you the viewer got let down, and that crushes us. We are going to work with Jackie to see what we can do to maybe offer a ‘make-up’ showing or allow a VOD version to exist so that those who missed out can partake in the fun.
Regardless, the entire project was the first of this scale for our small entertainment company, and we learned a lot of important lessons. Needless to say, the next edition of “SPF Entertainment Presents” will be better and more resilient. The Show must go on!