Criterion’s streaming service will launch on April 8th

Criterion will launch its forthcoming streaming service, The Criterion Channel, on April 8th, 2019, and has opened signups for subscribers. The platform will showcase the company’s library of classic feature films, as well as short films, master classes with directors, and more.

Subscriptions will run customers $10.99 a month or $99.99 a year, with Charter Subscribers getting a discounted rate of $9.99 a month / $89.99 a year for signing up before April 8th. The site says that subscribers will have access to Criterion’s entire streaming library, along with a “constantly refreshed” selection of “Hollywood, international, art-house, and independent films.”

The channel will also include its own programming, such as a Sunday spotlight feature that focuses on “directors, stars, genres, and themes,” a Tuesday short film, and more. Early subscribers will have immediate access to a weekly film, with the rest of the programming coming online in April on a variety of devices, including desktop, iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku.

Criterion announced that it was launching the streaming service last November, following the closure of WarnerMedia’s FilmStruck, a streaming service that featured classic films, and which provided streaming access to the Criterion collection.