Criterion launches streaming service

FilmStruck may be no more, but the Criterion Collection will live on as a subscription streaming service. In an announcement that warmed the hearts of cinephiles everywhere, Criterion said Friday it has reached an agreement with WarnerMedia to launch the Criterion Channel as a standalone service next spring in the U.S. and Canada.

FilmStruck, the streaming offshoot of Turner Classic Movies and home to the Criterion’s catalogue of arthouse classics, is to be shut down Nov. 29. The decision sparked a backlash, with prominent filmmakers like Martin Scorsese, Paul Thomas Anderson and Guillermo del Toro lobbying for FilmStruck’s preservation.

Additionally, the Criterion Collection will join WarnerMedia’s planned streaming service to launch late 2019.