SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Roku, Inc. (Nasdaq: ROKU) today announces that the Roku Brand Studio and Mast-Jägermeister US will create a new limited streaming series, "The Lesbian Bar Project,” directed by Erica Rose and Elina Street, and hosted by Lea DeLaria (“Orange is the New Black”) who also serves as Executive Producer along with The Katz Company. The series will spotlight Lesbian bars and the colorful communities that they serve across the United States. The three-episode docuseries is slated to launch in October 2022 on The Roku Channel, the home of free and premium entertainment on America's No. 1 TV streaming platform*.
In the 1980s, there were roughly 200 Lesbian Bars in the United States. Today, there are fewer than 25. As these bars disappear, co-directors Erica Rose and Elina Street established “The Lesbian Bar Project” to celebrate, support, and amplify the remaining Lesbian bars. Each episode of “The Lesbian Bar Project” series will tell the lively and powerful stories of different Lesbian bar owners and patrons in Houston, Phoenix, and Chicago.
In the first quarter of 2022, Roku’s streaming hours for docuseries content grew over 14X on The Roku Channel compared to the first quarter of 2020. As a result, the Roku Brand Studio was a natural fit to launch “The Lesbian Bar Project” for Mast-Jägermeister US – a proud supporter of nightlife and the artists, creatives, and bartenders who have worked to support it.
“Our mission is to create a better TV storytelling experience and help marketers win the entire streaming journey,” said Brian Toombs, Director Head of Content, Roku Brand Studio. “We’re thrilled to bring the data and distribution behind Roku’s platform to help Mast-Jägermeister US bring stories that matter to the largest screen in the home.”
“We are honored to continue highlighting the critical need to support LGBTQIA+ establishments,” said Chris Peddy, Chief Marketing Officer at Mast-Jägermeister US. “Our partnership with Roku Brand Studio provides a tremendous opportunity to raise awareness for the cause by sharing these meaningful stories with a broad and engaged audience.”
“Our passion is storytelling, particularly about queer women, so the opportunity to partner with the Roku Brand Studio and Mast-Jägermeister US to expand ‘The Lesbian Bar Project’ into a streaming series has been an absolute dream,” said Erica Rose and Elina Street, Directors of “The Lesbian Bar Project."
Co-Director Elina Street is a French American director and writer based in New York City. Street’s storytelling focuses on childhood with an emphasis on female and non-binary gender expression. Erica Rose is a Brooklyn-based filmmaker with a focus on queer and female-driven stories. “The Lesbian Bar Project” will be available to stream for free, exclusively on The Roku Channel in October 2022 starting LGBT History Month in many countries around the globe.
*America’s No. 1 TV streaming platform is based on hours streamed according to Hypothesis Group, October 2021
About Roku, Inc.
Roku pioneered streaming to the TV. We connect users to the streaming content they love, enable content publishers to build and monetize large audiences, and provide advertisers with unique capabilities to engage consumers. Roku streaming players and TV-related audio devices are available in the U.S. and in select countries through direct retail sales and licensing arrangements with service operators. Roku TV™ models are available in the U.S. and in select countries through licensing arrangements with TV OEM brands. Roku is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. U.S.A.
This press release contains "forward-looking" statements that are based on our beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to us on the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause our actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These statements include but are not limited to the timing, availability, and benefits of “The Lesbian Bar Project” and other content on the Roku Channel and the Roku platform; trends related to TV streaming; the features and benefits of the OneView ad platform; and the features, benefits, growth, and reach of The Roku Channel and the Roku platform. Except as required by law, we assume no obligation to update these forward-looking statements publicly or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements, even if new information becomes available in the future. Important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially are detailed from time to time in the reports Roku, Inc. files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 and our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2022. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on Roku’s website and are available from Roku without charge.
About Jägermeister
Introduced over 80 years ago, Jägermeister, German for "Master Hunter," is one of the world’s most successful liqueurs and available in 150 countries. The iconic taste of Jägermeister is not left to chance but is due to decades of experience, a safely guarded secret recipe consisting of 56 natural herbs, blossoms, roots and fruits including star anise, cardamom, cinnamon and ginger roots, and 383 quality checks. The botanical ingredients are extracted in their raw, unprocessed form through a gentle, weeks-long process of cold maceration to create Jägermeister's base. The base, housed in more than 400 oak casks, then "breathes" for one full year, which is key to creating the complex and balanced flavor of Jägermeister's legendary taste profile. Jägermeister is 35% Alc./Vol. and imported exclusively by Mast-Jägermeister US, White Plains, NY. Visit www.jagermeister.com and follow @JagermeisterUSA on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. DRINK RESPONSIBLY.
About The Lesbian Bar Project
The Lesbian Bar Project aims to bring greater awareness and prosperity to the remaining Lesbian Bars across the country. In the 1980s there were roughly 200 Lesbian Bars in the U.S. Today there are only 21 left. As the bars continue to disappear at a staggering rate, Co-Directors Erica Rose and Elina Street established The Lesbian Bar Project at the start of COVID-19 to celebrate, support, and amplify the remaining Lesbian Bars that exist in the United States. In October 2020, they released a PSA and fundraising campaign, which helped raise over $117K for the remaining bars. In June 2021, they released a short documentary film and another fundraising campaign. The documentary short spotlights the bar owners, community activists, and patrons in three cities (New York, NY; Mobile, AL; and Washington, DC) and their struggles during the pandemic, their hopes for the future, and the impact on their communities. The 2021 fundraising campaign raised over $150k for the bars. Both the PSA and film is Executive Produced by Lea DeLaria, The Katz Company and supported by Jägermeister’s #savethenight initiative.
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