Fast food chain Chick-fil-A, which is otherwise known for its sandwiches, is reportedly looking to enter the streaming industry. The report has prompted some hilarious memes online with some serious observers discussing whether it really makes sense for a fast-food chain to enter the streaming industry.

Here, we’ll discuss everything we know so far about the service and why it could be an incredibly bad business idea.

Deadline first reported that according to sources, Chick-fil-A “has been working with a number of major production companies, including some of the studios, to create family-friendly shows, particularly in the unscripted space.” The report added that Chick-fil-A is also considering licensing and acquiring content.

Chick-fil-A Is Reportedly Entering Streaming

To begin with, Chick-fil-A is said to be considering a game show that would be produced by Glassman Media and Sugar23, who were behind NBC’s The Wall and Netflix’s 13 Reasons Why respectively.

Reportedly, Chick-fil-A has initially placed an order for ten shows. The company has set a budget of $400,000 per half-hour for unscripted shows and subsequently, it plans to branch out to scripted shows also.

Leading the efforts is reportedly Brian Gibson, who, among others has worked on Fox’s adaptation of “The X Factor” and History’s “Top Gear” remake.

At the time of writing, we don’t know whether Chick-fil-A would also feature shows about itself. There is also no word on the pricing for the service and the company hasn’t officially confirmed the reports. The news of Chick-fil-A foraying into streaming is not exactly coming out of the blue though. Last year, Forbes reported that it advertised for the post of an “Entertainment Producer” for its yet-to-be-launched entertainment app.

While Chick-fil-A entering into a totally unrelated field like streaming has come as a surprise to many, we have examples of Lyft and Airbnb which branched out to produce shows. However, streaming might not be as lucrative a business as it seems from the outside.

Streaming Players Are Struggling with Profitability

No doubt it is a strange time to get into the streaming business as most top players are struggling with profitability, with the notable exception of market leader Netflix which is posting sustainable profits and free cash flows. However, even Netflix burnt over $10 billion in cash between 2015 and 2019 as it spent aggressively to expand its user base and content slate.

Amazon, which is another leading streaming player, does not provide a breakdown for its Prime business, but Disney’s streaming business only turned profitable in the most recent quarter after five years of massive losses.

Disney’s quarterly streaming loss peaked at a whopping $1.47 billion in Q4 2022. Around this time, it replaced its CEO, Bob Chapek, with his predecessor, Bob Iger, who quickly put streaming profitability at the center of the business strategy.

Incidentally, the streaming industry’s titan, Netflix, lost an estimated $5 billion in 2023 even though it previously mocked struggling competitors for their perennial losses.

Meanwhile, after years of fighting over subscriber numbers, streaming companies have now started focusing on the bottomline. The strategy is showing results and along with Disney, Paramount’s streaming business also posted its first quarterly profit recently.

Small Streaming Players Might Feel the Heat

Small players in the streaming game are under even more pressure than their giant competitors. In June, Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment filed for a Chapter 7 bankruptcy. The company owns Crackle, Redbox, and Popcornflix, 3 relatively popular streaming services. At this point we don’t know whether they will be sold or just shut down.

Earlier this month, Warner Bros. Discovery said that it is shuttering its Boomerang streaming service as a standalone service. The streaming industry might consolidate and companies might also consider bundling as an alternative as buyers get spoilt for choice in a competitive market.

Why Chick-fil-A Entering Streaming Looks a Weird Move

Chick-fil-A has built its reputation in the fast food industry and holds the top rank in the American Customer Satisfaction Index,

However, to most, Chick-fil-A entering streaming looks like a weird move as the industry is quite unrelated to the core fast food business. People are having a field day on the internet with all sorts of memes about the move.

Notably, Chick-fil-A which operates over 3,000 stores in the US, is privately held by the Atlanta-based Cathy family and is known for its conservative beliefs. These beliefs have embroiled the company in multiple major controversies over the years.

It has experimented with content previously, and among others produced a series of short, animated films named “Stories of Evergreen Hills” for its website. It also makes puzzles and games for children under the Pennycake brand.

However, while a small streaming platform as an additional perk for its customers might still seem like a good marketing move, a full-fledged streaming foray might not be the best business strategy given the fact that even entrenched incumbents are facing the heat in an increasingly competitive albeit growing market.