Emily Blunt’s husband John Krasinski has sold his self-produced YouTube show Some Good News to ViacomCBS for an undisclosed amount, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Krasinski, of The Office and maybe Jack Ryan fame, launched SGN while self-isolating as a way to spread positive news and to presumably escape from the reality of being trapped at home.
The show’s aim was to feature feel-good clips, giveaways from corporate sponsors, and lots of time spent with Krasinski near tears—it was a simple and pure idea. But purity, be damned, it’s time to make some money!
Krasinski will stay on with SGN as an executive producer, THR reports, but he will no longer serve as host. The originally free show, which brought in 17 million viewers, will be viewable under CBS All Access, a paid subscription service. Does anyone love CBS shows enough to pay to see them?
The Verge reports that while Krasinski believes this deal will “bring Some Good News to so many more people,” the move to CBS All Access will end up limiting viewership and therefore access to positivity. Aside from being behind a paywall, CBS’s streaming platform is currently available to viewers in the U.S and it remains to be seen if the company will choose to stream the show internationally through ViacomCBS’s other platforms. Either way, the real news here is that capitalism continues to thrive as even a home project intended to be charitable outreach can be turned for a profit.