Struum was launched in April 2020 during a period when subscription fatigue was taking hold. With new subscription services launching every month and viewers growing wary of juggling multiple logins and monthly fees, the team behind Struum believed they had the solution. The founding team, comprising Disney and Discovery vets Lauren DeVillier, Eugene Liew, Paul Pastor, and Thomas Wadsworth, envisioned a credit-based system that would allow users to explore content from dozens of niche streaming services using a single subscription.
It was an idea ahead of its time, and one that many in the industry — ourselves included — wished could stick.
The concept took cues from the fitness industry. Similar to ClassPass, users could pay a flat monthly fee and receive credits that could be used across participating platforms. For $4.99 a month, Struum offered 50 credits, which users could redeem to stream content from smaller streaming video services like Tastemade, CuriosityStream, Shout! Factory, Magnolia Pictures, and many others.
A Platform with Momentum
Struum debuted its preview app in May 2021 on iOS and desktop, followed by expansion plans for Android, Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV. From a tech standpoint, the app was sleek and unified. It gave users a seamless browsing experience across more than 50 partner services without needing separate subscriptions. By the end of 2021, Struum had amassed a significant library of general entertainment content, including BBC Select, Indieflix, and DUST.
Funding also came early and generously. Michael Eisner, former Disney CEO, was one of the first major investors through his firm Tornante and also served on the board. Other board members included media execs like Nancy Tellem and Corus Entertainment, which led the company’s Series A round of $7 million in November 2021. With support from investors like Gaingels, the company planned to expand into Canada and continue scaling both product and partnerships.
High Churn, Low Stickiness
The fundamental challenge was behavioral. While the ClassPass model worked well for offline experiences where variety and access were key, streaming users had already developed strong preferences for either binge-worthy catalogs or free ad-supported content. The idea of pre-paying for credits without knowing whether desirable content was available created friction. Many users would redeem their initial batch of credits and never return. Churn was high, and retention was weak.
Behind the scenes, cash reserves were thinning. By early 2022, Struum had begun quietly informing content partners about delayed payouts and floated the idea of short-term funding support from them. These proposals were largely declined. Eisner and Corus attempted to reposition Struum as a backend platform for microtransactions and began exploring acquisition opportunities.
From Buzz to Silence
The final months were marked by disarray. In June 2022, Struum ran out of operating capital. Several executives, including DeVillier, continued to work unpaid in a last-ditch effort to secure a buyer. Others began to exit. Product manager Lauren Schultz and co-founder Thomas Wadsworth moved on to other roles. Engineers and designers sought opportunities at larger media and tech companies.
By July, the Struum homepage broke due to a corrupted database and was never repaired. Apps began to fail as technical vendors shut off services due to unpaid invoices, according to TheDesk.net. Support tickets went unanswered. By late August, Struum’s remaining users found a platform that had effectively stopped functioning.
By January 2023, the Struum website had permanently gone offline. The domain was eventually acquired by an unrelated gambling operator. In February, CEO DeVillier officially stepped down, marking the end of TV Pass Inc., the parent company of Struum.
A Missed Opportunity
Struum’s biggest strength was also its greatest liability. It was built with industry partners in mind, but failed to anchor its product in what end users actually wanted, at the time. In retrospect, a shift toward a hybrid model that combined free, ad-supported content with credit-based upsells might have aligned better with consumer behavior. The company also suffered from a lack of marquee content. Larger providers like Lionsgate and AMC Networks never came on board, leaving the platform with an abundance of long-tail offerings but limited mass-market appeal.
The most poignant lesson from Struum’s story is that timing and execution matter just as much as vision. It entered the market with a compelling answer to subscription fatigue, but failed to build a sticky product or sustainable revenue engine before the window of opportunity closed.
Struum faded without headlines or public closure. For an idea that sought to bring order to streaming chaos, its own demise was a quiet unraveling. And yet, the model still feels inevitable. Whether through credits, tokens, or some other mechanism, streaming will one day circle back to the marketplace concept Struum pioneered.
