Avails format, technical specifications, metadata requirements, and delivery workflow for two of the most accessible AVOD platforms for independent distributors.
Crackle and Plex represent an important tier of the AVOD landscape — both platforms offer lower barriers to entry than major services like Tubi or Peacock, making them ideal starting points for independent distributors building their ad-supported presence. Molten Cloud, the rights management and royalties platform for film and television, automates avails generation for both platforms, manages AVOD royalty tracking, and ensures that content delivered to Crackle and Plex is backed by verified territorial rights data. This guide covers everything distributors need to know about delivering to both platforms — in one place.
While Crackle and Plex share a similar distributor profile, they differ in audience size, geographic reach, content strategy, and delivery infrastructure. Understanding these differences helps distributors prioritize and tailor their submissions.
| Aspect | Crackle | Plex |
|---|---|---|
| Parent Company | Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment | Plex, Inc. (independent) |
| Monthly Users | 40M+ | 25M+ |
| Primary Model | 100% AVOD | Hybrid: personal media server + AVOD streaming |
| Territories | US + LATAM (selected countries) | Global (190+ countries) |
| Deal Structure | Non-exclusive, AVOD rev-share | Non-exclusive, AVOD rev-share |
| Content Focus | Movies, TV series, original content | Movies, TV series, documentaries, international |
| Video Codec | H.264 (MP4) | H.264 (MP4/MKV) |
| Delivery Method | Distributor portal / aggregator | Distributor portal / Plex Partner Portal |
| Barrier to Entry | Low — smaller catalog minimum than major platforms | Low — actively growing AVOD catalog |
Plex's global reach is a key differentiator — while Crackle concentrates on the US and LATAM markets, Plex distributes to 190+ countries. For distributors with broad territorial rights, Plex's global footprint allows a single deal to cover far more territory than most AVOD platforms.
Crackle (operated by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment) accepts content through a distributor portal and via aggregator partnerships. The avails process follows a standard AVOD template covering per-title territorial availability and rights confirmation.
| Field | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Exact title as it should appear on platform | Must match metadata and artwork exactly |
| Content Type | Feature, Series, Episode | Series require season/episode hierarchy |
| Territory | Available countries | Crackle is US + LATAM — specify each country separately |
| License Start / End | Window dates | Typical windows are 1-2 years |
| Content Rating | MPAA or TV rating per territory | Crackle accepts R-rated and TV-MA content |
| Language / Subtitles | Original audio + available subtitle tracks | English captions required for US; Spanish for LATAM markets |
| AVOD Rights Confirmation | Distributor confirms AVOD rights are clear | Crackle verifies — conflicts cause rejection |
| Genre | Primary genre classification | Use Crackle's genre taxonomy |
Plex manages its growing AVOD catalog through the Plex Partner Portal. Because Plex originated as a personal media server platform, its metadata standards are particularly detailed — accurate identifiers (EIDR, IMDb ID) are essential for correct matching in the Plex database.
| Field | Description | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Title | Exact title as it should appear on platform | Must match Plex database — EIDR or IMDb ID strongly recommended |
| Content Type | Movie, TV Series, Episode | Series require full season and episode metadata |
| Territory | Available countries | Plex is global — specify each country or region |
| License Start / End | Window dates | Plex accepts flexible windows; no strict minimum term |
| EIDR / IMDb ID | Universal content identifier | Required for accurate database matching — missing IDs cause ingestion delays |
| Content Rating | Rating per territory | Plex enforces parental controls based on rating — accurate submission is critical |
| Language / Subtitles | Original audio + subtitle tracks | Multiple language subtitle tracks supported; more subtitles = broader reach |
| AVOD Rights Confirmation | Distributor confirms AVOD rights are clear | Non-exclusive AVOD rights required |
Both Crackle and Plex accept standard H.264/MP4 delivery — the most widely supported codec and container combination in the AVOD ecosystem. The specifications below represent each platform's preferred and minimum requirements.
| Specification | Crackle | Plex |
|---|---|---|
| Video Codec | H.264 (AVC) | H.264 (AVC) |
| Container | MP4 | MP4 or MKV |
| Resolution | 1920 × 1080 (preferred) / 1280 × 720 min | 1920 × 1080 (preferred) / 1280 × 720 min |
| Frame Rate | 23.976, 24, 25, or 29.97 fps (CFR) | 23.976, 24, 25, or 29.97 fps (CFR) |
| Video Bitrate | 8–20 Mbps | 8–20 Mbps |
| Audio Codec | AAC or AC-3 | AAC or AC-3 |
| Audio Channels | Stereo (2.0) or 5.1 | Stereo (2.0) or 5.1 |
| Audio Bitrate | 192+ kbps stereo / 384+ kbps 5.1 | 192+ kbps stereo / 384+ kbps 5.1 |
| Captions | SRT or VTT | SRT, VTT, or SCC |
| Artwork | 16:9 (1920×1080 min) + 2:3 poster | 16:9 (1920×1080 min) + 2:3 poster (600×900 min) |
For Crackle LATAM territories, Spanish-language subtitles are required in addition to English captions. Distributors delivering to Crackle's US + LATAM footprint need to ensure subtitle tracks cover both languages before submission — missing Spanish captions will restrict content to US-only distribution, reducing ad-revenue potential across LATAM markets.
Both platforms follow a similar distributor onboarding flow, though Plex's Partner Portal has a more self-service structure compared to Crackle's more curated acquisition process.
1. Missing AVOD rights. Both platforms require AVOD-specific rights. Distributors who hold SVOD or TVOD rights but not AVOD rights cannot legally deliver to ad-supported platforms — submitting without confirmed AVOD rights will fail rights verification.
2. No Spanish captions for Crackle LATAM. Content without Spanish subtitles will be restricted to US distribution only on Crackle, reducing LATAM ad-revenue potential. Ensure both English and Spanish caption tracks are prepared before submission.
3. Missing EIDR or IMDb IDs for Plex. Plex's database matching relies on universal content identifiers. Submitting avails without EIDR or IMDb IDs causes ingestion delays while Plex's team manually resolves metadata matches.
4. Variable frame rate video. Both platforms require constant frame rate (CFR). Content encoded with variable frame rate — common in some consumer-grade editing workflows — will fail technical QC.
5. Short license windows. Submitting content with license windows shorter than the onboarding period (5-15 business days) risks content going live with insufficient runway — or not going live at all if the window expires before QC completes.
6. Ignoring non-exclusivity stacking. Both platforms are non-exclusive. Failing to exploit this by not simultaneously delivering to Tubi, Pluto TV, and Roku Channel leaves ad-revenue on the table from titles already prepared for AVOD delivery.
Molten Cloud connects rights data to the delivery workflows for both Crackle and Plex simultaneously:
Distributors deliver content to Crackle through a content proposal process — submitting a catalog overview to Crackle's acquisition team (operated by Chicken Soup for the Soul Entertainment) for review. Once titles are approved, distributors submit avails covering US and LATAM territories and deliver assets (H.264/MP4, 1080p) with SRT/VTT captions (English required for US, Spanish for LATAM) and artwork via Crackle's distributor portal or aggregator partnerships. Crackle operates a 100% AVOD, non-exclusive rev-share model with 40M+ monthly users primarily in the US and LATAM. Molten Cloud automates Crackle avails generation from verified AVOD rights data and tracks ad-revenue royalties automatically.
Distributors deliver content to Plex through the Plex Partner Portal, which manages content intake for Plex's growing AVOD streaming catalog (separate from Plex's personal media server functionality). Plex accepts H.264 in MP4 or MKV containers at 1080p, with SRT, VTT, or SCC captions and standard artwork. A key requirement is providing EIDR or IMDb IDs in the avails submission to ensure accurate database matching. Plex distributes to 190+ countries, making it one of the few AVOD platforms with true global reach. Molten Cloud automates Plex avails generation with EIDR/IMDb ID population and tracks AVOD royalties from Plex revenue reports.
Yes. Both Crackle and Plex operate non-exclusive licensing models, meaning the same titles can run on both platforms simultaneously — alongside Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku Channel, and other AVOD/FAST services. This non-exclusive stacking is standard practice in AVOD distribution and maximizes ad-revenue across the entire ecosystem from a single set of rights. The key requirement is confirming that AVOD rights are held for each relevant territory — for Crackle (US/LATAM) and Plex (global). Molten Cloud manages non-exclusive AVOD licensing across all platforms from a single rights database, ensuring territorial availability is tracked consistently without duplicate data entry.
Molten Cloud automates delivery to both platforms through AVOD-specific avails generation (one-click export for Crackle and Plex with confirmed AVOD rights per territory), EIDR/IMDb ID population for Plex avails, ad-revenue royalty tracking (automated ingestion of platform revenue reports with per-title, per-territory royalty calculations), and license window monitoring (automated alerts before expiration on both platforms). Because Crackle and Plex are non-exclusive, Molten Cloud also manages the same content's avails and royalties across parallel AVOD platforms — Tubi, Pluto TV, Roku Channel — all from the same verified rights data, eliminating the duplication that manual multi-platform management requires.
Molten Cloud generates Crackle- and Plex-ready avails from your rights data and tracks AVOD royalties automatically — across both platforms and every other service in your stack.
See how AVOD delivery works in Molten Cloud
