Duck Dynasty duo-backed streamer EKKL explores faith-based reality TV

Willie and Korie Robertson appeared in Duck Dynasty: The Revival

US faith-based streamer EKKL, which was launched last month by Duck Dynasty stars Willie and Korie Robertson, has set its sights on reality programming as a potential growth area.

The Robertsons teamed up with Michael Scott, co-founder faith streamer Pure Flix, and entrepreneur Zach Dasher to launch the service in the US in July with a library of mostly scripted content, including 350 films and series, available for US$5.84 a month.

Discussing EKKL’s content strategy, Scott told C21 he sees an opportunity in unscripted, particularly given the Robertsons’ own reality TV pedigree.

Michael Scott

The pair are best known for their appearances on A&E hit Duck Dynasty, which followed the lives of the Robertsons and their family-operated business in Louisiana. More recently, they appeared on Duck Dynasty: The Revival.

“There haven’t been a lot of family shows on the reality side. It’s an open space to go into and look at. There are going to be some really great shows. We are looking at that to see what we could bring and what that would look like,” Scott said.

The EKKL library already features a range of podcasts drawn from the Robertsons’ company Tread Lively Entertainment, such as Duck Call Room, plus titles such as The WHOA That’s Good Podcast, hosted by Sadie Robertson Huff; Full Fledged with Priscilla Shirer and Jerry ‘JC’ Shirer Jr; and Blurry Creatures.

“We are going to be rapidly expanding the podcasting section,” Scott said. “We’ll bring on different voices and different things like that, and not just all faith – it could be lifestyle podcasts, all types of things across the board.”

Scott sold faith streaming service PureFlix to Affirm Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment, in 2020, staying on to oversee the day-to-day management of the service until 2023, when it merged with Great American Media.

As part of the deal, Scott managed to hold on to much of the content made by PureFlix, which is now part of the launch line-up of EKKL, as well as its international distribution arm, Pinnacle Peak Pictures.

Named after the Greek word ‘ekklesia,’ meaning a gathering of people, EKKL is looking for content that makes people come together with an emphasis on entertainment rooted in “heart, humour, hope and meaning,” Scott said.

“People are looking for a place where they can consume content they feel is safe – it doesn’t violate what they stand for, it doesn’t have sex and violence and profanity, those sorts of things,” said Scott.

Scott goes into more detail about EKKL’s content plans and ambitions, including its stance on AI and microdramas, in C21Insights.

Meanwhile, international expansion of the EKKL platform – likely into Canada first – is being planned for within the next six months to a year, according to Scott.