The Candivan is finally arriving at its destination. 

When we formed the company, we picked a name we knew was edgy, one that some would love and some would...love less. 

And at the time, when our focus was just on making a platform that showcased edgy and addictive shows, “Candivan” made sense. Except, of course, to those that thought our name was “Canadian.”

But now we’ve defined our focus a lot, agreeing on why we’re getting into the streaming/ entertainment business in the first place, along with the type of things we want to change about it. Thus, with our network three months away from launching, we feel it’s time to lock down a name that does suit us way more: Cideshow.

So please, change your bookmarks and call your grandma.

For those of you wondering why we’re going with this particular name (aside from the whole “show” angle), read on.

An active experience

We don’t want to be the Uber of streaming platforms, we want to be the Disneyland of them.

TV and streaming are a very passive medium. We sit. We pick something. Then we watch. That’s it. Network executives are making all the decisions on series or they’re creating algorithms that pick the most financially lucrative content.  Love it or not, we’re at the mercy of whatever they and the computers decide.

And while this is great, and has led to momentus things, it’s something that we don’t really take any part in, and often leads to emotions like frustration, having shows we love get canceled or take terrible, and depression from spending so much time in a passive experience. 

Cideshow, though, is a two-way platform. Viewers actively make the decisions of what shows are made, which shows continue, plot elements, reality show winners and challenges and more.

This is not something at the viewers, it’s something with them. For all the creative people out there or TV fans tired of being shut out, this is a platform that works like a theme park: you’re part of the experience.

Stepping right up

Sideshows are all about showcasing things outside of the norm

And Cideshow is doing the same. We’re not going to be looking into shows that are doing the same thing over and over again because it’s the “safe choice.” We will be putting shows forward that are doing incredibly creative things, taking chances and pushing forward what television can be. 

The last thing we want to be is basic

Our artistic Cides

Cide Hamete Benengeli was a character created by Miguel de Cervantes for the novel Don Quixote, and he is the person Cervantes says is the true author of most of his work. In other words, he’s Cervantes’ creative alter ego.

This idea means a lot to us because a huge goal of ours is letting an artist’s vision be completely explored. Just like we’re removing network executives from the process, we’re removing them from the shows themselves.

We want the artists to have full control, sometimes checking in with the fans, who adore or even obsess over the shows, for input (and unleash the Cides in everyone). 

That will always lead to a better outcome than putting money as a priority over creativity. 

So now that we’re here, we have plenty of more exciting things on the way along the countdown to Cideshow’s big release (including some podcasts and an eBook). 

Thank you so much for you support and sign up to our newsletter here and follow us on Twitter for cool insider stuff! See you on stage.