Investment from the Ionic Emerging Channels Fund pairs the curated nonfiction platform, available in 80+ countries and more than 100 million American households, with Ionic’s operating apparatus and unified buying system.
NEW YORK, June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Ionic Studios LLC (“Ionic”) today announced a strategic equity investment in Documentary+, the premium streaming destination for documentary storytelling, made through the Ionic Emerging Channels Fund. Alongside the investment, Ionic becomes Publisher of Record for Documentary+’s ad-supported business, taking operating responsibility for monetization, demand, and advertiser activation across the platform’s AVOD service and FAST channel. The structure reflects how the fund works: take an ownership position in a category-defining channel, then operate it.
Documentary+ is available in 80+ countries and more than 100 million American households, with apps across Roku, Apple TV, iOS, Amazon Fire TV, LG, Android TV, and mobile, Google Play and a FAST channel distributed on Samsung TV Plus, DIRECTV, Xumo Play, Dish, Sling TV, Fubo, Plex and other leading platforms. Acquired earlier this year by streaming television company acTVe, the platform is being built into the definitive curated destination for documentary content, a premium home where audiences know where to go for great nonfiction and filmmakers know their work will be seen. Their Documentary+ Originals library spans acclaimed features, series, and shorts, including TIFF film Still Single and Oscar-shortlisted A Swim Lesson, and A Man With Sole: The Impact of Kenneth Cole featuring Alan Cumming, Deepak Chopra, and Donna Karen, with a steady cadence of new original exclusive releases.
The documentary audience is the one premium advertisers consistently say they want: educated, intentional, and paying attention by choice, in a credible environment no demographic buy can replicate. Yet with CTV projected to reach 248 million U.S. viewers by 2027 (eMarketer), factual programming remains scattered across recycled library channels with no premium destination operated at commercial standard. Documentary+ is built to be that destination, and the genre’s hybrid economics, where a free ad-supported audience scales alongside a premium subscription tier, make it one of the most durable models in streaming.
As Publisher of Record, Ionic brings its full operating apparatus to the platform’s ad-supported business: ad operations, demand integration, agentic ad serving, SSP and DSP relationships, and direct sales and private marketplace execution. Documentary+’s advertising inventory is exclusively represented by Ionic and joins Ionic’s unified buying system through the iX Access framework, giving brands in finance, technology, automotive, and premium consumer categories direct, transparent access to factual audiences at global scale.
“We’re building the definitive home for documentary film. When someone wants to watch something great and true, Documentary+ is where they come,” said Geoff Clark, CEO of Documentary+. “Ionic’s investment and operating partnership gives us the monetization infrastructure and advertiser access to fund that ambition – so we can stay focused on the films, the filmmakers, and growing our audience.”
“Factual is one of the most engaged and trusted environments in streaming, and it has never had a properly operated home in the open ecosystem,” said Shafi Mustafa, Managing Director of Ionic Studios. “Documentary+ has the brand, the library, and the global footprint. We are putting capital and our operating platform behind it, and connecting it to the advertisers who have been waiting for exactly this environment.”
About Ionic Studios
Ionic Studios is the studio for the open streaming ecosystem. The company assembles a scaled portfolio of exclusively represented, brand-safe FAST channels into a single, unified buying system, bringing the consistency, reach, and activation standards advertisers expect from premium walled gardens to the open CTV market. Ionic builds the portfolio through three paths: channels it owns and operates, joint ventures with content partners, and exclusive strategic partnerships with leading independent studios. The portfolio today reaches more than 100 million U.S. households across 97 exclusively represented channels, with over 250 million hours streamed monthly and 5.2 billion monthly ad impressions. For more information, visit ionic.tv.
ABOUT: DOCUMENTARY+
Documentary+ is a global streaming platform dedicated exclusively to documentary films and series that is available in 80+ countries and 100 million US households. Known for its curated, filmmaker-first approach, the platform offers audiences access to a wide range of compelling nonfiction storytelling from around the world. Documentary+ is available on Roku, Apple TV, LG TV, Vizio TV, Fire TV, Android, and Google Play, and can also be streamed for free on Samsung TV Plus, DIRECTV, Dish, Sling, Fubo, HP TV+, Plex, and more. Love What’s Real. Watch now at www.docplus.com
Media Contact
Ionic Studios
Warda Baig
warda@ionic.tv
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SOURCE Ionic Studios
