The agreement announcement coincided with NCTC�s Winter Educational Conference taking place in San Antonio this week, and means NCTC members� collective customer base of 9 million subscribers can access CuriosityStream�s more than 1,500 documentaries through their VOD service or streaming apps on various mobile and connected-TV platforms. Plans are also in the works to include the streaming app on certain operator set-top box platforms later this year, the company said.

�There is a lot of high-quality content out there that consumers may not know about, and this partnership enables our member operators the ability to surface some of that content in convenient ways, enhancing their customers� overall experience,� John Childress, VP of Product Strategy and Management for NCTC, said in a statement.

Details weren�t given about pricing through the NCTC agreement, but CuriosityStream�s stand-alone OTT offering is available in three different service tiers that start at $2.99 per month for basic, $5.99 for HD-supported standard tier, and $11.99 per month for its premium tier, which offers access to the service�s 4K library.

CuriosityStream, founded by Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks, launched in March 2015 but has not released subscriber numbers. The new deal adds to CuriosityStream�s growing roster of distribution partners, which include Comcast and T-Mobile�s Layer3 TV, as well as Amazon Channels, Sling TV and VRV.

The agreement also builds on NCTC�s effort to help its members bring video offerings to their broadband customers, like a similar deals signed with fuboTV and PlayStation Vue.

�CuriosityStream is proud to partner with NCTC to give its members and their enormous customer base easy access to the world's greatest collection of non-fiction programming that empowers viewers to satisfy their curiosity about their favorite subjects,� Clint Stinchcomb, chief distribution officer for CuriosityStream, commented.

The service, created by Discovery Channel founder John Hendricks, is first rolling out its app to 2016 and 2017 Vizio SmartCast P-, M- and E- Series Ultra HD models.

�Ease of use is a key reason viewers are gravitating to smart TVs, and the Vizio SmartCast TV platform excels at giving consumers direct access to the entertainment they want, all in one place,� said Clint Stinchcomb, chief distribution officer for CuriosityStream. �We are thrilled to have CuriosityStream�s library of incredible documentaries and shows ready for Vizio users to discover and watch.�

The Vizio deal is the latest addition to the host of streaming platforms that CuriosityStream is available on. The service can also be accessed on Roku, Apple TV, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, Google Chromecast, iOS and Android mobile devices, and smart TVs from Sony, LG and Samsung.

In addition, CuriosityStream has been inking distribution deals with MVPDs, starting with Comcast last November, as well as T-Mobile�s Layer3 TV. The service also has deals with Amazon Channels, Sling TV and VRV.

For its stand-alone OTT offering, CuriosityStream is available in three different service tiers that start at $2.99 per month for basic, $5.99 for HD-supported standard tier, and $11.99 per month for its premium tier, which offers access to the service�s 4K library.

�The advent of online-streaming technology utilized by Netflix and other successful video-streaming services has created a video transmission infrastructure that finally allows viewers to watch what they want to watch, when they want to watch it,� Hendricks, also formerly chairman of Discovery Communications, said in a statement. �For consumers, our aim is to provide the first and best on-demand video streaming destination that aggregates and curates the world�s best factual content.�

Hendricks stepped down as chairman of Discovery Communications last year.

CuriosityStream will be available in four packages:�standard definition�for $2.99 per month; 720 HD resolution for $3.99 per month, 1080 HD resolution for $5.99 per month and 4K at�$9.99 per month.

Hendricks is chairman of the new company launching the service, Curiosity Project LLC, which has�offices and studios located in Silver Spring, Md. (where Discovery Communications is based).

CuriosityStream has commissioned several documentary series and short-form programming in 4K resolution format, including �Big Picture Earth,� a 20-part series to be produced by David Conover, the filmmaker behind �Sunrise Earth� (one of the early�programs on Discovery�s original HD network). Two other originals ���Deep Time History,� tracing�great people and events of history�along with their�geologic and geographic underpinnings, and �Digits,� a history of computers and the Internet � which will be available in North America only on CuriosityStream.

Licensed programming comes from partners including France�s ZED, Flame Distribution, Terra Noa, Japan�s NHK and BBC Worldwide. In addition, short-form content�of�less than eight minutes in length will comprise a significant part of the CuriosityStream library. Its in-house Curiosity Studios conducts about 20 video interviews monthly with different�experts and notable names, including Deepak Chopra, Sheryl WuDunn and Michio Kaku.

The Curiosity Project�s management team includes president Elizabeth Hendricks North, who is John�s�daughter; Steve Burns, exec VP of content production and acquisition, who is a former Discovery and�National Geographic exec; Richard Sergay, a former ABC News producer, who serves as the interview host for Curiosity Studios and as a senior consultant for Curiosity Project�s partnerships and acquisitions; and Carrie Hurlburt, VP of creative, who previously worked at Discovery.

The Curiosity Project�s engineering and software team developed the CuriosityStream streaming infrastructure with partners including Limelight Networks, which will provide content hosting and delivery. The SVOD service will be available on an array of connected devices, including desktop PCs, laptops, tablets, smartphones, Apple TV, Roku, and Google Chromecast.