Rakuten TV, one of Europe’s leading streaming platforms, announced at MIPTV’s FAST Summit the launch of new owned and operated FAST channels. The company has now over 100 O&O channels in Europe, across multiple genres, such as Film, Documentary, Series, and Kids. According to the company, this latest launch reinforces Rakuten TV’s positioning in not only being a platform for premium content via various offerings (TVOD, AVOD & FAST), but also as a channel programmer, by packaging and curating the best and most relevant content for each market.
Following the success of its branded Rakuten TV Film channels, with top Hollywood and local movies, the company will now enter the TV series landscape by launching a Reality/Factual Entertainment channel in the UK, and a Crime series channels in DACH, France, Italy, and Spain.
Real Series was launched in the UK on April 12 and its programming is centred in Reality & Factual Entertainment shows. It will feature popular shows such as “Worst Cooks in America,” the recognisable American culinary bootcamp series; the reality show “My New BFF,” with the popular heiress Paris Hilton; and “Undercover Boss,” the Emmy-winning reality series following high-level executives going undercover as entry-level employees. The Series Crime channel has also been launched on April 12 in Italy, including British detective sensation “Wallander” and Golden Globe nominated “Boss,” starring Kelsey Grammer.
The channels will roll out to other countries across the following months, and programming will vary depending on each market. For example, in France it will be the home of iconic shows such as “Alerta Cobra 11,” the popular German crime series that has been on air for 27 years, and “Un Flic,” one of the most successful crime series in French Television.
“FAST & AVOD currently represent a significant portion of our business, with healthy double-digit year-over-year growth. This is a result of both our CTV ad sales expertise through our sister-company Rakuten Advertising, but also due to a locally relevant and top-notch quality content being offered for free to millions of our users,” commented Cedric Dufour, CEO of Rakuten TV. “Aside from our FAST channels line-up and the Rakuten TV Originals being offered to all 43 countries in Europe, we will also continue to invest in original productions, due to their exclusive appeal and strong engagement with new users,” he added.