RTL close to NLziet Dutch SVoD launch

RTL Netherlands is close to launching its joint subscription catch-up service with Dutch public broadcasting organisation the NPO and commercial broadcaster SBS, according to RTL executive Jan Paul Dekker.

Speaking at TV Connect, Dekker, who is in charge of non-linear products for RTL Netherlands, said that the NLziet service, which was announced last year with a proposed launch date of early 2014, will “aunch pretty soon” and offer a year’s worth of ad-free catch-up content for an access fee. The initiative, with will let viewers log-on to watch shows up to 365 days after their original broadcast, is one of a number of digital projects that RTL Netherlands is working on.

Last year, the firm bought Dutch VoD service Videoland in a bid to move into subscription VoD and fend off competition from the likes of Netflix, which is now also live in the Dutch market. However, Dekker said Videoland is “more like Amazon Prime” than Netflix, as premium movies are available to watch on a PPV basis, whereas on Netflix many recent titles are unavailable on the platform.

On top of this, RTL has its own RTL XL catch-up platform, which Dekker says it is trying to use now to connect second screen and linear TV experiences.

“We put watermarking in our signals so you can sync the videos that that you are watching. We want to use it as a catch-up, but also as a TV companion,” said Dekker. “This will definitely bridge the gap from linear to non-linear.”