Rakuten TV signs up Euronews for free AVOD service

Transactional VOD provider Rakuten TV has revealed that the first live channel on its new AVOD platform for Europe will be news channel Euronews.

The channel will provide informative content 24/7 and will be available in all the European countries covered by Rakuten TV, following a progressive roll out across multiple territories as part of the platform’s AVOD offering

The channel portfolio of content will provide news with a European perspective covering current affairs, business, culture, sport, sci-tech and lifestyle. Its live feed will be available in six languages including French, Portuguese, Italian, German, Spanish and in English, which will be available for the remaining European countries covered by the service.

Euronews’ content will be available within the Rakuten TV app on Samsung Electronics and LG Smart TV models from 2019 onwards.

Previously, Rakuten TV on Samsung TV Plus, the TV manufacturer’s own video offering, was available as a paid option for consumers in five countries, with 20 channels, but earlier this year was revamped as an advertising-based service.

The launch of Euronews on Rakuten TV is part of its strategy to enhance the free-to-view AVOD offering, which includes thematic on-demand channels with Hollywood movies, kids content and original content including the official TV series of FC Barcelona, Matchday– Inside FC Barcelona.

Teresa López, European content director at Rakuten TV said: “We are very excited about the launch of our first live channel, which allows us to enrich our current proposition providing an always more varied and extensive content in the platform. Rakuten TV is eager to continue expanding its content offer in order to provide a complete experience just on a click.”

Maxime Carboni, director of worldwide distribution at Euronews said: “We are honored to be the first live content provider to join Rakuten TV’s AVOD service, allowing viewers to watch multiple Euronews versions on the platform. This great partnership definitely strengthens Euronews’ strategy of addressing its audience in new ways through innovative format and digital platforms. We were able to build along with Rakuten TV a great news content proposition and model which fits our common values: content localisation, great user experience and a focus on quality.”