Rakuten TV Launches its AVOD Service in Europe
Rakuten TV, one of the leading video-on-demand platforms in Europe, today announced the launch of its first AVOD - ad-supported video-on-demand - channels within the platform. This new business model will allow viewers to watch a wide range of content for free.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191015005048/en/
Rakuten TV's new UI 4.0 including "Free" section (Photo: Rakuten TV)
The free section of Rakuten TV will launch with an initial offer including Hollywood and local content to be expanded to additionally include exclusive Rakuten content, TV series, documentary series, news and sport channels in the coming months - with a combined linear and on-demand offer.
Among the exclusive content, Rakuten TV will present on its AVOD channel Matchday - Inside FC Barcelona, the new documentary series about FC Barcelona from the inside, offering previously unseen and exclusive scenes from the players’ private lives. Narrated by John Malkovich, Matchday – Inside FC Barcelona is a creation of Barça Studios, FC Barcelona’s own production house, in collaboration with Kosmos Studios, Rakuten, Inc. in association with Rakuten H Collective Studio and Producciones del Barrio.
Expanding its business model proposition, Rakuten TV will be the first to combine TVOD and AVOD products across Europe, meeting the changing needs of viewers. The free ad-supported channels will enrich the original proposition of Rakuten TV - Your Cinema at Home - offering Smart TV viewers the best cinematic experience with the latest new releases in the best audiovisual quality. Thanks to the presence of a remote control button providing direct access to the app on major Smart TVs, Rakuten TV content will be just a click away for over 30 million households across Europe.
In a time when the streaming industry is increasingly changing and exploring avenues such as AVOD, Rakuten TV is proud to pioneer this trend in Europe as the main VOD platform combining different business models - TVOD, AVOD and SVOD - which are oriented around meeting all audience needs.
Jacinto Roca, Rakuten TV Founder and CEO, stated: “We are incredibly proud to take this step after having tripled our presence in Europe just a few months ago. Rakuten TV continues to evolve rapidly alongside consumer trends within the industry, where there is a clear trend of advertisers moving away from linear TV and towards VOD. This is a unique opportunity for Rakuten TV which has already direct access to millions of European households through its branded remote control button of the main Smart TV brands. This is the mere beginning of a huge project which will see the launch of additional channels and exclusive content in the coming months”.
The service will be available in beta version, across the complete 2019 SMART TV line up, and will be progressively rolled out in other platforms including mobile and desktop.
Advertising sales will be managed by Rakuten Marketing, a subsidiary of Rakuten Inc. Nick Stamos, Rakuten Marketing CEO, stated: “Advertisers and agencies are eager to be among the first to showcase their brands in this exclusive and groundbreaking advertising platform. As VOD is emerging as a powerful media channel, our clients have been anticipating this launch from RakutenTV, so we are very excited to bring this new proposition to market across Europe.”
Rakuten Viber, Rakuten’s instant messaging service, will also be involved in the project, leveraging its community of 2 million Barça fans to promote Matchday.
Nielsen will be the data partner (DMP-data management platform) used to target advertisements at a digital level
This news comes alongside a renewed platform design for Rakuten TV, with a more attractive look & feel, a more intuitive user interface and a simpler user journey. Within the new interface, viewers will discover the new channel offering featuring ad-supported content inside the ‘free’ section implemented within the header menu.
The announcement took place during the conference “AVOD on the Rise” at MIPCOM 2019, where Founder and CEO of Rakuten TV, Jacinto Roca, spoke about the AVOD industry and its evolution with other top players in the entertainment field.
Rakuten TV
Rakuten TV is one of the leading Video On-Demand platforms in Europe. It offers a TVOD service (Transactional VOD) providing viewers a true cinematic experience with the latest new releases in the best audiovisual quality. It also includes an AVOD (Advertising VOD) section, Rakuten TV Free, in a blend of thematic channels embracing Hollywood classics, local, exclusive and themed content, all for free.
Rakuten TV is available in 42 countries and forms part of Rakuten, Inc., one of the world’s leading internet services companies, offering a wide variety of services for consumers and businesses, with a focus on e-commerce, fintech and digital content. Rakuten, headquartered in Japan, is also known for its partnerships with FC Barcelona, the NBA, the Golden State Warriors, Davis Cup and Spartan Race.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191015005048/en/
Contact information
Media Contacts:
For further information please contact:
Premier PR – Rakuten TV
Charlie Wainwright - Premier PR on behalf of Rakuten TV
charlie.wainwright@premiercomms.com
0207 292 7372
Rakuten TV
Fabiana Cumia – Communication Director – fabiana.cumia@rakuten.com
Iraia Arza – PR & Communication Specialist – iraia.arza@rakuten.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
LambdaTest and SVAM International Inc. Announce Partnership to Transform Quality Engineering for Businesses26.11.2025 19:00:00 EET | Press release
LambdaTest, a Gen-AI native quality engineering platform, announced a partnership with SVAM International, Inc., a global leader in digital transformation services. This strategic alliance marks a significant step forward in their mission to transform quality engineering for businesses worldwide. The partnership allows LambdaTest to extend its AI-native quality engineering capabilities into SVAM’s extensive digital transformation ecosystem. By integrating with SVAM’s experience in large-scale application development, testing, and delivery across major New York State and City agencies, as well as their platform expertise across Salesforce, ServiceNow, and Dynamics365, LambdaTest will empower more enterprises to modernize their software delivery pipelines. With LambdaTest’s intelligent test orchestration and execution engine at the core, teams can test smarter, accelerate release cycles, and achieve faster time-to-market at scale. Founded in 2017, LambdaTest is headquartered in San Franc
GLORY Acquires Remaining Equity Shares in Acrelec Group26.11.2025 17:11:00 EET | Press release
Glory Global Solutions (International) Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of GLORY Ltd. [TYO:6457], has announced the acquisition of the remaining equity shares in Acrelec Group SAS. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251126039437/en/ Acrelec is a global technology company focused on reinventing the customer experience for restaurant and retail brands. Leveraging decades of software, hardware and service expertise, the company develops and integrates new platforms that increase customer engagement, optimize efficiency and improve operations. With over 120,000 installations across more than 70 countries, Acrelec counts many of the world’s best-known restaurant mega-brands among its customers. We announce that Jalel Souissi has left the Acrelec Group following the completion of the recent share acquisition. Jalel Souissi has played a pivotal role in the development and success of Acrelec, serving as Co-Founder and Co-C
Cegid Acquires Shine to Accelerate the Path of Becoming Europe's Leading Financial Copilot for SMBs and Accountants26.11.2025 15:00:00 EET | Press release
Cegid, a European leader in cloud software for finance, accounting, HR, and retail software, and Shine, a fast-growing European fintech unicorn providing digital business accounts and payments, e-invoicing, accounting, and payroll software to small businesses across Europe, announced today that the companies have entered a definitive agreement to join forces to form a European champion and become a leading provider of software for businesses and their accountants. This transformational combination will create the first fully integrated, cloud-native and AI-driven financial hub for SMBs and accounting professionals in Europe – bringing together market-leading capabilities in e-invoicing, accounting, digital business accounts and payments, tax, HR, and payroll in a single unified platform. Accelerating Cegid’s European growth strategy by serving more than one million SMBs, and 15,000 accountants Shine brings to Cegid more than 400,000 SMB customers, a strong brand, and a highly scalable
U.S. FDA Grants Priority Review to Sonrotoclax for the Treatment of Relapsed or Refractory Mantle Cell Lymphoma26.11.2025 13:00:00 EET | Press release
BeOne Medicines Ltd. (Nasdaq: ONC; HKEX: 06160; SSE: 688235), a global oncology company, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted and granted Priority Review to a New Drug Application (NDA) for sonrotoclax, a next-generation BCL2 inhibitor, for the treatment of adult patients with relapsed or refractory (R/R) mantle cell lymphoma (MCL), following treatment with a Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor. “Sonrotoclax is advancing with remarkable speed, from Breakthrough Therapy Designation to Priority Review, all within a short window,” said Lai Wang, Ph.D., Global Head of R&D at BeOne. “That pace reflects both the strength of the data and the urgency of the need for patients with R/R MCL. With rapid, deep, and durable responses and a manageable safety profile, sonrotoclax is emerging as a potential best-in-class BCL2 inhibitor, alongside our two other transformative hematology assets – BTK inhibitor BRUKINSA, and investigational BTK degrader BGB-16
Modon Holding Announces a Strategic Investment in Wellington Lifestyle Partners, Expanding Its Global Portfolio in Luxury Lifestyle Destination Development26.11.2025 12:15:00 EET | Press release
Abu Dhabi-based Modon Holding P.S.C (“Modon”) today announced a strategic investment in Wellington Lifestyle Partners (“WLP”), joining a consortium of existing investors in the company. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20251125937208/en/ Aerial shot of Wellington International (Photo: AETOSWire) Modon’s investment will support the long-term development of Wellington International equestrian showgrounds and deliver a landmark ultra-luxury real estate development featuring high-end residences, a boutique hotel, a commercial marketplace and a championship golf course located in Wellington, Florida – a global icon of equestrian sport. This investment marks Modon’s first direct investment in an equestrian led development in the United States, complementing its existing global portfolio, and reinforcing its strategy to partner with leading international organisations in expanding its presence across ultra-luxury destin
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom