Rakuten TV Launches its AVOD Service in Europe
15.10.2019 11:30:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
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
Alfasigma presents first data on filgotinib from the Phase 3 OLINGUITO trial in axial spondyloarthritis at EULAR 202627.5.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Alfasigma S.p.A, a global pharmaceutical company with a focus on innovation in rare and specialty care where there is significant unmet patient need, presented positive results from the OLINGUITO Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT05785611iEudraCT 2022-501354-10-01ii) at EULAR 2026. In OLINGUITO filgotinib, an oral, once-daily JAK1 preferential inhibitor under investigation for the treatment of adult patients with active axial spondyloarthritis (axSpA), demonstrated sustained improvements in the signs and symptoms of axSpA, including disease activity and inflammation.iii Safety was consistent with the known profile of filgotinib, indicating a favourable benefit-risk profile for patients with active axSpA.iii The OLINGUITO trial consists of two international, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies (Study A and Study B), evaluating the efficacy and safety of filgotinib 200mg once-daily vs. placebo in patients with an established diagnosis of axSpA as per ASAS classification.i Eligi
Tide Crosses 2 Million Members Worldwide - Big Step Forward in Mission to Support and Grow Small Businesses27.5.2026 09:00:00 EEST | Press release
Tide, the UK’s leading business management platform, today announces it has crossed 2 million members globally, with India in particular seeing strong growth. More than 1.1 million small businesses joined Tide in India since the company launched there in December 2022. This makes India Tide’s fastest-growing market by member acquisition. The UK is Tide’s home market, with 900,000 SMEs, 15% market share, and the majority of the company’s revenue. Tide’s steadily expanding its presence in Europe, with Germany and France, where the platform is gaining strong traction, thanks to millions of small businesses turning to digital to manage their businesses. In late 2025, Tide received a strategic investment from TPG, a leading global alternative asset manager, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Oliver Prill, CEO of Tide, said: “We are delighted to be crossing the 2 million member milestone. This number is a testament to the trust that our members place in us in all our markets. Behind every
Royal London Asset Management Expands Relationship with SS&C to Service New Australian Funds27.5.2026 01:00:00 EEST | Press release
SS&C Technologies Holdings, Inc. (Nasdaq: SSNC) today announced that Royal London Asset Management, a leading U.K. fund management company, has extended its relationship with SS&C. SS&C Global Investor & Distribution Solutions will provide fund administration and unit registry services for its new range of Australian active funds, including: Royal London Global Equity Diversified Fund Royal London Global Equity Enhanced Fund Royal London Global Equity Select Fund Royal London Short Duration Global High Yield Bond Fund RLAM is part of Royal London, the U.K.’s largest mutual life, pensions and investment company. SS&C services approximately £72bn in assets under management across its U.K. fund range. Equity Trustees will serve as the Responsible Entity for RLAM’s new funds, which have launched with around AUD $1 billion in AUM. The unit trusts are structured as feeder funds, providing investors with indirect exposure to RLAM’s range of Dublin-domiciled Undertakings for Collective Investm
SLB Announces Date for Second-Quarter 2026 Results Conference Call26.5.2026 20:00:00 EEST | Press release
SLB (NYSE: SLB) will hold a conference call on July 24, 2026, to discuss the results for the second quarter ending June 30, 2026. The conference call is scheduled to begin at 9:30 a.m. U.S. Eastern time and a press release regarding the results will be issued at 7:00 a.m. U.S. Eastern time. To access the conference call, listeners should contact the Conference Call Operator at +1 (800) 715-9871 within North America or +1 (646) 307-1963 outside of North America approximately 10 minutes prior to the start of the call and the access code is 3440360. A webcast of the conference call will be broadcast simultaneously at https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/157027565 on a listen-only basis. Listeners should log in 15 minutes prior to the start of the call to test their browsers and register for the webcast. Following the end of the conference call, a replay will be available at www.slb.com/irwebcast until July 31, 2026, and can be accessed by dialing +1 (800) 770-2030 within North America or +1
Alipay Launches Next-Generation AI Payment Infrastructure, Debuts AI Wallet and Token Pay to Power Agentic Economy26.5.2026 18:20:00 EEST | Press release
Alipay today introduced its full-stack AI payment solution to partners across industries, ranging from AI companies to traditional retailers, and debuted two new services — the world’s first AI Wallet and Token Pay — to support the agentic economy’s rapid growth. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260526337824/en/ Alipay Unveils Next-generation AI Payment Infrastructure This launch extends Alipay's next-generation AI payment infrastructure, building on its consumer-facing product Alipay AI Pay and its business-facing AI payment processing product. “While the essence of commerce remains unchanged in the age of AI, the emergence of AI agents is reshaping everything. Drawing on 22 years of technological expertise and commercial know-how, Alipay is building a new generation of AI payment services to accelerate the growth of the agentic commerce ecosystem,” said Cyril Han, CEO of Ant Group. AI Wallet: Giving Users Vis
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