euro news_news 28/11/2013 18:09 Page 3
Netflix adds
3rd European cable
partner
etflix has added a
third operator to its
cable TV partners,
with Denmark’s Waoo!
following Virgin Media in the
UK and Sweden’s Com Hem
in offering subscribers the
ability to access Netflix
content via their set-top
boxes.
N
DiscoverTV app for
Radio Times
UK TV listings publication
Radio Times has launched
Radio Times DiscoverTV App,
a new daily TV and radio
recommendations and
discovery service designed to
help viewers find favourite
programmes wherever they
are – on TV, catch-up or ondemand.
The App aims to cut
through the ever-increasing
broadcast choices with daily
categorised
recommendations to the best
TV and radio, in-depth TV
and film reviews, video
content and customised
programme listings.
Available on iPad and
optimised for iOS7, Radio
Times DiscoverTV is a
freemium app with a 30-day
free trial of the premium
features. A free limited
service is available without
Anders Christjansen, CEO of
Waoo!, said such a co-operation
was obvious and a perfect
strategic match, with the
operator having the best
Internet, and streaming having
become popular. The
combination of Netflix and
Waoo! would give customers
additional choice of high-quality
TV via their set-top box.
“We want to make it as easy
as possible for Danes to
experience the wide variety of
high quality entertainment
Netflix offers. Being available on
the Waoo! TV box is part of our
strategy to allow Danes to access
Netflix on the same device as
they watch broadcast TV and
subscription with easy-to
use, 14-day customised TV
and radio listings, by
provider and location, and
basic programme
information.
Ben Preston, Radio Times
editor, said the app was the
stuff. Every day, Radio Times
DiscoverTV will guide you to
the very best programmes –
whether they’re on the
traditional main channels,
iPlayer, 4OD or new services
like Netflix – and help you
discover your next favourite
first app designed for the
way viewers watch television
now. “This is a golden age
for quality television. Viewers
have never enjoyed so much
choice. But we want to make
it easier to find the good
show. At Radio Times we are
determined to reinvent
journalism about
broadcasting, make the most
of new digital technologies
and make life easier for our
readers.”
other cable services,” said Joris
Evers, director, global corporate
communications, Netflix.
Christjansen suggested that it
did not make sense to invest
“staggering sums” in developing
its own competing solution when
it could cooperate with what he
described as the world’s best
provider of Internet TV. “The
partnership with Netflix
probably will not be the last,” he
said. Waoo! already has a
partnership with both TV 2 and
Viasat to carry their streaming
services.
Whereas both Virgin Media
and Com Hem subscribers
access Netflix via TiVo STBs, the
Waoo! solution has been
developed in collaboration with
AirTies.
Tom Bureau, CEO
Immediate Media Co, owner
of Radio Times, said the
company’s mission was to
develop its magazines into
full multi-platform content
brands with many revenue
streams. “This requires us to
develop our brands with
world class scaled digital
products based on the
strength of our market
positions. In its 90th year,
the launch of Radio Times
DiscoverTV re-imagines
Radio Times for a new digital
audience. We have created a
product to delight a new
generation of consumers
around TV entertainment,
combining guidance,
discovery, and functionality.
This is an important step on
our journey to create the
future model for magazine
media.”
Radio Times was first
published by the BBC in
1923.
EUROMEDIA 9