Rakuten TV Launching in U.S., Japan, Middle East (Exclusive)

Japanese-owned, Barcelona-based Rakuten TV is taking its free ad-supported streaming business (FAST) outside Europe, launching in the U.S., the Middle East and Japan. Rakuten TV CEO Cédric Dufour outlined the plan at international TV confab MIPCOM in Cannes on Monday, noting that the international roll-outs will not be straight copy-and-paste versions of its European model. In the U.S., which Dufour described as the “most developed and competitive FAST market in the world,” Rakuten will launch with several exclusive owned and operated FAST channels, including premium movie channels Rakuten TV Comedy and Rakuten TV Action, which he said would provide a mix of films that “avoids overlap with other channels available in the market.” The channels will be available first on the TCLtv+ app, with further platform launches to follow. In the Middle East, Rakuten TV is preparing the launch of two FAST channels, Rakuten TV Top Movies and Rakuten TV Action, in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, by the end of this year, with both available through TCLtv+ and TCL Channel in both territories and on LG Channels in the United Arab Emirates. Rakuten TV is also exploring launching multiple genre channels or single-IP series, relevant to the Middle Eastern market. In Japan, Rakuten Group, the Tokyo-based tech conglomerate that owns Rakuten TV, will used the group as the technical integrator to deliver FAST channels to its own FAST platform, R Channels. Rakuten TV currently runs more than 120 owned-and-operated channels in Europe, and more than 500 FAST channels across 43 territories, alongside its Rakuten TV app. “This expansion represents only the beginning of what we can achieve with Rakuten TV Enterprise,” Dufour said. THR Newsletters Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day Subscribe Sign Up