In front of the video streaming giants Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, Rakuten launched its Rakuten TV service. And the Japanese group now intends to move up a gear by addressing new European countries and through partnerships with TV manufacturers.
The Japanese giant Rakuten does not intend to confine itself to the e-commerce sector. It's been several years since he launched his video streaming service, called Rakuten TV . And if it does not weigh heavy face leader Netflix, the Japanese company does not mean giving up.
To conquer all Europe
The company may be inspired by the success of its competitor Amazon and its Prime Video service. Rakuten thus seems determined to conquer new market shares by proposing its offer in 30 new European states. As a result, Rakuten TV will now be available in 42 countries .In addition, the company announced that it has signed partnerships with four major TV manufacturers : Samsung, Philips, LG and Hisense. This agreement plans to include a "Rakuten TV" button directly on the remote controls of the new models.
Finally, the service would begin testing videos in 8K , to offer content of a higher quality.
A marked differentiation
Along with these announcements, Rakuten TV said it wanted to capitalize on its differences. Indeed, unlike its competitors, the video platform does not work via a subscription system. Users pay per unit for each movie watched.Then, unlike its rivals, Rakuten TV does not fundamentally rely on the original creation . The company only produced one film last year and only has three or four new works of this type this year. A strategy that would allow him to negotiate more easily with other production companies.
Finally, the platform wants to offer its users a catalog adapted to their location. For this, it relies on data reporting popular content in the cinema and on television, according to each market.
With these features, Rakuten TV hopes to become a major player in video streaming around the world. But there is still a way to go: the service today has about 7 million users, against 139 million for Netflix.