The planned entry of global market leader Netflix into the German video-on-demand (VOD) market shows the first effects: French media company Vivendi is apparently evaluating the sale of its German VOD service Watchever.
The company is actively looking for a buyer of the OTT platform it launched in early 2013, reports French newspaper Les Echos without giving a source. The reason would be the high losses: In 2013, Watchever accumulated a loss of €66 million while turnover amounted to only €12 million, according to the report.
The loss is reported to have increased in 2014 to €21 million in Q1 alone. Faced with these figures, Vivendi didn’t want to enter a costly competition with Netflix, writes Les Echos.
At the presentation of its Q1 financial results in May 2014, Vivendi confirmed that “all strategic options” would be considered for Watchever. US bank Merrill Lynch has meanwhile been given a mandate for the sale, according to the report. Vivendi didn’t want to comment the information.
