French OTT platform Molotov said it will soon add OCS, the 100% movies and series package from Orange, and beINSports.
Following the presentation to the French media authority CSA on Wednesday, November 4, the service is now available for invited people to the Beta test. The full public launch of Molotov in France will follow.
The new television distribution platform revealed last June by French media entrepreneurs Jean-David Blanc and Pierre Lescure, said it now has signed over 80 French and international channels, as reported in Broadband TV News passim.
Backed by Idinvest Partners and a group of private investors, Molotov intends to disrupt viewers’ habits and usage by offering a brand new experience to access TV programmes and channels. The platform aims to “save” programmes that are “wasted”.
“Set-top boxes and TV manufacturers have improved their interfaces, but it makes no difference. The TV channels, superimposed on each other like a thousand layers in a cake, are choking each other out. And EPGs (Electronic Programme Guides and their “programming schedule”) have become too stodgy for viewers to stomach,” the company explained.
“Meanwhile, platforms born in the Internet era such as YouTube, Dailymotion and Netflix have given rise to new habits. They encourage immediacy, accessibility, sharing, time control, mobility and interactivity. Going back to the TV set becomes something of a chore.
“Yet TV companies invest billions of Euros in programmes every year. Programmes which, in many cases, never get to meet their audience, either because they are too difficult to access or, even worse, the audience isn’t even aware of their existence.”
“So many networks sharing our vision right at our beginning signals a major shift in the industry,” commented Jean-David Blanc.
“TV networks and their programmes are instinctively blamed for the fast loss of audiences, in particular among younger – or more connected – ones. Molotov believes this is aiming at wrong target: it is not so much television content that is to blame, but the way it is broadcasted. Online content is no more relevant than the content broadcasted on television, but it is promoted better and, not least, more easily accessible.”
“In the era of zapping and ’Digital natives’, TV is being wasted and will only have a future if it changes the way it is broadcast”, continued Pierre Lescure.
“Molotov provides the resources for TV content to be available everywhere, ensures it is grouped together, accessible and stands out. Our platform combines linear TV programming but delinearised access, restoring the sense of immediacy and bringing viewers together organically. While respecting the creative roots of television, Molotov strengthens its appeal.”
The list of broadcast groups and channels now reads: TF1, France Télévisions, M6, Arte, Nextradio TV, Lagardère Active, La Chaine Parlementaire, Public Sénat, Groupe AB, Disney Channel, Turner, Viacom, Euronews, France 24, TV5 Monde, TRACE Media Group, Gong média, Nolife, Nautical Channel, Les Chaines Interactives, Fashion TV and Luxe TV.
