Viasat World has expanded its TV1000 Russian Kino brand with the launch of a direct-to-consumer TV1000 Russian Kino service available globally, excluding Russia.
The service, which is available at tv1000russiankino.com and on Android and iOS from October 24 via subscription or on a monthly or annual basis, offers movies and shows, with new content being added each month. Searchable by title, director and actor, and with the capability to create Watchlists for later, it also features automatic recommendations – suggesting new movies based on previous views. Viewers can comment on films, discuss movies with friends, and connect to personal profiles on Facebook.
Commenting on the new service, Viasat World CEO and president, Irina Gofman said: “TV1000 Russian Kino is a stand out success in our channel portfolio. Packed with the must-see Russian films and TV series of the moment, it has fast become Russia’s number one provider of Russian movies. Building on that position and in response to demand from our audiences, we’re thrilled to extend the reach of the brand internationally with this new OTT and mobile service – which demonstrates our commitment to making our content available online.”
She added: “Complementing, rather than conflicting with our core business – this new direct-to-consumer proposition bears the hallmarks of our agility and ambition as an independent company, which allows us to react quickly to changing consumption patterns. People are different and want to choose when and where they watch; be that a more traditional, curated, channel experience, or picking and choosing from the best content on the go. Alongside our commitment to work closely with our operator partners, direct-to-consumer opens opportunities for us to enter new markets where we don’t have a linear presence, as well as target and address the needs of niche audiences.”
Separately, TV1000 Russian Kino has become available to Amazon Prime members as part of Amazon Channels, for audiences in the UK and Germany. In April, the content brand joined the Sky Russian Pack as part of Sky’s OnPrime TV, and in July it was made available to Virgin Media customers as part of the Worldbox App.
The channel is one of seven within Viasat World’s TV1000 movie channel brand portfolio, which also includes: TV1000, TV1000Action, TV1000 Comedy, TV1000 Premium, TV1000 Megahit, and the recently re-launched TV1000 World Kino.
