RTL Nederland is to merge its two OTT activities, Videoland, RTL XL, into a single platform.
Just recently RTL terminated its catch-up service RTL Gemist, which was available for free on a number of smart TVs as well as on various distribution platforms including KPN and Ziggo.
The combined platform provides the basis for further online activities. Videoland is a SVOD service offering movies and TV series, priced at €8.99 a month, while RTL XL offers catch-up programming as well as paid-for premieres of TV series.
The move is part of a new strategy outlined by RTL in the Netherlands, where under the banner ‘fan centric’ the viewer and RTL fans are at the centre of the broadcaster’s decision making process.
“Videoland is growing faster than ever. We have to, because not only do we want to be the market leader on TV, we also want to be the local number 1 in video on demand,” said RTL Nederland CEO Sven Sauvé.
“Our video on demand activities have taught us a lot about ‘fan centric’ working. It is about continuous testing while you are developing something, learning from your mistakes and sometimes it means to kill your darlings if that is in the interest of the consumer. By talking to our subscribers, we know that they want to have one place where they can see everything and where a lot of attention is paid to Dutch content. This year we are taking the step of merging all our online activities.”
