Streaming platform Rakuten TV is partnering with TCL to bring more than 50 FAST Channels across multiple genres to TCL Channel, the manufacturer’s free streaming service, available on millions of TCL smart TVs across Europe.
The channels will include Rakuten TV’s owned and operated channels and selected third-party channels from well-known brands. This collaboration leverages Rakuten TV’s ‘Enterprise Services’ technology, transforming for the first time the streaming platform also into a technical integrator that enables seamless FAST Channel distribution for connected TVs.
Through the partnership, TCL users across Europe will soon have access to a wider variety of free entertainment, covering Hollywood and European movies, kids’ content, documentaries, TV series, lifestyle and reality shows.
Rakuten TV will provide a mix of its own channels across the UK, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, and Poland, including Rakuten TV Top Movies, Rakuten TV Drama, Rakuten TV Action, and Rakuten TV Romance, among many others.
Within the context of the partnership, Rakuten TV will act as a technical integrator by enabling the delivery of content without the need for third-party intervention. Third-party content owners can leverage this technical integrator capability by partnering with Rakuten TV Enterprise Services to launch their FAST Channels on TCL smart TVs alongside other top FAST services in Europe.
“While maintaining a successful B2C business, our team has worked hard to build the technology to create FAST Channels for the most popular platforms, monetise content using SSAI, EPG scheduling and content management,” said Sidharth Jayant, Chief Product Officer at Rakuten TV. “Leveraging our 15 years of experience, today we begin distributing our strong FAST Channels offering with TCL and also open the door for third party content owners to partner with us and easily deploy their FAST Channels while maximising their monetisation potential.”
Rebecca Wang, Head of BD at TCL, added: “We are excited about the collaboration between TCL Channel and Rakuten TV. The high-quality FAST Channels include a variety of genres that will surely appeal to our audience across Europe and further enhance the content ecosystem of TCL Channel, bringing a more diverse viewing experience to our users.”
