Rakuten pushes button for Euro expansion

VoD operator Rakuten TV has teamed up with a number of smart TV manufacturers to expand its service across Europe.

Rakuten TV will triple its distribution from 12 to 40 countries in 2019, with more to come in 2020, the company said.

It has linked up with Samsung Electronics, LG, Philips and Hisense to introduce a button connecting viewers to Rakuten TV on the manufacturers’ smart TV remote controls.

Rakuten TV specialises in providing the latest movie releases in 4K HDR and claimed the expansion will allow it to reach more than 30 million households in Europe.

“Having a remote control button directly connecting to the platform aims at empowering users to access the best movies in the best quality just with one click, dramatically increasing our number of users,” said Jacinto Roca, CEO and founder of Rakuten TV.