"Even the best algorithm could not satisfy our users," said
Maxdome's co-chief Filmon Zerai, referring to the way Maxdome,
owned by German media group ProSiebenSat.1, and its competitors
lead users through their extensive movie catalogues.
Facing complaints its service is unwieldy, Maxdome has appointed
a seven-strong editorial team to give its platform the look and
feel of a magazine.
A survey by Maxdome showed almost 60 percent of users were
frustrated with the time taken to search for what they wanted.
The German subscription video on demand market has grown 13
percent last year to 229 million euros ($257.7 million),
according to estimates of German broadcasting association VPRT.
The German video streaming market, which also includes products
that don't need a subscription, is estimated to grow almost a
quarter to 717 million euros this year, according to German
technology lobby group Bitkom.
ProSieben says its Maxdome platform is one of the top three
players in the German market, but it declined to give any
specific details about its subscribers, revenues and profit
levels.
The media company has previously said Maxdome subscribers rose
by 78 percent last year, while total views were up 81 percent.
Netflix and Amazon have not published any details about their
German activities. ProSieben estimates total video on demand
subscribers in Germany will double until 2018 from current
levels of 4.2 million.
($1 = 0.8888 euros)
(Reporting by Harro ten Wolde in Frankfurt and Joern Poltz in
Munich; Editing by Keith Weir)
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