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 The 50-50 partnership would be based on the existing 7TV
alliance formed last year, and bring in ProSieben's Maxdome
video-on-demand offering and Discovery's Eurosport Player, the
partners said on Monday.
It marks the first strategic move by ProSieben's new CEO Max
Conze, who took charge on June 1 after his predecessor was
undone by weak advertising revenues at the Munich broadcaster's
core free-to-air channels.
"It is our clear vision to build the one central platform for TV
and video content in Germany with the best live and on-demand
content," Conze told Reuters in a written interview.
He said the platform aimed to reach 10 million users around two
years after its launch in the first half of 2019, offering a
low-cost advertising-free service as well as premium tiers with
access to exclusive sports and films.
Still, achieving scale is likely to prove a challenge: Amazon
has a market share of 26.8 percent of paid video on demand in
Germany, Netflix 22.4 percent and Maxdome only 4.3 percent,
according to figures from Goldmedia Custom Research.
The figures measure viewer access, and not subscription numbers.
Typically, three people share a single Netflix subscription,
according to Goldmedia.
Competition is also heating up in European sports streaming,
after British media group Perform this month clinched
broadcasting rights for Italy's Serie A soccer for around 600
million euros ($700 million).
JOIN THE CLUB
Conze invited European competitor RTL and German public
broadcasters ARD and ZDF to join. ProSieben and RTL compete head
to head in Germany, the largest TV market in the European Union.
Responding, RTL's German unit said it was "fundamentally open to
cooperation and alliances" but did not directly take up Conze's
offer.
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CEO Bert Habets earlier told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that
RTL planned to expand its video-on-demand offering in its main
markets of Germany, France, the Benelux countries, Hungary and
Croatia.
"Our goal is clear: As market leader in European free TV we want to
be among the top three in these countries in the on-demand arena,"
Habets told the FAZ.
ARD declined to comment. No comment was available from ZDF.
Earlier attempts to form a similar streaming alliance were opposed
by Germany's anti-trust regulator, but the deal's backers say that a
major shift in audience habits - toward on-demand and mobile viewing
- could lead to a change of heart.
Discovery, for its part, wants to reach more international viewers
in its quest to become the global leader in real-life entertainment
and international sports, President and CEO David Zaslav said in a
joint statement.
Discovery last year acquired Scripps Network Interactive for $14.6
billion, including debt, in a deal that added lifestyle channels
popular with female viewers to its stable of natural history and
sports channels watched mainly by men.
"We are building a world-class streaming service to nourish
superfans in one of our most important international markets, while
also creating a new model for the future for viewers to enjoy their
favorite content," said Zaslav.
The joint venture will be headed by Alexander Vassilev, a former
Google and YouTube executive.
(This story has been refiled to fix link in first paragraph)
(Reporting by Joern Poltz and Douglas Busvine; Editing by Tom Sims
and Jan Harvey)
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