France's Molotov, a cloud-based video streaming company, is taking its home country...and the OTT market...by storm.
Founder and CEO Jean-David Blanc told Cheddar that, in the 9 months since launch, the company has signed up 1 million subscribers. He says its audience has tripled in the last six months, and with minimal advertising efforts.
Molotov's over-the-top service comes at a time when video-on-demand in France is gaining steam. The sector has seen rapid growth in the face of a steady decline in traditional television-watching.
According to research firm eMarketer, nearly 40 percent of all time the French spend watching TV digitally in France was done on a mobile phone or tablet. That compares to 31.6 percent who use a connected TV.
Blanc noted on Tuesday that on average nights, his platform captures 5 percent of television viewership in the country.
As of now, the platform features all broadcast channels, as well as premiums like HBO. Molotov also provides a curation service, where users can categorize the content they would like to watch as they would for a themed playlist. In addition, Molotov offers a complimentary 10-hour DVR feature, with an option to pay extra for more time.
“We want to grow this company all around Europe as fast as possible,” Blanc told Cheddar.
Disney content has gone dark on YouTube TV, leaving subscribers of the Google-owned live streaming platform without access to major networks like ESPN and ABC. That’s because the companies have failed to reach a new licensing deal to keep Disney channels on YouTube TV. Depending on how long it lasts, the dispute could particularly impact coverage of U.S. college football matchups over the weekend — on top of other news and entertainment disruptions that have already arrived. In the meantime, YouTube TV subscribers who want to watch Disney channels could have little choice other than turning to the company’s own platforms, which come with their own price tags.
President Donald Trump said he has decided to lower his combined tariff rates on imports of Chinese goods to 47% after talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping on curbing fentanyl trafficking.
Universal Music Group and AI platform Udio have settled a copyright lawsuit and will collaborate on a new music creation and streaming platform. The companies announced on Wednesday that they reached a compensatory legal settlement and new licensing agreements. These agreements aim to provide more revenue opportunities for Universal's artists and songwriters. The rise of AI song generation tools like Udio has disrupted the music streaming industry, leading to accusations from record labels. This deal marks the first since Universal and others sued Udio and Suno last year. Financial terms of the settlement weren't disclosed.
