​Rakuten TV to add 50 FAST channels to TCL smart TVs

Rakuten TV is partnering with TCL to bring more than 50 FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels across multiple genres to TCL Channel, TCL’s free streaming service.

TCL Channel is available on millions of TCL smart TVs across Europe.

The FAST channels to be addded to TCL Channel include Rakuten TV’s owned and operated channels and selected third-party channels.

This strategic partnership means TCL users across Europe will soon have access to a wider variety of free, high-quality entertainment, ranging from Hollywood and European movies, kids’ content, documentaries, TV series, lifestyle and reality shows.

Rakuten TV will provide a mix of its own popular 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.

Rakuten TV will act as a technical integrator within the partnership, by enabling the delivery of content without the need for third-party intervention.

Third party content owners are also able to partner with Rakuten TV Enterprise Services to launch their FAST channels on TCL smart TVs alongside other top FAST services in Europe.

Sidharth Jayant, chief product officer at Rakuten TV, said: “While maintaining a successful B2C business, our team has worked hard to build the technology to create FAST channels for the most popular platforms. 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. We look forward to working with TCL and strengthen our existing lineup of platforms on which we distribute FAST Channels.”

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 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”.