Wuaki.tv extends kids SVOD call

Video-on-demand company Wuaki.tv is on the hunt for new local kids TV partners with whom it will launch branded SVOD platforms.

Wuaki’s push into this space began in October with the launch of an SVOD service with DTT channel Gulli in France, offering the latter’s programming on-demand for €3.99 (US$4.50) a month.

“We want to open the marketplace,” said Wuaki’s European business development and partnerships director, Benoit Balagny (pictured), at the Cartoon Digital event here in Luxembourg.

The revenue share model Wuaki offered partners was negotiable, though “ideally around 50-50 or 70-30”, he added.

“We need to have strong local brands that are well known enough to bring customers,” said Balagny. “We can make a comparison to any SVOD service. When you look at Netflix, they market on a few original titles, but the rest – thousands of titles – are all catalogue, and we would apply the same strategy.

“We need strong titles at the top to attract the audience, but we need to feed the rest. We love catalogue because we need an offer that’s relevant in terms of numbers of titles.”

Wuaki has been expanding in recent months as it competes against more established SVOD firms Netflix and Amazon Prime Instant Video. Balagny said the Rakuten-owned firm would target eastern Europe after rolling out in the Nordic region.

Wuaki initially focused on transactional models, but has now entered the SVOD space too.