RTL Deutschland Expands FAST Channel Offering

SAN JOSE, Calif. and COLOGNE, Germany —German broadcaster RTL Deutschland has added eight new free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) channels to its video streaming service RTL+.

The new FAST channels are powered by Harmonic's VOS®360 Media SaaS, which simplifies all stages of media processing, including advanced playout, powerful graphics insertion, premium OTT encoding and distribution.

Integrating additional FAST channels into RTL Deutschland's existing ecosystem was successfully handled by netorium, an application integrator from Wiesbaden.

Andre Prahl, chief distribution officer at RTL Deutschland, explained that "what particularly impressed us was the ability to easily launch eight channels. We had no high investment costs, as we operate the channels entirely on a software as a service model. This allows us to adapt the offering very flexibly to viewer preferences."

RTL Deutschland uses the new channels as themed offerings for some of its most successful content formats, enabling the broadcaster to effectively target specific customer groups.

"For video streaming services to thrive, they must be precisely targeted to relevant viewers," said Gil Rudge, senior vice president, products and Americas sales, video business at Harmonic. "With our VOS360 Media SaaS, RTL Deutschland can rapidly create and deliver FAST channels to retain existing customers and attract new ones."

Running on the public cloud, Harmonic's end-to-end video platform provides agility, resiliency, security and scalability. Leveraging the VOS360 Media platform, RTL can easily create and deploy additional FAST channels at scale. The VOS360 Media platform is based on a flexible business model that allows RTL Deutschland to only pay for what they use, the company said.

Harmonic will showcase the latest innovations in video streaming and broadcast delivery at IBC2024, Sept. 13-16 in Amsterdam. To schedule a meeting with Harmonic at stand 1.B20, visit www.harmonicinc.com/video-streaming/events/ibc/ .

Further information about Harmonic and the company's solutions is available at www.harmonicinc.com . Additional information about netorium is available at www.netorium.de .