Last month Ukraine-based multiscreen OTT service Divan.TV, which focuses on Russian and Ukrainian audiences worldwide, announced that their Smart TVs app has been made available in 200 countries — beyond Europe, Israel and the USA where it was available previously only on tablets and in web version.
The content is customized depending on the region, with television channels combined in packages according to subscribers’ interests. From 70 to 200 channels are available in such categories as local, entertainment, education, etc.
In addition to channels, Divan.TV’s subscribers receive a collection of movies and TV shows, as well as a video recording and viewing feature, at no additional cost. Also, the feature “TV archive” which allows users to record video and watch it at any time they want, is completely free.
The programs are accessible from Philips, Samsung and LG Smart TV devices, as well as from Hisense Smart TV and TCL Smart TV in the USA and Canada.
A healthy TV internationalism
Asked about how to combine Russian and Ukrainian TV channels — which tend to spread completely opposed political views — in a single package, DivanTV Director Arkady Kanyuka underlined that not all channels are news channels.
He added: “Our position is not to tell subscribers what they should watch, but to offer them the opportunity to make their own choice and make their opinion based on different sources. Our mission as a TV service is to promote users’ freedom to watch whatever they like whenever and wherever they wish.”
Founded in 2008, Divan.TV now claims 1.2 million paid and free subscribers — up from up from 250,000 in 2013 and 700,000 last year. The company, which has been profitable since late 2014, still sees its revenues grow, said Kanyuka.
In 2015 the company launched a crowdfunding platform. In the first campaign, “Help Hromadske.TV,” users can access this digital TV channel for a small fee, which entirely goes to the channel.
Divan.TV has also become the technological partner of Brain.TV, a new Ukrainian channel about IT.
