Deutsche Telekom is preparing to make programmes aired under its EntertainTV service available to non-customers beginning in October as part of a bid to build up its own streaming service and compete more directly with rivals Netflix and Amazon Prime, reported the German ad industry publication Werben & Verkaufen (WuV). The move will enable non-customers to access programming and TV series the operator owns the exclusive rights for in Germany, including programmes like “Better Things” or “The Handmaid’s Tale”.
Still, Deutsche Telekom will need more time before it can launch a subscription VoD streaming service comparable to offerings from Netflix and Amazon Prime, wrote WuV. For that reason, the operator is currently investing “heavily” into developing in-house content closely tailored for the German market and is involved in talks with “several” production companies, they added. Deutsche Telekom will present its first in-house TV series “Germanized” and “Arthur’s Law” at the IFA trade fair in Berlin beginning 31 August.
The consultancy Goldmedia estimates that revenues in the German streaming industry will double over the next five years to EUR 2.5 billion annually.
