StarzPlay Landing on Rakuten TV

Rakuten TV is set to launch the StarzPlay SVOD service within the platform, providing customers access to Starz’s original series, acquired content and a movie library featuring thousands of titles.

Through the deal, StarzPlay will be accessible to millions of households in Europe via the Rakuten TV pre-installed app on smart TVs and its branded remote control across the main TV manufacturers. Rakuten TV users from Spain, the U.K., Italy, France and Germany can access the SVOD service, starting with a free trial and subscribing to the service for £4.99 a month. The content will be available within the Rakuten TV app on smart TVs, web and mobile devices.

The Great from Tony McNamara (The Favourite) and starring Elle Fanning (Maleficent, Mary Shelley) and Nicholas Hoult (X-Men, Tolkien) premieres on June 18 across the streaming service. At launch, titles that will be available via StarzPlay on Rakuten TV include Hightown, Power Book II: Ghost, Castle Rock, Ramy and The Act.

Teresa López, European content director at Rakuten TV, said: “StarzPlay will allow us to enrich our current proposition providing an always more varied and extensive offer within the platform, we are very excited about this new launch. At Rakuten TV we are eager to continue reinforcing our content offer in order to provide the best quality content and a complete experience to our users just one click away.”

Superna Kalle, executive VP of international digital networks for Starz, added: “This multi-territory partnership creates an exciting opportunity for StarzPlay to expand our reach in the marketplace and introduce new audiences to our vast library of compelling series and films. We look forward to deepening our relationship with European viewers through Rakuten TV who shares our commitment to providing audiences with premium content paired with a user-friendly experience.”