07
de Març
de
2016
Act.
07
de Març
de
2016
Inside Wuaki.tv, the 160 employees who work there call themselves "Spartans". This is because they have to compete in a market increasingly made up of more people and resources. Yomvi or Netflix not only provide competition for Wuaki.tv in the market for the digital distribution of audiovisual content, they are also proof that the market exists and that piracy has not completely taken over. Josep Mitjà, cofounder of Wuaki.tv, is clear. "We have always thought that we have to offer a good service at a reasonable price. If you do that, most users will choose the legal offers," he tells VIA Empresa. "There will always people who choose piracy, but if the service is worth it, people are willing to pay prices that, what's more, are reasonable." So far, in 2015, the company doubled its turnover.
The new window
"The market for audiovisual rights is very standardised by the content windows," points out Josep Mitjà. Films usually exist on a fixed circuit. "When a producer makes a film, first it comes out in the cinema. Then in the video club and on DVD," he says. After that, the next port of call is subscription television, just before it goes to open television channels, after which it joins "the catalogue" for ever. It is a circuit that can take some three years.
"From the start, we understood that one of the leagues we wanted to compete in was that of the video club," says Mitjà. Thus, films can be rented or bought on Wuaki.tv to stream from any device connected to the Internet.
Another window they work in is that of subscription. For 6.99 euros a month, users have access to the Wuaki Selection "a catalogue of films that are already established, which is complemented by exclusive content new on the market, particularly TV series," says the cofounder.
"I don't think everything can be available for subscription on day one," says Mitjà about the high expectations of many users. "Even music, where that did used to happen, is now copying the cinema, and new albums are not available on Spotify until after a few weeks," he points out.
Obviously, says Mitjà, "we would like to be able to offer clients access to all of the content at any time. But we are in a market that depends on the industry." The head of Wuaki.tv believes that the sector "is adapting and being transformed, but I do not see any radical changes in the short term." In fact, Mitjà says that "digital players do the same thing as traditional formats: buying and reproducing content. In the end, it does not matter how you get the signal, it is all television."
What about Wuaki.tv opting for its own productions? Mitjà points out that the law obliges them to dedicate a percentage of turnover to coproduction, and that all the companies that distribute content end up participating to some extent in production. "We have no set plans, but it is very likely that we will end up doing something along these lines," he says.
A three-way agreement
Mitjà explains that the idea of Wuaki.tv goes back to 2007 and that it came from the other cofounder, Jacinto Roca. "He had followed the development of the audiovisual market and its digitalisation with some interest. He spoke to the Hollywood studios to see if there was any interest in developing this model," he recalls. However, it was not until 2010 that Wuaki.tv was finally set up alongside the technology company, Nice People At Work.
"On the one hand we had the studios, to whom we had explained our idea for selling their products. And on the other, in 2010, the first Smart TV's began to be appear," points out Josep Mitjà. "We went to see the manufacturers of these devices to explain that we had these rights to films and that they needed to offer this content for their televisions to make any sense," he adds. In the end, having a television connected to the Internet for no reason did not add up. "That allowed a comprehensive agreement for launching these applications," says Mitjà. The result is that any user can now enjoy Wuaki.tv from a computer, a tablet, a smartphone, a games console or on a Smart TV.
From that point on, the project has continued to grow at the same pace as connectivity. "The availability of broadband connections is increasing, and that helps the functioning of our service," says Mitjà. Moreover, the availability of multimedia devices connected to the Internet is growing. "It all helps the market. And in our specific case, we have opted for the widest possible range of content. We have agreements with all the Hollywood studios and with a bunch of local producers; as well as with the main manufacturers of devices," he says.
Rakuten, international support
Mitjà does not hesitate to point out that "we have always been clear about this being a business based on volume." Thus, internationalisation has always been in the company's mind. It is an aim that has become more achievable since Japanese giant, Rakuten, acquired the company in 2012. "Entertainment sales is an important part of e-commerce, but the sale of books, CDs and DVDs are falling," Mitjà points out.
Rakuten had already bought an important e-book company, Kobo, and opted for Wuaki.tv "so that we could set up the side devoted to distributing digital films." Rakuten already had an international profile, which has helped Wuaki.tv to reach different European countries. "We already had the office and all we had to do was to find the people for it. On the other hand, the founder of Rakuten is a great entrepreneur, and there is a meeting of minds," says Josep Mitjà.
"We wanted to make things difficult for ourselves, so the first market we got into was in England," jokes the Wuaki.tv executive, who nevertheless says that "we are quite happy with how things have gone there." Since then, they have also started operating in France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Portugal.
That makes a total of 12 markets that they want to continue to expand. "It is what makes sense on the level of the group, and for the sake of efficiency. If you are in more countries, you can have economies of scale," points out the Wuaki.tv director. Moreover, he concludes, "there are not many services with this type of scale. That opens up more opportunities than if you only have local cover."
The new window
"The market for audiovisual rights is very standardised by the content windows," points out Josep Mitjà. Films usually exist on a fixed circuit. "When a producer makes a film, first it comes out in the cinema. Then in the video club and on DVD," he says. After that, the next port of call is subscription television, just before it goes to open television channels, after which it joins "the catalogue" for ever. It is a circuit that can take some three years.
"From the start, we understood that one of the leagues we wanted to compete in was that of the video club," says Mitjà. Thus, films can be rented or bought on Wuaki.tv to stream from any device connected to the Internet.
Another window they work in is that of subscription. For 6.99 euros a month, users have access to the Wuaki Selection "a catalogue of films that are already established, which is complemented by exclusive content new on the market, particularly TV series," says the cofounder.
"I don't think everything can be available for subscription on day one," says Mitjà about the high expectations of many users. "Even music, where that did used to happen, is now copying the cinema, and new albums are not available on Spotify until after a few weeks," he points out.
Obviously, says Mitjà, "we would like to be able to offer clients access to all of the content at any time. But we are in a market that depends on the industry." The head of Wuaki.tv believes that the sector "is adapting and being transformed, but I do not see any radical changes in the short term." In fact, Mitjà says that "digital players do the same thing as traditional formats: buying and reproducing content. In the end, it does not matter how you get the signal, it is all television."
What about Wuaki.tv opting for its own productions? Mitjà points out that the law obliges them to dedicate a percentage of turnover to coproduction, and that all the companies that distribute content end up participating to some extent in production. "We have no set plans, but it is very likely that we will end up doing something along these lines," he says.
A three-way agreement
Mitjà explains that the idea of Wuaki.tv goes back to 2007 and that it came from the other cofounder, Jacinto Roca. "He had followed the development of the audiovisual market and its digitalisation with some interest. He spoke to the Hollywood studios to see if there was any interest in developing this model," he recalls. However, it was not until 2010 that Wuaki.tv was finally set up alongside the technology company, Nice People At Work.
 |
| About a hundred of Wuaki.tv's 160 employees take care of the technology side of things. A.R. |
"On the one hand we had the studios, to whom we had explained our idea for selling their products. And on the other, in 2010, the first Smart TV's began to be appear," points out Josep Mitjà. "We went to see the manufacturers of these devices to explain that we had these rights to films and that they needed to offer this content for their televisions to make any sense," he adds. In the end, having a television connected to the Internet for no reason did not add up. "That allowed a comprehensive agreement for launching these applications," says Mitjà. The result is that any user can now enjoy Wuaki.tv from a computer, a tablet, a smartphone, a games console or on a Smart TV.
From that point on, the project has continued to grow at the same pace as connectivity. "The availability of broadband connections is increasing, and that helps the functioning of our service," says Mitjà. Moreover, the availability of multimedia devices connected to the Internet is growing. "It all helps the market. And in our specific case, we have opted for the widest possible range of content. We have agreements with all the Hollywood studios and with a bunch of local producers; as well as with the main manufacturers of devices," he says.
Rakuten, international support
Mitjà does not hesitate to point out that "we have always been clear about this being a business based on volume." Thus, internationalisation has always been in the company's mind. It is an aim that has become more achievable since Japanese giant, Rakuten, acquired the company in 2012. "Entertainment sales is an important part of e-commerce, but the sale of books, CDs and DVDs are falling," Mitjà points out.
Rakuten had already bought an important e-book company, Kobo, and opted for Wuaki.tv "so that we could set up the side devoted to distributing digital films." Rakuten already had an international profile, which has helped Wuaki.tv to reach different European countries. "We already had the office and all we had to do was to find the people for it. On the other hand, the founder of Rakuten is a great entrepreneur, and there is a meeting of minds," says Josep Mitjà.
 |
| Josep Mitjà in the Wuaki.tv offices in Poblenou in Barcelona. A.R. |
"We wanted to make things difficult for ourselves, so the first market we got into was in England," jokes the Wuaki.tv executive, who nevertheless says that "we are quite happy with how things have gone there." Since then, they have also started operating in France, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, the Netherlands and Portugal.
That makes a total of 12 markets that they want to continue to expand. "It is what makes sense on the level of the group, and for the sake of efficiency. If you are in more countries, you can have economies of scale," points out the Wuaki.tv director. Moreover, he concludes, "there are not many services with this type of scale. That opens up more opportunities than if you only have local cover."