Voddler launches LiveShelf global video streaming service, featuring ViewShare, legal sharing of films Stockholm-based Voddler, the next-generation video service, today began its global roll-out of Voddler LiveShelf. This groundbreaking service connects viewers and content owners directly with each other, via an online LiveShelf, for video streaming to connected devices anywhere. It also allows users to invite their friends to watch the films they have on their LiveShelf, whether uploaded or purchased online, a feature named ViewShare. This makes Voddler the world’s first legal film sharing service and the first streaming service to offer premium content globally from the world’s leading content owners. Voddler LiveShelf is powered by VoddlerNet, Voddler’s patented and proprietary streaming solution, which has already been streaming movies to 1.2 million users across Scandinavia and Spain for the past few years. Voddler, the next-generation video platform and to date Scandinavia’s leading VOD-service, today began rolling out it global solution Voddler LiveShelf. The LiveShelf simplifies a fragmented and confusing home entertainment environment, allowing end-users to collect and watch their favorite content – both from online and offline sources – on their LiveShelf. Voddler’s patented streaming solution VoddlerNet makes every user’s LiveShelf accessible, with guaranteed streaming quality, on any connected device. - Today we launched the Voddler LiveShelf for global distribution. Content owners now have an unprecedented opportunity to stream their movies and series to consumers globally. Users decide which of these films to add to their individual LiveShelf by buying or renting them directly online. Users can also upload their own existing movie files. And they can then invite friends to watch movies on their LiveShelf with Voddler ViewShare, explains Marcus Bäcklund, Voddler’s CEO. This ViewShare-feature, a core aspect of the LiveShelf, supports the innately social nature of film watching. - ViewShare embraces the fact that people have always lent movies to each other. It lets us all continue to invite our friends to watch the films we have on the LiveShelf just like we have always done in the living room, says Marcus Bäcklund, Voddler’s CEO. Any user can create a limited network of friends – also called ViewShare Family – for free and send out invitations. However, to watch their friends ViewShare-movies, users pay a small monthly fee. Voddler shares this income with content owners, generating revenue streams that previously did not exist. As such, Voddler’s upload and ViewShare-features takes the industry’s ongoing disc-to-digital (D2D) conversion one step further by monetizing social viewing and doing so regardless of where the content assets originated. At launch, Voddler LiveShelf offers unlimited upload storage and full ViewShare for the user’s first month. Voddler’s global roll-out began today by activating Voddler LiveShelf in Scandinavia and Spain. In a phased roll-out plan, Europe and Russia will see LiveShelf in their markets by end of week, with North America, South America, Asia and Oceania following suit. The LiveShelf and its ViewShare-feature has been developed in close discussion with and embraced by the content industry. Content from select content partners is also already available in select markets, with more content partners coming online at a rapid pace over the coming weeks and months. By design, the Voddler LiveShelf is partner- and platform neutral. It is open for professional content owners to upload their content for worldwide distribution, on the terms they decide when it comes to business model (AVOD, TVOD, SVOD or EST), territories and windowing. Voddler only retains a small commission on revenues, leaving content owners with unprecedented margins. Content owners with existing VOD or OTT partners can also add their content to the LiveShelf via those partners. Leading up to today’s global LiveShelf launch, Voddler has over the past years developed and operated a next-generation VOD-service, with over 1.2 million registered users in five countries, who to date have watched millions of streams from over 40 content owners, including the Hollywood majors. Voddler’s unparalleled streaming quality is made possible by Voddler’s patented streaming technology, VoddlerNet, which has proven itself as the world’s most scalable and efficient VOD streaming technology. - Today’s launch is the result of more than five years of innovation, development and live operations. Now, we are ready to implement our full vision of letting content users and consumers meet globally on their own terms on any connected device. Voddler LiveShelf helps consumers, who have invested in expensive connected devices, make the transition from disc to digital entertainment without having to resort to piracy. At the same time, it supports content owners, who are migrating online, to do so at their own pace without having to cannibalize on existing deals or business models. The LiveShelf with ViewShare creates the win-win situation this industry so long has sought, says Marcus Bäcklund, Voddler’s CEO. Founded in 2006, Voddler has a total investment of €24 million from investors including well-reputed Cipio Partners and Nokia Growth Partners. - Cipio Partners sees great potential in video-on-demand streaming and, with its new, truly global platform, Voddler is shaking up an industry that previously only provided limited content at modest delivery quality in restricted geographies. Voddler has defined a new business model that creates full alignment of interest with content owners to provide consumers with the first truly compelling video-on-demand service, and in doing so, also reduces piracy, says Roland Dennert, managing partner at Cipio Partners and Voddler board member. =========================== FACT: This is Voddler and Voddler LiveShelf Based in Stockholm, Sweden, Voddler provides cloud-based video streaming globally with unlimited storage and guaranteed streaming quality to any broadband connected consumer, including offline viewing. Voddler does this with its patented and proven streaming technology, VoddlerNet, which makes use of the end-user devices’ storage and broadband connection, and scales at all data levels. Voddler provides a publishing system for content owners to upload and manage their content, giving them the controls for setting content rights, such as territories, times and revenue model. Voddler also has in place rights control measurements, including geo-blocking and digital rights management (DRM) solutions. Voddler’s e-commerce features, payment solutions and third-party ad integration enables content owners to monetize across all VOD-models: rental (transaction VOD or TVOD), ad-funded (advertising VOD or AVOD), subscription (SVOD), and purchase (Electronic Sell Through, or EST). Voddler LiveShelf lets content owners and consumers meet directly, helping users simplify a complicated home entertainment environment while allowing content owners global distribution at their own terms. Voddler LiveShelf is an online space for video viewing which is available on any connected device that Voddler supports. Users add titles to their LiveShelf from available titles from content partners, and can also upload their own movie files to their LiveShelf for later viewing. Voddler also allows the user to create small networks to share in the viewing of their content, so called Voddler ViewShare. Founded in 2006, Voddler has a total investment of €24 million from investors such as Cipio Partners, Nokia Growth Partners and Elisa. After launching in Sweden in 2010, the company grew to over 1.2 million registered customers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Spain, before introducing Voddler LiveShelf globally. For more information Anders Sjöman, VP Communication, Voddler, [email protected], mobile +46707176078, Twitter: anderssjoman, Skype: asjoman About Voddler Next-generation video service Voddler simplifies film viewing for consumers everywhere with its LiveShelf-solution, offering premium movies and TV-series from around the world as well as upload and ViewShare-functionality. Voddler offers an unparalleled film viewing experience with quality of service (QoS) and features such as HD, Dolby Digital Sound and offline viewing. Voddler is powered by VoddlerNet, Voddler’s patented, proven, device-neutral and globally scalable streaming technology, which in combination with Voddler’s fully flexible VOD-platform gives content owners direct access to consumers worldwide. Based in Stockholm, Voddler grew to over 1.2 million registered customers in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland and Spain, before its international expansion. More at www.voddler.com..