Watchever

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Watchever
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There is still so much to discover
Video-on-demand provider from Berlin ( films , series , cartoons and comedy )
operator Vivendi SA
editorial staff Karim Ayari (Managing Director)
On-line January 9, 2013 (discontinued December 31, 2016)
http://www.watchever.de/

Watchever ( spelling WATCHEVER ) was the video-on-demand offer from Vivendi SA , the largest French media group, based in Berlin. In addition to films in SD and HD quality, TV series were also offered in the original sound. A drama series that was to be created in cooperation with a production studio for the video-on-demand portal was not realized despite the announcement in October 2013 by the then managing director Stefan Schulz. From the middle of 2014, the headlines began to pile up that owner Vivendi wanted to sell the deficit streaming platform (losses of approx. 66 million euros in 2013). Watchever's offering ended on December 31, 2016.

functionality

By concluding a monthly contract with Watchever, the user was free to choose between the various films and series on offer in SD and HD quality, with unlimited access to around 12,500 titles. The range of available content changed monthly. For licensing reasons, content had to be removed from the program after a certain period of broadcasting, but usually returned after a few weeks. Watchever regularly concluded cooperation agreements with film studios such as CBS Studios or The Walt Disney Company in order to be able to offer new content, as Watchever could only fall back on a small number of in-house productions from the parent company Vivendi, unlike its competitor maxdome , which markets ProSiebenSat.1's own productions on its own portal . The portal used Microsoft Silverlight technology for streaming and required at least 2 Mbit / s to stream SD content and at least 6 Mbit / s to stream HD content. The transmitted quality was automatically adapted to the available bandwidth. Some content could be streamed in German as well as in the respective original sound, a choice of language had to be made for certain device types (e.g. Smart TV and PlayStation 3) before the stream started. The language in the stream could be switched on the PC or in the mobile app .

With a “resume function”, the portal remembered where the user had stopped the last viewed content, and when it was played again asked whether the content should be played from the beginning or from the point last viewed. It didn't matter which device the user accessed the content on. Content marked “no youth release” ( FSK 18) could only be streamed between 11 p.m. and 6 a.m. The Postident method was used to verify age in order to be able to stream FSK-18 content around the clock.

Supported devices and offline mode

In addition to playback on the PC with Windows or macOS , the video-on-demand service could also be used on the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 , the Xbox 360 , the Xbox One , the Nintendo Wii , on smart TVs from Sony , Samsung , LG , Panasonic and Philips , can be used on mobile devices such as the iPhone , iPad , Apple TV or smartphones and tablets with the Android operating system . As of December 24, 2013, use on the Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD was possible. Streaming was only possible by downloading a separate, free app. With the introduction of Chromecast , Watchever was also available as an app on the Google Streaming Media Adapter.

An internet connection was not necessarily required to view content. A maximum of 25 content, including a maximum of 5 films, could be saved offline on smartphones and tablets. The user had 30 days to view the content before it was automatically deleted from the memory. Content that was started had to be completed in a maximum of 48 hours. Content marked FSK 18 could only be saved with a verified account in offline mode.

Program focus

Of the total of more than 12,500 titles, around 3,500 feature films and documentaries and around 9,000 series episodes were available. Blockbusters , full seasons of television series, and documentaries for both children and adults were available.

This included political documentaries that, apart from free TV, could only be found on Watchever in Germany . The exclusive content also included the first release of series such as The Returned and Anger Management or the availability of Breaking Bad in Germany three days after it was broadcast in the USA.

Reviews

In the Spiegel Online test, the VoD portal Watchever performed comparatively well. The offline mode and the multilingual versions of films and series were particularly emphasized. The portal was also considered “inexpensive in comparison”. Watchever received the German IPTV Award 2013 in the “Best Business Model” category.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ vivendi.com: Watchever launches unique series and movie flat rate in Germany , accessed on December 25, 2013 (English)
  2. ↑ Imprint. WATCHEVER, archived from the original on September 15, 2014 ; accessed on September 15, 2014 .
  3. ↑ Press release: Watchever starts unique series and film flat rate in Germany , accessed on December 25, 2013
  4. ^ Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung: Video streaming service Watchever produces itself , accessed on December 25, 2013
  5. ↑ DWDL.de: Where is the Watchever in-house production? , accessed September 15, 2014
  6. ↑ http://www.dwdl.de/nachrichten/46255/watchever_vor_verkauf_streicht_vivendi_die_segel/
  7. ↑ Watchever video service has barely any chance of survival. In: Der Spiegel (preliminary version from edition). September 28, 2014, accessed June 9, 2018 .
  8. ↑ heise online: Video streaming: Watchever closes on December 31st. In: heise online. Retrieved November 15, 2016 .
  9. ↑ a b Serienjunkies.de : WATCHEVER receives IPTV Award 2013 for the business model , accessed on December 25, 2013
  10. ↑ Watchever FAQ: What does "Last Chance" mean? ( Memento of January 22, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 25, 2013
  11. ↑ Press release: Watchever and CBS Studios International announce VOD partnership in Germany , accessed December 25, 2013
  12. ↑ Press release: Watchever licenses Disney Movies On Demand offer in Germany , accessed December 25, 2013
  13. ↑ Watchever Service Center: Equipment and Technology ( Memento from December 17, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). accessed on December 23, 2013
  14. ↑ Watchever FAQ: Do you have series and films in the original version (OV)? ( Memento from December 26, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  15. ↑ Watchever FAQ: What is the Resume Function and how does it work? ( Memento of January 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 25, 2013
  16. ↑ Watchever FAQ: I would like to watch series and films with an FSK 18 restriction. How does this work? ( Memento of January 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 25, 2013
  17. ↑ Serienjunkies.de: New Watchever app for Amazon's Kindle Fire , accessed on December 25, 2013
  18. ↑ Watchever Service Center ( Memento from December 23, 2013 in the Internet Archive )
  19. ↑ Watchever.de: Supported Devices - Google Chromecast ( Memento from March 19, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed on March 19, 2014
  20. ↑ Watchever FAQ: What is offline mode and how does it work? ( Memento of December 11, 2013 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 25, 2013
  21. ↑ Watchever FAQ: Why can't I save FSK 18 content in offline mode? ( Memento of January 12, 2014 in the Internet Archive ), accessed December 25, 2013
  22. ↑ Focus.de: "Thousands of new customers every day: Internet video conquers the living room" , accessed on January 17, 2014
  23. ↑ A comparison of film and series flat rates. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014 ; Retrieved January 26, 2014 .
  24. ↑ Serienjunkies.de: "The Returned: Watchever brings French series to Germany" , accessed on January 26, 2014
  25. ↑ ComputerBILD: “Exclusive start of the TV series“ Anger Management ”” , accessed on January 26, 2014
  26. ↑ Serienjunkies.de: "Watchever shows new breaking bad episodes three days after the world premiere" , accessed on January 26, 2014
  27. ↑ Spiegel.de: Video streaming in the test: The Watchever offer is good for that , accessed on December 25, 2013