RTVE Play

rtve play
Type of site
OTT video streaming platform
Predecessor(s)RTVE a la carta
Area servedSpain (RTVE Play)
Americas, Europe, Japan, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Australia (RTVE Play+)
OwnerRTVE
URLwww.rtve.es/play/
Launched22 June 2021; 3 years ago (2021-06-22)

RTVE Play (often stylized as rtve play) is the over-the-top media service provided by the Spanish public broadcaster RTVE. It was launched in Spain on 22 June 2021, replacing the old catalogue 'RTVE a la carta', created in turn in 2008.

History

  RTVE Play
  RTVE Play+

The original online platform offering RTVE content was created in 2008 under the name RTVE a la carta or simply A la carta or alacarta. In late 2020, RTVE announced its intention to merge its A la carta service together with the embedded Playz streaming platform specifically dedicated to a young audience.[1] The new service replacing alacarta in Spain was created on 22 June 2021 under the name 'RTVE Play'; the launch included the release of the beta app for smartphone and tablet.[2]

Prior to the launch, RTVE did however offer its international streaming platform operating outside of Spain (launched in the Americas on 8 June 2020) already under the same name 'RTVE Play'.[3] The pay international service available in the Americas was thus ensuingly rebranded to 'RTVE Play+' (a domestic pay model for RTVE is illegal in Spain as the Spanish public service is already paid by taxes).[4]

Initially available without registration, RTVE slated the deadline date of 15 July 2021 for compulsory (yet free) registration on the RTVE Play app, reportedly in order to offer the user "a more personalized experience" and to be able to make recommendations.[2]

Some of the earliest original programming set to release on RTVE Play include docuseries and/or Playz originals such as Edelweiss,[5] Grasa (season 2), Susana y el sexo,[6] Yrreal, Lucía en la telaraña, Ruiz-Mateos, el primer fenómeno viral or Raíces, to which a number of licensed international shows such as Unreal, Baron noir, Years and Years, Three Girls, Happy Valley, Top of the Lake, The Split or Harlots add up.[7][8] At the MIPCOM 2024, TVE announced the launch of international RTVE Play+ in Asia and Oceania (Japan, India, Hong Kong, South Korea, and Australia) for 22 October 2024.[9]

Programming

Main article: List of RTVE Play original programming

References

  1. ^ García, Alberto (22 June 2021). "RTVE a la carta ahora es RTVE Play: así es la nueva app de streaming". ADSL Zone Net (in Spanish).
  2. ^ a b "RTVE lanza en pruebas 'RTVE Play', su nueva plataforma que sustituye y mejorará la 'A la carta'". Vertele! (in Spanish). eldiario.es. 22 June 2021.
  3. ^ Navarro, Dinorah (9 June 2020). "RTVE Play llega a América con contenido gratuito". Digital Policy Law (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 17 July 2021. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  4. ^ Regueira, Miguel (22 June 2021). "RTVE Play, la antigua RTVE A la Carta se renueva". El Grupo Informático (in Spanish).
  5. ^ García, Yago (23 September 2021). "¿Qué fue de Susana Estrada? Hoy estrena un documental". Cinemanía (in Spanish). 20minutos.es.
  6. ^ "¿Qué fue de Susana Estrada? Hoy estrena un documental". Diario de Sevilla (in Spanish). 6 October 2021.
  7. ^ "Online y gratis 'Edelweiss', 'Los Durrell' y 'Years and years' inauguran una temporada llena de estrenos en RTVE Play". rtve.es (in Spanish). 9 September 2021.
  8. ^ Onieva, Álvaro (10 September 2021). "RTVE Play busca ser un Netflix gratuito con originales y series internacionales". Fuera de Series (in Spanish).
  9. ^ de la Fuente, Anne Marie (21 October 2024). "Spanish Public Broadcaster's RTVE's VOD Platform RTVE Play+ Launches in Asia and Oceania". Variety.