France-born audio streaming service Deezer has entered into a long-term strategic partnership with German broadcaster RTL Deutschland.
According to a media release, Deezer will serve as a music, audio book and radio play partner for what is described as a “cross-media extension of RTL+“, which will launch in the first half of 2022.
RTL+ customers will be able to access Deezer’s premium features and recommended content.
This includes access to Deezer’s personalized soundtrack feature Flow, as well as all of the channels, compilations and playlists curated by Deezer’s global team of editors.
Deezer says it has worked closely with RTL Deutschland to ensure a “smooth and efficient integration” with RTL+, and Deezer will “continue to support and improve the app going forward”.
RTL+’s partnership with Deezer is part of a much wider effort by the broadcaster to increase its presence as a streaming service.
As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, RTL will triple its content investment to nearly $700 million annually and launch a multi-service streaming platform, in a bid to compete with the likes of Netflix and Disney+.
This includes television series from RTL, ebooks from Random House, magazines from Gruner + Jahr and songs from Deezer, says The Hollywood Reporter.
Deezer has 16 million global Monthly Active Users.
“We’re proud to be on this journey together with RTL.”
Jeronimo Folgueira, Deezer
Jeronimo Folgueira, Deezer CEO, said: “RTL+ will offer users an integrated entertainment experience with all the content they love in one seamless package.
“We’re proud to be on this journey together with RTL and look forward to bringing our content to millions of German consumers.”
“The partnership with RTL Deutschland represents the next step in our B2B growth strategy.”
Added Folgueira: “Deezer is uniquely positioned to be able to offer consumer brands the flexibility and customisation they need.
“We have one of the most extensive music catalog in the world, supported by a wide range of original and exclusive content.
“We’re proud to be an industry leading partner for consumer brands like RTL and the whole Deezer team looks forward to making this partnership a success.”
“Deezer has an excellent catalog, a great product, and a creative team that shares our vision.”
Henning Nieslony, RTL+
Henning Nieslony, SVP Commercial & Product RTL+, added: “Deezer has an excellent catalog, a great product, and a creative team that shares our vision of the future: offering customers the best content as simple as possible.
“These are the best prerequisites for a long-term partnership.
“In addition to video content, podcasts and magazines, music, audio books and audio plays will be a cornerstone in our content bundle.”
In recent months, Deezer has increased its interest in the livestreaming market.
In October, the company bought a minority stake in livestreaming company Driift, which launched in August 2020 and has sold more than 600,000 tickets.
It followed news in May that Deezer had become what it called a “cornerstone investor” in DREAMSTAGE, a US-based live music streaming startup.Music Business Worldwide
