Deutsche Telekom revamps TV service and launches OTT option

Deutsche Telekom has changed the name of its TV service from Entertain TV to Magenta TV with a new user interface. The telco has also expanded its offering to include thousands of hours of additional on-demand content from public broadcasters ARD and ZDF, introduced a new ‘Megathek’ on-demand service and announced that the service will be available via third-party ISPs as an OTT TV service.

The OTT service will cost €7.95 a month and will include about 75 TV channels, including 45 HD services. It will include on-demand service Videoload, Telekom’s sport and music offerings and pay TV services. The service will initially be available via apps for iOS, Android, Chromecast and the web, with further distribution options in the pipeline.

The OTT version will also include the new Megathek, which Telekom describes as a central element of the revamped Magenta TV service. The Megathek will include exclusive content from ARD Plus and ZDF Select as well as exclusive Telekom series including co-productions and in-house productions such as Deutsch-Les-Landes, the new 10-part French-German comedy series aka Germanized, that is co-produced by Amazon Prime Video and will air on the platform from November 1. Megathek is free for all Magenta TV customers.

Telekom has struck an agreement with ARD and ZDF to offer its customers exclusive access to content that was previously only available for a limited time from the two pubcasters. Users of the service will have access to over 8,000 titles from ARD Plus, ZDF Select, ARD Plus Kids and ZDFtivi Select, including Ku’damm 56, Polizeiruf 110 and Unsere Mütter, Unsere Väter.

Wolfgang Elsäßer, SVP of the TV business unit at Deutsche Telekom, said that Telekom had created “an innovative and user-friendly TV platform” with an offer that is unique in the German market.