Walter Presents

Walter Presents
Launched 3 January 2016 (2016-01-03)
Owned by Channel Four Television Corporation and 'Global Series network'
Picture format 576i (SDTV) 16:9
Country United Kingdom
Broadcast area United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, United States

Walter Presents is a video on demand service of UK's Channel 4, part of its All 4 online platform. Launched on 3 January 2016, it specialises in foreign language drama and comedy (English subtitled). It is named after Walter Iuzzolino, who selects its content.[1] The service was later also made available as an ad-free subscription service in the United States in March 2017, [2] with Australian availability to receive content being made available via a Foxtel service in November 2017.[3]. It will be made available in Italy through a deal between Global and Discovery Networks to broadcast via an on demand service in September 2018. [4]

Production

In the UK the service is a partnership between Channel 4 and Global Series Network. It is free to view and supported by adverts.[5] Walter Iuzzolino began reviewing potential content for the service two years before its launch, viewing 3,500 hours of television in all.[6]

The service aims to avoid so called arthouse programming in favour of more mainstream productions, aimed at competing against services like Netflix and Amazon Prime, and toward audiences already familiar with Nordic dramas such as The Bridge.[1] Iuzzolino set three criteria – any selected show must be popular in its native country, giving the examples of Homeland or House of Cards; it must be "award-winning or already critically acclaimed", and it must have "the finest writing, directing and acting that each country has to offer....something worth our time as viewers".[6]

To promote the service, some of the content is also being aired on Channel 4's conventional channels, Channel 4 and More4.[6]

Available programmes

Title Origin Genre
Deutschland 83[1] Germany Spy drama
Spin[1] France Political drama
Heartless[1] Denmark Vampire thriller
Blue Eyes[1] Sweden Political thriller
Pure Evil[1] Argentina Psychological crime thriller
Kabul Kitchen[1] France Comedy drama
10[1] Switzerland Mystery drama
Cenk Batu[1] Germany Crime drama
Nick's Law Germany Crime drama
Prófugos[7] Chile Crime drama
Fdp[7] Brazil Football comedy
Magnifica 70[7] Brazil Drama
Sr Avila[7] Mexico Family crime drama
Merciless[7] Brazil Psychological crime thriller
Clan[8] Belgium Detective drama
Locked Up Spain Prison drama
Resistance France Historical drama
Mammon Norway Detective drama
The Lens Czech Republic Crime thriller
Match Day France Crime drama
Thicker Than Water Sweden Mystery drama
Mafiosa France Crime drama
The Invisibles Czech Republic Comedy drama
Tony's Revenge France Crime drama
Dicte – Crime Reporter Denmark Crime drama
Beauty and the Baker Israel Romance drama
The Passenger France Crime drama
Case Iceland Psychological crime thriller
Lifeline[9] Spain Thriller
The Swingers The NetherlandsMystery drama
Acquitted Norway Mystery drama
Black Widow The Netherlands Crime drama
The Border Poland Drama
Elite Squad France Police drama
Eyewitness Norway Crime Thriller
Forgotten Girls France Crime drama
Framed The Netherlands Crime drama
Hellfjord Norway Comedy drama
Hotel Adlon Germany Drama
The Hunter France Thriller
Inspector Borowski Germany Mystery drama
Lanester France Mystery drama
Before We Die Sweden Thriller
The Cleaning Lady Argentina Crime thriller

Reception

According to Channel 4, the 11 titles available in the first month attracted 1.1 million views on All 4.[5]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 "Walter Presents: Channel 4 launches new digital service offering best TV shows from around the world". The Independent. 27 November 2015.
  2. ↑ "Walter Presents streams into the US". Multichannel.com. 3 March 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  3. ↑ "Foxtel back in SVOD business, launching Walter Presents in Australia". Mediaweek Australia. 13 October 2017. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
  4. ↑ "Discovery Strikes Deal With Channel 4's Walter Presents To Launch Premium Drama Service In Italy" (Press release). Discovery Corporate Site. 2 May 2018. Retrieved 12 May 2018.
  5. 1 2 Television Business International (22 January 2016). "Walter Presents passes 1m views in two weeks".
  6. 1 2 3 "Deutschland 83' Just The Tip of the Iceberg of a New World of Subtitled Drama, Courtesy Of 'Walter Presents'". HuffPost. 3 January 2016.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 Broadcast (18 January 2016). "Walter Presents grabs Latin American drama".
  8. ↑ "How foreign TV drama became de rigueur with UK viewers". The Guardian. 2 January 2016.
  9. ↑ "Lifeline Lands in the US and UK". TTVNews. 21 February 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2017.
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