Divan.TV, a Ukrainian developer of OTT middleware and pay TV channels with 125,000 users in Ukraine, has made its programs available worldwide, targeting Russian- and Ukrainian speaking audiences.
According to the company, this audience reaches about 80 million households in total, including 16 million in Ukraine, 32 million in Russia and more than 30 million in other countries across the globe. This corresponds to an up to 300-million global audience.
The subscription costs $9.99 per month and includes 60 live streaming TV-channels and VOD in one package.
Divan.TV claims to be the first and only Russian-speaking channel available worldwide via Smart TV (LG, Samsung, Philips, Sony, Panasonic), tablets (Android, Apple iOS) and the Roku media player.
However, not only does the company compete with satellite and cable operators that offer Russian channels in their pay TV packages, it also faces harsh competition from pirated content providers.
“We plan to serve up to two million customers in upcoming 3-4 years,” said company co-founder Andrey Kolodyuk.
To be successful in more than 200 foreign markets, Divan.TV plans to spend “millions of dollars” and reach the breakeven point “in less than 3 years,” according to Kolodyuk.
Divan.TV will open head-offices in the United States (California) and Russia (Moscow), in addition to its existing office and R&D department in Ukraine.
Kolodyuk funded the company at the seed stage in 2008, and other investors came in 2012, Divan TV’s press service told East-West Digital News.
The company is now raising a new round of financing with the help of AVentures, a leading Ukrainian venture fund managed by Kolodyuk.
