Digitaltveurope.com

Magine, an over-the-top service for full linear channels is planning to expand across Europe following its Swedish debut at the end of last month. 

Speaking at MipTV this week, where the firm demoed the service, Magine’s head of content Michael Turner said the firm was “looking to launch across Europe in the next 18 months.”

Magine chairman Michael Werner told DTVE’s sister publication TBI that the service will be “in five territories before the end of the year.” Germany and Spain are due to be among the first, with a UK launch expected to follow next year.

The subscription service is designed to let viewers watch live or in catch-up channel content from the cloud, with Magine paying a per-sub carriage fee in line with that paid by traditional pay TV platforms – effectively making it an OTT pay TV platform operator.

In Sweden it has agreed deals with SVT and TV4 as well as international channels including National Geographic, CNN International, and Cartoon Network, with more to follow.

In an interview with Mip’s organisers Turner said Magine’s technology enables it to “get rid of the clumsy things in television – the boxes, the cables and the wires, and the difficulties in setting things up.”

He denied that the firm was aiming to shake up the TV industry, but rather aimed to make it work “a little better for the viewer.” The firm’s other executives include internet venture capital specialist Erik Wikström, who is CEO, and former Spotify executive Andreas Liffgarden, who is general manager.