Zattoo to take over Magine’s German streaming base

Switzerland-based Zattoo is to take over the German direct-to-consumer streaming service operated by Sweden-based outfit Magine at the end of February.

The agreement between the pair means that Magine’s 150,000 active users in the German market will receive an offer from Zattoo for its premium service free for two months.

Magine is to discontinue its streaming service and focus on its business-to-business activities. The service was launched in April 2014 and includes free-to-air channels and a number of HD-quality pay TV services.

Nick Brambring, CEO of Zattoo International, said that he regretted the loss of Magine as a partner in developing the advanced TV market in Germany but said that the pair’s arrangement would mean more users of Zattoo’s service, enabling it to invest more.

Kamal Bherwani, chairman of Magine, said that the company had been moving towards a pure business-to-business model for some time and had decided to sell its consumer-facing German business to Zattoo as a result.