Streaming platform Rakuten TV, known in Spain as the Japanese Amazon, is changing its business model – with a massive capital injection – to compete head-on with the likes of Netflix and HBO.

Rakuten TV will now rely on new movies and pay-per-view content to reverse its losses and try to gain market share.

CEO of Rakuten, Jacinto Roca, said that the company will make “an unprecedented” investment to be announced within a month, according to Economia Digital. Japanese billionaire businessman Hiroshi Mikitani has invested €130 million over the last few years in Rakuten. However, the company is far from profit with losses of €19.8 million in 2017.

In Spain, the platform, which acquired Wuaki.TV in 2012, is finding it difficult to establish a presence in a very competitive market, with Netflix and Movistar currently leading there with over two million subscribers each.

Categories: Articles, Funding, OTT