Newspaper launches IPTV service

Dutch newspaper De Volkskrant is to launch an IPTV service later this week as part of plans to broaden the reach of its new video service VK.tv.

Speaking at the Digital Trends conference in Amsterdam, Bas Broekhuizen, managing editor of VK.tv, told industry delegates to "forget about circulation, it's all about reach".

He said that De Volkskrant had accepted that its paper's readership was in decline and was engaged in a process of spreading the brand as a trusted news product through its new video wing.

He said that this strategy involved buying-in wire service breaking video news, creating daily features in-house and through deals with broadcasters supplying news to television, one of which has De Volkskrant journalists supplying news to CNN world news shows.

Mr Broekhuizen said that the paper gave its video content away for free - making money from short imbedded adverts - and encouraged readers to post the video to their own websites by having its own YouTube channel and providing the video code on its own website.

"Just like Google did, first you have to build up your reach, first you have to brand your content, De Volkskrant is a well-known brand but VK.tv is not well known yet so we give it away and later we will get revenues back," he told Journalism.co.uk

"The main reason we have introduced these new products is to stay an important news source, it's about reach… maybe in five to 10 years we will see some serious revenues from these new products but that is not the main reason that we have started to do it.

"I hope viewers watch our videos on YouTube and say 'hey I want to know more about this' and maybe they will visit VK.tv to get more."

The IPTV launch, he added, was to try to encourage users to access its video content after they get home from work.

"We have redesigned our web TV into a interface that you can also use when you are 20 feet away sitting on your couch. You can use your remote control to browse content and watch video clips full screen on TV.

"There is a difference between watching television on the internet and in the comfort of the living room. You can now watch VK TV with other people rather than just on your own at your computer. I hope we can bring forward the pleasant TV viewing experience but with web content."

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