Molotov is a French over‑the‑top (OTT) video service that offers live TV and packaged premium content. The service includes a premium bundle with Canal+ group/Ciné+ channels and five TV channels (CanalJ, Tiji, Toonami, CNN HD, Crime District); the premium package is free for the first month and then costs €9.99 per month. Molotov is developing a cloud hybrid video recorder called Bookmark that will let users record broadcast TV to personal storage on Molotov, with a free tier up to 10 hours and a paid tier up to 100 hours. The company operates via internet delivery (OTT) and plans to use newly raised funds for international expansion and further development of its Bookmark service. Molotov launched in July 2016 and had previously raised $26.7M, including $4.5M from Sky in September 2016. Molotov is an OTT streaming service in France that aggregates major TV channels, enables live viewing and replays, and offers optional subscriptions for features like cloud recordings and premium channels. The app is available across desktop, mobile, tablets, Apple TV, Android TV, Amazon Fire TV and many smart TVs. The company reported about 7 million users in France, with 1.2 million daily users and a total of 1.1 million hours streamed per day. Molotov plans product expansions and internationalization, including potential new content deals and distribution opportunities enabled by its new investor. The company is exploring B2B use cases (for example a hotel-focused SaaS version) and potential integrations that could allow subscriptions to services like Canal+ or BeIN Sports. CEO Jean-David Blanc will remain in charge and the service will remain autonomous following the deal. Molotov is a French TV streaming app that provides a unified interface for live TV, catch‑up, and searching across French channels. The company launched a cloud DVR/bookmarking feature five months after its debut, letting users save shows in the cloud and stream them on any device with their login. Molotov delayed the feature launch to avoid legal trouble with content providers; several networks (Canal+, NextRadioTV, Arte) refused bookmarking and others (TF1) disallow restarting live shows from the beginning. The service is available on iPhone, iPad, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, recent LG and Samsung TVs, and supports Chromecast. The basic service is free, with premium subscriptions offering more channels and additional cloud storage. The company raised $23.3 million (€22 million) in new funding. Molotov is a virtual TV provider that presents TV as a unified, on‑demand and live experience across TV, laptop, phone and tablet. The product aims to surface hidden channels and let users watch live broadcasts or catch up on shows they missed, described by founders as a “Spotify/Deezer/Netflix for TV.” The company planned beta testing in the summer and a commercial launch in France later the year with a freemium offering. Molotov’s team negotiated content deals with most broadcasters and advanced talks with France’s TV regulator (CSA) and royalty organizations to enable distribution. The founders — Jean‑David Blanc, Pierre Lescure, Jean‑Marc Denoual and Kevin Kuipers — leveraged their industry experience to secure those agreements. The company disclosed a recent financing of $11.2M (€10M) from Idinvest and several business angels.

Total raised

$35M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Equity

Latest activity

Dec 2016