Walter Presents is a

video-on-demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos without a traditional video playback device and the constraints of a typical static broadcasting schedule. In the 20th century, broadcasting in the form of o ...

service of the UK's

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned enterprise, state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a four ...

, part of its

All 4 All 4 is a video on demand service from the Channel Four Television Corporation, free of charge for most content and funded by advertising. The service is available in the UK and Ireland; viewers are not required to have a TV licence—required ...

online platform. Launched on 3 January 2016, it specialises in foreign-language drama and comedy with English subtitles. It is named after Walter Iuzzolino, who selects its content. The service was later offered as an ad-free subscription service in the United States in March 2017, and in Australia via a

Foxtel Foxtel is an Australian pay television company—operating in cable television, direct broadcast satellite television, and IPTV streaming services. It was formed in April 2018, superseding an earlier company from 1995. The service was establi ...

service in November 2017. It launched in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

in May 2020 as part of free streaming service TVNZ OnDemand (now

TVNZ+ TVNZ+ ( mi, Te Reo Tātaki Ā-Tono), formerly known as TVNZ OnDemand, is an online New Zealand television and video on demand streaming service offered by TVNZ. It offers a variety of free content, such as news updates and programmes seen on TVN ...

). It has been available in Italy as an on-demand service since September 2018 through a deal between Global and

Discovery Networks Discovery, Inc. was an American multinational mass media factual television conglomerate based in New York City. Established in 1985, the company operated a group of factual and lifestyle television brands, such as the namesake Discovery Channe ...

. In 2022 Walter Presents launched in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland on the premium streaming service

C More C More Entertainment AB is a pay television company that previously operated as Canal+. It targets Nordic countries and has a separate channel in Sweden (C More Film). The main competitors of C More Entertainment are Viasat Film and Viasat Sp ...

Production

In the UK, the service is a partnership between Channel 4 and Global Series Network. It is free to view and supported by advertisements. Walter Iuzzolino began reviewing potential content for the service two years before its launch, viewing 3,500 hours of television in all. The service aims to avoid so-called art-house programming in favour of more mainstream productions that compete with

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

and

Amazon Prime Amazon Prime is a paid subscription service from Amazon which is available in various countries and gives users access to additional services otherwise unavailable or available at a premium to other Amazon customers. Services include same, one- ...

for audiences already familiar with such Nordic dramas such as ''The Bridge''. Iuzzolino set three criteria for selection: the show must be popular in its native country, as were ''Homeland'' and ''House of Cards'' in the United States; it must be "award-winning or already critically acclaimed"; and it must have "the finest writing, directing and acting that each country has to offer...something worth our time as viewers". To promote the service, some of the content is also being aired on Channel 4's conventional channels,

and

More4 More4 is a British free-to-air television channel, owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The channel launched on 10 October 2005. Its programming mainly focuses on lifestyle and documentaries, as well as foreign dramas. Content When ...

. From October 2019, Welsh-language channel S4C began to broadcast some ''Walter Presents'' series with Welsh subtitles as part of ''Walter Presents ar gyfer S4C'' (English: ''Walter Presents for S4C'') with some series available with Welsh subtitles online on S4C Clic, the channel’s on-demand service. In the US, ''Walter Presents'' is known as ''Walter's Choice'' and is presented by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

Programmes

Reception

According to Channel 4, the 11 titles available in the first month attracted 1.1 million views on All 4.

References

External links

*
Walter Presents
' – official site
''Walter Presents''
– official site {{flag, US Channel 4 Video on demand services