Sharp Consumer Electronics has struck a distribution agreement with CANAL+ that will see the streaming platform pre-installed across Sharp’s TiVo-powered smart TV range in eight European markets.
The arrangement covers France, Hungary, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Belgium, and the Czech Republic, spanning the range of territories where CANAL+ currently operates its subscription service.
Across those markets, the CANAL+ app will come pre-installed on all Sharp smart TVs that run the TiVo operating system, removing the step of manual installation from the app store that can reduce ‘discovery’ of streaming services that compete for prominence on crowded home screens.
That content catalogue spans premium sports rights, theatrical film releases, and original series, giving Sharp TV owners in the covered markets access to programming that sits closer to a traditional pay-TV bundle.
Alongside the pre-installation, Sharp is integrating a dedicated CANAL+ shortcut into the remote controls of supported TV models for even quicker access to the streaming app.
TiVo, whose operating system underpins the Sharp smart TV range in this new partnership, also forms part of the three-way arrangement, with the platform’s content-first interface offering assistance in surfacing CANAL+ content to viewers who are browsing for films, series, and live sport.
CANAL+ EVP of industrial partnerships Philippe Schwerer noted the company’s intent to strengthen its position in the smart TV market and extend access to its content catalogue to its 26.3 million subscribers across Europe, a figure that reflects the broadcaster’s scale relative to newer streaming entrants competing in the same regional markets.
Sharp has not confirmed which television models will carry the pre-installed app and dedicated remote button, though the partnership covers new devices running TiVo across all eight European territories where CANAL+ holds broadcast rights.
