What is Rakuten TV? It is a platform that allows you to watch streaming content through an internet connection. Since 2017, this service is also recently present in Italy, and thus proposes itself as an alternative to streaming platforms, Netflix in primis. Rakuten TV does not require any subscription, but allows you to watch content only through purchase or short-term rental. The company was born in Japan and initially dealt with e-commerce. Only in 2010 Rakuten entered the world of audiovisual buying a Spanish platform and now operates in 12 European countries.
How Rakuten TV works
As we said Rakuten TV does not provide any monthly subscription and therefore, no fixed cost. Ci sono due modi per vedere i contenuti: il noleggio e l’acquisto. I video acquistati potranno essere visti tutte le volte che lo si desidera in quanto restano nel proprio account per sempre mentre quelli noleggiati potranno essere visualizzati più volte ma entro le 48 ore successive. I costi di iscrizione a Rakuten TV dipendono dalla scelta di uno dei tre piani disponibili. Le opzioni disponibili sono:
- Base: che comprende la possibilità di effettuare 2 noleggi in qualità HD a 4,99€ al mese
- Standard: si possono effettuare 5 noleggi HD a 9,99€ al mese
- Premium: che prevede fino a 10 noleggi HD al costo di 14,99€ al mese
Contenuti di Rakuten
Sul catalogo di Rakuten TV si possono trovare molti film internazionali e commedie all’italiana, sono fruibili in modo del tutto gratuito numerosi contenuti per bambini, documentari e una sezione di documentari sportivi chiamata Rakuten Stories. Those who love Asian cinema will not be disappointed thanks to the space reserved for oriental dramas. From 2019 Rakuten has released another important novelty that will make many people happy. It is a completely free section with a varied offer that will include both classic and original content. This content, will imply the presence of commercials.
Starzplay on Rakuten TV
Starzplay, is an international premium streaming service of the American network STARZ that welcomes exclusive content including original TV series and a library of great movies containing thousands of unreleased. The service is available in Europe starting this year and confirms Rakuten TV's growth in Europe. STARZPLAY, will now be accessible to millions of households in Europe through the pre-installed Rakuten TV app on Smart TVs and other hardware and allows users direct access to the platform. Rakuten TV users in Spain, the UK, Italy, France and Germany will have the opportunity to benefit from this new SVOD service by starting with a free trial. Subscription to the service will be just €4.99 per month.
Rakuten TV Kids channel dedicated to children
From February 2020, Rakuten TV has launched another new feature, with the launch of the Rakuten TV Kids channel, born from the cooperation with the renowned British animation studio Aardman Animations, Milimages, Motion Pictures and Lingokids, with the aim of expanding the offer dedicated to children. Featured content includes shorts from the popular TV series Shaun, Life of a Sheep, the French-British-South Korean animated series Molang and Glumpers.
Devices compatible with Rakuten TV
Rakuten TV can be accessed from computers using all popular browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge, Safari or Internet Explorer. For those who use Opera, however, it is possible to see the catalog and watch the trailers but it is not allowed to play the actual content. Also, for some browsers including Safari and Internet Explorer, you are required to download the Microsoft Silverlight plugin. Rakuten TV can also be accessed from smartphones and tablets, through the free app for Android and iPhone devices. Through the app in question, you can also download content to watch it in offline mode. Rakuten TV is also available as an app on Smart TVs, and you can also access Rakuten TV content on your TV via Xbox One and Chromecast.
Rakuten TV: access requirements
The minimum bandwidth to access the service in SD (Standard Definition) is at least 3 Mbps, while to watch HD (High Definition) content is at least 5 Mbps while for 4K HDR is 25 Mbps. For those who do not have fast internet connections, it is possible to use offline viewing, i.e. download content, on Android and iOS devices and then watch it without interruption. Remember that a movie weighs about 1-2 GB, while for an episode of a series we are talking about 800 MB.
Rental or purchase on Rakuten TV
To buy or rent movies you must select the option Cinema, and select the option" All genres" to view the complete catalog of available movies or Family to see movies suitable for the whole family or TV Series to access the section reserved for series. After locating the content you wish to watch, press on the cover image and select the "Watch now" option. Infine, scegliere la voce "Noleggia" per noleggiare il contenuto in questione, oppure l’opzione "Acquista" di Rakuten TV.
Come pagare su Rakuten TV
I metodi di pagamento accettati su Rakuten TV, sono i più diffusi che si utilizzano per gli acquisti online. Il pagamento può avvenire tramite:
- PayPal;
- Carte Visa;
- Carte Mastercard.
Trattandosi di una libreria per il noleggio o per l’acquisto, i titoli dei film e delle serie più famose sono di solito presenti molto prima rispetto alle altre piattaforme di streaming in abbonamento, rendendo Rakuten TV una valida alternativa rispetto all’acquisto di DVD e Blu-ray. Rakuten TV è è diventata conosciuta a livello internazionale quando nella stagione 2017/2018 è diventata lo sponsor ufficiale del Barcellona Football Club.
Come usare Rakuten TV su computer
Per iniziare a guardare i contenuti su Rakuten TV, bisogna registrarti al servizio e creare un account. Then connect to the Rakuten TV website, and fill out the registration form with the required data. At this point you can try one of Rakuten TV's free content by pressing on the Free option, and choosing the movie, documentary or cartoon that interests you. By pointing the mouse on the cover image of any content, you can view the description and details. Once you have selected the content you want to watch, click on the cover image and click on "Watch now" to start playback.
Rakuten TV on smartphones and tablets
Rakuten TV is also available as an app for Android and iPhone/iPad devices. After downloading it, launch the app on your smartphone or tablet and press the Create a new account/Register button, enter the required data in the Email, Password and Confirm password fields, and confirm on the Sign up/Create your account button. After that to watch the free content of Rakuten TV, click the Free option. The process to watch the content is similar to that of watching content from PC.
Rakuten TV on Smart TV
You can also view Rakuten TV content on Smart TV. Simply download the Rakuten TV app to your TV and then sign in to your personal account. Once logged in, select one of the available options, namely Free to access free content, Cinema to view titles that can be used for rental and purchase, and Subscription to access the catalog via subscription. If you don't have a Smart TV, you can also download the app via Xbox One or use Chromecast.
Rakuten TV's movie listings
Rakuten TV's offerings are very diverse and therefore meet the tastes of the most demanding users of different age groups. The catalog offers outstanding content that makes the platform a fierce competitor to its competitors, Amazon Prime and Netflix. The Home Premiere section, the last born during the pandemic of COVID-19 includes films that should have debuted in theaters such as Trolls, World Tour, Sonic ,Il Film, Bloodshot and the Italian DNA with Lillo and Greg. New releases instead include Jojo Rabbit, Jumanji - The Next Level, Frozen II, Dinner with a Murder and Star Wars - Rise of Skywalker. And then there's John Wick 3 - Parabellum, Spider-Man - Homecoming, Avengers - Endgame, Joker and the Lord of the Rings saga.
TV Series on Rakuten TV
Also on TV Series, Rakuten TV's catalog offers respectable titles such as Westworld, House of Cards, Better Call Saul, Breaking Bad, Gilmore Girls, The Big Bang Theory, Friends, The Mentalist, Scandal, Arrow, The Blacklist, The Following, Smalliville, Once Upon a Time, Revolution, Revenge, Gossip Girl, Castle and The OC. In order not to miss the new releases, the advice is to often see the section of the catalog of NoSpoiler dedicated to Rakuten TV with all the news in the catalog.
How to unsubscribe from Rakuten TV
If you want to cancel your subscription to the Rakuten account you can do so easily from the website, entering the settings of your user profile. Once logged in, in the settings panel, at the bottom there will be the item: "If you want to delete your account, proceed here". Then by selecting that item the account will be deleted. Remember that deleting the profile implies the loss of all previously rented or purchased content.