Algorithms are not everything in life. This is a firm belief of the creator of Walter Presents, the well-known video streaming of dramatic TV series from all over the world.
The key figure of the second day at MIA (International Audiovisual Market) is Walter Iuzzolino, the free platform’s creator, who is of Italian descent. Iuzzolino, former Commissioning Editor for Channel 4 where he developed a long list of highly successful formats, subsequently worked as Creative Director for the independent production company Betty Productions, helping to increase the company’s turnover, which ultimately led to the company’s sale to Discovery Networks International in 2011. Iuzzolino explained today at MIA: “When you do something good, they always ask you to do the same product; but as a user I felt that I wasn’t taking much note of what I was doing.”
This is why, in 2014, Iuzzolino left everything to make his dream come true: he launched a new channel to air TV series in their original languages. As a result of the joint venture between Channel 4 and Global Series Network, Walter Presents is a free platform of videos ‘on demand’, co-founded with Jason Thorp and Jo McGrat. It was inaugurated in England in January 2016 and it is dedicated to critically acclaimed foreign TV series.
Launched in the US in March 2017 as an ‘on demand’ platform, Walter Presents has been described by the New York Times an ‘elegant TV boutique with a foreign accent.’ Last September Walter Presents finally landed in Italy: the “The amphibious brand,” as Iuzzolino likes to call it, is a “niche in the mainstream market converging on the online ecosystem.” The first episodes of the TV series are broadcast in their original languages and with subtitles on Canale Nove; after that, they will be available for streaming, free of charge, on Dplay.com.
This is an extremely innovative service, explained Iuzzolino: “A marriage between tradition and innovation that leads users to choose what best suits them. Our service is exactly the opposite of an algorithm, actually: I invite you to my space if you are ready to discover something new. It is like with food: if you only want to eat piazza and ice cream, you’ll never know what Thai food or sushi taste like.”
