David Farnor | On 27, Nov 2014

Wuaki.tv is joining the 4k VOD race with the launch of new ultra high definition titles in December.

4k is becoming an increasingly decisive factor in the dash to snap up as many streaming customers as possible. With costs of 4k TV sets still out of reach of most people, that dash is currently more a concern to companies than customers, but with Netflix trumpeting its 4k titles (House of Cards and remastered Breaking Bad) as early as January this year, it’s something that other services cannot ignore.

Earlier this month, Amazon hit back at Netflix by confirming they would not charge more for UHD streaming – unlike Netflix, who now charge more for US customers wanting to see Walter White in the highest detail possible. Now, Wuaki.tv has officially put its own horse in the race with the announcement that it will launch 4k content as soon as 1st December.

Initially, this content will only be available in France and Germany, where the VOD site launches at the start of next month.

The company is “currently in talks”, though, to bring the 4K catalogue to the other countries where Wuaki.tv is operating – the UK and Spain – soon. Indeed, it is working with several Smart TV manufacturers to fully integrate this unique feature into the Wuaki.tv Smart TV app on 4K TV models. The catalogue will also be available in Italy in the following weeks.

The news marks the end of a successful year of European expansion for the company. On top of the countries mentioned above, Wuaki.tv plans to launch in a further 11 countries by the end of next year.

“More and more of our customers are beginning to demand movies in 4K, as TVs with the technology become commonplace in the home,” says Jordi Miró, CTO of Wuaki.tv, who predicts that 4k will become “increasingly popular” at the end of this year and in 2015.

Indeed, Christmas could prove a key milestone in the entertainment industry’s drive to convince customers to upgrade to both Smart TVs and 4k TVs, as prices begin to drop. Futuresource Consulting forecasts show 4K TV sets will account for 5 per cent of the global TV market by the end of 2014, but that this will rise to 42 per cent by 2018.

While the 4k VOD race may not have a clear finish line in sight, though, streaming companies are keen to make sure they will not be caught on the back foot.

“We’ll be ready for this when it happens so, as soon as a 4K TV is plugged in for the first time, everyone will have access to a quality catalogue of on-demand 4K content from Wuaki.tv,” adds Miró.

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