Entertainment

Switzerland sees blue: one name for TV, streaming, cinema and gaming

Swisscom TV to become blue TV, Teleclub to launch as blue+ and Kitag cinemas to change their name to blue Cinema: Swisscom is launching an all-encompassing entertainment experience with new offerings, new content and the freedom to access it anywhere. Including customers of competitors.

By Annina Merk

21 September 2020

An overview

blue TV is Switzerland's most popular television; now also available as a smart TV app, on competitor set-top boxes or via web player on blue.ch.
blue+ brings premium entertainment: exclusive sport and the latest films, series & documentaries – on traditional channels and on demand. All content is available everywhere at the same price.
blue Cinema is big cinema – not just for films, but also for live sporting events.
blue News provides information about all the content that is available on the blue platforms: tips, summaries and overviews with a focus on entertainment, TV, cinema and sport.

“The best network, best platform and best content are coming together to create a unique offering,” explains Dirk Wierzbitzki, Head of Residential Customers & Member of the Group Executive Board.

Swisscom TV becomes blue TV on every platform

The cornerstone of the new offering is blue TV. As before, it is available through the Swisscom Box (or predecessor models). In addition:

From tomorrow, it will now also be available as an app for every smartphone and tablet, a web player for laptops on blue.ch and as a smart TV app for Samsung from the beginning of October, with other providers like LG to follow. Included in the offering is blue+ and a comprehensive range of channels. Users can choose to pay CHF 10.– monthly for the ad-free version or receive the ad-supported version free of charge. The paid version also includes 30 hours of Replay and 60 hours of recording.
In the next few weeks, the app with the entire blue+ content will be launched on UPC TV boxes. The launch on additional competitor products is to follow in 2021.

Customers can also enjoy the comprehensive range of blue TV offerings in combination with the Swisscom Box. Only the Swisscom Box (or its predecessor, the UHD-Box) comes with both traditional television and attractive streaming services, including Netflix, Sky, OCS, Spotify, DAZN, YouTube and many more. Amazon’s streaming service, Prime Video, is now on the Swisscom Box too. New customers can sign-up for a 7-day free trial of Amazon Prime Video via www.primevideo.com; thereafter the access to Amazon Prime Video is available at 5.99 Euro per month. What’s more, Swiss sports fans will have the option of subscribing to MySports channels. As previously announced, these will be launched on the Swisscom Box within the next few weeks ,featuring top-tier ice hockey games and other sports.

blue+ is the leading Swiss streaming and pay TV provider

Teleclub becomes blue+, the largest Swiss provider of exclusive sport, films, documentaries and series. All products are now available on all platforms at the same price; the sports content is also on pay-per-view – along with a huge range of the latest films, series and documentaries for rent or purchase. And all blue+ packages can be selected individually on the app:

blue Sport offers the most extensive sports content in Switzerland for CHF 29.90/mth, with national and international football from top-flight Swiss and European leagues, including Italy, Spain, England and Germany, as well as international competitions such as the UEFA Champions League. The sport on offer is set to be expanded even further: from the 2021/2022 season, it will also include all games from the Spanish LaLiga Santander.
blue Max provides the best streaming offer for Swiss series binge-watchers and movie fans with 11 different channels: watch the latest cinema blockbusters here first. Channel content will be available in real time and on demand. Price: CHF 19.90/mth
blue Doku provides high-quality documentaries and reporting, bringing together the 10 biggest international documentary channels, including the Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, Geo Television and National Geographic for just CHF 9.90/mth.

blue+ is also increasing the amount of content produced in-house with interesting background information and discussions to accompany the top-flight European leagues, the UEFA Champions League and top Swiss football with among other features.

blue Cinema: cinema lives on

Renamed 'blue Cinema’, KITAG cinemas are also included in the blue world of experience. Employing state-of-the-art technology and providing additional entertainment, such as bowling or sports bars, blue Cinema is the cinema of the future. And, in addition to films, the cinema will also broadcast other content, such as live football matches or operas. The cinema: a place where great things begin – including great Swiss films. As one of the largest sponsors of Swiss filmmaking, Teleclub continues to invest tens of millions in the Swiss film industry. “My Wonderful Wanda”, which opens in cinemas in the autumn, is just one project to benefit from this funding.

blue.ch & bluenews.ch: know what’s on

blue.ch offers a complete overview of all the blue channels as well as direct access to blue TV, including on demand, blue+ and tickets for blue cinemas. This is complemented by bluenews.ch, which provides all the latest information about the blue world: with editorial tips, overviews, reviews and news – particularly from the world of entertainment and sports.

Gaming: let the games continue

blue is also making waves in the area of gaming & eSports and gradually turning the Swisscom Box into a gaming platform: Twitch, the leading streaming platform for live gaming and eSports, is now available on a Swiss TV platform for the first time. It will also broadcast Swisscom Hero League. In addition, the internationally successful Stingray Karaoke app is now also available – party and family fun that is guaranteed to hit the right note... or perhaps not. And at the start of 2021, 'blue gaming’ will launch a cloud gaming flat rate for the many casual gamers in the country – both on the Swisscom Box and for mobile devices.

Wolfgang Elsässer, new Head of Entertainment at Swisscom: “Our mission is to inspire our customers throughout Switzerland with our unique entertainment worlds – any time and anywhere. blue represents a milestone in this.”