Bruce Tuchman Backing Launch of Rialto International Content Venture (EXCLUSIVE)

Patrick Frater
·2 min read

A trio of media investors headed by Bruce Tuchman has joined forces with New Zealand-based Rialto Channel to launch Rialto International as a multi-platform content venture.

The platform will combine subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD), ad-supported VOD and linear TV services. It is being pitched as a global proposition and will find its first home in Australia as an AVOD operation on Samsung TV Plus.

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The venture is a 50-50 joint venture involving Rialto Channel Limited on one side, with Tuchman, former president of Sundance Channel Global, AMC Global and MGM Networks, on the other. The Rialto Channel has a 20-year history and was initially launched as the Sundance Channel.

Rialto’s content will range from locally produced to foreign cinema. These will be presented as multiple distinct content services, available to other platforms. These include: localized linear Rialto networks; SVOD and AVOD services; and branded streaming apps tailored for different markets around the world.

The first app has been developed for the Asia-Pacific market in partnership with the British Film Institute. The BFI-Rialto app will include a selection of British and world contemporary films and access to the BFI content archive.

“The sheer number of available independent titles and the prolific pace at which they continue to be produced will provide pay-TV and streaming platforms with sorely needed content, even more so as the supply of major studio releases has dwindled in this age of COVID,” said Tuchman, who is co-chairman of the joint venture. “While the supply and demand grows, you have few indie-specific channels and service providers. Rialto International will aggressively fill this void.”

“We have reached a point where the combination of world cinema attracting a growing, broader audience and the present need for fresh content supply has placed an even greater demand for independent content, which has truly taken the world by storm in recent years, as seen by the incredible Oscar successes of such films as ‘Parasite’ and ‘Moonlight’,” said Roger Wyllie, CEO of the Rialto Channel and co-chairman of Rialto International. “These titles, along with a growing number of marquee films, are the kind of first-rate content that can be expected from Rialto on our network dedicated to independent stories.”

Tuchman was previously involved in the global rollout of channels from MGM, Nickelodeon, AMC and Sundance. His Tuchman Media Limited is an investor in businesses focused on video and international markets. Its portfolio includes Parrot Analytics and NextUp Comedy.

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