Walter Presents is a video-on-demand service of the UK's Channel 4, part of its streaming platform. Launched on 3 January 2016, it specialises in foreign-language drama and comedy with English subtitles. It is named after Walter Iuzzolino, who selects its content.[1] The service was later offered as an ad-free subscription service in the United States in March 2017,[2] and in Australia via a Foxtel service in November 2017.[3] It launched in New Zealand in May 2020 as part of free streaming service TVNZ OnDemand (now TVNZ+).[4] It has been available in Italy as an on-demand service since September 2018 through a deal between Global and Discovery Networks.[5] In 2022 Walter Presents launched in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, and Finland on the premium streaming service C More.[6]
In the UK, the service is a partnership between Channel 4 and Global Series Network. It is free to view and supported by advertisements.[7] Walter Iuzzolino began reviewing potential content for the service two years before its launch, viewing 3,500 hours of television in all.[8]
The service aims to avoid so-called art-house programming in favour of more mainstream productions that compete with Netflix and Amazon Prime for audiences already familiar with such Nordic dramas such as The Bridge.[1] Iuzzolino set three criteria for selection: the show must be popular in its native country, as were Homeland and House of Cards in the United States; it must be "award-winning or already critically acclaimed"; and it must have "the finest writing, directing and acting that each country has to offer...something worth our time as viewers".[8]
To promote the service, some of the content is also being aired on Channel 4's conventional channels, Channel 4 and More4.[8] From October 2019, Welsh-language channel S4C began to broadcast some Walter Presents series with Welsh subtitles as part of Walter Presents ar gyfer S4C (English: Walter Presents for S4C) with some series available with Welsh subtitles online on S4C Clic, the channel's on-demand service.
In the US, Walter Presents (originally known as Walter's Choice) is presented by PBS.[9][10]
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