French startup Molotov wants to revolutionize your TV experience and it has partnered with most French networks. But software and content are nothing without a good distribution plan.
That’s why the company is partnering with smart TV makers to ship its app directly to your TV. Samsung and LG are both on board, and you can expect a Molotov app next to your Netflix app in the coming months if you live in France.
When it comes to LG, the company has been betting on webOS. Molotov will ship a webOS app for LG TVs.
As for Samsung, the startup expects to ship its app to Samsung smart TVs, tablets, phones and even a companion app for the Gear 2 watch. These TVs run Tizen, Samsung’s own operating system.
So it looks like Molotov is skipping ISP set-top boxes altogether to go with a combination of smart TV apps, mobile apps and a web interface — you can expect Android and iOS apps when the service launches early next year.
As a reminder, Molotov is backed by an impressive team with AlloCiné co-founder Jean-David Blanc, Canal+ co-founder Pierre Lescure, former TF1 executive Jean-Marc Denoual, and Gamekult and Sens Critique co-founder Kevin Kuipers. They already raised $11.2 million from Idinvest and a few business angels (€10 million) to build an over-the-top TV provider.
Molotov lets you watch live TV with a better interface. Instead of focusing on channels, the company focuses on content. It blends together catch-up services and live TV so that you don’t have to switch between multiple interfaces. Finally, it lets you search and bookmark content based on shows, topics, directors, etc.
Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss the 20th anniversary of TechCrunch, and a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.
Join 10k+ tech and VC leaders for growth and connections at Disrupt 2025
Netflix, Box, a16z, ElevenLabs, Wayve, Hugging Face, Elad Gil, Vinod Khosla — just some of the 250+ heavy hitters leading 200+ sessions designed to deliver the insights that fuel startup growth and sharpen your edge. Don’t miss a chance to learn from the top voices in tech. Grab your ticket before doors open to save up to $444.
With Molotov, you can record movies and TV shows on the company’s servers and watch everything months later. It’s also a great way to watch something on multiple devices. For instance, you can start watching something on your TV and finish it later on your phone. This is a promising product offering and something that could be quite successful in France.
