Play Suisse: the idea is good, but its implementation leaves something to be desired

Luca Fontana

13.11.2020

Translation: machine translated

SRG is trying its luck in the streaming world. Play Suisse, as the application is called, is not intended to be the Swiss Netflix. Instead, it is a platform for Swiss documentaries, films and series. And it's free. I decide to give it a try.

Play Suisse, the SRG's new streaming service, has arrived. Just in time for the country's slow down due to the coronavirus. Switzerland's largest media company could hardly have dreamed of anything better; one might even call it luck within bad luck.

Although, and this is Bakel Walden, a member of the SRG management and head of Play Switzerland, who says, without slow down, the Geneva film festival would have gone ahead. At the same time, the Geneva Film Festival would have been the perfect springboard for launching the new media streaming service. But the company is trying to make the most of the situation.

Play Suisse, what's that all about? Anything but a Swiss copy of Netflix. Play Suisse has no subscription model. And no exclusive content; the "Originals", as they're called at Netflix, Prime and co. Instead, Play Suisse focuses on as much accessible content as possible, mainly Swiss documentaries, films and series. Bakel Walden attaches great importance to offering content that goes beyond language barriers.

Let's take a look.

So... what can you watch on Play Suisse?

Earlier in my article, I mentioned "a platform bringing together Swiss documentaries, films and series."

More to the point, that doesn't mean... well... nothing very concrete. Not even the SSR has listed which or how many films, series and documentaries are currently broadcast on Play Suisse.

One example: the SRG series The Price of Peace (original title Frieden) is currently celebrating its premiere on the app. It also features the 2016 documentary drama Gothard. But fans of the cult series The undertaker ( (original title Der Bestatter), which was discontinued in 2019, are looking for Mike Müller in vain. So not all SRG productions are on the app. I wonder if this will change.

What is certain is that Play Suisse does not want to compete with cinema. Quite the opposite, in fact. Play Suisse is not a solo SRG project, but was created in close collaboration with Swiss filmmakers. This is why Swiss films should continue to be released in cinemas before going through the usual distribution chain. They are therefore first released on Blu-Ray and DVD, then shown linearly on television, before ending up on Play Suisse.

This is a major innovation for the Swiss film and television landscape. Play Suisse offers filmmakers a large stage that the niche product that is Swiss film would hardly have had otherwise, especially not now, at a time of pandemics and low cinema attendance. What's more, some of the money SRG invests in streaming rights is likely to go back to the industry. SRG as a promoter of Swiss cinema? Perhaps.

Play Suisse also wants to show its own productions and co-productions made with other private media companies. Films, documentaries (lots of documentaries), but also TV series. And all free of charge and without advertising. The SRG is not allowed to advertise online anyway.

So far, the plan looks good. But unfortunately it doesn't survive first contact with reality. Instead, Play Suisse crashes after about five minutes.

Compatibility and convenience don't play

Play Suisse can be found on both Google's Play Store and Apple's App Store. You can log in either with an existing SRF login or with your Apple, Facebook, Google or Twitter account. As Play Suisse is free, you don't need to register your credit card details. The question then arises as to why you need an account.

The app is currently available, but only for the following devices:

• iOS or Android smartphones;
• televisions with the Apple TV app or Android TV operating system and
• the Apple TV Box.

A Swisscom blue TV app is planned. As is support for Google Chromecast. Nevertheless, the possibilities of using Play Suisse on as many devices as possible are very limited. Play Suisse is at least still accessible from the Web browser.

But who uses it on TV?

The pairing with Philips' Android 9 Pie-based OLED805 worked like this:

1. Downloading the Google Play Store app on the smartphone and TV;
2. Opening the app on the smartphone and TV;
3. On the smartphone, click on "Connect TV" under "Profile";
4. Then enter the 4-digit code on the TV app.

And that's it.

Pairing is child's play. The app, meanwhile, is not. It's even more complicated than Amazon's Prime Video.

Confusing, slow and buggy

After logging in, the first impression isn't so bad. The design resembles that of the SSR. Red dominates. The fonts are large and easy to read. So far, so good. On the smartphone, the app has four tabs:

1. Discover
2. Browse
3. My list
4. Profile

The "Discover" tab displays five suggestions for documentaries, films or series that might appeal to you. It's entirely possible that a Netflix-style algorithm will analyse your long-term viewing habits and suggest more and more suitable content. But no one from SRG has been able to confirm this. And even if that's how it works, I'm sure no one will watch Play Suisse long enough for the algorithm to take effect.

Under the "Browse" tab, things get more confusing. First of all, there are other tabs like "Recently added" or "Resume reading". Or "Series to discover" where a team from the Play Suisse editorial team creates a best of of a whole bunch of series.

Then I find tabs like "Switzerland and the Second World War" or "Nature in its purest form" more useful. All the films, series and documentaries on this theme are there. There's a certain logic to it. Great.

Ok. I'm doing well so far. This tab structure has been established since Netflix at the latest. But the whole thing is now getting unnecessarily complicated. As well as tabs, I can also browse by category and sub-category. This is done in a submenu that appears at the bottom of the screen via the tabs themselves. As a result, I no longer see some of the tabs. The sub-menu only disappears when I slide the screen down. Not really practical.

Whatever the case, the categories are:

• Fiction
• Documentary
• Family
• Festivals

Before you get to the appropriate suggestions, you still have to select a sub-category within the category. Complete nonsense: the four sub-categories available for selection are the same for all categories. That is:

• Adventure
• Action
• Mountain
• Education

Action under family? Adventure under festivals? The selection of categories and sub-categories seems as chaotic as it is random. "Mountain" for example. Why not "city", "countryside" or "river"? Or "farm"? Where's the logic? The red thread? And above all: when I then click on the different sub-categories, the same content appears, no matter which category I've selected. For example, "Action" under "Family" leads me to the action thriller Helvetica, in whose description, incidentally, it says "not suitable for children"; just like "Action" under "Festival".

The sorting function is therefore completely obsolete.

I'd just prefer to have the three categories: films, series and documentaries. Then the sub-categories comedy, drama, family, action and thriller. I said it like that, without thinking too much, but it still seems better organised to me than the SSR selection. Note to the SSR team: if you wish, you can take up my ideas.

The other two tabs are quickly explained. Under "My list", you'll find the series you've marked for future viewing. Under "Profile", you can access your account settings and pairing options.

The other two tabs are quickly explained.

Let's turn to the ordering tool.

This command tool of woe!

Until now, I could be criticised for not being subtle enough. I might even agree with this person. But the command tool is really no picnic.

First of all, the app is incredibly slow. Every time I change tabs, it takes five to ten seconds for the page to come up. Scroll up and down? That's fine. With a half-second delay. It's not much, you might say, but it feels like an eternity.

The app bugs quite often. For example, if I want to add something to "My list". I click on the plus icon, but nothing appears under the "My list" tab. And if I click all over the place, the app eventually gets fed up. And it crashes. Like "Leave me alone and try again later."

The same goes for smart TVs. Play Suisse also drags itself from menu to menu like it does on my smartphone. It's even impossible to correctly advance or rewind the content of a film. With my Philips remote, I've only managed to skip 10 minutes. Of course, each time interrupted by a pause of at least 10 seconds in the app. Driving me crazy.

Creating profiles? I mean, if I ever want to watch other series and films on the app than my flatmate, child, friend or spouse? No way. Play Suisse hasn't reached that stage yet. You can also forget about the Group Watch function. That said, this function has only very recently been added by other streaming services such as Netflix, Disney+ or Amazon Prime Video.

In some ways, the app feels unfinished. The app has only been available for a few days, but I still wouldn't call it beginner's problems. It's clearly not finished. It's as if a release date had been set and SRG management had simply activated what had been done up to that date, without making sure the service was working properly.

In the film The Boat is Full (original title Das Boot ist voll), for example, I wanted to display the Italian subtitles. I can actually select "Italian" as the subtitle language in the film's sub-menu, but nothing appears on the screen. I found this strange and tried my luck with 'French'. There are subtitles, but they're... in German.

Now do you understand what I mean by "unfinished"?

Recap

Play Suisse presents and organises Swiss films, series and documentaries. Thanks to the close collaboration with filmmakers and artists, many Swiss productions benefit from an even bigger stage and financial resources, which return to the Swiss film industry through licensing. Play Suisse is a kind of sponsor. Good idea.

It's a shame the app is a disaster. It's so big I can't even call it beginner's problems. It will probably be weeks, if not months, before the app is actually "usable". And that's a shame. Because for many viewers, it's the first impression that counts. Those who have already been annoyed by trying Play Suisse will put the app to one side and quickly forget it exists.

It is therefore necessary to make improvements as quickly as possible. Or leave things as they are, if SRG can't do better than Play Suisse. <p

Luca Fontana

Senior Editor

Luca.Fontana@digitecgalaxus.ch

I'm an outdoorsy guy and enjoy sports that push me to the limit – now that’s what I call comfort zone! But I'm also about curling up in an armchair with books about ugly intrigue and sinister kingkillers. Being an avid cinema-goer, I’ve been known to rave about film scores for hours on end. I’ve always wanted to say: «I am Groot.» more

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