Alcatel-Lucent, thePlatform team up for TV Everywhere
June 13, 2011
By Colin Mann
Alcatel-Lucent and online video management and publishing specialist thePlatform have formed a strategic alliance to help cable and IPTV providers deliver a new generation of video services to their subscribers’ TVs, PCs, tablets, mobile phones and more.
The companies have joined forces to offer a multiscreen video platform that supports the delivery of live scheduled TV, Video-on-Demand (VOD) and ‘TV Everywhere’ services to a variety of screens, allowing pay-TV subscribers to access their video content in the home or on the go, on whichever device is most convenient to them at the time.
The pair say their solution offers advanced video management capabilities, together with optimised video distribution through a content delivery network (CDN) deployed by the service provider, and suggest it also brings the security and reliability found today on TV set-top boxes to a broader range of devices.
Derrick Frost, Senior Vice President, Global IP Video Solutions at Alcatel-Lucent noted that consumer demand for anywhere, anytime video services was exploding, with customers looking for an edge. “Alcatel-Lucent’s leadership in IPTV and content delivery networks, coupled with our strategic alliance with thePlatform provides a unique suite of capabilities that allow service providers to offer the best of traditional pay-TV and online video worlds to their customers,” he claimed
Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform, said the alliance allowed his company to address the new opportunities and challenges facing TV service providers today, with Alcatel-Lucent’s strong customer relationships and experience in the service provider space helping to reach a broader set of customers than was possible previously.
The multiscreen video platform is made up of three main components – Cloud, Content Delivery Network and Clients – each of which can be deployed individually, in combination, or as part of a comprehensive solution.
The two companies are currently working with a number of leading TV service providers on deployments.