TeraVolt and 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) has announced being selected to design, engineer,  develop and integrate apps and management systems for bobbles.tv, the new pan-European video entertainment platform recently launched via DTH satellite broadcasting and OTT.

TeraVolt specialises in strategy and design of next-generation TV products. 3 Screen Solutions is a leading provider of customised software solutions and services to the multiscreen digital entertainment industry.

Commissioned by MX1, media services subsidiary of global satellite leader SES, TeraVolt provided bobbles’ design, including an innovative user front end that enables subscribers to seamlessly navigate, on a range of devices, the platform’s numerous linear channels and libraries.

3SS developed engaging bespoke bobbles apps for web, iOS and Android, delivering tailored front ends, including custom user interfaces.

To enable bobbles, 3SS also successfully carried out comprehensive integration with key back end functions of MX1, including DRM, content and language management, payment platform and overall user management via interfaces with BSS/CRM, and design and delivery of user onboarding processes. 3SS provided development and extensive support in HTML, JavaScript, Objective C and the increasingly important industry format TypeScript.

bobbles.tv delivers channels from around the globe. The service can be received throughout Europe via satellite and online. bobbles.tv aims to reach a potential audience of around 14 million people originating from Asia, Latin America and Africa but currently living and working in Europe. bobbles went live initially with programming offers for Chinese, Indonesian, Indian and Korean communities.

The Hamburg-based service is backed by bubbles media GmbH, whose partners include some of Germany’s most experienced media professionals.

Arnold C. Kulbatzki, Founding Partner of bubbles media, commented: “We launched bobbles to entertain and connect people who’ve relocated to Europe, offering great programming that reflects their own culture. It was great to team up with MX1, TeraVolt and 3SS to get this complex project up and running. They came up with an appealing look and superior usability to meet our customers’ expectations.”

bobbles.tv offers international communities a convenient way to watch their favourite TV channels anywhere in Europe, live or on catch-up. Subscribers only pay for the programming they are interested in: A single subscription enables viewers to access the most popular channels from their home country.

Central to the deployment was the integration of a mediation layer taking the form of an application server linking the online video platform’s back end systems with the front end and new apps in a seamless, unified and operationally efficient way.

bobbles.tv is the first project to go live on an innovative online video platform launched in November 2015 by MX1 (a new company formed from the merger of SES Platform Services and RR Media) with the support of TeraVolt and 3 Screen Solutions.

Features which TeraVolt and 3SS innovations made possible include linear TV and catch-up TV, search and backwards EPG – meaning that a subscriber can access a programme even if they missed it.

bobbles subscribers can easily set up a personal watchlist. They can share and recommend programming to other subscribers and non-subscribers using email, Facebook and other social media, and they can sign up for bobbles newsletters.

An easy-to-use subscriber dashboard includes the display of teaser elements, new programming highlights and metrics which show which programmes are proving the most popular,

MX1’s video platform helps broadcasters and content owners harness the business potential of multiscreen, enabling media companies to launch tailored OTT services with maximised speed and resource efficiency.

“People today are more mobile than ever – a growing number choose to relocate to another country to pursue personal and career opportunities,” commented Sophie Lersch. Chief Customer Experience Officer at MX1.

“We are delighted to support bobbles in helping people stay connected with home via TV entertainment in their own language,” she added. “Furthermore we thank our partners TeraVolt and 3 Screen Solutions for their contributions to the ongoing evolution of our online video platform,” Lersch concluded.

“The launch of bobbles.tv on satellite and OTT is a great example of MX1’s expertise in how to powerfully leverage DVB-S linear channels and on-demand OTT. Bringing all the required systems together in such a co-ordinated fashion is a great achievement,” said Kai-Christian Borchers, Managing Director of 3 Screen Solutions. “We are very proud to provide developments that support MX1 in making it possible,” he added.

”We congratulate bobbles.tv for showing such innovation in helping people in Europe stay connected within their expatriate communities and with home.” Tobias Künkel, Managing Director of TeraVolt, commented, adding: “Enabling bobbles to reach out to far-flung communities and bring people together clearly demonstrates what can be achieved through technology innovation.”

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