MediaKind, Arqiva cloud migration partnership
December 2, 2021
Media technology and services specialist MediaKind and broadcast and utilities services provider Arqiva have formed what they describe as a “pioneering” partnership to introduce a media service proposition that will address the core challenges that broadcasters and operators face in migrating broadcast and streaming services to the cloud. The new strategic partnership will deliver a cloud-native, fully managed service for the aggregation, processing, and delivery of television services for any platform (broadcast and OTT) in any region, at any scale.
The collaboration brings together MediaKind’s cloud native encoding, multiplexing and packaging and life cycle management with Arqiva’s experience in managed service delivery spanning integration, monitoring and connectivity services. The managed service for broadcast and OTT headend systems is underpinned by a global media network, best-in-breed content processing software and tier-1 support and operations. It is designed to improve flexibility, remove the complexity and significant upfront costs associated with delivering video processing functions, while accelerating broadcasters’ and operators’ adoption of cloud technology, ensuring a rapid time to market and supporting the transition from broadcast to OTT delivery.
Built on highly-flexible, scalable, and reliable cloud infrastructure, the service aims to enable a more sustainable media content delivery. The cloud-native software ensures that power and resources are only used when needed, avoiding an ‘always-on’ infrastructure. In addition, the new offering will be structured on a cloud-based, subscription-like commercial model, providing cost-efficient means for operators and broadcasters to pay for services as they need them.
“We are thrilled to be combining our market-leading position as a global managed media service provider with MediaKind’s worldwide outlook as a powerful, innovative provider of media technology solutions,” declared Shuja Khan, Chief Commerical Officer, Arqiva. “Our goal Is to remove the complexities of deploying, maintaining and operating broadcast headends. The proposition will simplify cloud migration providing a truly exceptional service that offers quality, reliability, adaptability, cost-efficiency and a sustainable approach. In a media distribution world which Is becoming Increasingly complex, our mission Is to help simplify the operational burden for our customers as they navigate technology transitions.”
“We are excited to partner with Arqiva and introduce a unique media service which tackles the core cloud migration challenges that operators and broadcasters face in the market today,” added Boris Felts, Chief Product Officer, MediaKind. “Never before have two media broadcast and streaming heavyweights worked so collaboratively to change the nature of managed video services. It means our customers’ premium assets are in safe hands. Our joint service offering will leverage our managed cloud application operational deployment model and provide a cost-effective means for media delivery, operations and cloud infrastructure, enabling all operators and broadcasters to focus on differentiating their service through high-value content, live events, VoD libraries, and innovative new channels.”
The service will align with all industry-standard linear broadcast formats, encryption technologies, and downstream mechanisms. It will also support the latest OTT processing requirements for distributing television content on internet streaming services, with pre-integrated ad-insertion technology to monetise OTT and broadcast streams with addressable advertising. All new service components will be deployed, maintained, and upgraded individually, using the latest automation techniques, ensuring that the platform can adapt to meet current device and security requirements.