Uniqcast upgrades Dialog Television’s OTT service
September 10, 2024
UniqCast, a leading provider of end-to-end IPTV/OTT solutions, has announced the successful upgrade of Dialog Television’s OTT platform.
Dialog Television, Sri Lanka’s #1 Pay-TV service provider, delivers a diverse array of entertainment to 1.7 million households nationwide, offering over 130 local and international channels through a range of tailored packages.
Driving Innovation with a Modern, Feature-Rich Platform
Dialog Television sought a modern, future-proof OTT platform to enhance the user viewing experience, improve service efficiency, optimise costs and enable future expansion and they selected UniqCast due to their ability to meet Dialog’s specific needs and UniqCast’s OTT platform with its advanced features.
Ranga Kariyawasam, Group Chief Technology Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, said: ”We are committed to leveraging advanced technology to provide our customers with a seamless and superior viewing experience. The successful upgrade of our OTT platform, in collaboration with UniqCast, reflects our dedication to innovation and the importance of strong partnerships in delivering state-of-the-art digital entertainment services.”
UniqCast Delivers a Comprehensive Solution
UniqCast’s solution encompasses a complete suite of services, including client applications with premium user experience (UX) for Set-top Boxes (STB), hybrid and pure OTT, HDMI sticks, mobile devices, and web browsers, alongside hospitality applications and backend services. Backend services include content and subscriber management system (CSMS), TV analytics (Statia), Video on Demand (VoD) ingesting, service monitoring, and offline video transcoding for VoD.
This unique platform is designed to give operators a competitive edge while delivering an unmatched TV experience to subscribers. Beyond standard video playback on a single device, it allows seamless casting of content between users’ devices, enabling viewers to start watching on one device and continue on another. Whether on a smartphone, tablet, or TV, subscribers can enjoy their favourite shows across multiple screens. Additionally, Dialog Television’s subscribers can benefit from a seamless service, with automatic switching to OTT streaming when the DVB signal is unavailable on hybrid STBs.
Seamless Migration, Exceptional User Feedback
UniqCast seamlessly integrated all of Dialog Television’s existing client OTT devices, including hybrid DVB-S STBs. At the backend, a complete integration with Broadpeak’s CDN service and NPAW’s Youbora analytics platform were achieved. Additionally, UniqCast’s Statia and central monitoring services were incorporated alongside Google’s Firebase for efficient monitoring to simplify daily operations. Statia includes monitoring of content consumption, user behaviour and tracking of API, application and player errors. The platform also integrates with Dialog’s CRM system, enabling diverse business models and service bundling options for prepaid and postpaid subscribers.
The new platform was deployed and ready for acceptance within three months, followed by subscriber migration in less than six months. The migration process was designed to ensure a smooth transition for existing users, eliminating the need for re-registration. User feedback has been exceptional, with subscribers praising the platform’s intuitive UX, features like thumbnail-based video scrubbing and catch-up TV, benchmarked against industry leading streaming platforms.
Future-Proof Platform Poised for Growth
Looking ahead, Dialog Television and UniqCast plan to further expand the platform’s capabilities, including an advanced voice-based search, support for Smart TV devices and server-side ad insertion.
“The upcoming platform expansion with server-side ad insertion opens exciting possibilities for targeted advertising,” said Marko Hiti, CMO at UniqCast. “This will allow Dialog Television to deliver relevant advertisements to selected audiences using cutting-edge AI technology, ultimately enhancing the viewing experience and creating opportunities for new revenue streams.”
Lim Li San, Group Chief Operating Officer of Dialog Axiata PLC, remarked: ”This upgrade significantly elevates the quality and reliability of our IPTV/OTT services, offering our customers a more immersive and enriched viewing experience with features such as cross-device playback and customised playlist creation. This cutting-edge platform enhancement also allows us to address our customers’ evolving expectations and entertainment needs, further solidifying our position as Sri Lanka’s #1 pay-TV service provider.“