16th March 2012
JAZZTEL: What OTT should be!
Over-the-top or “OTT” – it’s everywhere, and service providers, today, both large and small are looking to make it part of their multiscreen strategy. But how are they doing it? And more importantly how well are they doing it? We look at how one service provider in particular is making over-the-top a reality for its subscribers.
Jazztel is Spain’s fastest growing Internet service provider (ISP) and has long been on the cutting-edge of telecommunications services, always seeking to enhance their offering and increase value to their customers. With fierce competition ever so present in the Spanish market, the ability to offer a TV service as part of full triple play became a key differentiator and was clearly identified as an opportunity to bring more services to their subscriber base.
Jazztel had simple but key requirements to bring the project to fruition: it needed to be third-party provided, high-quality, affordable and fast-to-market in order to be competitive.
To make it a reality, and in an industry-first collaboration, Jazztel formed a unique partnership with Spain’s leading media company, PRISA TV, and digital TV solution provider NAGRA. In this first-of-its kind partnership, PRISA TV would not only provide the high-value content for the service but also share its existing multiscreen platform, powered by NAGRA technology, to host and deliver the new service to Jazztel customers.
In just a short amount of time, the Jazztel service, called Canal+ Yomvi, was delivering premium HD content to its subscribers, who could access some of the most valuable live and on-demand content in Spain for an additional monthly fee of Euro 10.95. The live section, called “TV Directo,” includes the most sought-after content in Spain including live HD viewing of the Spanish Liga and UEFA Europa League soccer games.The subscription also includes access to a free VOD catalog called “MI TARIFA PLANA” which offers 400 titles, from blockbuster films to the most popular series and documentaries and entertainment programs. What’s more, users can also enjoy a pay-per-view section called “TAQUILLA” to rent the latest movie releases.
OTT is now within every service provider’s reach – and Jazztel is a prime example of how quickly and efficiently such a quality service can be deployed and how it can benefit multiple service providers at the same time. These types of partnerships are a growing trend in the pay-TV space, and we will see more and more developing – we’re excited to see companies joining forces to make it happen successfully.
This unique partnership turned out to be a win-win situation for all parties involved by 1) providing PRISA TV with an additional distribution outlet for their content and new subscription opportunities while helping them leverage their multiscreen platform (which began delivering content to a range of devices including its hybrid iPlus set-top boxes and open devices such as PC in 2011), and 2) allowing Jazztel to drastically reduce the time-to-market and minimize deployment risks while delivering high-quality content to their subscribers.
How does it work?
Powered by NAGRA’s multiscreen and content protection technologies, PRISA TV’s content is securely delivered over-the-top to the JAZZBOX, an IP-only set-top box delivering an exceptional user experience in high-definition at minimal cost to Jazztel viewers. A major enabler for Jazztel has been the ability for PRISA TV to share its OTT platform at both the content management and the service delivery level. Adding to this multi-operator capability the set-top box turnkey service also provided by NAGRA including the STB sourcing, middleware provision and integration, Jazztel has been able to significantly reduce the deployment time and bypassed the painful learning curve to be usually overcome by new entrants. What’s more, adaptive streaming which is used for both live and on-demand content can deliver the quality that consumers expect at a price point that is viable for businesses.
What OTT should be
The Jazztel service is a prime example of a successful OTT service. It is unique in that it marks both the Spanish and global media markets with a new milestone in an on-going media transformation – that OTT is here to stay and can be embraced by any service provider to make it work for them.
It shows how over-the-top technology opens up a new era for the TV industry. It demonstrates how new and fully-fledged services can quickly and cost effectively launch leveraging existing broadband infrastructures, with a compelling and high-quality service as the end result.
Beyond the many efficiencies provided by a collaborative scheme and the hosted model, this project outlines the increasing relevance of OTT as a core TV delivery vehicle. It can provide the quality of experience consumers have come to expect while ensuring an affordable end user price. It also removes the inconvenience of dedicated CAPEX and OPEX from managed IP infrastructure while paving the way for a multiscreen TV experience once the operator decides to extend its service to new connected devices.
And that will make viewers – and service providers - coming back for more.
For more information
JAZZBOX de JAZZTEL con CANAL+ Yomvi
