Envivio Muse Live delivers for Viaplay and Nordic sport fans
Viaplay, an online service for sport, TV and film in the Nordics, has deployed Envivio Muse software-based encoding solutions to enhance its service. Viaplay is part of Modern Times Group (MTG), an international sports and entertainment broadcasting group with operations that span four continents and include free-TV, pay-TV, radio and content production businesses.
Viaplay is using Envivio Muse Live software-based encoders on the 4Caster C4 Gen III platform to extend streaming of live channels to IP set-top-boxes (STBs), giving customers additional viewing options. This deployment represents one of the first large scale pay-TV projects in Europe to make use of linear over-the-top (OTT) delivery to STBs.
“We constantly strive to develop our service, and offering Viaplay on streaming STBs is part of our strategy to ensure that the widest possible audience is able to access our content, in the most convenient way,” says Niclas Ekdahl, CEO of Viaplay.
Viaplay is the first provider in Scandinavia to launch a full OTT solution with a low cost hybrid set-top-box (STB) available to anyone with an Internet connection, the Viaplay Box. The streaming set-top-boxes were introduced in April as another option for customers to consume Viaplay’s premium content on the big screen. The Viaplay service is delivered over the open Internet using Microsoft Smooth Streaming technology to PCs and set-top boxes. This OTT deployment allowed MTG to complement Viasat’s traditional IPTV, cable and satellite services.
Commenting on the project, Julien Signès, Envivio’s president and CEO, says, “Broadcasters no longer need to implement separate architectures for web and ‘traditional’ television distribution. By embracing OTT and a streaming set-top box approach, Viaplay has shown that it recognizes the efficiency and scalability it offers both for delivery and storage, and that IP is clearly going mainstream.”
Envivio partnered with Nordic market specialist Arco Telesystem specialist for sales and installation support services for the Viaplay deployment.