Ericsson to manage HBO Nordic playout and media management
Ericsson has signed a five-year contract with Urho Digital Services Oy (UDS) to manage the playout and media management services for HBO Nordic’s TV content. HBO Nordic, the recently announced joint venture between Time Warner HBO and Persifal International, will bring an HBO TV channel to Sweden, Norway, Finland, and Denmark.
Peter Ekelund, Chairman of UDS and the partner with HBO Inc for HBO Nordic, says: “This strategic partnership allows HBO Nordic to bring new, innovative television services to the Nordic countries. We look forward to working with Ericsson, the number one independent playout service provider in the Nordic region. We aim to deliver high-quality TV content with Ericsson as a strong partner.”
Valter D’Avino, Head of Managed Services at Ericsson, says: “This partnership is proof of Ericsson’s ability to facilitate the convergence of telecom, the internet and media. Teaming up with a trusted partner enables broadcasters to overcome the complex challenges and fierce competition that exist in the rapidly changing TV market. Broadcasters have to adapt to the fundamental changes that have resulted from the launch of on-demand and multi-platform television services, and can benefit from our broadcast services capability and competence.”
Top-quality content is still king in the convergence of TV and web, but the technical distribution plays a very important role. In addition, Ericsson can manage any media content for any type of distribution channel, regardless of whether it is linear broadcast or streaming video on-demand to a browser.
Ericsson has a comprehensive managed services offering. It ranges from designing, building, operating, and managing day-to-day operations of a customer’s network, including end-user services and business-support systems, to hosting service-layer solutions and providing network coverage and capacity on demand, as well as broadcast services. As the undisputed leader in managed services, Ericsson has officially announced more than 100 contracts for managed services with telecom operators worldwide since 2002. In all current managed services contracts, Ericsson is managing networks that together serve more than 900 million subscribers worldwide.
Since 2007, Ericsson has managed playout services in the Nordic region for Canal+, now C more Entertainment AB, which was acquired by TV4 group in 2008. In 2009, Ericsson announced that it operates the playout services of the TV4 Group in Sweden. In 2012, Ericsson acquired Technicolor’s Broadcast Services division, a worldwide technology leader in the media and entertainment sector. The acquisition brought approximately 900 highly skilled professionals and playout operations located in France, UK, and the Netherlands serving several leading broadcasters.