Cogeco Connexion has selected MediaKind's IP video solution. The deployment will include the MediaFirst TV Platform with Android Google mobile services, Encoding On-Demand, Video Storage and Processing Platform (VSPP), content management system (CMS) and professional services. The service is scheduled to launch by mid-year 2019.
"At Cogeco Connexion, we always make our customers' needs central to our priorities and decision- making process," said Ken Smithard, president of Cogeco Connexion. "Trends in TV viewing clearly show that operators must always innovate in order to offer a rich and customized customer experience. After careful consideration, we are confident that the MediaFirst IPTV platform is the best vehicle to fulfill our promise to Canadian viewers by offering a cutting-edge technology with personalization features and greater ease of use for the kind of viewing experience our customers want and deserve."
Cogeco Connexion will become the first cable operator customer in North America to deploy the MediaFirst end-to-end solution.
Angel Ruiz, CEO of MediaKind said: "Consumers are always looking for more captivating and personalized ways to experience the media they know and love - and they expect to find it whenever and wherever they choose to watch it. We are excited to partner with Cogeco Connexion and enable the delivery of a competitive, next generation TV service with capabilities that meet viewer demands for ever-more immersive content. For MediaKind, this marks a major step, showing how our MediaFirst TV Platform has broader applications and can be used to power cable operator services to help these companies compete in a shifting media landscape."
MediaFirst TV is a cloud-based TV platform designed to virtualize multiscreen managed and OTT services, including pay TV in-home, TV Everywhere and OTT services.
The MediaKind Encoding On-Demand solution is a file-based transcoding application designed to support video-on-demand (VOD) and catchup TV for delivery to a range of consumer devices. MediaKind's VSPP is a unified solution for cloud DVR, on-demand, and time/place-shifted TV services.
The deal also includes MediaKind's CMS and consultancy from the company's professional services organization.