Massive and Evergent offer MVPDs turnkey OTT via Google Cloud

Friday, April 6th, 2018
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Massive Joins Forces with Evergent and Leverages Google Cloud to Power Self-Service Channel Bundles for Telcos Worldwide

LONDON — Massive and Evergent, with Google Cloud, have today announced a collaboration to create a solution that will enable MVPDs to offer competitive “a-la-carte” content bundles to their customers. The move is in response to heightened cord-cutting practices as a result of increasing demand from consumers for more control over what they are paying for, which has put the pressure on operators to modernize their offerings or risk a sustained loss in revenues.

Built on Google’s Cloud Platform, the solution is a turnkey offering for operators looking to rapidly roll out new packages through OTT delivery as a managed service. It will give their customers the flexibility to hand-pick their own ‘skinny bundle’ of channels for a fixed fee, with the option to change their selection every month based on their preferences. Clients can also create themed bundles on the fly using the platform (i.e., a World Cup sports package) and surface them to customers for immediate access.

The collaboration also comes in response to the growing complexity and expense that is associated with maintaining legacy, on-premise video delivery, billing and user management systems, which reduce profit margins and restrict the ability of telcos to compete in regional video markets. Recognizing this situation, Massive and Evergent are creating a flexible and agile a-la-carte, focused solution on Google Cloud Platform that empowers telecom providers to take real-time control of their solution, run operations more efficiently, and generate additional revenue.

Through the solution, operators will have the ability to monetize their service in real-time effectively. This will include the capability to:

  • Create new revenue through the placement of video and display advertising, powered by Google’s DoubleClick for Publishers.
  • In-experience app sell-through and revenue share.
  • Data-driven promotions tailored to a viewer’s interests.
  • Offer subscriptions, transactions, rentals.

The mobile-centric nature of the joint solution means that it will be optimized for video consumption over 4G and 5G networks, removing the need for telcos to rely on the traditional, fiber-focused means of IP delivery and opening up significant headroom to rapidly capture more significant market share. Customers will truly be able to consume high-quality video wherever they are as a result of the platform, as telcos harness the capability to deliver real-time UI changes to promote their ever-changing schedule.

Operator OTT content bundles will be delivered through Google Cloud’s scalable offerings, end-to-end video processing and management services. Real-time UI and content personalization will be handled by Massive’s AXIS platform, while Evergent’s user lifecycle management technology will manage customer authentication, promotions, and scheduling capabilities. As a managed service, operators can be up and running with a fully customizable OTT service in under 100 days.

Alex Drosin, Chief Commercial Officer at Massive Interactive, said: “Customers aren’t turned off by the concept of pay-TV packages, but they do resent having to pay for channels that they don’t watch. The continued drop-off of subscribers who are looking to take control of their viewing experience requires a step-change in the industry, and therefore highly personalized, targeted bundles is the future of TV. That’s why this new streamlined approach is so important for operators looking to future-proof their business and usher in a new era of paid television.”

Vijay Sajja, Evergent Founder and CEO said: “Telcos are under increasing pressure to launch new revenue streams quickly, and video is being viewed as a killer app. The ever-changing video services market requires faster time to market, agility and flexibility to rapidly make changes based on market feedback. We are very excited about this new solution because it provides a compelling way for telecom customers to quickly experiment with various monetization models. For example, they can start monetizing by using advertising (AVOD) to expand their user base and later layer-in other monetization models such as a-la-carte LIVE linear skinny bundles, subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) and transactional video-on-demand (TVOD).”