Viasat and Irdeto to Deliver Premium On-Demand Content to LG TVs

Tuesday, February 1st, 2011
Irdeto logo

Largest Free and Pay-TV Provider in Scandinavia to Offer First VOD Service to LG NetCast

AMSTERDAM, the Netherlands — Irdeto, a global software security and media technology company, today announced that customer Viasat has expanded its Irdeto Broadband system to enable access to live and Video On Demand (VOD) content from its LG NetCast enabled connected TV platform. As the largest commercial free and pay-TV provider across Scandinavia and the Baltic region, Viasat is building on its foundation of traditional satellite broadcasting to enabling the delivery of premium content to PCs, Macs, mobile phones and now directly to connected TVs with the help of Irdeto’s technology.

To take advantage of growing consumer demand for on-demand content and to maximize the opportunities offered by high broadband speeds and adoption across Scandinavia, Viasat is extending its already successful Viasat OnDemand service beyond the PC, Mac and mobile handset which Irdeto also enables. Extending the offering using the Irdeto Broadband solution, Viasat can provide content owners with a new platform for bringing premium content directly to the TV, provide new opportunities for advertisers and allow consumers to catch up on Viasat’s TV-channels, VOD and live sports streaming on their connected LG Electronics TVs.

With high broadband penetration across Scandinavia, (for example, Sweden has a penetration level of 92.5% of the population according to the International Telecommunication Union), the region is seen by Screen Digest as the latest battle ground for VOD and HD streaming as consumer viewing patterns change.

The Irdeto Broadband solution implemented for Viasat allows Viasat to manage and publish its content to a wide variety of digital platforms in a highly scalable, flexible and automated way. Irdeto’s solutions can be configured to meet an almost infinite combination of business model and device possibilities, allowing pay TV operators to rapidly launch future-proof multi-screen delivery strategies.

David Canellos, SVP sales and marketing at Irdeto, said: “Multiscreen services are important for content providers as more consumers, particularly in advanced regions like Scandinavia with a large broadband penetration, demand quality content on a myriad of devices. As an innovator in pay TV, Viasat quickly realized that the richer the content and the more platforms it’s available on, the more compelling the experience for the consumer. Businesses are working hard to develop flexible solutions that satisfy shifting consumer habits for multiple content-enabled devices, and Irdeto has the technology and broadband solutions to get them there.”

The Viasat application is available on the LG NetCast platform in selected countries now.