Elemental powers Sky Go and NOW TV

Largest pay TV operator in the UK is the vanguard of software-defined video use for delivery of popular online news, sports and entertainment content to millions of customers

PORTLAND, Ore., and LONDON — Elemental Technologies, the leading supplier of software-defined video solutions for multiscreen content delivery, today announced that Sky, the UK’s largest pay TV provider, is leveraging Elemental to process and deliver its over-the-top (OTT) TV service NOW TV and mobile TV service, Sky Go.

“We love to give our viewers the flexibility to choose how, where and when they watch their favorite shows,” said Matt McDonald, director of broadcast services for Sky. “Elemental offers the platform we require for live video and VOD streaming and rapid deployment of new services that delight customers.”

Sky Go is a mobile television service for Sky TV customers, which allows access to live and on-demand programming on computers, smartphones and tablets. NOW TV service provides contract-free, flexible access Sky’s content and is delivered by IP-enabled boxes for viewing on TVs or via an app on over 60 compatible devices. NOW TV offers monthly passes to Sky Movies or Sky’s Entertainment Channels or week and day passes to watch Sky Sports.

The Sky OTT service infrastructure is deploying Elemental® Live as the video processing engine in a workflow controlled by Elemental® Conductor. During live streaming, Sky channel IP inputs will be fed to Elemental Live software, which will encode original and aggregated linear content in real time for delivery to mobile devices and the web. For the Sky VOD workflow, Elemental® Server systems transcode content into multiple formats and encrypt it for high-quality, protected output to consumer’s devices, including Apple TV, over the Sky Content Delivery Network (CDN).

“Sky is constantly innovating new ways for customers to enjoy premium TV Everywhere content,” said John Nemeth, VP sales/EMEA for Elemental. “Elemental’s level of quality and flexibility enables us to uniquely support Sky’s mission to delight existing customers and redefine the meaning of TV.”