Kwesé brings OTT to Africa thanks to tucano back-end

LAS VEGAS — Alpha Networks, a software company specializing in back-end solutions for the pay-TV market, today announced the successful launch of two innovative products by Kwesé, the pan-African entertainment company and a subsidiary of Econet Media. Kwesé has introduced two major products for the African market: Kwesé Play & Kwesé TV. Kwesé Play is the very first Roku video solution launched by any operator in African territory. Kwesé TV is a new OTT user experience offered to existing DTH users. Thanks to tucano’s back-end multi-tenant functionality, the two products support several African countries using a single software platform. tucano CMS simplifies management of live, EPG, and VOD content along with providing enhanced editorial and promotional features.

“We are excited to partnered with Alpha Networks in the creation of a seamless end-user experience for our Kwesé Play and Kwesé TV offerings using the tucano back-end software platform. As we continue to penetrate markets in the rest of the continent, we look forward to an enhanced customer engagement through this partnership,” said Joseph Hundah, President and CEO, Econet Media.

The modular architecture of tucano provides Kwesé with extra services, such as subscription and offer management, device management, authentication, encryption, and reporting and statistics, while offering the best TV experience to Kwesé subscribers around the African continent. Fully integrated in the Econet ecosystem via its driver capabilities, tucano manages DRM, CRM, CDN, and metadata provider interactions in a reliable and efficient way.

“The pay-TV environment is becoming more complex, and users are more demanding than ever before. Operators need to deliver a mix of live and VOD content, either paid or freemium, coming from different content sources, across different networks, targeting multiple screens including smartphones, tablets, STBs, and smart TVs,” said Kris Warreyn, CEO of Alpha Networks. “Our open and modular back-end provides a faster time-to-market for delivering new services so that Econet can maintain their competitive edge in the marketplace.”

Visit Alpha Networks at the 2018 NAB Show, Booth SU9105CM.