View all posts
Research

Android TV paving the way
for industry innovators

Upon its release in 2014, Android TV faced an undeniably lukewarm reception from operators and consumers, stiff competition from rival platforms and streaming services, and the prospect loomed large that the world just wasn’t ready to do things quite so differently. However, recent shifts in the market show that change is in the air – the future looks bright and the stage has been set for disruptors and innovators to seize upon the opportunities set out by Android. Enter ONTV.

Receptive to change

A recent analysis of the Pay-TV landscape by Ovum, confirms this evolving sentiment, showing that 72% of video service providers were considering Android implementation as part of their short, medium, or longer-term STB strategies. In an even more telling vote of confidence, upwards of two-thirds of service providers surveyed expected it to be the market-leading TV platform by 2025. And with good reason…

Proof positive

Convenience and a reliable user experience are some of the biggest drivers for deploying Android on STBs. Mobile savvy consumers have high expectations for dynamic and frequently improved STB usability. The great advantage of Android is its inherent flexibility in terms of a customised interface for STBs and its ability to offer customisations for third-party services. This is particularly important in helping these providers differentiate their services. Android TV is also seen as a financially sound solution, with significant opex savings thanks to lower overall costs.

An alternative view

Conversely, Google is perceived equally as a partner and a direct threat by 4 out 5 service providers. On top of this, two-thirds of service providers would not consider paying more than 10% on top of their current spend in order to switch to Android. For most operators, Android actually becomes completely irrelevant given that it will drastically increase the cost of their STB. In terms of security, there are also risks that come with the potential for Android TV to facilitate illegal streaming, as well as increasing the platform vulnerability to cyber threats.

A pragmatic understanding of Android TV supports a move toward more agile solutions like ONTV.

Introducing ONTV

ONTV has been built as a complete solution with three main objectives in mind, simplicity, security and control.

ONTV is a straightforward and fully featured platform that ensures secure distribution, full control for selected partners and complete access to all key features of OTT solution that includes data analytics and profiling. ONTV strengthens an operators’ position in the content delivery ecosystem by allowing rich, linear editorial content, replay and VOD delivery in a UX that is fully aligned with discerning audience behaviours and requirements. Simply put, ONTV can help operators to develop lasting, reciprocal relationships with consumers.

ONTV combines OTT services to linear TV in an intuitive and ergonomic interface that is a real pleasure to use and that drastically enhances content discovery and accessibility. In short, this is a new standard in TV experience that surpasses Android TV. Opex savings are even higher by suppressing a complex UI in the STC. Capex is significantly reduced thanks to a low memory footprint and less powerful chipset. The result? Simplifying the STB means time to market is significantly faster.

ONTV fully featured turnkey solution for PayTV operators

Easy as…

The great benefit of ONTV for operators lies in the ease of access to this solution. Moving the intelligence away from the STB mitigates the cost of production, making ONTV one of the most affordable and robust boxes available. The time to market is significantly reduced, giving operators an efficient and completely comprehensive solution. Powered by a fully-featured platform, at last, ONTV delivers an innovative challenge to Android TV, showing things can be done both differently and better.

Raising the bar

The smartphone is a key element that sets ONTV apart from its competitors and makes the usability much more straightforward for consumers looking for content. This also creates major opportunities for operators to expand the audiovisual experience in a more dynamic and interactive way. Thanks to the second screen, new services that support content can be easily implemented and have the potential to offer a whole new dimension to the TV watching experience. Use of a smartphone also means operators have access to highly detailed, granular analytics that are enabled by an individual’s use of the remote app. Content suggestions become more accurate and segmentation can increase an understanding of customer behaviours. With ONTV, operators have the chance to know and understand their consumer with a level of detail that just isn’t possible with other platforms.

Other articles you might like