Xperi, which owns TiVo and this year acquired Vewd Software, would be ready to talk to Pay TV operators who want to introduce their own version of Sky Glass, if that market develops. This insight came from Matt Milne, Chief Revenue Officer at Xperi, after his company launched the TiVo Smart TV OS to provide OEMs with an independent media platform featuring high-level UX capabilities plus the promise of scale and monetisation revenue sharing (see full story here).
TiVo has a long history serving the Pay TV operator market with its platform/UX and the acquisition of Vewd was designed to drive scale in the connected device market – including for Smart TVs. With experience working with both operators and TV makers (including now a multi-market deal with Vewd for the ‘Powered by TiVo’ Smart TV OS, the company looks well placed to help a Pay TV provider follow Sky down the road of designing and retailing its own television set so that it can always be the first UI that anyone sees.
“This is a business model that is being explored,” Milne confirmed. Patrick Byrden, VP, TiVo Business Development & Strategy at Xperi, added: “Pay TV operators find the Sky Glass model interesting. I think they are in a ‘wait and see’ [how well Sky Glass does] position.”
This chimes with the sentiments expressed by Daniel Bravo, Head of Product TV Europe at Deutsche Telekom, earlier this year. In a conversation that spanned DT’s set-top box strategy, transition to all-streaming and a deepening partnership with Android TV, Bravo acknowledged that Deutsche Telekom was watching Sky Glass with interest.
He did not rule out the possibility of DT making its Pay TV experience available through its own television sets. “We are tracking this proposition to see if it makes sense,” he told Connected TV World Summit in London during May.
More stories about Sky Glass
Sky launches its own Smart TV, accelerating the convergence of content and CE technology
Why Sky launched Sky Glass, and what happens to non-TV customers
What Sky Glass and its all-streaming delivery means for advertising
