Operators understand that they will need to offer more value on top of their existing services to keep customers on board, especially at a time when home budgets are being scrutinised and stretched.

We believe there’s a once-in-a-generation opportunity for telco and pay TV providers to diversify their retail offer, by moving beyond quad-play to ‘omni-play’ and beyond super-aggregation of video content, to the aggregation of our increasingly smart lives.

By ‘aggregating more’ operators will be able to increase customer loyalty and raise ARPU, from services as diverse as multiplayer live gaming and home security, to smart domestic energy management.

Leverage existing technology

The technology exists for providers to deliver a single gateway to services, a unified UX with single billing and customer care, and in so doing they can move from discounted bundles to ‘mega-bundles’.

This is the golden opportunity to take control of the emerging Intelligent Edge – the future brain of the connected home.

The Intelligent Edge, hosted on operator CPE such as the video set-tops, connected TVs and broadband gateways, can be harnessed to improve existing TV/streaming services and launch new entertainment offers, including gaming which is more likely to appeal to younger demographics.

The same technology can be used to take a leadership position in smart home services.  The Intelligent Edge gives operators a flexible, dynamic and elegant means to introduce new services without the overhead that is often associated with software deployment to devices in the field.

‘Aggregate More’ is already in play

The innovative bundling of new services with smart home tech like video doorbells, indoor cameras, motion/contact sensors and environmental sensors, exemplifies the new possibilities when we look beyond entertainment and connectivity and ‘aggregate more’. Sky for instance recently launched an innovative smart home protection service, Sky Protect, offering customers comprehensive home insurance and smart home monitoring devices, bundled in one app.

The recent market introduction of connected TV platforms such as Sky Glass and Comcast Xumo are additional examples of aggregated consumer offers. Sky Glass bundles premium hardware, that includes a 4K display, 5.1 channel sound and camera, with financing that is attractive to both consumer and operator. This is before adding a compelling bundle of apps and OTT services, delivered via a sophisticated, unified user experience, featuring universal search and far-field voice control.

Leading operators are clearly looking for the most efficient, cost-effective and attractive way of providing as wide a range of services and applications to their consumer base as they can. Through existing managed CPE devices, telcos and pay TV operators already have an edge in the emerging ‘Aggregate More’ market. But perhaps not for long with Big Tech snapping at their heels.

Containerisation is a key technological enabler

The power of the operator Intelligent Edge is underpinned by Downloadable Application Containers (DACs) – via an application platform with a common backend and authoring that spans the cloud and CPE.

Containerisation further supports agile product development for a community of third-party application providers that operators could then roll out under their service and provide additional value.

The same approach not only enables providers to stand up and nimbly deploy these new services but breathes new life into legacy devices as well. Since operators have invested significantly in their existing infrastructure and devices, they want to make sure they maintain their longevity. With DACs, they can. Containerisation brings cloud-like power to the home and full capability for flexible, cost-effective deployment.

The opportunity is not all about new customer-facing services. There are underlying operational benefits to be tapped as well. Operators can use the Intelligent Edge to ensure QoS and QoE across all services and applications to ensure operational effectiveness. They can deploy applications to monitor the performance of their network and key services, and proactively identify issues before customers notice and raise calls to the call centre. The net result is higher customer satisfaction, fewer truck rolls, and lower operating cost.

Find out more at IBC 2023

At IBC 2023, we invite you to meet with us and explore how we can turn that head start into clear (and unassailable) leadership, and how a next-generation service strategy can be implemented in practice. Contact us to arrange a meeting.

Learn about Consult Red in Media, Technology and Telecommunications.

A bespoke linear channel schedule can be created for each viewer based on recommendations intelligence, with an EPG created to accompany it – stretching maybe six hours into the future. The channel is created from a succession of VOD assets stitched seamlessly together. The two companies believe personalised linear channels solve the ‘paradox of choice’ caused by the vast volume of VOD content now available to consumers.

A spokeswoman for Viaccess-Orca (VO) says the VOD content that is assembled into a linear channel is still covered by a VOD licensing deal – so this capability is a new way to surface content within the VOD window.

Viaccess-Orca (which provides OTT and TV platforms, content protection and advanced data solutions, among other things) contributes its content discovery solution, using viewing behaviour and preferences to drive recommendations. The VOD-to-linear channels do not have to be completely personalised: they could be assembled according to mood, genre or even trending topics.

Ateme (known for its video compression and streaming technology) contributes its NEA solutions for streaming, including the origination of linear channels from VOD and catch-up archives. NEA also includes the server-side ad insertion (SSAI) that enables replacement ads to be inserted into the VOD content. NEA draws upon cloud-native and containerised technology and the VOD assets do not have to be moved ahead of processing.

NEA is integrated with the VO content discovery solution and also with Viaccess-Orca’s Targeted TV Advertising Solution. This provides the advertising decisioning – who should be served which ads (based upon the audience profile an advertiser is looking for and the audience profile VO can determine from operator first-party data – notably viewing behaviour within a household).

The new VOD-to-linear channel capability was demonstrated at IBC in September, where VO reported good traction among visitors. The solution is aimed at platform operators and, as with any addressable advertising, it requires the collaboration of the content owners (unless operators own the content themselves).

“We’re thrilled to team up with Viaccess-Orca and redefine the linear TV experience,” said Ahmed Swidan, Director of Personalized TV at Ateme. “One of the greatest challenges for viewers today is finding what to watch.

“With this new service, we’re enabling viewers to discover the most relevant content in a live watch mode, keeping them watching longer and increasing monetisation opportunities for our customers. Viewers can sit back, relax, and enjoy several ‘For You’ live channels with their favourite shows back-to-back. No doubt these personal channels will increase loyalty to the service.”

Dror Mangel, Director of Data-Driven Product Management at Viaccess-Orca, adds: “The Personal Live Channel service is an innovative step forward for video delivery. Collaborating with Ateme, we have solved viewers’ paradox of having too many content choices. And we have offered service providers and content owners many more opportunities to display ads, giving them higher revenue potential.”