Waverly Utilities selects Amino to provide MoCA-enabled IPTV devices
Cambridge, UK, 12 March 2019 – Amino, the global media and entertainment technology solutions provider, announced today that it has been selected by US telecommunications provider Waverly Utilities to supply Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA)-enabled IPTV devices and AminoOS software that will allow the Iowa multiservice provider to boost efficiency and deliver an enhanced pay-TV video experience.
Waverly selected AminoOS powered Kamai 650M set-top boxes because they enable delivery of the required MoCA connectivity. They will be deployed to seamlessly deliver enhanced IPTV services across Waverly Utilities’ high-speed fiber-optic network. Amino will collaborate with its strategic middleware partner Minerva Networks to facilitate Waverly’s ongoing rollout of video services.
i3 Broadband Taps into Minerva YourTV Now to Deliver Next Generation Video Services
Looking to Delight Subscribers, Minimize Infrastructure Costs and Simplify Operations, i3 Broadband Will Use Minerva’s Cloud Service to Offer Advanced Television Services in All Systems
NCTC WEC – Atlanta, Georgia – February 27, 2019 – Minerva Networks, the leading provider of service management platforms for next-generation connected entertainment, announced today that the Minerva YourTV Now cloud service will power i3 Broadband’s advanced television services.
“With operations in different states, we need a centralized cloud solution that can deliver consistent, high-quality services across our properties,” said Dan Kennedy, COO of i3 Broadband. “Minerva YourTV Now provides the best overall subscriber experience powered by a very flexible platform.”
Minerva YourTV Now is a turnkey cloud service for the delivery of video entertainment including Live TV, VOD, Network DVR, Catch-up, and Restart TV to popular mobile and streaming media devices, as well as set-top boxes. The service has several unique features aimed at delivering a superior subscriber experience across any device and content source, while empowering service providers with unmatched control. Operators like i3 Broadband can manage geographically-dispersed regions and create services tailored to each area. Such regional management tools are also useful to deliver hospitality, education, and hyper-local community services.
“We are very pleased our cloud platform has been selected by i3 Broadband,” said Randy Osborne, VP of Worldwide Sales for Minerva. “We are looking forward to working closely with them to accelerate their growth and expansion into new markets.”
About Minerva Networks
Minerva is a leading provider of service management solutions for the delivery of next-generation pay television services. More than 300 operators worldwide have deployed Minerva’s platform to deliver entertainment services to millions of subscribers. For more information, please visit www.minervanetworks.com
About i3 Broadband
Locally-based i3 Broadband provides Internet, TV, and Voice services through a 100% fiber-optic network in the Greater Peoria, Champaign and Urbana, Illinois markets. i3 Broadband is committed to providing the best customer experience possible through local operations, exceptional staff, and community involvement. For more information visit i3broadband.com or call (309) 689-0711.
i3 Broadband is owned and managed by CountryWide Broadband Group and Seaport Capital of New York (CWBG). Together the companies form a cable system management team of industry veterans for the purchasing, consolidating, and increasing the efficiencies and values of middle-market cable systems. In addition to i3 Broadband, in 2018, CWBG acquired Full Channel Broadband, which serves the Eastern shore of Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. CWBG is actively pursuing further acquisitions to grow its FTTH and HFC footprint throughout the United States.
Contacts
For i3 Broadband, Full Channel Broadband, CountryWide Broadband Group
Amanda Christianson
amanda.christianson@i3broadband.net
Minerva Completes Studio-to-Subscriber Video Service Offering with Verimatrix Viewthority
Minerva YourTV Now cloud service integrates with Viewthority to provide seamless and secure delivery of content to subscribers on set-tops, mobile and streaming media devices
San Jose, California – February 21, 2019 – Minerva Networks, the leading provider of next-generation service management platforms for connected entertainment, announces integration with the Verimatrix Viewthority connected content distribution platform and its YourTV Now cloud hosted service. Building on its recent deployment of the Verimatrix MultiRights OTT solution for multi-DRM support, YourTV Now can integrate with Viewthority to create a solution that combines a secure studio-to-subscriber content distribution workflow, a powerful set of content promotion tools, analytics, and a compelling user experience.
“Pay TV operators need to position themselves as “the best place for the best content” if they want to reduce churn and compete effectively against new direct-to-consumer service offerings,” said Matt Cuson, VP of Marketing, at Minerva. “The unique content promotion tools available with the Minerva YourTV Now service allow operators to control where and how their secured content procured via the Viewthority platform appears in the user interface. With these powerful new tools operators have the ability to keep their service fresh and full of compelling content.”
With Minerva’s YourTV Now cloud service operators have the ability to manage the pay television experience on all client devices, including the visual style, presentation and navigation across all content sources. YourTV Now features advanced functionality such as catch-up and restart TV, personal video recording, and personalized recommendations; they all feed a robust analytics system to provide unique subscriber insights.
“The integration with YourTV Now extends the value proposition of Viewthority from a B2B distribution platform all the way to the end consumer,” said Tom Pollard, VP of Product Management, Verimatrix. “Video assets are securely delivered from content providers to operators – and can now be made available for purchase to end subscribers via their EPG. The whole content delivery chain is better monetized through this combined solution.”
Viewthority is a platform-as-a-service (PaaS) that streamlines end-to-end workflows and automates video analytics reporting between content providers and video service operators. The platform is designed to reduce the cost and complexity in the current content delivery processes, resulting in improved competitiveness. Viewthority centralizes the content and security workflows via a common cloud platform with a single point of integration where both parties gain significant distribution efficiencies.
About Minerva Networks
Minerva is a leading provider of service management solutions for the delivery of advanced television services. Over 300 operators worldwide have deployed Minerva’s award winning software platforms to offer next-generation entertainment services to their subscribers. For more information, please visit www.minervanetworks.com
About Verimatrix
Verimatrix specializes in enhancing and securing revenue for connected devices and IP-based services around the world. Recognizing the need to improve digital exchange between content providers and video service operators, Verimatrix offers Viewthority™, a connected content distribution platform that leverages its award-winning VCAS™ security and Verspective® Analytics solutions, and unmatched partner ecosystem to reduce the costs and complexities associated with legacy distribution workflows. To learn more, visit www.verimatrix.com , our Pay TV Views blog and follow us @verimatrix, Facebook and LinkedIn
Minerva Unveils New Advanced Pay TV Service Management Tools
New Minerva 10 platform functionality allows operators to dynamically configure content presentation and user experience, turning their pay TV offering into “the best place for the best content”
San Jose, California – February 19, 2019 – Minerva Networks, the leading provider of next-generation service management platforms for connected entertainment, unveiled today major enhancements to its Minerva 10 platform.
“We are introducing a new set of advanced capabilities aimed at operators who are committed to offering a television service that is the “best place for the best content,” said Matt Cuson, VP of Marketing for Minerva. “To compete effectively in the rapidly changing video landscape, operators need more control over the user experience and overall service delivery. The new capabilities we are unveiling today ensures that service providers have the tools they need to attract and delight subscribers.”
A new User Interface Administration Portal allows operators to create any arbitrary number of content stripes and pages and control their position and presentation style. The portal allows marketing teams to promote specific content and blend it with personalized recommendations and trending analytics to create a fresh and engaging user experience. Changes can be made daily and are automatically reflected across all client devices.
With Minerva’s enhanced content discovery tools, finding content just got easier. Improved search, similars and personalized recommendations plus powerful new filtering options for browsing on-demand libraries greatly simplify the content discovery process. Operators can also control how filters are defined and which filters appear in the user interface. In addition to typical categories such as Genre or Network Provider, users can filter on keywords, country of origin, audience type and more.
More Regional Management options are available in the newly enhanced Minerva platform, including custom branded user interfaces for each region, and regional video-on-demand pricing and availability.
Additional analytic events can now be collected and fed into Google Analytics to understand how users engage with the television service. Marketing teams can then use this information as guidance for how they configure the user experience and promote content.
“With this upgrade, our customers, whether deployed on-premise or with our Minerva Your TV Now hosted service, can fully exploit their unique advantage as the best aggregator of all the best content,” added Cuson. “Using these powerful new tools to highlight exciting new content, operators can ensure their service doesn’t fall victim to the subscriber app fatigue impacting lesser app TV alternatives.”
About Minerva Networks
Minerva is a leading provider of service management solutions for the delivery of advanced pay television services. Over 300 operators worldwide have deployed Minerva’s software platform to offer next-generation entertainment services to millions of subscribers. For more information, please visit www.minervanetworks.com
Be the Best: Don’t Be Afraid to Copy Good Ideas
To be the “best place for the best content,” you don’t have to invent everything from scratch. Netflix has had years of practice and mountains of user data to figure out what makes a good user experience. Learn from it. Replicate it. Keep your UI fresh. Move content around. Change poster images. Mix personalized recommendations with promotional or curated content suggestions.
Control the user interface to push trending content, recently released movies, personalized recommendations or new season openers or finales. Sure, HBO is available with HBO Go, but it’s better when HBO, NFL, NCAA, Disney are all together in one easy package.
With the right platform you will be able to remind your customers every time they interact with your video service that it is the “best place for the best content”.
The right platforms have the data to show increased customer engagement, higher satisfaction and lower churn. The right platform supports millions of users and performs reliably at scale. The right platform provides the flexibility to manage a smooth transition from your legacy infrastructure.
Check out Minerva 10. It’s already powering “the best place for the best content” for millions of delighted subscribers!
Pay TV vs OTT Video: Exploit Your Natural Advantages
To become the “best place for the best content,” Pay TV operators must exploit the advantages of a broader content portfolio. HBO is great for watching Game Of Thrones but lousy when it comes to NFL or college football. And MLB is great for catching every away game of your favorite team but they never seem to have any good children’s movies. Disney does movies but local news can never be found. At some point, a subscriber can only manage so many video services before they suffer app fatigue.
Pay TV operators have a broader content portfolio but also can offer a broader range of services. There’s value in offering a convenient single payment for a bundled services. Also, Pay TV operators are local. And actually have real live people available in support!
The winning strategy for Pay TV operators is to become the “best place for the best content.” Minerva can help you map it out.