Second generation of on-demand TV on Televisió de Catalunya

TV3alacarta, TV3's live and on-demand video service, is completely renewed to bring together the interaction potential of the Internet and the television visual experience. One of the main changes lies in a full-screen viewer, subtitling, value-added services and the launch of channels dedicated to events.

TV3alacarta, TV3's live and on-demand video service, is completely renewed to bring together the interaction potential of the Internet and the television visual experience in what we could now call the second generation of on-demand IPTV content.

One of the main changes lies in a full-screen viewer from which to access the live broadcast of the TVC channels, the video archive integrated into the interface, service information associated with a single click, active participation of the Internet user on social networks and a strong commitment to offering even more content. A new concept that represents a revolution in Internet television and video services.

Since the inauguration of the service in December 2004, until today, this catalog has already exceeded 180,000 hours. In 2010, the service experienced a 70% growth in the number of hours served compared to 2009, reaching ten million hours annually.

But beyond a media pool, the Corporation intends to offer extra content that will be offered on the videos that the user is watching as content proposals attached to the user's request. These videos will be, for example, pieces from other programs that address the same topic from another perspective, texts and news that will expand or complement the information, surveys that will allow you to quickly give your opinion, related images, contests, recommended links...

TV3alacarta allows you to consult the entire archive of on-demand videos and access featured videos. In addition, it offers, in the same environment, access to all the live channels of Televisió de Catalunya and see what is being broadcast on each of them. That is, in a single click you can go from playing a video from the file to a live channel. In some live shows, in addition, the Facebook comment box application allows users to actively participate in the programs by sending their opinions.

This growth is even more accentuated in the new emerging platforms in which the second generation of the service, TV3alacarta 2.0, will have a lot to say on Connected TV (Sony Bravia, Philips Net TV...), tablets, game consoles, iPhone... Oleguer Sarsanedas, director of content for new platforms at the CCMA, has commented that "we have to be where the people are, starting from a multi-platform concept. All platforms are, without a doubt, a vector of the future.”

On-demand consumption that until now was related to the computer and the mouse is now moved to the main room of the house, the remote control and the television screen. Thus, the boundaries that until now were established between traditional television consumption and audiovisual consumption that the Internet has popularized are broken.

As for new platforms, IPTV consumption in 2010 focused on tablets, Connected TV, mobile phones and consoles. Of the almost 160,000 hours served in the last quarter, around 53,000 corresponded to PS3, 43,000 to iPhone, 31,000 to connected television and 26,000 to iPad.

For users who have a Sony Bravia television with Internet, Sony Bravia Video Televisió de Catalunya offers an application with the most notable videos from TV3alacarta. This service is also accessible through Blu-ray players with an Internet connection. In the case of Philips televisions, users will find TV3alacarta on the brand's devices that have Net TV, a service that allows access to a wide range of online information and entertainment from the television.

For these devices, TV3 and CCRTV Interactiva have designed an application that allows you to use the console or television remote control to watch TV3alacarta videos on the television screen.

Bet on the contents

In addition to publishing on the Internet all the self-produced programs for which TV3 has the rights, the Corporation has negotiated and acquired rights to also have third-party produced content available on the network that is already regularly broadcast on its television channels.

Santiago Miralles, director of CCRTV Interactiva and B2B strategies at the CCMA, has admitted that at this moment all the content that the Corporation has rights for the Internet are being included in 3alacarta. Miralles has highlighted the impressive growth of the 3alacarta service, which has gone from five million served in 2009 to almost ten million last year. While in 2009 around 167,000 videos were consumed every day, in 2010 this figure reached 310,000 videos.

In some cases, TV3 is premiering on the Internet first before DTT. This has been the case of animated series for adults Cooked rice y 240 the clonic child. Channel 33 programs like Quèquicom, Bestiari il illustrated, Territoris o Tempsneu They premiere before the television schedule.

An aspect worth highlighting in terms of enriched content is the Catalan subtitling of many of TV3's most successful productions. The a la carte service offer offers more than 60 programs, including, Poland, La Riera, APM?, Ventdelplà, 30 minutes o Bocamoll.

The service is subtitling at a rate of about 200 videos a week.

In addition to subtitles, the TV3alacarta player now integrates other functionalities, such as voting on videos or skipping advertising. The user can also extract the video from the page to view it in a new window of adjustable size or insert it into their website or blog. Along with comments on social networks, users can provide video comments by recording themselves with their webcam.

Marc Mateu, head of the multiplatform content area at Televisió de Catalunya, maintains that "producing is what is really expensive. With a small added cost, we can open a window, take the contents out of the drawer, and create profitability." Mateu has admitted that at this moment, the possibility of having Internet rights is key when deciding to purchase content.

IP Events

Taking advantage of TV3's mobile units that go out to record all types of events (festivities, concerts, sports activities...), there are increasingly more events that TV3 offers live and in their entirety only on the Internet.

These exclusive broadcasts for the Internet are offered as “occasional channels” that, through TV3alacarta, the user can follow live along with the rest of the channels.

At this time, the Corporation is also planning a multi-camera television service that, through DTT and IPTV, would give the viewer with hybrid television the possibility of choosing the camera they want to see at a sporting event, for example, becoming their own director.

The potential of IPTV is also evident in other projects such as a 24-hour channel dedicated to weather information that would draw from all the cameras that TV3 has permanently deployed throughout Catalonia.