Telefónica and Microsoft deploy a Global Video Platform

Telefónica's new Converged Global Video Platform, based on the Microsoft Mediaroom product range, will offer pay television and OTT services in the countries in which it operates WITH first deployments in Brazil, Chile and Spain.

Telefónica Digital y Microsoft have announced the signing of a multi-year strategic agreement for the creation of the Global Video Platform (GVP), Telefónica's new platform for all video services in the countries where it operates. GVP is based on key Microsoft technologies such as the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, and is unique in that it will offer television services on both managed (IPTV) and unmanaged (over-the-top) networks, on a global scale and across multiple devices. The first GVP deployments are taking place in Brazil, Chile and Spain and Telefónica plans to expand the deployment of these GVP-based television services to other countries in the coming years.

"The video market is growing very quickly, and we already play an important role in the offer of pay television services in Europe and Latin America. The new platform allows us to respond to the rapid and profound changes that are taking place in this field. It offers the ease and convenience of a global and convergent platform while offering flexibility in terms of content to our local operations. In addition, very importantly, it allows us to satisfy the demand of our clients by allowing access to video content on an increasingly wide range of devices," he points out. Vivek Dev, Director of Digital Services at Telefónica Digital.

The Global Video Platform, supported by Mediaroom, will enable Telefónica to offer its customers feature-rich, clearly differentiated and high-performance television services, both through its high-speed broadband networks and through unmanaged “over-the-top” broadband networks. It includes a series of advanced functions for its television service clients, such as the control of live broadcasting (timeshifting) and the extension of the service to other screens (multiscreen), among others. This will help Telefónica take advantage of its capabilities on multiple devices.

“Microsoft and Telefónica already collaborate closely, and the Global Video Platform, based on the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, will allow you to develop your business and reach new customers,” said Tom Gibbons, corporate vice president of Microsoft's Television Services area. "This new agreement, focused on Telefónica's Global Video Platform, means expanding our collaboration in the world of video and television entertainment both on fixed screens in the home environment and on mobile device screens, something that will benefit millions of people around the world. Using IP-based broadband networks and the Microsoft Mediaroom platform, Telefónica's next-generation television services are ready to entertain millions of consumers in its markets in Europe and Latin America."

These services will be available to customers through various devices, both inside and outside their homes, such as television decoders, Xbox 360 consoles, tablets and smartphones. Because the Mediaroom platform incorporates key technologies such as Microsoft PlayReady, IIS Smooth Streaming, and Microsoft Silverlight, television services will be offered over diverse networks and multiple types of displays through a single common technological infrastructure. This is expected to mean significant efficiencies for Telefónica in terms of time to market, service delivery costs and in general terms.

At the beginning of this month of November, Telefónica launched its Internet Protocol Television (IPTV) payment service in Brazil, a launch similar to the one that occurred in Chile last October. Both services, Vivo TV Fibra in Brazil and Movistar IPTV in Chile, are the first IPTV deployments that take advantage of the capabilities of the new GVP, offering a magnificent user experience for their fiber optic customers. Previously, in November 2011, Telefónica and Microsoft launched the first service offered through the GVP: Movistar Imagenio on the Xbox 360, which offers 12 linear sports-themed television channels including Canal+ Liga which offers the Spanish football league (Liga BBVA).