4KUniverse, a 4K-only service that is delivered primarily OTT while also seeking distribution with U.S. MVPDs, said it has streamed 1 million minutes of programming in the format on Roku devices.

The most popular series from 4KUniverse to date is Blue World, the underwater series starting Emmy Award-winning cinematographer Jonathan Bird.

A subset of Roku models that support 4K – the Roku 4, Roku Ultra, Roku Premiere, Roku Premiere+, and select integrated Roku TVs. While the streaming milestone offers a helpful indicator of consumer interest in the 4K format, it’s still a small portion of Roku’s overall streaming numbers. Roku recently announced that nearly 7 billion hours were streamed on the Roku platform in the first half of 2017, a 61% increase versus the same period in 2016.

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4KUniverse also supports other platforms, including Amazon Fire TV devices and the web. It has plans to extend support to Android TV-powered Sony Bravia 4K TVs starting in August.  The programmer is also part of SES’s content slate for an array of trials underway with cable operators and telcos.

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“Reaching the milestone of 1 million minutes streamed on 4KUNIVERSE is a testament to consumers’ strong interest in watching 4K entertainment,”  4KUNIVERSE Founder & CEO Matthew Mancinelli, said in a statement. “We are actively talking with all U.S. cable operators to bring our 4K linear channel to the masses and we continue to add new 4K content every month.”

4KUniverse was launched in January 2016. Mitchell Berman, an industry exec late of HBO, E!,  Sky Network New Zealand, Foxtel Australia and OpenTV, is on board as a strategic advisor.

SES S.A. said it has added 4KUniverse to its expanding Ultra HD lineup being delivered to a select batch cable operators and other TV platforms in North America.

4KUniverse, a 24/7 channel in the format, will offer a mix of documentariei, sporting events, movies and TV shows when it debuts in January on the SES-1 satellite – one of three (SES-1, SES-3, AMC-18) hosting  SES’s Ultra HD distribution platform.

4KUniverse was introduced in March.

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SES its UHD platform will be home to eight linear 4K channels in January, and that it has distribution deals with more than 30 UHD channels globally.

SES has lined up several U.S. cable operators for UHD trials, including Marquette-Adams in Wisconsin; Buckeye Broadband; Service Electric Cable TV; enTouch Systems; Cable America; MTC Cable and Sjoberg’s Cable TV.

SES has said its 4K trial platform will use either managed IP multicast DOCSIS 3.0 streams (not “over-the-top”) or traditional digital QAM transport streams.

“We have been collaborating with the SES team for months, by testing with block programming on their promotional channel – all leading up to this exciting launch of our 24/7 Ultra HD channel with cable and telecom companies across the US. Our first carriage deals will be announced shortly,” Matthew Mancinelli, Founder and CEO of 4KUnivese said in a statement. 

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4KUniverse, the 4K TV channel from Mance Media launched in March, said it has inked an exclusive partnership with AVP to film the pro volleyball league’s U.S. matches in the pixel-packed format and stream them live around the globe.

4KUniverse’s first live 4K broadcast of the AVP is set for July 14-17 from Manhattan Beach, Calif. AVP tour matches feature athletes such as three-time Olympic gold medalist Kerri Walsh-Jennings, Olympic gold medalists Todd Rogers and Phil Dalhausser; Olympic silver medalists April Ross and Jen Kessy; and two-time Olympians Jake Gibb and Sean Rosenthal.

The 4KUniverse-AVP deal also covers in-game highlights, pre-game broadcasts of athlete interviews. 4K coverage plans also include slow-motion cameras, a drone and productions that utilize High Dynamic Range (HDR).

The agreement is 4KUniverse’s first with a sports league. Its first original series – Model Turned Superstar – is slated for a June 28 debut.

“With any new video format, live sports is always the driver for consumer adoption,” Matthew Mancinelli, founder and CEO of 4KUniverse said, in a statement. “With the addition of the AVP, and an Olympic sport for that matter, 4KUniverse becomes one of the first premium general entertainment 4K TV channels to exist. I’m excited to partner with the league and to bring this beloved sport to the masses in a whole new way.”

“This partnership with 4KUniverse  allow fans to experience the excitement and athleticism of the AVP and our athletes like never before,” added AVP Managing Partner Donald Sun. “The highlights and athlete interviews will add another dimension to bring our stars closer than ever. Beach volleyball is an incredibly beautiful sport, and I am looking forward to showcasing its vibrance and excitement in 4K resolution.”

4KUniverse costs $5.99 per month and is initially available over-the-top via YouTube and Vimeo, though the service is also seeking carriage deals with cable operators, IPTV providers and other types of MVPDs.

4KUNIVERSE, an SVOD “channel” from film and TV distribution company Mance Media that features content in the pixel-packed format, said its first original series, Model Turned Superstar, will debut on June 28.

The show, billed as an international reality series, will challenge over 100 models to become “the next superstar model.  A series of photo shoots and runway challenges will determine which of the top 13 will emerge as the winner of the show’s $1 million grand prize.

The series, comprised of 18, 30-minute episodes filmed in areas such as Bora Bora, Thailand, Mexico, Dubai, the Bahamas and Hong Kong, is hosted by fitness expert April Scott along with guest judges Alessandra Ambrosio, Irina Shayk, and Ana Beatriz Barros. One episode will be released every week on Tuesdays on 4KUNIVERSE.

Andy Khawaja executive produced the series, with Rudy Dekermenjian and Matthew Mancinelli serving as producers. Mance Media is the series’ global distributor.

Mance Media introduced 4KUNIVERSE in March. The multiplatform channel, which costs $5.99 per month, is initially available over-the-top via YouTube and Vimeo, though the aim is to also seek carriage deals with cable operators, IPTV providers and other types of MVPDs.

Mance Media has not announced any MVPD deals for 4KUNIVERSE, but it wasone of the content partners identified by Dish Network for an initial slate of 4K VOD fare for its new Hopper 3 DVR and 4K Joey device.