Espial said Buckeye Broadband, an operator that serves parts of northwest and Ohio and southeast Michigan, has inked a deal to license Espial’s “Elevate” software-as-a service video platform.

The move will enable Buckeye Broadband to provide integrated access to OTT services such as Netflix and YouTube, as well as new voice-based navigation features.

RELATED: Espial Adds Amazon Alexa Voice Support to ‘Elevate’ Platform

The agreement expands on the video relationship between Buckeye Broadband and Espial. Part of that stems from Buckeye’s deployment of a multi-room DVR centered on Arris’s Whole Home Solution offering. Espial acquired Arris's Whole Home Solution business in 2016.

RELATED: Buckeye Bucks Up Multiroom DVR with Arris Gateway Launch

“Elevate enhances the experience of our video customers, while giving us flexibility in how we deliver those experiences in the future,” Jeff Abbas, president and GM of Buckeye Broadband, aid in a statement. “The continuous innovation being driven on Elevate helps us increase customer engagement and satisfaction while mindfully controlling our expenses.”

The agreement was announced amid this week’s NCTC Winter Educational Conference in San Antonio.

Read More: Additional Coverage of the NCTC Winter Educational Conference

Espial struck a similar deal last fall with MCTV for services supporting live TV, whole home DVR and OTT apps.

Buckeye Broadband also markets a TiVo-based offering under the “Express TV” brand.

MCTV said it has integrated Netflix on its Fusion multi-room HD-DVR platform, which is based on Arris-made boxes that run Espial’s Elevate system.

Like similar Netflix integrations, MCTV doesn’t handle billing of the OTT service but requires that customers have an active Netflix account and take the operator’s high-speed internet service.

MCTV’s Fusion offering teams Arris media gateways and set-tops (including the MG5225 and the MP2000, MP2050, MP2150 and IP815) with Espial Elevate, which is derived in part from Espial’s acquisition of Arris’s Whole Home  Solution (and Moxi UI) last year.  

RELATED: Espial Seals Deal For Arris’s Whole Home Solution Platform

Massillon, Ohio-based MCTV serves more than 47,000 homes and business in Stark,  Wayne, Summit, Holes and Tuscarawas counties.

“MCTV continuously offers more options for an enhanced experience to our customers,” Robert Gessner, president of MCTV, said in a statement. “More now than ever, people want more and they want it at their fingertips. Simplifying access to Netflix content is just another example of MCTV’s ongoing commitment to adapt to the needs of our customers by going the extra smile.”

MCTV joins other MVPDs that have integrated Netflix at the set-top, a group that includes Comcast (for its X1 platform), other Espial partners, several of TiVo’s MSO customers, Liberty Global, and, of recent note, Verizon Fios.

RELATED: Verizon Puts Netflix on Some Fios TV Boxes

Earlier this year, MCTV announced it had also teamed with Espial on an IPTV effort for the operator’s cable RF and fiber IP customers, a move that soon followed MCTV’s plans for “Excellerate,” an FTTP initiative that will see a GPON network overlay the company’s existing HFC plant.

RELATED: MCTV Pushes Fiber-to-the-Premises Overlay With ‘Excellerate’ Initiative

Espial said its cloud-based “Elevate” video platform has added voice support following an integration that makes its managed offering for cable operators and other service providers compatible with all Amazon Alexa-enabled devices such as the Echo, Echo Dot and Echo Show.

The integration enables consumers with those Amazon products to search, discovery and control live TV, VOD and DVR-recorded content with their voice.

Espial’s Elevate platform was derived from Espial’s acquisition of Arris’s Whole Home Solutions business last year. Espial introduced a managed, turnkey IPTV service for operators under the Elevate brand in July.

RELATED: Espial Seals Deal for Arris’s Whole Home Solution Platform

Espial’s cable operator customers include MCTV; Easton Utilities; HBC (Hiawatha Broadband Communications of Minnesota); Ritter Communications; Shaw Communications; WideOpenWest; Buckeye Broadband; EastLink; Comporium; Consolidated Communications; Service Electric Cable TV, and NOS, a Portuguese service provider.

RELATED: MCTV Teams With Espial on IPTV

MVPDs such as Dish Network and Layer3 TV have also integrated their services with Amazon’s Alexa-powered devices.

RELATED: Dish’s Hopper DVRs Connect to Amazon Alexa

MCTV, the Ohio-based cable operator formerly known as Massillon Cable TV, said it has launched an IPTV service that is powered by Espial’s “Elevate” software-as-a-service platform.

Read More: Complete coverage of Cable-Tec Expo 2017

The companies said the platform will enable MCTV to manage services across its cable RF and fiber IP customers.

The new IPTV service will support traditional live TV and whole-home DVR capabilities as well as OTT apps and an advanced user interface that can be personalized, they said.  

The video deal comes soon after MCTV announced “Excellerate,” a fiber-to-the-premises deployment/initiative that will result in a GPON network that will overlay its existing hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) plant.

RELATED: MCTV Pushes Fiber-to-the-Premises Overlay With ‘Excellerate’ Initiative

"MCTV is a leading-edge provider of home entertainment services for consumers in our markets," Robert Gessner, president of MCTV, said in a statement. "We recognized an opportunity to embrace IPTV and introduce a new platform that will mimic our RF products and bring the latest IP technology to our customer base. Espial's Elevate cloud platform will allow us to improve our customer service and support operations by providing a single cloud-managed platform with a consistent, unified user experience across our RF and IPTV networks, as well as our managed and consumer-owned devices. Espial also allowed us to seize this opportunity quickly by delivering the IPTV solution in under 90 days."

Espial, which acquired Arris’s Whole Home Solution business last year, said it will show its cloud-based video platform at this week’s SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in Denver.

Espial said it has contributed a batch of conditional access system integration and certification software to the community of the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack for video and broadband gateways that’s managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications.

RELATED: Tele Columbus Takes RDK Route to Next-Gen Video

In this instance, Espial is contributing to RDK-V, the video-focused flavor of the platform.

Espial said it has certified and deployed RDK-V version 2 with several conditional access system companies, including Nagra, Cisco systems, Verimatrix and Widevine (part of Google) for future RDK-powered implementations.

Espial added that it has also contributed components to help speed set-top box porting, including Hardware Abstraction Layer technologies for set-tops and remote control functions, and other elements that aim to improve the STB porting code base.

Espial noted that it has deployed RDK-V version 2.x with European cable operators such as NOS of Portugal and TeleColumbus of Germany.

RELATED: NOS Rolls RDK-Based Hybrid Platform in Portugal

"Espial's contributions are important additions to RDK and their real-world learning and experience is an asset to the community" said Bill Warga, VP technology at Liberty Global, in a statement.

"The success of the RDK is driven by members like Espial bringing innovation, technical expertise, and best practices to the RDK community. A prime example of this is the contributions Espial has made to RDK-V CAS integrations and certifications that significantly benefit global service providers and their technology partners," added Steve Heeb, president at RDK Management LLC.

Espial has introduced Elevate IPTV, a turnkey, cloud-based video platform for MVPDs that has been pre-integrated with Arris’s portfolio of video set-tops and gateways.

Read More: Get complete coverage of #TIS17.

Espial claimed that the new software-as-a-service offering enables partners to turn up new live, VOD, OTT and whole-home DVR services in as quickly as 90 days while also supporting an operator’s legacy QAM video platform and delivering an experience that can be unified across both sides.

The debut of Elevate IPTV comes about a year after Espial closed its acquisition of Arris’s Whole Home Solution platform, which originated from Arris’s $20 million acquisition of the Digeo set-top and software business from Paul Allen in 2009.

RELATED: Espial Seals Deal For Arris’s Whole Home Solution Platform

At the time, Arris and Espial also announced that they’d collaborate on integration and co-marketing activities, and were creating a reseller agreement. Arris was also named Espial’s preferred partner for gateways, though Espial is free to work with other hardware partners.

Espial introduced Elevate IPTV in tandem with The Independent Show, being held this week in Indianapolis.

 “Elevate IPTV provides an elegant solution to access the ever growing choice of video content and consumer viewing devices” Mick McCluskey, VP of product management at Espial, said in a statement. “With content providers engaging consumers directly, Elevate IPTV provides operators with a powerful platform that allows operators to compete with scale.”

“In today’s increasingly competitive environment, we're enabling operators to deliver immersive new viewing experiences that seamlessly combine advanced TV, OTT, and operator-specific services,” added Rob Folk, VP of product management at Arris. “Operators are uniquely positioned to create these next-generation services quickly and efficiently, empowered by ARRIS technology and advanced platforms like Elevate IPTV."

Tele Columbus, the German MSO with about 3.6 million cable-connected homes, has introduced “advanceTV,” a multiscreen pay TV offering that will integrate over-the-top video, support 4K video and rely on RDK-based boxes from Humax with Espial’s ‘G4” client.

Espial, which is also baking in its cloud-based Media Services Platform, also served as the master system integrator for the platform, which is also powered by products from Cisco Systems, Verimatrix, and Elemental Technologies (now part of Amazon Web Services).

Update: Also tied to the advanceTV project is Metrological, which is helping to deliver several apps at launch, including Vimeo, Flickr, DailyMotion, Google Maps, wetter.com, Wikipedia, Deezer, TuneIn, and Deutsche Welle, among others. 

RELATED: Tele Columbus Takes RDK Route to Next-Gen Video

advanceTV, a service that will become available in January 2017, will be integrated with maxdome, one of Germany’s top SVOD-OTT services, and tie in Web apps. The service’s new UI provides integrated access across the MSO’s live TV and VOD services, DVR recordings, and maxdome library.

Tele Columbus, which acquired PrimaCom last year, introduced the new offering Monday (Dec. 5) at a media event in Berlin.

Tele Columbus’s plan is to migrate to the new platform by making advanceTV available to all new customers and introduce campaigns aimed at upgrading legacy video subs to the new platform.

Tele Columbus is also the third European MSO in Europe to implement the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software platform for video and broadband gateways being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications (via its acquisition of Time Warner Cable).  In Europe, Liberty Global is also deploying RDK, as is NOS of Portugal, which is also working with Espial. Tele Columbus’s rollout will include full unicast support of DVB-C

RELATED: Espial Seals Deal For Arris’s Whole Home Solution Platform

Espial has introduced “Elevate,” a cloud-based, “turnkey” video platform that is underpinned by the company’s recent acquisition of the Arris Whole Home Solution.

Ottawa-based Espial also identified three new customers: Easton Utilities of Easton, Md.; HBC (Hiawatha Broadband Communications of Minnesota);  and Ritter Communications, an operator that serves more than 45,000 business and residential customers in parts of Arkansas, Tennessee and Missouri.

With those additions, Espial said its newly-branded Elevate platform is now deployed to more than 40 operators around the world. Other known partners include Shaw Communications, WideOpenWest, Buckeye CableSystem, EastLink, Comporium, Consolidated Communications and Service Electric Cable TV.

The new product branding and set of new customers come about a month after Espial closed its acquisition of Arris’s Whole Home Solution, a software, apps and video navigation platform for set-top boxes that was spawned by Arris’s $20 million purchase of Digeo in 2009. At the time, Espial estimated that the deal would add $7.7 million in annual revenues amid a plan to push forward with new “video-as-a-service” offerings.

RELATED: Espial Swings Deal for Arris’s Whole Home Solution

Espial is billing Elevate as a turnkey, IP video transition offering backed by a Network Operations Center and “geo-redundant” cloud data centers, multiscreen user interfaces, and associated apps platforms. Arris is now Espial’s preferred partner for gateways, but Espial is free to work with other hardware partners.

RELATED: Espial ‘G4’ STB Client Targets RDK & More

“We felt that the best path to get more scale with that software solution was to combine it with somebody that's just laser focused on that part of the market. It will be the best thing for our customers and ultimately the best thing for employees,” Bruce McClelland, the new CEO of Arris, said in a recent interview with Multichannel News, said of the reasoning behind the deal (Multichannel News will be running that full interview later this week.).

Espial’s acquisition of Arris’s WHS and launch of Elevate pits Espial against others that are pitching IP transition platforms to operators, including Evolution Digital, Adara Technologies, as well as Comcast, which is now licensing/syndicating its X1 platform to other MSOs, with Cox Communications and Shaw Communications already on board. TiVo, freshly merged with Rovi and a partner with Evolution Digital, is also enabling MVPD partners to pursue next-gen video products.

RELATED: Shaw To Start X1 Set-Top Rollout in 2016

Espial said it will be showing off Elevate at the Arris booth (#1074) at this week’s SCTE/ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in Philadelphia.

In a deal that expands its video software expertise and market share, Espial on Friday (August 19) said it has closed its acquisition of Arris’s Whole Home Solution platform.

RELATED: Espial Swings Deal for Arris’s Whole Home Solution

Terms and conditions of the deal were not disclosed, but Ottawa, Canada-based Espial said in June that it expects the acquisition to add $7.7 million annual revenues as it moves ahead on a plan to spur growth with “video-as-a-service” offerings.

Arris and Espial said they will collaborate on integration and co-marketing activities, and are creating a reseller agreement. Arris is now Espial’s preferred partner for gateways, but Espial is free to work with other hardware partners.

The deal also covers WHS’s infrastructure, client and server software products, a development and operations team primarily located in Kirkland, Wash., and a network operations center and two WHS cloud data center operations.

Espial also announced that Ron Miller will transition from Arris to lead the business as general manager.

The deal effectively transfers some key video software expertise to Espial from Arris, the world’s largest maker of set-top boxes -- , a position established through its acquisition of U.K.-based set-top maker Pace plc. in January, and its purchase of Motorola Home in April 2013.

Arris’s WHS originated from its $20 million acquisition of the Digeo set-top and software business from Paul Allen in 2009. MSOs that have deployed Arris’s WHS include Shaw Communications, WideOpenWest, Buckeye CableSystem, EastLink, Comporium, Consolidated Communications and Service Electric Cable TV.

Espial has previously said it will support current roadmaps, and look to accelerate future product roadmaps, for more than 40 service providers that use WHS in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

Espial CEO Jaison Dolvane said when the deal was announced that there are more than 2 million boxes deployed that are powered by Arris’s WHS platform. He said the growth plan includes expanding the reach of WHS at existing customers, upselling others, and selling and deploying the offering to new customers.

"Espial gains a broad base of new customer relationships and further scales our world-class integration, operations, and software development teams,” Dolvane said in a statement.

The agreement will pit Espial against others that are looking to help MVPDs transition to IP video and next-gen video services, Evolution Digital, for example, is targeting that opportunity with its eVUE-TV platform. Comcast, meanwhile, is trying to syndicate and license its X1 platform. Cox Communications and Shaw Communications are already on board.

Espial execs shed more light on the strategy and financial angle behind its proposed acquisition of Arris’s Whole Home Solution (WHS), a platform that has been deployed by more than 40 small- and mid-sized pay TV operators.

The business will add more than C$10 million (US$7.7 million) to Espial’s financials on an annual basis, with an expectation that the business will grow 20% to 30% per year, Jaison Dolvane, CEO of Ottawa-based Espial, said Wednesday on a call with reporters and analysts.

According to Espial CFO Carl Smith, 25% of WHS revenues is for recurring hosting and support, less than 10% for professional services revenue, with the balance made up of software license revenue. “There will be no hardware product revenue” for Espial coming way of the deal, Smith said.

Espial and Arris did not announce the financial terms of the asset deal, but Dolvane said Espial’s upfront payment for the WHS assets is “not material” to the Ottawa-based company, adding that Espial’s investment into its broader business over the next two years will be “more significant.”

Under the current plan, Espial believes this part of its business can go EBIDTA positive in 2018.

Dolvane estimated that there are more than 2 million boxes deployed that are powered by Arris’s WHS platform. He said the growth plan includes expanding the reach of WHS at existing customers, upselling others, and selling and deploying the offering to new customers.

He said Espial will look for WHS to help it expand in North America, as well as regions such as Europe, where Espial already has a presence (NOS in Portugal, and Tele Columbus in Germany, for example), and the Asia Pacific.

Though Espial is obtaining the assets of WHS, including about 50 Arris engineers and software developers, it’s not getting into the set-top-making business.

Under its new relationship, Espial will focus on software and user interfaces while Arris will continue to provide media gateways and set-tops. Previously, Arris sold WHS by bundling its software and hardware.

Updated: For set-tops and gateways, Espial said Arris its its "preferred to develop, manufacture, and distribute innovative WHS media gateways and set-tops and remotes to video service providers.  As we move forward, there is certainly the option to work with other hardware partners."  Espial also intends to include Arris Market, a platform for WHS offered in partnership with Wurl that enables the integration of third-party apps such as Netflix.  "Our intent is to include Arris Market – with Wurl as a partner - for the WHS platform. We will aim to finalize the details around this in the days and weeks ahead as we work to close the deal," an Espial official said via email. 

Under this approach, the software component is being severed from the hardware, and Espial believes this will allow for the faster introduction of new apps and services for pay TV partners.

“In general, the [WHS] customer base would like to see faster feature innovation and, really, from an Arris, perspective, they felt that partnering with a company like us... is going to allow them to actually achieve that,” he said, noting that Arris will serve as the “primary distribution channel” for the offering, though Espial will also pursue direct deals.  

Once the deal is wrapped up, Espial will push forward with a cloud-hosted “video-as-a-service” solution that will also seek to integrate G4, its new set-top software client for devices that run the Reference Design Kit and other platforms. By pairing its software with hardware from Arris and others, Espial will be pitching a platform that can spur IP video migrations.

“Some operators in the market have expressed a desire to have a turn-key, prepackaged, next-generation video solution that can be managed by a supplier,” he said. “Service providers are eager for an accelerated software roadmap.”

While a turn-key offering reduces the amount of customization an operator has, the advantages include faster time-to-market as well as lower capital and operational costs, Dolvane said.

Of course, Espial will be far from alone in pursuing deals aimed at helping cable operators and other MVPDs make the transition to IP and offer a servcie that blends their pay TV services with OTT fare. 

Among them, Evolution Digital is trying to do the same with independent operators via its eVUE-TV platform. Comcast, meanwhile, has been pushing a strategy to syndicate and license its X1 platform, though most of its early traction in this area has been with larger operators such as Cox Communications and Shaw Communications.

Espial, a Canada-based company that specializes in multiscreen video interfaces and software clients, is deepening its IP video expertise and adding hosted cloud video capabilities via a deal to acquire Arris’s Whole Home Solution (WHS), a multi-room video and apps platform that supports traditional TV services as well as over-the-top content.

Financial terms were not announced, but the deal includes WHS’s infrastructure, client and server software products, a development and operations team primarily located in Kirkland, Wash., and a network operations center and two WHS cloud data center operations.

Update: During a conference call about the deal, Espial execs emphasized that it will enable it to push a strategy centered on a video-as-a-service platform rather than on hardware and set-top boxes. Notably, Arris will continue to provide media gateways, set-top boxes, support and solution deliver for the Whole Home Solution. 

Arris’s WHS was spawned by its $20 million acquisition of the Digeo set-top and software business from Paul Allen in 2009, and later extended a bridge to third party apps through what it called the “Arris Market.”  Examples of MSOs that have deployed Arris’s WHS include Shaw Communications, WideOpenWest, Buckeye CableSystem, EastLink, Comporium, Consolidated Communications and Service Electric Cable TV.

Espial said it will support current roadmaps, and look to accelerate future product roadmaps, for more than 40 service providers that use WHS in the U.S., Canada and Latin America.

They expect to close the deal in Q3 2016. After which, Arris said it will continue to work with Espial to support WHS with join integration and co-marketing activities. They also intend to establish a reseller agreement, noting that they worked together on the development of a 4K-capable platform launched this month by Portugal-based cable operator NOS that relies on the Reference Design Kit (RDK), a preintegrated software stack being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications (via Charter's acquisition of Time Warner Cable).

Arris’s sale of the WHS product line and associated assets comes more than six months after it acquired U.K.-based set-top maker Pace plc. Arris acquired Motorola Home in April 2013.

“WHS expands our solution portfolio with a cloud-hosted Video-as-a-Service platform that is complimentary to and will leverage Espial’s current solutions for next-generation IP video services,” Jaison Dolvane, Espial’s CEO, said in a statement.

“Combining the WHS technology and ARRIS team with Espial will broaden the capability of the overall organization and accelerate the pace of innovation,” added Bruce McClelland, president of Arris’s Network & Cloud and Global Services unit. “ARRIS will continue to focus our R&D investment on the greater broadband and video ecosystem, dedicated to enabling next-gen entertainment and communication experiences that are connected and personalized.

“We’re excited about the future of the WHS solution and look forward to working with Espial and ARRIS to enhance it further,” Cash Hagen, WOW’s CTO, said. 

Notably, WOW has begun to deploy a new hybrid QAM/IP platform in partnership with Evolution Digital and TiVo for a service called “SW!VEL” that includes the broadcast basic channels and integrated OTT apps. WOW is using that product to target a segment of the market that wants a slimmed down pay TV package, while continuing to market its full-freight HD-DVR offering with the Arris Whole Home Solution, which also supports integrated OTT apps.

Amping up competition with traditional MVPDs and new over-the-top rivals, NOS, a primary cable operator in Portugal, has launched a premium video platform that supports 4K video and a cloud interface that is underpinned by the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software platform for IP-capable set-tops and gateways that’s managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Charter Communications (via the latter's recent aquisition of Time Warner Cable).

NOS, which has more than 1.5 million video subs, is implementing Espial’s G4 set-top box cleint, a 4K hybrid IP box from Arris (the ZD4500) that runs the Broadcom 7251S chipset, Nagra’s anyCAST Connect content protection platform, and Nuance’s Dragon TV voice navigation system. Espial also handled the system integration for the new platform.

Espial said the offering, which lets NOS users personalize the experience down to the individual viewer, marks Europe’s first deployemnt of the RDK 2.1 environment, and enables the integration of live, VOD, OTT, catch-up and cloud DVR content via a unifed interface.

Among traditional competitors, NOS will use the new premium service to tangle with Portugal Telecom, the Altice-owned telco, and Vodafone. NOS is also seeing increased pressure from Netflix, which launched service in that country last fall.

“Our true competition is starting to appear through the Internet, through the web offers of players like Netflix, and we needed to be prepared,” Pedro Bandiera, head of development at NOS, explained in this video about the rollout, which also explores some of the personalized recommendations supported by the service, its integrated voice navigation system, and a fast channel-change (300 milliseconds) capability.   

NOS, which also offers a satellite TV service in areas where it doesn’t run a service on an HFC network, is booting up consumer marketing around the new premium offering during the weekend, and is making a more formal announcement about it today.

NOS will also offer a growing mix of 4K fare that includes rights to several matches from the 2016 UEFA European Championship and coverage of the NOS Alive music and arts festival.

NOS’s deployment is a signficant win for the RDK, which continues to seek adoption by pay TV providers around the globe, announcing in May that more than 15 million devices are now running the platform and that its membership has pushed past 275 companies, a group that includes more than 25 pay TV operators.

Espial, an Ottawa-based company that introduced its G4 set-top client in May 2015, is also working closely with Tele Columbus, a German MSO that is developing a new platform that will also be powered by the RDK. Tele Columbus conducted a field trial earlier thisyear and expects to launch its new platform commercially later this year.

“We absolutely have seen an increased level of interest from operators” in the RDK and G4, including in Europe and the Asia Pacific region, Jeff Huppertz, Espial’s vice president of marketing and business development, said, noting that the company generated significant interest in those technologies during the recent INTX show in Boston.

“We congratulate the exceptional work of NOS and Espial,” Steve Heeb, president and general manager of RDK Management, in a statement. “NOS’ deployment of the RDK software framework allows everyone to focus more of their efforts on developing the kinds of compelling consumer-facing applications and user experience showcased by this deployment.”

Tele Columbus, a German cable operator with about 2.8 million subs, work with Espial on a next-gen, IP-powered video platform that will lean on the Reference Design Kit (RDK), a preintegated software stack for IP-capable devices that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global.

Under the deal, Tele Columbus will license Espial’s G4 set-top client and Media Services Platform (MSP) backoffice, and tap Espial to integrate the MSO’s next-gen IP video platform. Espial’s role on the set-top box (Tele Columbus has not announced its STB suppliers for the project) will include the resulting platform’s user interface, according to Jeff Huppertz, Espial’s vice president of marketing and business development.

Tele Columbus, which grew in size when it acquired PrimaCom Holding earlier this year, is expected to start trials on the new platform later this year, and follow with full deployments sometime in early 2016.

Huppertz said Tele Columbus’s approach follows a trend/new model in which the operator separates the hardware from the software and develops UIs using a third-party design partner. He said Espial’s platform, which uses HTML5, will position Tele Columbus to provide an advanced platform on set-tops as well as mobile devices.

Ottawa-based Espial introduced G4 in May. It’s a fourth-gen set-top client can be applied not just to cable operators, but to telcos, satellite TV providers and other type of operators looking to provide a unified offering that blends on-demand, linear and OTT content. At the time, Espial said three operators, including one “major” MSO in North America and two in Western Europe, had selected G4 for their next-gen video platform. Those three operators have about 8 million subs between them.

The Espial G4 STB Client, Espial Media Service Platform and the Espial Experience professional services team were selected based on their industry leading software and expertise in RDK and user experience,” Ronny Verhelst, CEO of  Tele Columbus, said in a statement.

Tuesday’s announcement is Tele Columbus’s first public acknowledgement that it will use the RDK for its next-gen platform, and is an example of the platform’s progress outside the U.S.

RDK Development LLC has more than 25 MVPD licensees around the world. In addition to Tele Columbus, known MVPD licensees include Comcast, TWC, Liberty  Global, CenturyLink, Charter Communications, Rogers Communications, Kabel Deutschland, and Japan’s J:COM.

Espial, a supplier of video software and user interface technologies, has launched G4, a fourth-gen set-top box client for cable operators, telcos, satellite TV and other types of video service providers that can weave together linear, on-demand and Internet-based content into a uniform interface.

G4, the Ottawa-based company said, can integrate third-party recommendation engines and run on most set-top box platforms, including devices outfitted with the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack for IP and QAM/IP hybrid set-tops and gateways that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global.

Three unnamed operators – one “major” MSO in North America and two in Western Europe -- have selected G4 for their next-gen video platform, Jeff Huppertz, Espial’s vice president of marketing and business development, said. All three operators in question have at least 1.5 million subs, and about 8 million between them, he said, noting that they are also discussing G4 implementations on the RDK.  

Of Espial’s trio of MSO customers committed to G4, the one in North America is tapping the platform to power an new all-IP platform, while the two in Europe will use it for their respective hybrid QAM/IP networks.

Operators, Huppertz said, can use the HTML5-powered G4 platform to develop and roll out fluid, customized interfaces, and continue to add and tweak the look and capabilities of the interface.

“The operator owns the look and the experience…and making changes to [the UI] is as easy as changing Web pages,” Huppertz said, noting that pay TV operators have been stepping up their video interface development amid over-the-top competition and as programmers continue to enhance their own apps and launch or develop new stand-alone services.

But Espial has plenty of competition, including TiVo, which has had success with mid-sized tier 1s in the U.S. and some major ones in Europe, as well as from the operators themselves – Comcast and Charter Communications, for example, have developed next-gen video platforms largely through in-house projects. Time Warner Cable has also developed a cloud-based interface based on HTML5 that will run on the RDK.

Huppertz said the addressable market for G4 includes operators of all sizes that are still developing next-gen video strategies. “We think it’s a wide-open opportunity,” he said.

While G4 is a set-top box-focused client, Espial’s also has solutions operators can tap into to bring similar experiences to multiscreen devices.

Founded in 1997, Espial posted 2014 revenues of $20 million, a year-on-year increase of 59%. Mike Hayashi, the long-time TWC engineering exec who announced his retirement last year, recently joined the Espial board of directors.

Mike Hayashi, the former long-time Time Warner Cable engineering exec who announced his retirement last fall, has been appointed to the board of directors at Espial, a maker of video software and user interfaces.

Espial -- headquartered in Ottawa, Canada, with R&D centers in the Silicon Valley and the U.K. -- develops UIs powered by HTML5 and has licensed the Reference Design Kit (RDK), the preintegrated software stack for IP-capable set-tops and other video devices that is being managed by Comcast, TWC, and Liberty Global.

Espial announced last month that a “major,” but unidentified European cable operator with more than 1.5 million homes passed had selected Espial’s RDK platform, including its client software for DVB/IP set-tops, user experience and backoffice service management platform. Espial, which has RDK-facing deals with another MSO in Europe and a “tier-1” in North America, has a list of customers and partners that includes Vodafone, KDDI, Com Hem, Sagecom, Pace, Arris, Cisco Systems, Panasonic Technicolor and Samsung, among others.

Hayashi, a 36-year-cable industry vet who most recently served as TWC’s executive vice president, architecture, announced in September 2014 that he would retire from the MSO at the end of that year. Espial’s announcement said Hayashi’s retirement from TWC became effective in March 2015.  At TWC, Hayashi was a leading developer of next-gen cable products and services, including advanced analog, digital video, cable telephony, and video-on-demand. 

“Mike is one of the most innovative and respected technology executives in our industry, and we're excited to have him join Espial’s board of directors," said Jaison Dolvane, CEO of Espial, in a statement. "Mike’s insight, experience and industry knowledge will be invaluable to Espial's future plans." 

“Espial has developed impressive solutions that enable network operators to create an immersive, personalized user experience for their subscribers,” Hayashi added. “Their leadership and customer momentum around RDK is a key success ingredient for our industry in this critical time of growing competition. I'm excited to work with Jaison, Espial’s board, and the leadership team as they help major operators around the world launch compelling new video services.” 

Hayashi, who played a key role in Warner Cable’s pioneering, seven-year “Qube” interactive TV project (read this story about the group’s reunion in 1998), is also late of Scientific-Atlanta (now part of Cisco Systems) and Pioneer Communications. Hayashi graduated from St. Joseph College (Yokohama, Japan) in 1974, earned a B.S. in Engineering from Harvey Mudd College in 1978, and an MBA from The Ohio State University in 1986. 

Espial and Samsung have introduced a joint Reference Design Kit (RDK) platform that teams Samsung IP set-top boxes and home media gateways with Espial’s client software.

The product mix, which will feature an HTML5-based user interface and experience, will implement the RDK, a preintegrated software stack for IP-capable video devices that’s being managed by Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Liberty Global.

“The RDK platform helps us provide a set-top box platform that allows operators to more rapidly incorporate services that consumers expect, such as new and more immersive user interfaces,” said Ikdai Ham, VP and head of set top box S/W lab at Samsung Electronics.

“Espial is committed to delivering the best TV user experience across set-top boxes and smart TVs,” added Jaison Dolvane, president and CEO, Espial. “We achieve an exceptional TV user experience by extending RDK with our advanced application framework and user experience framework.

Samsung and Espial are two of more than 140 RDK licensees. Among deployment activities, Comcast is powering its X1 platform with RDK-based boxes from Pace and Arris, Liberty Global is expected to use RDK devices for its next-gen, cloud-based UI, and TWC has selected Humax for an RDK-facing IP client box.  

Espial said it will use this week’s show in Los Angeles to show off a high performance user interface based on HTML5 that runs on devices outfitted with the Reference Design Kit, the preintegrated software stack for IP-capable devices that’s being managed by Comcast, Liberty Global and Time Warner Cable.

Espial, which will demonstrate its handiwork at the CableNET pavilion, said the UI will feature a range of native and over-the-top video apps, including a base guide, video-on-demand as well as YouTube, running on a range of RDK-based set-top boxes.

Espial is one of about 140 companies that have licensed the RDK, a key component of Comcast’s X1 platform.

More than 20 vendors in that ecosystem will be demonstrating RDK-based apps and services at this week’s show.