Anthem Sports & Entertainment made a deal with the National Cable Television Cooperative that makes Anthem’s Fight Network and Game Plus available to the NCTC’s 750 mid-sized and small operators.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The agreement follows Anthem and the NCTC reaching a multi-year renewal of their carriage agreement covering AXS TV and HDNet Movies in April.

“We are proud to continue our successful partnership with NCTC, as we make Fight Network and Game+ widely available to their diverse membership of TV distributors,” said Randy Brown, senior VP of Distribution for Anthem. “Each channel offers something unique for sports enthusiasts of all tastes, ranging from combat sports and pro wrestling, to fantasy and eSports, and everything in-between. We look forward to sharing our high-quality content with even more viewers across North America.”

Fight Network provides combat sports coverage, including more than 300 hours of live fights from around the world.

Game Plus features eSports, fantasy sports, wagering and millennial sports content, including high-stakes power, wrestling and other action-adventure and competition-based shows.

Anthem Sports & Entertainment made a deal with the National Cable Television Cooperative that makes Anthem’s Fight Network and Game Plus available to the NCTC’s 750 mid-sized and small operators.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

The agreement follows Anthem and the NCTC reaching a multi-year renewal of their carriage agreement covering AXS TV and HDNet Movies in April.

“We are proud to continue our successful partnership with NCTC, as we make Fight Network and Game+ widely available to their diverse membership of TV distributors,” said Randy Brown, senior VP of Distribution for Anthem. “Each channel offers something unique for sports enthusiasts of all tastes, ranging from combat sports and pro wrestling, to fantasy and esports, and everything in-between. We look forward to sharing our high-quality content with even more viewers across North America.”

Fight Network provides combat sports coverage, including more than 300 hours of live fights from around the world.

Game Plus features eSports, fantasy sports, wagering and millennial sports content, including high-stakes power, wrestling and other action-adventure and competition-based shows.

Citizens Fiber, an independent service provider based in western Pennsylvania, has teamed with MobiTV to introduce a new app-based pay TV option that's supported on a wide range of mobile and TV-connected devices, including Amazon Fire TV streaming sticks.

The rollout, delivered into homes using managed IP connections (not "over-the-top," via the public internet), leans on MobiTV’s Connect platform, eschewing the need for traditional set-top boxes. The deployment also ties into MobiTV’s recently announced commercial agreement with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC).

Citizens Fiber will initially test the platform with a select group of beta users before deploying it more widely this spring. It will support live TV, catch-up TV and network DVR services along with an operator-branded UI that offers recommendations and voice navigation capabilities.

Citizens Fiber, which serves about 3,500 subs in Westmoreland County, Pa. (with expansions into Latrobe and Greensburg underway), is pushing forward with the new app-based pay TV service, using it initially as a supplement to legacy options that include managed IPTV using set-top boxes in partnership with Innovative Systems and an RF-based service built around technology originally from Motorola.

In addition to satellite TV providers and two cable operators – Comcast and Armstrong Cable – Citizens Fiber is now also competing against a new wave of virtual MVPDs that deliver services over broadband to retail streaming devices.

Another aim of the new offering, in addition to getting access to an agile, multiscreen offering, is to cut down on set-top box costs and to get a faster return on pay TV services, said Zachary Cutrell, operations manager at Citizens Fiber, which reached out to MobiTV after learning of the vendor’s earlier work with C Spire.

RELATED: C Spire Launches IPTV Service

“It’s a real game changer for us,” Cutrell said. “We’re ready to jump in because of the cost-savings that this app-based [approach] can offer…We felt the need to jump into this space where we have our own app in the app store.”

Early on the plan is to use the new platform to offer similar pay TV packages that Citizens Fiber offers on its legacy platforms, but is also looking to develop and launch other, slimmed-down offerings that are more targeted to cord-cutters or can be bundled with 1-Gig broadband services. The vast majority of Citizens Fiber’s customers are served on fiber.

Citizens Fiber is still working out all of its subscription models for the new MobiTV-based offering, but in the early going it will charge a technology fee to offset the per-subscriber fee it’s paying to MobiTV.

In addition to enabling the per-subscriber model that sidesteps the upfront equipment costs, Citizens Fiber is also working with Hickory Telephone Company to share in some of the costs to deliver the new TV service.

“We’ve proved that they [MobiTV] have developed a product that can work for small companies,” Cutrell said.

The deployment with Citizens Fiber is an example of early results from MobiTV’s NCTC agreement. In addition to Hickory Telephone, MobiTV has previously said it has also been working with some other NCTC members, including DirectLink and USA Communications.

“This [Citizens Fiber deployment] is one of many that we’re launching right now,” Charlie Nooney, MobiTV’s chair and CEO, said.

He estimates that more than 20 operators have already signed on, and that MobiTV is in contract negotiations with another group that’s at least that size.

RELATED: Android TV Catches the Pay TV Wave

Though MobiTV’s primary focus is on TV apps for retail devices such as smartphones, tablets, Roku players, and Fire TV devices, the company will also support complementary service-provider supplied streaming options.

MobiTV also is not alone in pursuing deals with independent cable operators and service providers, as they are also targets for TiVo, Colorado-based Evolution Digital and Adara Technologies.

RELATED: TiVo Goes Device-Agnostic With New Platform for MVPDs

Sony Interactive Entertainment America said it has notched a deal to offer PlayStation Vue, its OTT TV service, to customers of the 850-plus cable operators and other service providers that are members of the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC).  

RELATED: Complete Coverage of TIS17

The agreement comes during The Independent Show, being held this week in Indianapolis, and comes on the heels of a similar deal between the NCTC and fuboTV, another virtual MVPD that competes with PS Vue and others such as DirecTV Now, Sling TV, Hulu and YouTube TV.

RELATED: TIS17: NCTC Reaches Pact With FuboTV

Those deals are forming as members of the NCTC look for new ways to offer video services to broadband-only customers and to provide an option to consumers who have cut the cord on traditional pay TV services or have never taken a pay TV service. In turn, the deals could give OTT players more exposure to consumers who are seeking those alternatives and bump up their sub totals. 

Financial terms were not announced, but they said the deal with the NCTC, whose members represent more than 9 million U.S. subs, will give those co-op members the ability to “enhance their product portfolio with a new offering to reach broadband customers with differentiated packages and enhanced user experience."

“This is a great opportunity for customers to experience PlayStation Vue’s innovative cloud-based TV streaming service through their NCTC member provider,” Dwayne Benefield, VP and head of PlayStation Vue for SIEA, said in a statement. “PlayStation Vue offers an incredible value to users, with more than 100 popular live national and local channels, a powerful user interface, and the ability to purchase channels a la carte without a bundle.”

“Our members are looking for ways to offer more video choice to their customers, and this new agreement allows them to do that,” added Rich Fickle, NCTC’s President and CEO, “NCTC understands the importance of pursuing new opportunities for the distribution of content, and we are excited to partner with such a strong brand.”

Sony launched PS Vue, initially in three markets, in March 2015, and has since expanded to feature a national offering that includes live local broadcast TV channels in certain markets as it signs more deals with affiliate groups, and next-day VOD access to their shows in others. Sony has not announced sub numbers for PS Vue.

PS Vue is currently supported on web browsers, PlayStation 4 and PS 3 consoles, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick devices, Android TV devices, iOS and Android smartphone and tablets, and is optimized for the Google Chromecast for iOS and Android.

As cable operators of all shapes and sizes descend on the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Fla., this week for The Independent Show, the pay TV business is at a crossroads. Over-the-top services, changing viewing habits and the continued emergence of broadband as the dominant product are forcing small and large operators alike to rethink the pay TV business.

That transformation is occurring in the organizations that represent these businesses, too. The National Cable Television Cooperative, created decades ago as a buying group, is no different. While negotiating programming contracts will continue to be a big part of its mission, the NCTC is gradually shifting toward helping smaller operators cope with the ever-changing market.

Rich Fickle, president and CEO of the NCTC, spoke with Multichannel News senior finance editor Mike Farrell about those topics and others recently. An edited transcript follows.

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MCN:What should NCTC members expect to get out of the Independent Show?

Rich Fickle: We always find that members get a lot out of hearing from other members. We started about a year ago diversifying some of the content, and we’ll have a good breakout session on company culture and customer service. But probably the bigger one is the whole IP-video space. You’ll see several exhibitors in that category, both platforms and OTT providers. That seems to be a key for the continuation of video.

If we can find ways and help these guys make that migration happen, to go from analog and [quadrature amplitude modulation] to IP, I think that’s really important. I think, we’re seeing some of the larger guys doing network DVR and more extensive on-demand offerings. The good news is that we’re finding ways to do that, too.

It’s probably unlikely programmers are going to stop raising rates, so they have got to embrace a different model. And our hope at the NCTC is that we can be a helping hand in providing options for them [small operators] in that new model.

The existing programming model is probably going south. [Operators] have to find other ways to keep customers happy with video.

MCN:What’s the alternative? OTT?

RF: OTT means a lot of different things to different people. One flavor of OTT is current programmers like premium-service providers like HBO. In an OTT world, maybe it’s the same programming relationship with the operator, but the OTT app for HBO offers well over 2,000 titles, compared to what you can get on VOD or a linear stream. The other application is niche content. Some of these guys are pretty well suited to fit some niches in an IP world that doesn’t take up full-time bandwidth.

Then, you’ve got bundled services like Sling TV and Sony [PlayStation] Vue. Hulu is trying to emerge as a vehicle for some of the large content groups. Some of those make sense to investigate. We’ll embrace other content sources and other forms of the same content but with a better experience for the consumer.

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MCN:Is this like a build-your-own-skinny bundle offering with services like Hulu and Netflix, because the cable networks won’t let you do it?

RF: You’re kind of removing a barrier by adopting IP, removing the barrier of having the shelf space dominated by eight companies. Now, you can allow the consumer to have more choices. That’s what the business has always been about.

It’s hard to know who’s going to win the OTT contests, especially those that are recreating packages. But if you set it up right, you can let the market decide that. The cable operator takes on a role of providing the best choices he possibly can, the very best broadband network, the very best in-home WiFi experience and maybe an IP video set-top or apps. It could be an app business one day.

MCN:Apps are gaining traction with distributors across the board. I’ve heard people say one day that is how all services will be delivered — through apps, not set-tops.

RF: That’s right. You’ll hear at our show about a couple of members who will move that way next year. I think it’s probably too early for a broad number of companies to do that. But as usual, we have a couple of companies that are very entrepreneurial and they are going to move toward app-driven video delivery on Roku devices or Amazon Fire, and they’ll probably have that up and running this year.

MCN:Can you say who they are?

RF: I can’t. They want to make an announcement at the show. I don’t want to steal their thunder.

MCN:You recently launched VU-IT with Evolution, a new platform that includes a solution for back-office integration, OTT apps and enables IP-based linear and OTT services.

RF: There are two pieces to it. The initial impetus was to try to find a way to lower the cost structure of deploying TiVo for small and midsized operators. We’re also taking a more active role in some of the apps that show up on the TiVo box on behalf of those companies. There is a healthy pipeline of 15 or so companies either in the launch process or close to making that commitment and some already up and running.

In the process of doing that, we had to build out a back-office platform, we call it Bravo. We finished that and turned it up about a month ago. We’re finding that maybe there are some other opportunities for it. It is a way to facilitate back-office integration for mobile devices, OTT partnerships or some other things we’re working on. You’ll hear more about Bravo in the future.

MCN:That seems like a good example of how NCTC has evolved, you’re not just negotiating programming deals anymore.

RF: Our board told us about three or four months ago that the major programming renewals are still important, but maybe as important if not more important is finding ways to help members with these types of services, so we can create virtual scale if needed and bring the right partners or expertise to the table and help these guys move fast.

MCN:How are you going to do that?

RF: We have a list of about 10 projects. Some are a little further along than others. We have an IP VOD project that we are about to finish phase one on [with Evolution and its iVelocity unit]. There will be a couple of other phases to it and that will marry up with TiVo or a couple of other platforms. The idea is to provide a deep library of on-demand content with a very low cost structure and a good user experience. It’s all IP so it takes away the need for local markets to invest in VOD servers and that whole infrastructure. We treat it just like an OTT app so it can sit on mobile devices as well as set-tops.

That’s probably the most obvious. There are a halfdozen others, ranging from advanced advertising [to] network DVR.

Evolution Digital said it has reached a deal with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) to distribute its eVUE-TV IP video-on-demand service to the NCTC’s membership of independent operators.

eVUE-TV, a platform introduced by Colorado-based Evolution in February, supplies “thousands” of hours of movies and TV shows on-demand while also integrating IP linear and VOD across a unified interface. Evolution’s future plans for the platform include cloud-based services, including a cloud DVR.

Evolution noted that eVUE-TV is the first offering to be introduced as an option for NCTC members for “VU-IT!,” a new platform that includes a solution for backoffice integration, OTT apps and “enhanced services” to enable IP-based linear and VOD services.

VU-IT will initially be available on TiVo-powered devices, such as Evolution’s recently re-branded, hybrid IP/QAM “eBOX,” but will also be deployed on other platforms, as well as mobile devices, Evolution said. Notably, GLDS announced Monday (July 18) that it had completed the integration of VU-IT! With its own BroadHub billing and customer management system, with Vyve on board as the first operator to deploy the integrated GLDS/NCTC solution. Vyve and TiVo announced their original partnership in February 2014.

As for the eVUE-TV approach, on-demand content is uploaded from the cable operator’s local VOD and transcoded, enabling an “exact replication” of the MSO’s VOD catalog in IP.

“Today’s agreement ensures that members of NCTC have access to the best on-demand content on one, easy-to-use platform at a price point that makes sense to the operator,” Marc Cohen, executive vice president of sales at Evolution Digital, said in a statement. “As a disruptor in the pay-TV industry, we are committed to driving growth for NCTC members and, with the deployment of eVUE-TV, we will provide an unparalleled viewing experience to customers.”

“We are pleased to offer Evolution Digital’s eVUE-TV on our platform, providing cable operators a low-cost solution to deliver VOD,” added Rich Fickle, CEO and president at NCTC.  “Evolution Digital continues to be a key partner for NCTC, from its pioneering of DTAs to now driving solutions that enable IP video services.”

Evolution’s latest NCTC distribution deal, announced ahead of next week’s Independent Show in Orlando, follows one with the co-op announced in February that centers on Evolution’s hybrid set-top box.

Among operators, WideOpenWest plans to use the Evolution/TiVo eBOX combo to underpin a new service called “SW!VEL” that will feature a skinny TV bundle that includes the major broadcast TV networks and a suite of OTT apps. WOW also plans to deploy eVUE and has put a cloud DVR on its product roadmap.

Update: Evolution’s agreement with WOW is separate from Evolution’s arrangements with the NCTC. But Evolution has “a number of irons in the fire” with tier-2 operators that are looking to take advantage of the NCTC accords, Brent Smith, Evolution Digital’s president and CTO, explained. Though Evolution will focus on the combination of its eBOX and eVUE platforms, he noted that eVUE is agnostic in the sense that the platform can be combined with other types of set-tops and CPE. 

The American Cable Association and National Cable Television Cooperative, long allied in the push to get the Federal Communications Commission to address issues like package deal programming negotiations, are ready for the agency to start drilling down on the issue.

The commission last week voted to launch, at the request of FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn, an inquiry into access by traditional and online programming to distribution platforms.

"With the release of the FCC's Notice of Inquiry, the programmers behind these unfortunate market trends will finally come under the close scrutiny they so clearly deserve," said Matt Polka, president of the American Cable Association, in a jointly released statement today (Feb. 25).

The topic should be top of mind next week, when ACA members meet in Washington for their annual policy summit and then call on regulators and legislators in the city. This past December, the two associations teamed up to complain in Washington about channel-bundling tactics AMC Networks was then using as part of renewal talks with the cooperative. AMC and the NCTC later reached contract terms, though AMC programming did come off some smaller carriers and remains off them, as The Wall Street Journalreported.  

NCTC, which negotiates program purchases for consortium of smaller providers, teamed with ACA to applaud the FCC inquiry, which both have long advocated.

"While we've completed many distribution agreements with new networks over the last few years in an effort to support diversity in content, unfortunately, our member operators are prevented from broadly supporting these networks as a result of the forced carriage terms demanded by large network groups," NCTC CEO Rich Fickle said in the statement.

Fickle says that some negotiations have included trying to discourage his member's support for alternative over-the-top video offerings, an issue the FCC definitely wants to hear about.

Obstructing access to OTT, if true, is definitely on FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler's list of anti-competitive no-nos.

In outlining the inquiry last week, Media Bureau chief Bill Lake called it a fact-finding enterprise on program diversity and possible ways to address complaints that cable operators and other multichannel video-programming distributors (MVPDs) might be stifling competition.

The NCTC and ACA are drawing the agency's attention to what they called "onerous requirements in cable company carriage contracts that require a high percentage of subscribers to take -- and pay for -- the programmers' suite of shows, regardless of popularity. These provisions, known as guaranteed minimum penetration clauses, have been criticized by consumer advocates and others for limiting customer choice." Distributors say their ability to experiment with lower-cost packages of channels, possibly tacked onto broadband subscriptions, are hindered by contract strictures that require many networks be included in the most popular packages of programs.

"Besides reducing consumer choice at a time when subscribers are increasingly seeking low-cost cable TV choices and accessing their favorite programs online, this 'penetration guarantee' requirement hinders our ability to take on new independent and diverse programming," Elaine Partridge, VP of programming for ACA and NCTC member NewWave Communications, said in the groups' statement. "These outdated requirements limit our ability to offer subscribers inexpensive options, including the low-cost 'lifeline' and local cable packages."

Added Jim Holanda, CEO of RCN Telecom Services and Grande Communications, in the statement: "These restrictions are a version of anti-consumer bundling, greatly limiting consumer choice and flexibility and keeping our viewers' fees artificially high. It forces subscribers to buy services they do not want, and hurts low-income consumers who would choose not to pay extra monthly charges to simply watch the local broadcast cable package." 

The FCC is inviting comment on the state of the marketplace and the challenges to entry. It’s also seeking comment on most favored nation and alternative distribution method provisions in contracts, which independent networks have said can hinder their access. It is also seeking comments on OTT distribution, program bundling, and issues affecting public, education and government (PEG) channels.

The FCC is also seeking comment on its legal authority to address any hindrances to distribution.

Evolution Digital said it has notched a deal to offer a TiVo-powered IP/QAM set-top powered by TiVo to members of the National Cable Television Cooperative, a group that assembled programming and technology deals for many of the nation’s independent cable operators.

Evolution Digital didn’t announce if any NCTC members are on board yet, but noted that it ported TiVo’s software onto its low-cost hybrid platform last summer. Notably, WideOpenWest (WOW) announced a joint development deal with TiVo and Evolution Digital last year that will enable the MSO to offer a blend of traditional linear TV and VOD services and over-the-top content via a new low-cost hybrid IP/QAM device and through Web and mobile apps powered by the TiVo platform.

Today, under “Bravo,” an NCTC platform that acts as an intermediary between tier 2/3 cable operators, co-op members can purchase the TiVo-based Evolution Digital hybrid devices “with full functionality at a lower cost,” the companies said. Those TiVo-powered devices from Evolution  Digital are also available to NCTC members that are not operating on the Bravo platform.

Evolution Digital said the hybrid set-tops can also be flipped to support an all-IP platform that supports live TV, VOD and network DVR apps on a unified, TiVo-based platform. Colorado-based Evolution recently introduced an IP video platform called eVUE-TV that stems from its acquisition last year of  i-Velozity.

“Our IP Hybrid STB powered by TiVo integrates the operator’s cable channel line-up with the leading OTT services to provide viewers with a seamless viewing experience,” Marc Cohen, executive vice president of sales at Evolution Digital, said in a statement. “Our great relationships with TiVo and NCTC now give operators with membership in the NCTC an affordable option for delivering our leading technology without integration fees, but with all the same innovative features TiVo offers.”

“NCTC is proud to partner with Evolution Digital to give our members another way to offer a superior entertainment experience,” added NCTC CEO and president Rich Fickle, CEO and president at NCTC. “We developed the Bravo platform to allow cable operators access to what their customers are asking for, but at a price point that is accessible for the provider.”

Evolution Digital and NCTC timed the announcement with this week’s Winter Educational Conference in Phoenix.

The National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), a group that strikes programming and equipment deals for nearly 1,000 independent operators, has hired John Childress as vice president of product strategy and management.

Childress, who most recently worked in product development and management of residential services at WideOpenWest, enters a new role at the NCTC in which he’ll focus on developing new service solutions with supplier-partners and aid co-op members in providing more advanced capabilities. Childress is also late of BendBroadband (sold to TDS Telecom in 2014) and SBC Communications (now part of AT&T).

For more about NCTC’s strategy in this area, including its emphasis on over-the-top options and “alternative content models, please see this week’s Next TV interview with Rich Fickle (subscription required), the group’s CEO and president.

“There are substantial changes in the way video is being distributed, discovered and consumed,” Fickle said, in a statement. “At the same time, larger MVPDs are performing more new product development in-house to provide a differentiated advantage in the market. This means traditional industry suppliers are less able to bring new capabilities to the group of small to mid-sized operators. We saw a need to help supplier-partners be more effective in working with our large group of members, fostering innovation and scale. The good news is, many of our members are very entrepreneurial and can move quickly. We are hoping to combine that strength with an ability to attract partners with potential for requisite scale.”

“The NCTC is a mix of proven companies with great ideas and an adaptable spirit,” Childress added. “I am thrilled to be working in an environment where we can help create value for the members quickly.”

Childress received an MBA from Saint Mary’s College of California and received his undergraduate degree in Business Administration from the University of San Diego. He will work out of Denver.

When Comcast walked away from its proposed acquisition of Time Warner Cable, we surmised that it would clear the way for Comcast to amp up its efforts around licensing X1, its cloud-based, IP-capable video platform, to other cable operators.

It has worked out that way to a degree, based on what we know so far.  Cox Communications is broadening its beta trial of X1 (what Cox is calling “Contour 2”) in San Diego as it continues to noodle plans for a “future state” video project, and Shaw Communications will also test X1 after scuttling its original IP video transition initiative.

And it’s likely that Comcast has many other licensing talks underway as it looks to build more scale for X1 and try to recoup some of the costs that went into creating and deploying it. It won’t be surprising to see others dip their toes in the X1 waters as they mull where to go next.

But what about smaller independent operators, which, like their larger brethren, are struggling to come to grips with the changing dynamics of the pay TV business as programming costs rise, the cord-cutting trend expands, and more eyeballs drift to over-the-top options? They could use some help migrating to more economical IP video platforms that can deliver on multiple screens and bring OTT the mix, right?

It’s a challenge that’s high on the mind of Rich Fickle, the president and CEO of the National Cable Television Cooperative, which represents nearly U.S. 1,000 small- and mid-sized operators.

In an interview this week, he acknowledged that the NCTC has set a high priority on OTT and “alternative content models” for its members. You’ll get a chance to read all the details in the Next TV section in the September 21 issues of Multichannel News and Broadcasting & Cable.

But I also brought up X1, to see if that’s of interest to NCTC and its membership.

Fickle said that X1, while seeing it as one of the best things to come out of Comcast, is currently a “complex platform” that is generally better suited to large MVPDs than those served by the NCTC. So don’t expect the NCTC and Comcast to swing an X1-facing deal anytime soon.

“We have not yet seen a practical way to bring X1 to the small and mid-sized market,” Fickle said. “It doesn't mean it won't happen. But so far it looks like the focus has been around working with some very large MVPDs and working out the models associated with multi-tenancy."

But the NCTC is “more than happy to entertain those types of options,” he said. 

TiVo said it has locked up a deal to offer its whole-home and multiscreen platform to the more than 805 small- and mid-sized cable and telco members of the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC).

Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but the deal will allow NCTC members to get “cost-efficient access” to TiVo-powered products and services. The partnership includes access to multiple device providers that offer the TiVo platform, including TiVo itself, Pace, Evolution Digital (digital transport adapters), and TiVo “soft clients.”

NCTC noted that it’s investing in a common back office integration platform that will connect with multiple billing systems as well as TV Everywhere authentication platforms.

“This is a key enabler of the TiVo deal and could also support future IP video and OTT solutions,” Rich Fickle, NCTC’s president and CEO, said in a statement.  “We are excited to work with TiVo and believe our members are now better positioned to address a growing array of options for receiving television content."

Rollout will commence by end of year with new features and platforms to follow in early 2016, TiVo and NCTC said.

The agreement should help TiVo push further into the tier 2/3 MVPD world, and expand on deals it has in place with operators such as Suddenlink Communications, Mediacom Communications, RCN, Grande Communications, WideOpenWest, GCI, and Atlantic Broadband, among others.

TiVo ended its fiscal first quarter with 4.81 million subs through MSO deals, and 944,000 TiVo-owned subs. It reports fiscal second quarter results later today.

"This is a remarkable agreement for TiVo and the Pay-TV industry in which an influential alliance has embraced a single, shared platform for the delivery of advanced TV services," Ryan Perry, TiVo's VP of business development, said in a statement. "With this partnership, the NCTC has taken a consolidated, efficient approach to harnessing innovation by making TiVo a top choice for its member operators."

"We are committed to providing our members access to the technology and products that give them a cost effective approach to deliver technology-rich TV experiences," Fickle added. "Collaborating with TiVo gives NCTC members access to an advanced TV offering with best-in-class multiscreen capabilities, OTT integration, and a personalized user experience.” 

Vubiquity, an aggregator of premium content, said it has struck a deal to make its LiveVU linear TV platform available to members of the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC), a group that negotiates carriage and tech deals for more than 850 independent cable operators.

The LiveVU hosted MPEG-2 and MPEG-4 service, which offers more than 720 standard- and high-definition channels, including pay-per-view offerings, carves out a migration path to more bandwidth-efficient MPEG-4-based feeds as cable operators start to retire MPEG-2-based gear, Vubiquity said. 

Vubiquity said LiveVU is compatible with MPEG-2 and MPEG-4-based set-top boxes, DAC/NAS/NASRAC, and cable systems that run on Arris, Verimatrix, Mediaroom (now run by Ericsson), and Minerva platforms.

“NCTC’s partnership with Vubiquity offers access to technology and content packages that help drive down the costs associated when providing cable TV,” Corey McCarthy, NCTC’s CFO and SVP of business development, said in a statement. “Vubiquity’s LiveVU service offers our members flexibility and choice by offering both MPEG2 and MPEG4 linear feeds, providing bandwidth, compression and network capacity advantages our members can take advantage of.”

“Our LiveVU solution addresses the challenge most cable operators continue to try to solve - the ongoing operational and capital costs associated to managing a headend,” added Vubiquity president Doug Sylvester. “LiveVU delivers bandwidth and network capacity savings, mitigates the need for costly headend upgrades, and provides the springboard for future monetization services for NCTC’s membership base.”

NCTC also works with Comcast Wholesale, striking a multiyear renewal recently for the HITS National Authorization Service that includes new provisions for NCTC members to use “universal” digital transport adapters (uDTAs), which are one-way "channel zappers" that can operate on Cisco Systems- and Arris-based digital video networks. 

Rovi announced a flurry of deals Tuesday, including its first ever with the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) and renewals with Canada’s Shaw Communications and CE giant Panasonic.

On the NCTC side, Rovi has granted a master agreement for the use of its guide for Digital Terminal Adapters, which are simple, one-way channel zappers that several operators are leaning on to facilitate their all-digital transitions. Financial terms weren’t disclosed, but the deal gives NCTC’s membership of more than 900 independent operators the ability to license guides for both standard-definition and high-definition DTAs.

The Rovi DTA Guide supports baseline navigation capabilities, including channel tuning, parental controls, options for multiple languages, and on-screen On Now/On Next banners.

Rovi has already ported the guide to DTAs built by Evolution Digital, Arris and Pace, and is in talks with other suppliers, Rovi officials said, noting that this agreement marks its first with the NCTC.

“The cable industry is eager to complete their transition to an all-digital footprint,” said Corey McCarthy, the NCTC’s senior vice president of business development and CFO, in a statement. “We’re heralding the benefits of this change with additional capabilities across all of our devices – even on the basic DTA. Our agreement with Rovi will offer our members the ability to bring a navigation experience and show added value as they switch over their subscriber base to digital services.” 

Elsewhere, Rovi said it has secured a “long term” renewal with Shaw Communications for the iGuide and licenses for the vendor’s interactive program guide patents. Under the deal, Shaw will continue to use iGuide in set-tops and have access to the Rovi patents “into the next decade.”

Rovi’s multi-year renewal with Panasonic gives the CE giant IPG-related licenses and Rovi Data (TV show information, images and editorial content)  that extend coverage into Latin America and China and tie in Panasonics products such as TVs and recorders. The agreement also includes rights for Panasonic to use the HTML5-based G-Guide and Rovi’s HTML Guide.

WebTuner, a startup run by a group of cable and video tech vets, is joining a small yet growing group of companies that is working on a next-gen IP video platform that, it claims, will be capable of serving up a mix of live TV, video-on-demand and over-the-top video services.

Founded in 2010 and based in Redmond, Wash., WebTuner will base its “virtual MVPD service” on a cloud-based infrastructure that is being paired to a colorful line of miniature IP video clients and a fancy user interface that runs on Android.

But rather than building a “virtual MSO” that would sell services directly to consumers via broadband, WebTuner intends to partner up and integrate with large and small multichannel video programming distributors, including incumbent cable operators.  

That approach appears to share similarities to one being pursued by Layer3 TV, a company founded last year by several execs from the cable industry that is billing itself as a “next-generation cable provider.”

WebTuner’s baseline device/adapter that will run video services securely over WebTuner’s platform is outfitted with a dual-core ARM-based processor, an HDMI port, as well as integrated dual-band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and Zigbee wireless connectivity, according to the company, which will be tooting its horn at next week’s NAB show in Las Vegas.

Although this adapter will be capable of streaming video, it’s really “a plug-in computer” that provides security at the chip level and will perform all the key functions found in a traditional set-top box, said WebTuner CEO and co-founder Bernee Strom, a “serial entrepreneur” who is late of companies such as Gemstar–TV Guide (now part of Rovi), Priceline.com, and Infospace, among others.

WebTuner is pairing that device up with a remote control with seven buttons on its front side, a full QWERTY keyboard on the flipside, and the ability to speak both IR and RF.

The device and the UI will also support an audience measurement system that could be used to deliver addressable and interactive advertising, Strom said.

Because WebTuner’s intention is to partner with MVPDs, it will rely on a bring-your-own programming and content rights model “for the most part,” she said, noting that WebTuner is also working on its own content deals.

And it’s already holding talks with cable operators and industry organizations, including the National Cable Television Cooperative, a buying agent for about 1,000 independent cable operators.

 “WebTuner is arriving at the right time, as MVPDs need a better more modern option to deliver video to their customers,” said NCTC president and CEO Rich Fickle, in a statement. “A dramatically improved user experience, lower cost consumer devices and Internet access for content across multiple screens  are essential elements for our members to remain competitive. We are in discussions with WebTuner and encourage innovative companies like them to bring innovative options to our members.”

But how MVPDs or others will work with WebTuner is an open question and will be dependent on their distribution rights. That could pave the way for a full suite of services delivered over IP, or set up new types of “lite,” more personalized video tiers that are tailored to college students, cord-cutters and other consumer segments.

As for WebTuner’s readiness, she said the company will have its UI completed by May (they’re open to licensing it), with its video adapters ready by the end of this summer. Its full platform will be set for launch by the second half of the year, she said.

WebTuner has raised $12 million of an anticipated $20 million round of funding. It has 15 employees, with developers in Toronto, Ukraine and Israel.

More detail about WebTuner and its approach will be covered in the April 7 issue of Multichannel News. In the meantime, here's a promotional video about WebTuner.