Rovi Corp. and Nuance Communications have kicked off a joint initiative to build a speech-based, “conversational” entertainment discovery platform that will be offered to TV service providers around the globe.

Under the plan, Nuance’s Dragon TV voice recognition voice recognition, text-to-speech and voice biometrics systems will be integrated with Rovi’s cloud-based Conversation Services platform, which is powered by a “Knowledge Graph” that maintains semantic, real-time information on more than 100 million entertainment-related entities, including program titles, celebrity names, and brands.

Nuance said Dragon TV can be integrated on a remote, TV or set-top box, and supports more than 40 languages.

Rovi is showing off the new combo at the IBC show in Amsterdam.

The integration deal comes more than a year after Rovi put up $62 million to buy Veveo, a maker of a voice-based video personalized search platform.

“With so much content and so many channels to choose from, consumers want instantaneous and effortless access to their favorite video content,” said Scott Taylor, senior vice president of devices, Nuance Mobile, in a statement. “Voice transforms the content discovery experience by getting people directly to the entertainment they want in just a few words. And by integrating our TV-optimized voice capabilities with Rovi’s natural language search and discovery, service providers will be able to deliver an even more personalized experience for consumers.”

“As digital content choices continue to proliferate across various platforms, media and entertainment services are becoming increasingly competitive, and providers are seeking to enrich their offerings with features that bring the most relevant entertainment content straight to viewers,” said Michael Hawkey, the recently named senior vice president and general manager of discovery at Rovi. “Rovi’s initiative with Nuance is another step forward in driving innovation in entertainment discovery based on voice and natural conversation. Our integrated approach enables providers to quickly deploy advanced services that will further enhance a user’s entertainment experiences.”

Nuance Communications said its Dragon TV platform is what’s powering voice recognition and voice search capabilities that are integrated with the latest Roku 3 streaming player model and the Roku mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

Roku rolled out voice-based search for new top-of-the-line Roku 3 models (which come with a new remote with a built-in microphone) in April, enabling users to sift for content based on titles, actors, directors and other categories across a mix of 17 sources spanning ad-supported, subscription, electronic sell-through/rental,  and authenticated streaming offerings, including Amazon Instant Video, Blockbuster On Demand, CinemaNow, Crackle, Fox Now, FX Now, HBO GO, Hulu Plus, M-GO, Nat Geo TV, Netflix, Time Warner Cable (the operator's authenticated TWC TV app), and VUDU, among others.

Roku’s new app for iOS and Android mobile devices also supports the new voice search feature.

“Voice makes it simple for consumers to get right to the content they want, quickly and easily," said Scott Taylor, SVP of mobile devices at Nuance, said in a statement.