Digital-media services firm Avail-TVN plans to pump more
than $30 million into its video-distribution
network over the
next two years, revamping its
infrastructure to provide new
services and substantially more
content — including TV Everywhere
services for content providers
and out-of-market sports
packages from the National Basketball
Association and National
Hockey League starting this fall.
Avail-TVN has deals with the
NBA and NHL to offer sports
packages to cable and telco TV
providers when their 2010-11
seasons begin this fall, and is in
talks with other sports leagues,
CEO Ramu Potarazu said. On that
front, the company will be competing
with InDemand Networks
and Comcast Media Center.
Avail-TVN is moving to a
“super headend” (SHE) architecture,
which will provide aggregated
linear, video-on-demand
and pay-per-view content from a
single source. That, according to
the company, will improve efficiencies of existing services such
as quick-turn VOD. In addition,
Avail-TVN plans to dramatically
increase its storage capacity to
5 Petabytes (about 5 million Gigabytes),
about 30 times its current
capacity, to fuel delivery of
more content to more platforms.
Avail-TVN — which has more
than 300 content and service-provider
customers — was
formed through IPTV content
aggregator Avail Media’s acquisition
last year of VOD provider
TVN Entertainment, a deal
reportedly worth $80 million.
“What we did with the combined
company was to say, ‘What
should be our next-generation
platform to provide expanded
services to our content providers
as well as our distribution providers?’” Potarazu said.
Avail-TVN in the fourth quarter
of 2010 plans to introduce
the out-of-market sports packages,
as well as local, customized
pay-per-view playout and 3D
programming.
New services for
content providers are to include
more comprehensive content
preparation and TV Everywhere
support with a centralized authentication
service.
New services on tap for the
first half of 2011 include multiplatform-enabled ingestion,
storage, management and distribution
of content to multiple
devices from a single source.
