Campus Televideo, a reseller of DirecTV services to the university market, has formalized a relationship with Philo, a startup that has developed an IP-based multiscreen video platform that’s tailored for delivery on campus networks.
The companies have worked together on campus opportunities in the past, but Tuesday’s announcement “further solidifies our mutual goal to deliver the best TV experience to the university market and capitalize on Campus Televideo’s extensive reach,” a Philo official said in an emailed statement about the agreement.
Campus Televideo works with more than 250 colleges and universities and estimates that it has about 600,000 subscribers nationwide, and has been integrating IPTV solutions on campus for almost a decade. Philo, which has created a secure adaptive bit rate streaming platform that supports browsers, tablets, smartphones and Roku boxes and features a network-based DVR service, has deals in place with dozens of schools.
Universities and colleges that work with both Campus Televideo and Philo include the University of Alabama, Sacred Heart University, and California Polytechnic State University.
“IPTV provides a number of benefits to a campus,” Brian Benz, CEO of Campus Televideo, said in a statement. “This solution meets the student demand to record shows and watch content from anywhere on campus, while running on the school’s internal network so it doesn’t slow down external bandwidth. Also, IPTV give students global access to licensed content, eliminating the need to pirate the shows off of other websites.”
“We are excited to be working with Campus Televideo,” added Marc Emmons, director of sales at Philo, a company formerly known as Tivli that launched in 2011 and counts HBO and Mark Cuban among its backers. “Together we're empowering students with control over when and how they can watch TV.”
Others have been getting into the multiscreen act at various colleges and Universities. Among recent examples, Comcast has rolled out a managed IP video called Xfinity On Campus, and Cox Communications has developed a similar student-focused service under the Campus Connect brand.
