Telus Taps Ericsson’s MediaFirst Platform to Enhance ‘Optik TV’ Service

Ericsson said Telus is using the vendor’s new cloud-based MediaFirst platform to enhance and augment Optik TV, the Canada-based telco’s full-freight, managed IPTV service.

Among those enhancements, MediaFirst will add personalization features across devices (including TV and mobile) and enable Optic TV subs to watch TV, set recordings and watch VOD content on the Optik TV app using a unified interface. Those additions are now reflected in the Optik TV apps for iOS and Android.

The updated platform also taps into advanced analytics tools that help the service provider target relevant content and promotions to viewers, they said.

In the first phase, Telus has launched the enhanced version of the Optik TV app to almost 1 million customers in British Columbia, Alberta and Quebec.

Optik TV was originally developed on Mediaroom, the IPTV platform that Ericsson acquired from Microsoft in the fall of 2013.

Telus is also using Ericson’s MediaFirst platform to power “Pik TV,” an IP-delivered skinny bundle service that was introduced in April that runs smartphones, tablets and an Android TV-powered box sold by Telus for C$100.

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Other announced MediaFirst customers include J:COM, Japan's largest cable operator, and Canada's SaskTel. 

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