Ericsson signs raft of content deals for Nuvu

Ericsson has signed a slate of deals with leading content distributors for its subscription video on demand (VOD) service, Nuvu.The comapny says it acquired more than 2,500 hours of content from international distributors including Viacom (MTV, BET, Nickelodeon), MGM, CBS, Al Jazeera, DHX Media and Mattel.

Titles include globally recognized hit TV franchises such as Hawaii Five-O, Next Top Model, CSI: Miami, Being Mary Jane, SpongeBob SquarePants, Bob the Builder, Vikings and many others along with a raft of premium Hollywood movies.

According to an Ericsson press release sent to CIO East Africa the company has also licensed dozens of pan-regional and local African TV series and movie content from distributors such as iRoko, Trace and Agwhyte International along with hundreds of music videos from the 960 Music Group, which is home to some of West Africa’s most influential music artists including P-Square, 2Baba and Yemi Alade.

Thorsten Sauer, Head of Broadcast and Media Services, Ericsson, says: “We have spent a great deal of time working with distributors to source the very best and most relevant international and local content for our new SVOD service, Nuvu. We created Nuvu to help mobile operators in emerging markets to address a significant untapped market for video content. Africa has some of the highest mobile adoption rates globally and there is a high demand for quality content from consumers. We are proud to announce this slate of deals, which we believe will meet and exceed the expectations of Nuvu’s discerning audiences, and we look forward to announcing more content deals over the coming months.”

Nuvu is a complete end-to-end subscription VOD service developed by Ericsson for mobile operators in emerging markets, which spans both the technology platform and the content licensing. It leverages the company’s extensive over-the top capabilities based on Ericsson Managed Player and components of Ericsson MediaFirst TV Platform, Ericsson’s highly scalable modular technology platforms used by broadcasters and telco service providers to distribute video content efficiently to connected devices.

For a small monthly fee, subscribers have unlimited access to an initial 3,000 local and international premium titles across a wide variety of genres including Hollywood and Nollywood movies, TV series, kids, music, gospel and education. They can download content directly to their smartphones or tablets at no additional data cost during off-peak network times and access the content offline for up to 30 days after downloading.

The built-in ability to distribute content to consumers during off-peak periods is a core feature of the service. This minimizes data costs for both operator and consumer, addressing the key cost challenge that has so far been an obstacle for VOD uptake in Africa. The platform also integrates fully into the operator’s customer relationship management and payment systems. Nuvu is available as an Android app for smartphones and Ericsson will continue to roll out the service on other platforms and operating systems.

Ericsson is one of the leading global providers of broadcast and media services, and has worked with some of the world’s most well-known broadcasters, platforms and content producers, including BBC, Channel 4, Channel 5, BT Sport, ITV, FOX, DreamWorks, Liberty Global, NPO, Canal+, NOS, Bonnier Group, Sky, HBO, TV5 Monde and France 24.