24i to Showcase its cutting-edge OTT Apps at IBC 2017

RTÉ announces plans to develop the next generation RTÉ Player

RTÉ today announced its plans to develop the next generation RTÉ Player, Ireland’s number one broadcaster video-on-demand service. It is expected that the new service will be launched before the end of the year. The redeveloped RTÉ Player will be RTÉ’s multi-channel television and video platform, designed and re-imagined for how Irish audiences watch television and video content online. It will be a world-class online television and video destination that seamlessly blends the audience content needs across live and on-demand with a curated, personalised service, with new features and functionality. The new RTÉ Player experience will be a gateway into a world of great content, from box-sets and curated on-demand libraries across 10 genres, to exciting new original RTÉ Player shorts, as well as the ability to enjoy RTÉ’s live channels on any screen. Delivering a multi-platform experience, the redeveloped RTÉ Player will be available across web, iOS, Android, connected TVs and OTT services, including Saorview, Chromecast, Android TV and Apple TV. RTÉ’s lead partner for the delivery of the project is Fincons Group. The global IT Business Consulting company has over 30 years’ experience as a broadband and broadcast service partner and has worked with many leading companies including Sky and the largest Italian commercial broadcaster, Mediaset, as consultant and integration partner for their video solutions and OTT platform rollouts. RTÉ and Fincons Group will also work with the Dutch-based TV app development company 24i, an internet TV app company, which powers apps for leading brands like Viacom, Fuse media and Sinclair. Discovery and personalisation provider ContentWise will integrate its content personalisation solution. RTÉ Player will benefit from the combination of Fincons Group’s design and integration, 24i’s unified UI front-end expertise and ContentWise’s user experience automation capabilities. Múirne Laffan, RTÉ’s Chief Digital Officer, said: “The delivery of the next generation RTÉ Player is hugely important for RTÉ’s future. It is a sophisticated proposition that will position us to meet evolving audience expectations and compete within a highly competitive, globalised media environment.” Aoife Byrne, Director of Content & Products for RTÉ’s digital division, said: “In order to meet the changing needs of our audiences, we are transforming RTÉ Player from being a pure catch-up TV service to being a world-class live and on-demand online TV and video platform. Irish audiences will continue to be able to catch up on their favourite show, but with the next-generation RTÉ Player we will soon be offering so much more: on-demand libraries with hundreds of great titles from across the genres; great box-sets to binge on, and brand new short-form content, exclusive to RTÉ Player. Audiences will also be able to enjoy RTÉ’s television channels live, on any screen.” “As well as delivering on our audience’s content needs, we want next-generation RTÉ Player to deliver a superb streaming experience. To achieve this, we are working with our delivery partners Fincons Group, 24i and ContentWise who are hugely experienced in delivering world-class online TV and video platforms. We are rebuilding the product from the ground up to ensure technical reliability, and we will also be adding some great new features and functionality such as live restart and autoplay to make watching great TV and video even better” added Aoife Byrne. Michele Moretti, CEO at Fincons Group, commented: “We are delighted to be bringing our tailored solutions and wealth of experience to support such a key strategic project for a national media like RTÉ,designing and integrating a future-proof OTT solution which will efficiently provide a seamless and compelling multiscreen user experience. Building on our extensive experience working with the major international players, this project further confirms our footprint in the media and broadcast sector.” ENDS For reference, please contact: Marika MacCarvill, Communications Manager, RTÉ Digital Tel: 00 353 1 208 4665 / 00 353 86 171 2568 About RTÉ Player: RTÉ Player is Ireland’s number-one broadcaster video-on-demand service, continuing to attract record-level audiences. Last month (March 2017) was the strongest month ever for RTÉ Player, attracting its highest level of viewers for any month to date, serving over 5.3 million streams and attracting over 2.1 million unique browsers. January and February this year were also the strongest on record for their respective months. In 2016, RTÉ Player attracted its highest level of audiences, serving over 50 million streams, which represents an additional 10 million streams or 26% increase on 2015. In 2016, the popular online service delivered an average of 4.2 million streams per month, and an average of 1.7 million unique browsers per month, with both figures up 30% on the previous year. Signifying changing viewing habits, live viewing on RTÉ Player was up by 74% on 2015 volumes, with 20% of monthly streams being live in 2016. Of the 2 million streams served for Euro 2016, 1.5 million streams were live. RTÉ Player’s offering continued to evolve in 2016, moving away from being a purely catch-up service, with the commissioning of more online-exclusive content and extra content around some the most popular RTÉ Television series and events of the year, as well as the addition of new permanent content hubs, including Doc Hub, Food Hub and Arts Hub. Together the online extras and exclusive shorts on RTÉ Player attracted over 3 million streams.

24i DEVELOPS REDESIGNED VIDEOLAND APP FOR SEVERAL TV PLATFORMS

Amsterdam, Netherlands, November 12, 2014 – Videoland has launched its new VoD app on Samsung Smart TVs, with other devices following soon. With the release of the completely redesigned TV app, Videoland is taking the battle to Netflix and other players in the Dutch VoD market head-on. The renewed Videoland platform offers both TVoD for Hollywood blockbusters and SVoD for library content, in addition to Videoland-exclusive content such as hit series ‘The Blacklist’. The app, created by Amsterdam-based TV app developer 24i, introduces several new features and compatibility with an extended range of TV-platforms. Among the new features is the option to have multiple user profiles in one account, individually keeping track of each user’s preferences and progress in films and series. “Competition in the VoD market is soaring, so it was necessary to take Videoland to the next level. Now, the combination of premium content and an excellent user interface based on the latest technologies delivers a one of a kind experience”, says Co Mast, CEO of Videoland’s parent company The Entertainment Group. Martijn van Horssen, CEO of 24i, comments: “Videoland is a sophisticated application that is a hundred percent ‘future-proof’. Both Videoland and 24i are on top of new developments in the market, it is exciting to see how all this knowledge comes together in a single application.’’ The case study of the Videoland app is available here.

24i integrates with Microsoft Azure for smarter personalized discovery and user experience

24i integrates with Microsoft Azure for smarter personalized discovery and user experience Amsterdam, The Netherlands, April 21st 2017 – 24i Media, a leading provider of multi-screen TV apps, announced today that they have integrated the cloud-based Microsoft Cognitive Services Recommendations API to enable their customers to easily build a smarter recommendation engine. The Recommendations API is pre-integrated in 24i’s recently launched CMS, SmartOTT Backstage. “The hottest driver for Over-the-Top (OTT) growth is customized, user-specific discovery algorithms – the ability to wow consumers with a stunning personalized user experience.” said Martijn Van Horssen. “By integrating Microsoft Cognitive Services Recommendations API, we empower our customers to take personalization to the next level and significantly reduce customer churn and increase revenue growth.” Today’s viewers expect you to really know them and personalize your recommendations to help them through the search and discovery process. They also expect a service that is personalized and delightful at every stage of the experience from sign-up to discovery and viewing to renewals. With the Microsoft Cognitive Services Recommendations API, using cognitive computing to deliver a number of algorithm-derived results, such as Frequently Bought Together (FBT) products, item-to-item recommendations, and customer-to-item flows, 24i enables their customers to generate higher consumption, customer satisfaction and increased revenues with a smarter recommendation engine. “24i Media underscores our commitment to provide our customers with state-of-the-art innovation in cloud technology. ,” said Tony Emerson, Managing Director, Worldwide Media & Cable at Microsoft Corp. “By integrating Recommendations API, part of Microsoft Cognitive Services, 24i allows their clients to customize what’s being fed based on the user history so their customers end up with higher engagement and lower churn – both key metrics for successful OTT services today. Key features in the integrated recommendation API from Microsoft Azure: Recommendations; Viewers activity in the OTT service is used to recommend items and to improve conversion.
Automated workflow; The integrated recommendation engine automatically prepares an environment for an OTT provider to upload their catalogue and usage data to.
Reuse previous experience to make informed recommendations to viewers.
Use knowledge of customer interest to show related content.
Training; The recommendation engine can be trained by uploading data about past customer activity or by collecting data directly from your OTT service. When the viewer returns to your store you will be able to feature recommended items from your content catalogue that may increase your conversion rate.
Increase the discoverability of their OTT service, across devices and regions. present content to viewers that they haven’t seen before, better discoverability brings more satisfied users who watch more content, which has a positive monetization effects for the operators.
Meet 24i at NAB Show 2017, booth #SU11702CM 24i will be exhibiting at the NAB Show in Vegas, April 24- 27, booth #SU11702CM where they will be showcasing their innovative stack of services and product offerings for broadcasters, networks and content owners. To learn more about the Microsoft Azure integration, the newly launched CMS, SmartOTT Backstage or to schedule a meeting with a 24i Media representative at the NAB Show, please visit http://www.24i.com/meet-us-nab-2017/ About 24i Media (www.24i.com) 24i is a leading vendor in Internet TV apps for all devices including mobile, Smart TV, Set-top-boxes, Pc/ Mac , game consoles etc., empowering broadcasters, content owners and operators with future-proof and flexible tools to create and monetize personalized TV apps, while accelerating time-to-market and reducing cost. 24i’s technology framework powers the digital experience for leading brands around the world, including RTL, Fox Sports, Viacom Media Networks, Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Televisa, Fuse Media and many more, delivering state-of-the-art OTT apps, designed to maximize ROI, create seamless consumer experiences and build personalized engagements across all platforms. 24i Media is headquartered in Amsterdam, with offices in Los Angeles, Buenos Aires, Madrid and Brno. For more information, please visit www.24i.com. For more information, please contact: Brynhild Vinskei Brynhild.vinskei@24i.com Mob: + 45 29 66 64 20