thePlatform, the video publishing company owned by Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA), announced today it scored two new customers: Stan in Australia and shomi in Canada. The news underscores the growth of the subscription video-on-demand market and Comcast's solidifying position as a supplier of back-end video processing technology for new entrants into the space.
shomi is the joint venture between Rogers Communications and Shaw Communications that launched in Canada late last year. shomi is using thePlatform's cloud-based mpx video management system to power video ingest, metadata management, subscriber management and viewing rights enforcement, and automated publishing across device and video player profiles. With prices and services similar to those from Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX), shomi touts 14,000 TV episode and movie titles, with 30 percent of the content being produced in Canada.
Similarly, Stan is a joint venture between Nine Entertainment and Fairfax Media and bills itself as Australia's "premier subscription video-on-demand service." The offering counts content licensing agreements with the likes of Sony Pictures Television, MGM, CBS, Viacom International, BBC, ABC, and SBS. Stan will use thePlatform's mpx for metadata management, purchasing support through a payment gateway, subscriber management and viewing rights enforcement, and automated publishing across devices and video players.
"thePlatform has an impressive track record of managing large-scale video subscription services worldwide," said Mike Sneesby, Stan's CEO. "mpx enables us to centralize our video publishing efforts and provide our subscribers with an abundance of world class content, on their device of choice, for just $10 per month."
The announcements cap a busy month for thePlatform; earlier in March the company announced a deal with multiscreen tech company Synacor to provide crucial technology for an end-to-end multiscreen solution for pay-TV operators, programmers and OTT video companies.
Other thePlatform customers announced in recent months include the UK's BT, NBC Olympics and the Nordics' Viaplay. The company remains a feather in Comcast's cap as Comcast works to acquire Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) in a massive $45 billion deal that still requires regulatory approval.
For more:
- see these two releases
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