Vewd poaches Google's former Android TV product chief

Smart TV software provider Vewd (formerly Opera TV) has poached former Google executive Sascha Prüter, who will serve as the company’s new chief product officer.

Prüter jumps over to Vewd after running Google’s product and engineering efforts around Android TV and helping build up the platform through partnerships with smart TV OEMs, OTT providers and pay TV operators.

“Sascha understands how to design compelling OTT products and has deep commercial insight relevant to global pay TV operators and leading OEMs. His experience creating world-class solutions aligns well with Vewd’s strategic product roadmap,” said Vewd CEO Aneesh Rajaram in a statement. “I’m excited to add him to Vewd’s executive team as we look to further expand our presence as the world’s largest independent provider of OTT software.”

Prüter will lead all product management efforts and focus on Vewd’s portfolio of pay TV operator products including Vewd OS for Android TV.

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“I am very excited to join Vewd because they are best positioned to unlock the next stage of growth and innovation in the OTT sector. First, Vewd has built an elegant business model serving all of the players across the OTT ecosystem in a neutral manner. Second, Vewd is a global company with customers and capabilities in over 150 countries. Finally, Vewd is a well-established OTT pioneer and has a culture of innovation built over its 15-year history. I look forward to working with Vewd’s talented teams to build a strong product portfolio that builds upon and accelerates their vision across the connected TV landscape,” Prüter said in a statement.

The new hire for Vewd lends extra credibility to the company’s recently announced Vewd OS for Android TV product. Vewd’s Android TV operator tier is promising a “cinematic, video-first” home screen, an OTT application store and an electronic programming guide integrating both live content and metadata from broadcast and OTT platforms.

Vewd is also offering platform data and analytics through its cloud.