Espial
(TSX: ESP), makers of the award-winning Espial
Elevate, an innovative TV as a Service (TVaaS) platform, today
announced they have certified several convenient Amazon Alexa voice
controls for Elevate’s next-gen IPTV, app-TV and cable services. In an
industry first, Amazon completed a bulk certification of multiple pay-TV
operators, enabling operators to move rapidly through the certification
process.
A significant benefit of the Elevate video platform is the ability for
operators to benefit from scale. Certifying various OTT services like
Netflix, YouTube, and now voice services like Alexa, and making this
available to operators reduces costs, accelerates time to market, and
allows operators of all sizes to benefit from the most advanced
services. Multiple System Operators (MSOs) such as MCTV, Hiawatha
Broadband Communications (HBC), Optic Communications, and Eagle
Communications are just a few of the operators that offer these services.
With its focus on continuous improvement of the user experience for
consumers, Elevate will now enable the customers of certified operators
to control their TV experience with simple hands-free control using the
highly popular Amazon Alexa device ecosystem. For instance, a simple
statement such as, “Watch the Chicago Cubs” will allow a user to watch a
baseball game without having to find their remote control.
Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading:
"Digital
voice assistants like Alexa are rapidly becoming a standard part of the
smart, connected consumer home. It makes sense to integrate capabilities
like these into next-gen TV services like Elevate."
Travis Kohlrus, Vice President of Broadband Operations, Eagle
Communications:
“Eagle Communications strives to meet our
customers ongoing needs, and voice-controlled devices are topping the
charts for customer adoption. We are happy to have partners who help
keep us on the leading-edge of these technology advancements to give our
customers the best viewing experience.”
Noah Popejoy, Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Optic Communications:
“Our
team at Optic Communications has always tried to be an early adopter of
advancements in our industry. When we were told that Amazon Alexa
integration was possible with Elevate, we needed to be one of the first
to include it. Customers are integrating more and more IoT devices in
their home and we wanted to help customers include their cable
television services as well. Alexa capability gives Optic
Communications' customers another source of value to an already robust
offering,"
Michael McCluskey, VP Product Management, Espial:
“Voice
assistants are becoming increasingly popular with consumers who are
seeing the simplicity and convenience of the interface, and Amazon Alexa
has become the most popular voice assistant. With our Elevate TVaaS
platform, we have been able to bulk-certify multiple operators to ensure
they can offer voice control to consumers who are part of the Alexa
ecosystem. With this integration, Elevate enables consumers to find the
content they want to watch faster and more easily, leveraging the Alexa
range of smart IoT devices.”
A recent research
study from Juniper Research estimates there will be 8 billion
digital voice assistants in use by 2023, up from the 2.5 billion
assistants in use at the end of 2018. It also reported that Smart TVs
will have the biggest expansion, growing by more than 100% every year
for the next five years.
About Espial
Espial
is a public software company, established in 1997 and headquartered in
Ottawa, Canada. Espial solutions are used by over 100 video service
providers and device manufacturers across the US, Canada, Europe & Asia.
Espial’s solution portfolio includes client, server and cloud software
products along with system integration services to help service
providers launch next generation video offerings. Espial’s customers
have deployed over 50 million devices, and are serviced through Espial’s
global sales, support, and innovation centers. Espial has partnered with
leading companies like Netflix, Amazon and Google among others for its
Elevate SaaS solution, which powers cable, IPTV, Streaming TV &
App-based IP video services for over 30 video service providers. For
more information on Espial’s solutions, visit www.Espial.com.
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