TV2U International signs content delivery deal with Brazil’s SOL Telecom
TV2U sees Latin America as an underserved market for over-the-top content delivery.
Fremantle-based technology company TV2U International (ASX: TV2) has entered into a commercially-binding agreement with South America’s SOL Telecom to act as a reseller of its Ivan-X content delivery platform as an over-the-top (OTT) service throughout Brazil.
In broadcasting circles, OTT is a term used for the delivery of film and television content via the internet, without requiring users to subscribe to a traditional cable or satellite pay-TV service.
The new agreement – which will extend for an initial 36-month period – will see SOL provide a ‘SOL GO’ branded “white-labelled” direct-to-consumer service.
White-labelling refers to products or services made by one company and rebranded with permission by another company, reducing development, technical and market risks.
SOL will also offer a fully-managed OTT platform, underpinned by Ivan-X technology, to its internet service provider customers, which will enable them to bring their own value-added streaming services to consumers across the region.
Under the terms of the agreement, SOL will handle promotion of Ivan-X and undertake its own content acquisition, while TV2U will look to enhance SOL’s content on the platform with international content and other media assets under agreements with rights holders around the globe.
Ivan-X will offer full support for android and iOS devices, set-top boxes and web browsers straight out of the box.
“Expanding on our existing relationship with SOL Telecom marks a considerable step forward in our OTT content delivery for millions of consumers around the world,” said TV2U chief executive Nick Fitzgerald.
“Telecoms providers and mobile operators currently have a valuable opportunity to drive new revenues in a multi-tenanted fashion by serving their customers with OTT video.”
Revenue-share model
TV2U and SOL Telecom will run a similar revenue-share model to TV2U’s arrangement with Africa Media Enterprise Group in South Africa, whereby AEMG will licence TV2U’s technology and brand assets to enhance the full-service OTT streaming platform already being offered to customers by AEMG.
The model includes revenue based on subscriber figures for services delivered via the white-label platform, management fees and targeted advertising revenue.
The minimum subscriber requirement under the TV2U-SOL Telecom agreement is 225,000 viewers by the end of the first year of operation.
Latin American footprint
According to TV2U, Latin America is an “under-served market” for OTT content delivery.
Brazil has an active user base of pay-TV subscribers but it is traditionally expensive and not accessible to many locals.
The flexibility and scalability of the Ivan-X platform allows SOL to offer a robust white-labelled service to its business partners which will create valuable consumer alternatives at a much lower price point.
“We’re looking forward to working with SOL Telecom in this way to expand TV2U’s footprint across Latin America,” said Mr Fitzgerald.
In addition, TV2U announced earlier this week that it had secured access to $2.7 million in funds via a convertible note which the company plans to use in order to accelerate the growth of the business.
At mid-afternoon, shares in TV2U were steady at $0.010.