ANGA CABLE 2011 – COLOGNE. Eutelsat Kabelkiosk has said it will cooperate with Rovi’s Nowtilus at the launch of the Kabelkiosk interactive HbbTV service.
The launch of Kabelkiosk interactive is planned for the third quarter of the year during this year’s IFA consumer electronics show in Berlin. At the beginning there will be just a single HbbTV set-top box, but the number of compatible devices is expected to grow in the fourth quarter of 2011.
Kabelkiosk has chosen HbbTV for its hybrid service because it can run on many devices, set-top boxes and TV sets with a single application, said Martina Rutenbeck, managing director of Eutelsat Visavision.
Kabelkiosk is following a two pillar strategy with regards to HbbTV devices in order to reach the widest reach possible. On the one side, there will be set-top boxes with conditional access and HbbTV. At the same time, the service will be available on connected TV sets with CI Plus and HbbTV functionality.
The new interactive service will bring not only programme enhancements via the red button but also offer a range of other services such as VOD, catch-up TV, plus, for its B2B customers, a complete suite of hybrid TV applications as a white label solution.
The agreement with Nowtilus encompasses the complete VOD platform including technical support of the application, editorial work, content digitalisation and general support.