One of the most important news stories to emerge from the recent Nextv Series conference in Berlin was that a new white label cable platform would be launched in Russia at some stage next year.
Broadband TV News took the opportunity to speak at the event with Mikhail Kozhin, the CTO of Total Video, the company that will operate the B2B platform, and Saurabh Vartikar, VP sales EMEA, SeaChange, one of its key technology partners.
SeaChange will be supplying Total Video with Panoramic, its newest cloud-based, end-to-end, multiscreen video delivery platform for OTT/IPTV/DVB providers. Launched earlier this year and demoed at IBC, it supports delivery to a wide variety of devices and is powered by the cFlow Portfolio, the key elements of which are control, management, personalisation and monetisation.
SeaChange believes that Total Video is doing something disruptive in the market and takes pride in the fact that it has been chosen as a technology partner. For its part, Total Video says that it looked at several vendors before it opted for SeaChange.
Total Video is closely linked with the Russian Cable TV Association (AKTR) and its platform will potentially reach 4 million cable customers. The cable operators whose needs it will meet will be mostly Tier 2 and 3 and have only basic infrastructure, though it may also target Tier 1 companies.
Panoramic will offer Total Video, and indeed any other SeaChange customers, a single technology stack. Meanwhile, cable operators using Total Video’s platform will have an ideal technological solution and still control the entire process of providing services for, and managing, their subscribers.
Significantly, Total Video will also provide operators with set-top boxes, having finalised an agreement with a Chinese vendor.
All the elements now appear to be in place for a platform that could well prove to be a game changer in Russia’s cable industry, allowing smaller operators to compete on a more level playing field with the market leaders.