ITV

Tag: Peter G. Bithos

  • OTT video service HOOQ to launch in India soon

    OTT video service HOOQ to launch in India soon

    MUMBAI: Digital platforms are making giant strides across the globe and its ripples are being felt across India too. Even as Star India’s recently launched all-encompassing over-the-top (OTT) video service Hotstar takes a steady lead in India, a new player is soon slated to enter the market.

     

    HOOQ – the new over-the-top (OTT) service in Asia from Singtel, Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Television will soon launch in India.

     

    HOOQ, now launched in the Philippines, delivers Hollywood blockbusters and television series, as well as popular local movies and programmes, to customers anytime, anywhere by enabling viewers to stream and download their favourite shows on their device of choice.

     

    Apart from India, HOOQ will start off by rolling out progressively in the Singtel Group’s Asian footprint, including the Philippines, Indonesia and Thailand.

     

    Additionally, HOOQ has joined hands with Quickplay’s managed video platform to power its services. Quickplay is providing HOOQ with a comprehensive multi-partner turn-key solution that enables service and content providers to deliver a superior unified viewing experience in the home and on the go.

     

    HOOQ has selected Quickplay’s managed services to operate the largest subscription based OTT service in Asia, leveraging Quickplay’s advanced virtual head-end, cloud economics and decade of experience in providing complex, multiscreen services for leading providers such as AT&T, Bell, and Verizon.

     

    HOOQ viewers across Asia will enjoy personalized experiences across all devices, platforms, mobile and WI-FI networks. 

     

    Quickplay will deliver the fully hosted premium OTT video solution, providing the largest library of multi-language content in Asia. The solution initially includes the secure streaming of over 10,000 movies and TV series of encoded and optimized Video-on-Demand (VOD) content and adaptive streaming.

     

    In addition, Quickplay’s managed services include DRM solutions by Microsoft PlayReady and Verimatrix, managed user entitlements by Evergent Technologies, and enriched content from premium content providers from North America (Hollywood) and Asia. QuickPlay, in partnership with Evergent, is providing a distinct feature that enables HOOQ to leverage Singtel Group’s extensive telco billing relationships across Asia, enabling consumers to employ a range of payments including mobile post-pay contracts and pre-paid credits. In emerging markets where credit card ownership is limited, this feature is a critical enabler to overall adoption and accessibility.

     

    “We are proud to enable this ground-breaking premium OTT video service for HOOQ. This is the largest OTT deployment of its kind in Asia – this level of scale and complexity is unmatched and is a service that Quickplay is uniquely positioned to deliver on. The HOOQ vision of securely bringing premium global and local content to Asian viewers – in the home or on the go – is truly disruptive and well aligned to Quickplay’s goal of enabling superior viewing experiences and providing the greatest choice of premium content to the most viewers, anytime, anywhere,” said Quickplay CEO and founder Wayne Purboo.

     

    “Quickplay was a clear choice for HOOQ when you are building a business that needs to scale up to a footprint covering over a billion people. Their proven market leadership and experience in powering premium video allows us to provide quality viewing experiences and seamless integration especially when working across emerging markets and multiple partners,” added HOOQ CEO Peter G. Bithos.

  • Sony Pictures, Warner Bros & Singtel ink JV for video streaming service in SE Asia

    Sony Pictures, Warner Bros & Singtel ink JV for video streaming service in SE Asia

    MUMBAI: Sony Pictures Television, Warner Bros. Entertainment and Singtel inked a joint venture – HOOQ – start-up, to offer a regional over-the-top (OTT) video service in Asia.

     

    HOOQ will deliver both Hollywood blockbusters and television series, as well as popular local movies and programmes to customers anytime, anywhere by enabling them to stream and download their favourite shows on their device or platform of choice.

     

    HOOQ will be rolled out progressively in the Singtel Group’s Asian footprint, including Indonesia, the Philippines, India and Thailand, from the first quarter of 2015.

     

    The studios provide access to their premium content and know-how. The Singtel Group provides market access with its customer base of over half a billion mobile customers. HOOQ will also use the Singtel Group’s billing capabilities, a crucial enabler in developing markets where credit card ownership is limited.

     

    Warner Bros. Entertainment chief digital officer and executive vice president, strategy and business development Thomas Gewecke said, “We’re thrilled to partner with Singtel and Sony Pictures Television to help grow the OTT video business across Asia. The combination of Singtel’s expertise and our world-class content is a winning combination for entertainment fans in the region.”

     

    “Consumers expect premium entertainment content to be available to them at their convenience and as a result, over the top delivery has become an important part of our business. Through this partnership, we hope to create a service to meet that demand as it grows in Asia,” added Sony Pictures Television executive vice president – networks, Asia-Pacific George Chien.

     

    Singtel Group Digital L!fe CEO Jonathan Auerbach said, “HOOQ is an important part of Singtel’s digital strategy. We have unique assets that give us a right to play in this space, and with our partnership with Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment, we will achieve our vision to be the largest OTT video service in the region.”

     

    Auerbach added, “Demand for OTT video has been growing and is poised for higher growth in these markets fuelled by better data networks and the growing supply of affordable devices. This is a more than S$1 billion opportunity in our markets. Video transmission requires significant internet bandwidth, which greatly affects customer experience. With HOOQ, we are bringing together key elements of technology, service and content to deliver the full internet experience to customers.”

     

    At launch, HOOQ will have a catalogue of over 10,000 movies and TV series including titles from partners Sony Pictures Television and Warner Bros. Entertainment.

     

    The service will offer customers a wide variety of programmes ranging from blockbusters such as Spider-Man and Harry Potter to TV favourites such as Friends and Gossip Girl.

     

    Customers can also look forward to an extensive selection of Indian, Chinese, Thai, Filipino, Indonesian, Korean and Japanese movies and TV series.

     

    Peter G. Bithos has been named CEO of HOOQ responsible for overseeing day-to-day operations of the standalone operation based in Singapore, and expanding the operation. Bithos was previously the chief operating advisor of Globe Telecom in the Philippines.

     

    Bithos said, “We are starting this venture to change the way people across Asia view entertainment. Today, across developing markets, there is limited access to quality entertainment, streamed directly to the screen of one’s choice. It’s either illegal, high cost or difficult to get. We aim to fix that. HOOQ will deliver a new form of entertainment that combines the best of Hollywood with the depth and richness of local Asian video content, across all devices at an affordable price.”