Laying out a roadmap for its future, Concurrent said it can feed the three-screen beast by leveraging the combination of its on-demand application expertise and its EverStream data collection capability.
The company is already well-ensconced in the cable market delivering on-demand content for several major MSOs, including enabling Time Warner Cable’s Start Over product. The company’s aim is to extend its expertise in managing on-demand content in the cable video environment (TV) first to the Internet (PCs), and eventually to wireless (mobile devices).
Concurrent is aware that not all potential customers are going to buy MediaHawk servers. On the Web, content delivery networks (CDNs) already have their delivery structures in place. Consequently, Concurrent is advocating for the use of standards-based, off-the-shelf hardware. “We need a single, open solution for delivery to all three screens,” Concurrent chief marketing officer Davis King said.
The role in which Concurrent is trying to fulfill is enabling the monetization of the delivery of video, which is lacking, and which Concurrent can supply by leveraging EverStream, King explained. “The consumption information we have can be used to direct targeted advertising,” King said.
Concurrent believes that few, if any, companies in the Web-based video world, or in the wireless segment, can match Concurrent’s combination of delivery expertise, on-demand applications experience and wealth of existing data – especially not the usage data.
“This aligns perfectly, we believe, with what Project Canoe is trying to achieve,” King said.
The company quoted Steve Necessary, vice president of video strategy and product management for Cox Communications, saying: “Service providers today are operating in a new era of multimedia – one where only a true understanding of consumer choice and preference leads to long-range growth and revenue generation. Concurrent’s extensive expertise in video delivery gives them the foundation to embark on this new phase of multi-screen video, enabling their customers to harness the full potential of video content offerings through a 360-degree view of the consumer experience.”