Cox Taps Ericsson’s Content Delivery System for On Demand Library

Ericsson’s Next Generation MediaPath Secure Content Delivery System has been selected by Cox Communications for receiving and distributing content to its On Demand library, which offers thousands of titles to Cox’s digital cable customers. The Ericsson solution will help Cox reduce its operational expenses by centralizing content ingest and distributing content to its local sites across its own network.

“Ericsson’s team worked with us closely to launch the secure central distribution system on a very tight timeline,” says James Kelso, Cox’s VP of video engineering. “The system has reduced our operating costs and gives us more control and flexibility in managing the On Demand content that our sites receive.”

Since 2001, Cox has used components of Ericsson’s on-demand solution for receiving content from networks and programmers. Cox approached Ericcson for help in implementing a new content distribution solution that would leverage Cox’s existing IP/MPLS (Internet Protocol/Multi-Protocol Label Switching) over fiber backbone and improve the speed and reliability with which content is delivered and refreshed to its VOD library.

“By centralizing their content ingest and distribution, Cox is once again pioneering technical solutions that will increase the efficiency of their operation,” says Andrew Rowe, Head of Software Product Management in Ericsson’s Solution Area TV. “The MediaPath based solution will scale with Cox’s distribution requirements today and tomorrow. It is an honor to be selected for this industry leading project.”

On DEMAND VOD service provides access to movies and content from popular cable networks, as well as programming unique to the On DEMAND library. The library includes Cox’s MyPrimetime On DEMAND service offering anytime access to hundreds of episodes from more than 20 networks including ABC, NBC, USA, AMC, TBS, TNT, Comedy Central, and Disney.

Ericsson has introduced the OpenStream Catalog Gateway to help operators better promote the content in their video-on-demand (VOD) libraries and help differentiate their TV offerings. With programming available on a seemingly endless amount of channels as well as a multitude of titles of on-demand content, consumers often struggle to find content that is relevant to them.

Ericsson Helps Consumers Navigate VOD Libraries

The OpenStream Catalog Gateway is part of a complete Ericsson on-demand solution that features the Emmy award-winning OpenStream Digital Services Platform. The gateway is an open interface that works with third-party recommendation engines and Web portals to provide personalized and relevant recommendations for extensive on-demand libraries. When combined with Ericsson’s OpenStream Marketing Manager, an operator can present subscribers with promotions that are applicable to their personal interests.

“Recommendation technology is becoming an important component for operators to convert subscribers that are ‘just browsing’ into revenue-generating buyers,” says Andrew Rowe, Head of Software Product Management in Ericsson’s Solution Area TV. “Adding this interface to our on-demand solution can help operators increase the average revenue per user for their VOD libraries.”

A demonstration in Ericsson’s booth 701 at The Cable Show, May 11-13, features FreedTV’s Crowdsource Recommendation Engine. The friends-based recommendation engine mines Social Television to generate context and community aware on-demand and broadcast television recommendations.

This includes Personal Picks based on viewing history and preferences, Recommended Picks based on friends and viewers with similar interests, and Popular Picks.

The OpenStream Catalog Gateway is currently available.