BT Media & Broadcast is to deliver a new online video download store to Channel Five, as part of the broadcaster's plans to relaunch its on-demand service, Five Download. Responsible for the development of Channel Five's original download store, BT's new service is designed to enable Five to compete more aggressively in the growing and competitive TV-on-demand market.
The new service will offer high quality catch-up viewing, archived content and the ability to watch some programmes seven days before they are aired on TV. Content will be available as a mixture of on-line streamed ad-funded and off-line download models.
As part of the solution, BT Media & Broadcast is developing new functionality for Channel Five, enabling it to add, edit and remove programme content quickly and easily in response to market demand.Viewers will also benefit from a new range of content, building on Five Download's current selection of popular drama including CSI and Grey's Anatomy. Other user benefits will include a new, powerful search engine and simpler payment.
Paul Thornton-Jones, Digital Controller, Video & Technology at Channel Five, said: "Five Download has already proven very popular and we want to build up the content store to offer viewers even more choice. To deliver that range of programmes we needed a more advanced online system and by working with BT we are guaranteed just that. This project is key to the success of our online content strategy."
A key element of the project to be delivered by BT will be high levels of encryption and security, ensuring secure delivery to customers and enabling Channel Five to protect content from misuse or piracy.
BT Media & Broadcast has also announced that it has developed a digital content store based upon its BT Mosaic Service to enable ITV, UK independent commercial broadcaster, to deliver its television library on-demand to Internet users and other broadcasters around the globe. The content store supports new business models to complement ITV's television advertising revenues.
