British telecommunications infrastructure and media services company Arqiva has added to its arsenal of online capabilities by acquiring Connect TV, an over-the-top provider that uses Freeview's connected devices to access online video content.
Over five million U.K. households are said to use a Freeview HD device, most of which can connect to the Internet. With Connect TV, Arqiva will be able to blend its Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) services with online video content. About 60 percent of British viewers access TV via DTT.
The acquisition will enable Arqiva "to provide viewers with a great choice on a much wider scale," Charles Constable, managing director of digital platforms at Arqiva said in a story in Advanced Television. "We recognize the best in British entrepreneurial technology and look forward to working with the passionate team from Connect TV to cement the position of Digital Terrestrial Television as the primary delivery channel in the U.K."
According to Connect TV CTO Jonathan Marshall, his company's takeover gives "viewers an exciting new TV viewing platform with fantastic opportunities to create greater functionality and routes to access content. Arqiva's profile and expertise will not only speed up the platform's development, but help to provide Arqiva's existing customers with complementary, value-added services."
A report in Broadband TV News said that viewers tuning to a Connect TV placeholder were greeted with an MHEG-generated caption advising them that their receiver can view the service or taking them into one of Connect TV's IP-delivered multichannel portals.
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