Consumer electronics brand Hisense and its TVOS subsidiary, VIDAA, are partnering with Deutsche Telekom to build “Operator TV”-branded smart TVs for the telecom’s residential pay TV customers.
The smart TVs will feature operator-level control for Deutsche Telekom without the need for set-tops or any other peripheral device.
“With this product, we’re delivering on the core promise of smart TV: seamless access to the best content without complexity,” said Guy Edri, CEO of VIDAA, in a statement. “By partnering with Deutsche Telekom and Hisense, we’ve created a streamlined experience that puts live TV and top streaming services side-by-side in a single interface—no set-top boxes, no juggling remotes, just everything you love one click away.”
As of August, Atlanta-headquartered VIDAA said its Linux-based operating software powered around 30 million devices worldwide. Hisense features VIDAA not only in its own sets, but also brands it controls, including Toshiba. According to a ranking published 14 months ago by the Connected TV Marketing Association, VIDAA controlled around 7.7% of the world’s smart TVs in June 2024, second only to Samsung Tizen (12.8%). The group pegged Roku at only around 6.4%.
The Hisense sets will be manufactured for Deutsche Telekom’s MagentaTV customers, 4.7 million of which populate Germany, as well as parts of other surrounding regions, including Austria. And unlike much of its U.S. pay TV counterparts, MagentaTV is still growing — it added 23,000 users in the second quarter.
“Operator TV will be an innovative solution for our customers who would like to use the full MagentaTV experience on their smart TVs without additional hardware,” said Arnim Butzen, senior VP oil TV and entertainment at Telekom Deutschland. “We are glad to enter into this new partnership with VIDAA and Hisense, bringing our common vision to our customers.”
The new partnership will start with the launch of MagentaTV App by the end of this year on VIDAA in Germany, evolving to the Operator TV next year. Further expansion in additional European markets is planned from 2026 onwards.
This type of integrated execution has become somewhat common in Europe. Sky, for instance, has included integrated set-top features in the Sky Glass smart TVs it has been selling for several years already.