Asian Television Network Canada,Tata Communications to launch OTT service across Canada

NEW DELHI: Indian telecom giant Tata Communications said that  it will be expanding its partnership with Asian Television Network (ATN) Canada, the country’s largest South Asian Broadcaster, to bring the network’s content to Canadian viewers, with potential for further international expansion.

Using Tata Communications’ Media Ecosystem, ATN Canada will deliver a mix of news, sports and entertainment content to Canadian viewers on virtually any device later this summer.

ATN Canada will leverage Tata Communications’ end-to-end managed over the-top (OTT) and playout services to deliver content in an intuitive app format. Through the first phase of deployment, the network’s extensive mix of South Asian cultural content will be made available through several linear channels, across multiple formats such as iOS and Apple TV, Android, Roku, Fire TV and SMART TV’s. This will complement ATN’s current national distribution of more than 50 linear services, enabling the network to future-proof its offering as the way people consume content continues to evolve.

Tata Communications currently provides ATN Canada with video transport solutions to seamlessly deliver media content via broadcast to customers in Canada. With the expansion of OTT services, ATN is able to reach more viewers and enable them to view content virtually anywhere, anytime, on any device, as video traffic is set to constitute 80% of all consumer Internet traffic in 2019, up from 64% in 2014.<1>

“With consumer internet traffic growing exponentially every year, it was imperative for us to expand our content delivery strategy to ensure a reliable viewing experience for our customers,” says Dr. Shan Chandrasekar, President and CEO of ATN.

“The way today’s millennials like to consume content, anytime, anywhere, on any device, is a far cry from the way their parents used to watch traditional TV just ten years ago. Yet, today’s millennials are tomorrow’s conventional family, with increasing demands for personalised, brilliant content. Tata Communications’ cloud based Media Ecosystem will arm us with the ability to accelerate time to market and bring richer content experiences to our viewers today and in the future," he added.

“We are excited to expand our relationship with ATN Canada by becoming their sole provider of global OTT connectivity through our flexible, scalable content delivery network,” says Rangu Salgame, Chief Executive Officer, Growth Ventures and Service Provider Group at Tata Communications.

“This globally scalable model enables ATN Canada to launch news, sports and entertainment content to all their customers across Canada, and globally in the future," he added.

Tata Communications’ Media Ecosystem combines traditional video contribution services with IP-based connectivity to create a flexible and innovative global media platform. The ecosystem enables seamless global transport and management of content as a cloud-based managed service and supports global media distribution requirements, OTT and mobility applications.