Entone, a set-top-box provider focused on the IPTV market, has inked a deal with National Exchange Carrier Association (NECA) for distribution of their Fusion TV platform. Fusion TV is an OTT video focused STB, which can blend linear video offerings with web enabled OTT offerings, or provide a standalone OTT offering.
“In today’s competitive landscape, our members are seeking more options to assemble innovative solutions to help them stimulate broadband take rates and provide value added services to existing broadband subscribers,” said Sal Talluto, NECA’s Director of Technology Planning and Implementation in an Entone press release. “With Entone’s FusionTV, NECA’s members are able to deploy a high quality on-demand video service without the cost of deploying a full-scale IPTV system.”
Entone is trying to bridge OTT with traditional subscription video with Fusion. In some regards, it’s the TiVo Premier for IPTV operators, since TiVo does not offer an IPTV version of Premier. Both provide web apps and widgets, and access to OTT content, including VOD from VUDU (Entone) and Netflix (TiVo), while giving operators the flexibility to integrate it into their traditional linear video model. TiVo is pursuing cable MSOs through a variety of distribution channels and has landed a few.
Entone appears to be pursuing the same strategy, but focused on IPTV providers. Entone’s director of marketing, Van T. Nguyen-Duong, tells me they “…have a dozen operators that have launched and another 10 or so currently trialing” Fusion. She declined to name these operators but says more information about some of them will be coming out “shortly.”
