Connections

NEW YORK – A new linear pay TV service on tap from content provider ZoneTV promises to make use of artificial intelligence (AI) in a unique way, one that could serve as a template to help operators overcome the challenges impacting the pay TV industry today, according to company CEO Jeff Weber.

Dubbed ZoneTV Dynamic Channels, ZoneTV’s licensed, digital-first content will be curated into specialized channels for delivery to pay TV subscribers, and will combine linear, on-demand and customized content selections, to create “a unique and personalized experience for the consumer,” ZoneTV and partner Ooyala said in a news release.

“We’ve got this $200 billion industry” facing “all kinds of change,” Weber said July 25, speaking at Microsoft’s AI, Machine Learning and Bots event. “Digital-first” content is “exploding” and there’s been a “fundamental shift” in consumer viewing, he said during the session “Launching the Country’s First Linear Pay-TV Network with AI,” adding: “You have these two worlds that have completely different economics” in the pay TV and over-the-top (OTT) space, and “from a consumer perspective, it makes no sense at all.”

Operator issues include “margin compression,” bandwidth constraints, evolving consumer preferences and increasing digital content viewership, he said, noting that “trying to get new channels on is extraordinarily difficult.” Content issues, meanwhile, include limited access to the pay TV market, “discovery is really difficult and economics are troubling,” he said. Consumers are also increasingly cutting the cord, he said, noting there were “about a thousand more issues” also.

ZoneTV is using media logistics tools from video monetization technology and services provider Ooyala, along with Video Indexer, part of Microsoft Cognitive Services, to automate the curation of content for ZoneTV’s customizable suite of linear TV channels. The content in the specialized channels will be presented in a consumer-friendly, easily discoverable way to viewers, ZoneTV said in a statement.

ZoneTV will use Ooyala’s content management Flex platform for end-to-end video workflow for both new specialized channels and video on demand assets, the companies said. Flex runs on Microsoft Azure Media Services and can transform assets into any format for distribution to any device with Ooyala’s video platform, handling quick transcoding, packaging and syndication, to enable quick delivery of content to audiences.

The collaboration features a full-featured workflow solution with both operational and creative dashboards, to allow for efficient editing, asset review and metadata entry, Ooyala and ZoneTV said in a statement.

ZoneTV has been having “lots of talks” with potential partners and some companies have already committed to participating, Weber told the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA).

The goal is to launch the service at some time in the fourth quarter of 2017 in the U.S. and Canada, he said, but noted that launch date is contingent on completing deals with operators.

The collaboration between Ooyala and ZoneTV was “in the works for a while,” Joey Fulcher, Ooyala director of media logistics sales for the Americas, told MESA, pointing out that talks started more than a year ago.

More than 300 people in the media and entertainment sector attended the inaugural Microsoft Media & Entertainment Day, with a half-day track on AI, Machine Learning and Bots among four media and entertainment covered, along with content protection, video in the cloud, and metadata’s place in the content lifecycle.