Telstra Selects thePlatform for Comprehensive Video Publishing and Download Solution
Press Release, April 25, 2006
Las Vegas (NAB2006). thePlatform, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today announced that Telstra has chosen thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS) to deliver personalized digital video to PC-based subscribers of Telstra's BigPond™ Internet media portal. BigPond subscribers will also use thePlatform's MPS Download Media Manager (DMM) to manage and play back content acquired from the BigPond service.
"Our agreement with Telstra is a significant step for thePlatform as we broaden our reach beyond the U.S. market," said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. "Broadband providers worldwide are recognizing the value of delivering a personalized rich media experience to consumers. Our job is to take the pain out of digital media publishing and help companies like Telstra to boost their revenue streams with carrier-grade, end-to-end consumer service offerings."
With thePlatform MPS, Telstra can efficiently aggregate sports, movies and other forms of video-on-demand content from many different providers and deliver it using Windows Media and Windows Media Digital Rights Management (DRM) to BigPond customers. In addition to aggregating content, MPS makes it simple for Telstra to associate rich metadata with content, enabling customers to easily discover and receive personalized media based on their selected preferences. MPS also complies with the strictest motion picture content policies, which provide additional levels of content security.
"With its Media Publishing System and Download Media Manager, thePlatform is providing and end-to-end system for content aggregators such as Telstra to deliver a premium digital entertainment service using Windows Media," said Eric Schmidt, group product manager, Windows Digital Media at Microsoft Corp. "From content creation to distribution and consumer playback, the Windows Media platform is becoming the common denominator for the delivery of next-generation digital entertainment."
thePlatform MPS Download Media Manager (DMM), which Telstra brands as its own, enables Telstra to manage media downloads and Windows Media DRM licenses for BigPond subscribers.
The DMM gives BigPond subscribers the ultimate in control, enabling them to:Schedule downloads. Schedule when downloads should be delivered, whether hourly or at specific times during the day or night, giving consumers the ability to receive media when away from the PCs. Purchase content. Select content for immediate download for local playback from BigPond storefronts. Receive content through flexible delivery models. Choose to wait until DMM downloads the entire clip before beginning playback, or choose to view content via "progressive download," in which the content begins playing before the entire clip is downloaded. Manage download files and automatically remove old content. The DMM helps manage how downloaded content is stored (whether standard- or high-definition) via automatic content clean-up. It also enables content owners to ensure that outdated files are removed from subscribers' PCs.
About thePlatform
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform™ is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company's flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System™ (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere - over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court TV, Microsoft, National Geographic, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform's Web services MPS-SDK. For more information, visit www.theplatform.com.