In August 2014, Telstra paid $270 million to acquire an additional 75% stake in Ooyala, a cloud online video platform (OVP) provider, extending its total stake to 98%.
Ooyala will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Telstra’s Global Applications and Platforms business. The acquisition comes less than a fortnight after Verizon signed a strategic distribution partnership with thePlatform.
Ovum attributes the increase in strategic partnerships and acquisitions in the multi-screen video services landscape to an increase in consumer demand for OTT content and digital video, which is driving telecoms operators to invest in IPTV, OTT, and connected TV app technologies.
The global multi-screen video services market is moving toward personalized content to enhance average revenue per user (ARPU), and the acquisition of Ooyala strengthens Telstra’s position in this market.
Telstra recently created the Global Applications and Platforms group to increase its investment in digital solutions, applications, and platforms in the OTT content segment. Ooyala is a strong strategic fit for Telstra that complements its media and mobile segments, and aligns with its long-term “connected homes” strategy – content and value-added video services on multiple devices, including mobiles, smart TVs, and tablets.
The acquired online video delivery platform will support Telstra’s non-linear subscription TV portfolio (including the Australian Football League app, T-Box, BigPond TV, and Austar), and provide a backbone for new revenue streams via reseller agreements.
Ooyala offers an integrated scalable cloud TV platform to broadcasters through a combination of the following technologies:
- Ooyala Now – provides highly tailored realtime analytics (video and social) in collaboration with ComScore, Nielsen, Google Analytics, Visible Measures, and Omniture.
- Hook – a mobile player app that distributes premium content assets to Android devices.
- Discovery Guide – behavioral playlist management technology that provides personalized viewing recommendations.