Etisalat leans on Synamedia, 3SS for lean back viewer experience
Details
Joseph O'Halloran
| 19 April 2022
Leading MENA region telco Etisalat UAE has chosen technologies and services from Synamedia and 3 Screen Solutions (3SS) to add a lean back TV experience for its direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service, Switch TV.
SwitchTV 3QSS Synamedia 19 April 2022
With the addition of smart TV apps - integrating 3SS’s front-end solution with technologies from Synamedia - for LG smart TVs and Samsung TVs running the Tizen operating system, and an Apple TV app developed by Synamedia, Switch TV is described as offering a “seamless” experience across a broad range of devices.

The Switch TV multiscreen service features free-to-air and premium live TV channels, catch-up and on-demand, with Arabic, Asian and Western TV channels. It offers users a choice of subscription options, including a free service, and features an extensive library of content from providers including Zee, BBC, MBC, Fox, Walt Disney, Warner Bros., NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures.

Based on the 3SS 3Ready Product Framework, the smart TV app has both left and right navigation to support the UX in Arabic and Asian languages as well as English. Switch TV customers now enjoy a lean-back experience while watching sport, TV shows and films. The Switch TV ecosystem went live in March 2022 with a set of features including VOD, live TV, mini EPG and parental controls. Etisalat is also using Synamedia’s Infinite cloud TV platform, security solutions and its end-to-end video network portfolio, including private CDN.

“Since the launch of Switch TV in 2020, we have continued to enhance the service with new functionality and a choice of service levels to suit different budgets,” said Jonathan Haysom, VP of commercial products at Etisalat. “We saw an opportunity to launch apps on smart TVs and Apple TV when choosing Synamedia and 3SS as our deployment partners because their expertise in this field is second to none.”