Mid-East’s ART readies ‘super box’

Chris Forrester

The past week or so has seen much Middle East focus on the merger between Showtime and Orbit, two long-established but struggling pay-TV operators in the Middle East. However, Arab Radio & Television (ART) is quietly readying its own plans to consolidate and grow its rival pay-TV business – and this includes MPEG-4 based HDTV and an IPTV-enabled set-top box.

ART started broadcasting in the mid-1990s but has been somewhat hamstrung by the lack of enthusiasm for pay-TV in the region. Nevertheless, and despite a lack of formal data, it is widely understood to be the market leader in terms of pure subscriber numbers. ART has spent the past few years concentrating on sport as well as Arabic content.

The broadcaster is now abandoning its previous dependence on non-proprietary (and so called ‘zap’ boxes) in favour of a purpose-designed and unique set-top box which contains ART-owned software and IP. It is also switching from Irdeto conditional access and has selected Viacess encryption from France Telecom. However, key to its strategy is its use of ANT Galio Browser and ANT Galio Core Applications for its new service.

Cambridge-based ANT is supplying/licensing its ANT Galio Browser and ANT Galio Core Applications, which gives Arab Media Corporation a platform to grow their existing service and provide a variety of new multimedia services supported by hybrid set-top boxes. The planned feature upgrades include an EPG, Personal Video Recorder, Video on Demand (VoD), zapper functionality as well as incorporating pushed advertising for the first time.

The service will have an entirely new look and feel designed by Arab Media Corporation (ART’s parent company). The ANT architecture also enables the redesign and reskinning of services on deployed STBs as and when desired after the initial launch of the service, an important capability in this programme.

“Not only is it important for us to build a compelling new service but also to have a solution that can continue to grow. ANT, with its standards based software architecture, is at the forefront of delivering next generation services and applications,” said Alan Constant, CTO at Arab Media Corporation. “We are looking beyond what the market is currently demanding to the types of services that consumers will want next year and in future years.”

“We’re excited to be working with this leading satellite operator to bring new services to the Middle East and North African markets at a time when rapid growth is forecasted in these regions,” said Simon Woodward, CEO at ANT. “This agreement is a significant milestone for ANT. By working directly with an operator such as Arab Media Corporation we’re able to offer ANT’s considerable experience in TV service development and deployment in a partnership which can have a major influence on the evolution of TV services.”