Opera TV launches Smart TV app-creation tool for broadcasters

Opera TV Snap

Opera TV has announced the launch of a new version of Opera TV Snap, designed to provide broadcasters with expanded OTT capabilities on Smart TVs, including a ready-to-deploy Hybrid Broadcast Broadband TV (HbbTV) solution to drive seamless interactivity on linear TV.

Opera TV Snap, the breakthrough tool that turns video content into Smart TV apps in an instant, has thus far seen tremendous market success in enabling several hundred video content owners to reach living-room audiences over-the-top.

HbbTV and Smart TV portals: An engagement opportunity for broadcasters

HbbTV, a standard pioneered by broadcasters and manufacturers in Europe, is rapidly achieving global adoption, opening a world of possibilities for commercial broadcasters. Broadcasters can use their premium presence in front of viewers to promote services and content such as program guides, catch-up TV and their video catalogs.

For broadcasters, creating and maintaining their catch-up TV services through apps on connected TVs and set-top boxes can be complex and costly. Furthermore, in HbbTV markets, developing and maintaining separate apps for Smart TV portals and HbbTV functionality can prove inefficient. Opera TV Snap significantly lowers their barrier to entry into the OTT world by providing a quick and simple-to-use app-deployment framework packed with essential features that re-purpose their video assets for Smart TV audiences.

DW embraces the new Opera TV Snap for broadcasters

Germany's international broadcaster, Deutsche Welle (DW), is part of a new breed of broadcasters hungry to bring their original programming to living-room audiences across all possible engagement channels, from live broadcast to OTT. In selecting Opera TV Snap for broadcasters, DW will leverage the latest version to enable users to access multilingual DW live programming and on-demand content, all from the comfort of their sofas. Viewers can access these services through the Opera TV Store app platform, available on tens of millions of devices from over 15 global manufacturers.

"DW is committed to bring engaging content to our viewers. We're excited to upgrade our Smart TV offering by utilizing the latest version of Opera TV Snap. We've found this path to be convenient in reaching Smart TV and HbbTV audiences," says Petra Schneider, Director of Sales and Distribution at DW.

Opera TV Snap has proven itself to be the fastest way for video content owners to create Smart TV apps that living-room audiences enjoy using.

"In our conversations with broadcasters, it was clear that their current Smart TV deployment options were inefficient and needed a shake-up," says Aneesh Rajaram, Senior Vice President for TV and Devices at Opera Software, "Opera TV Snap for broadcasters has been specially designed to meet the needs of broadcasters and living-room audiences at large scale. We look forward to helping broadcasters around the world embrace Smart TV devices and connect with their audiences in new engaging ways."

Key features available through Opera TV Snap for broadcasters:

- HbbTV support with a red-button launcher and a catch-up TV portal
Broadcasters can enable their catch-up TV services (OTT VOD) over their linear programming.

- Multi-tier navigation for episodic video content
Broadcasters content might include various types of content such as TV shows with episodes, seasons and documentaries. Opera TV Snap can be adapted to various content categories with its multi-tier navigation support.

- Monetization options and billing support
Broadcasters can look to monetize their OTT content by displaying video and interactive advertisements within their TV apps. In addition, broadcasters looking to sell premium packages with either a transactional or a subscription model can leverage the billing capabilities that will be supported within the Opera TV Snap framework.

If you are a broadcaster and want to create your own TV app with Opera TV Snap, go to http://opera.com/tvsnap.

About Opera TV
The Opera TV portfolio powers rich web experiences on tens of millions of Smart TVs, set-top boxes, Blu-ray Disc players and chipsets for more than 60 customers, including Sony, TiVo, Samsung, Swisscom, Philips, Vestel and TCL. Tap into the complete suite of tools for creating compelling connected-TV experiences. The Opera TV ecosystem spans the Opera TV Store app platform with hundreds of entertaining apps tailor-made for TV, Opera Devices SDK (software development kit) for creating and rendering HTML5-based user interfaces, and the Opera TV browser for reaching the full web. Opera TV offers solutions for OEMs, pay-TV operators, broadcasters and content publishers. With the Opera Mediaworks advertising platform, Opera TV can help monetize and drive traffic to content through an end-to-end advertising solution.

SOURCE Opera TV