Mediafly in Over-the-Top-TV Deal with Roku

Mediafly, a company that offers a distribution platform for podcasts and other Internet multimedia series, said Monday that it has signed an over-the-top deal with Roku that sees it developing a version of its service for the latter's Roku Digital Video Player (note: the latter, which retails for $99.99, first came to prominence through an OTT partnership with Netflix that was announced in spring, 2008; it is also branded as the Netflix Player by Roku). According to the company, the channel, which was developed using the Roku Developer Kit and which is slated to launch in the fall, will feature a range of on-demand content, offered free-of charge. "Mediafly is very excited to deliver its podcasting aggregation service to the Roku platform, bringing free content to Roku customers for viewing on the TV," Mediafly CEO, Carson Conant, said in a prepared statement. "We think it will give people a glimpse of what life will be like in the post-DVR on-demand world." Added Roku's VP of business development, Jim Funk: "We created the Roku Developer Kit so companies like Mediafly could innovate and bring great experiences to the TV via the Roku player. We're pleased to see Mediafly using the Roku platform to bring more entertainment choices and value to our customers."

Mediafly claims that over 25,000 different multimedia series, consisting of over 5 million individual episodes, are available through its service. In order to facilitate access to the service on Roku's platform, the company says it will separate out its 500 most popular series and organize them into "just over" 20 channels with "no accounts to create or complex set-up, no subscription required." It says its Roku service will allow users to "set up content once and enjoy it across all their digital media devices" including BlackBerry, iPhone and Zune. According to the company, a user will, for example, be able to start watching one of its series on the Roku player at home, and then pick it up on an iPhone or vice versa.