Four More Cable Operators Select CMC/ARRIS Managed VOD Solution

HITS (stands for "Headend in the Sky"), a business unit of Comcast Media Center that provides content management and distribution solutions for MSO's, and communications technology company, ARRIS, said Wednesday that four smaller cable operators--Cass Cable TV, Mediastream (formerly Waycross Cable Company), MTC and Plantation Cable--are using the companies' VOD In a Box service to deliver VOD to their subscribers.

CMC and ARRIS bill the service as a turnkey solution that enables cable operators to launch VOD services quickly and cost-effectively, and that includes hardware, software and thousands of hours of SD and HD programming. The service was originally developed by CMC and C-COR, a communications technology provider that was sold to ARRIS back in 2007. "VOD In a Box is a cost-effective solution in terms of both capital and management expenses," Mediastream CEO, Mike Jury, said in a prepared statement. "The lower entry costs made it possible for us to offer our digital customers a service they can't get from satellite or another provider. Within two months post-deployment, our VOD revenue exceeded our pay-per-view revenue without a correlating decrease in pay-per-view. We were able to add this often labor-intensive line of service while maintaining current staffing levels due to the backoffice support provided by HITS. In addition, we were able to lower our content management costs by bundling VOD in a Box with the linear channels we receive via HITS Quantum." (Note: CMC says that its bundled HITS Quantum/VOD in a Box offering allows operators receiving linear programming from HITS' 280-channel line-up of HITS Quantum HD, SD, and Classic offerings to add VOD in a Box at a reduced price.)

According to CMC and ARRIS, VOD in a Box allows cable systems to accept programming from multiple sources via CMC's VOD services platform, without having to manage content or equipment at their local headends. The companies say that the service includes centralized services for acquiring and managing content, creating and validating metadata, and pitching VOD content to ARRIS servers located at the headend. CMC claims that market analysis conducted by HITS shows that VOD in a Box can reduce capital expenses on average by 25% and up to 50%, and can reduce operating expenses on average by 30% to 50%, when compared to a typical VOD system. It says that the platform's potential for increased revenues and lower costs can reduce the payback time for the initial investment by VOD in a Box affiliates to 13-18 months of operation--compared to the 30-40 months typically required to recoup an investment in a locally managed VOD system.

In other VOD news: Canadian communications regulator, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) has given the nod to advertising on VOD services, including targeted ads and other forms of advanced advertising. However, the regulator is specifying that "advertising should be permitted only in programming acquired directly from an unrelated licensed Canadian broadcaster or from a related broadcaster that has also acquired the linear rights to the program." More information on the CRTC's decision is available here.