BesTV New Media, part of the Shanghai Media Group, and France Telecom’s Orange have signed an agreement to collaborate on the development of multimedia content services for television, PC and mobile phones. They describe it as collaborating on three-screen convergence services.
BesTV develops IPTV technology for its parent company Shanghai Media Group (SMG), which says it’s one of the largest radio and broadcast media groups in China and offers its content already via IPTV. BesTV already has technology partnership deals with the likes of Microsoft, Cisco and Huawei. It markets its technology under the tagline “The New Generation of TV Programming.” The two said both will soon launch a new “cutting-edge” suite of services for three screens.
They also agreed to jointly explore the potential of “Connected TV” technology, which allows the latest TV-sets to include built-in Internet video streaming features. BesTV and Orange will collaborate to integrate online video streaming, social networking services and TV user interfaces into a new “Connected TV” experience. They promised it will both enhance the user’s experience and provide new sources of revenue.
SMG said it has recently made over 30 intellectual property breakthroughs in the fields of IPTV, mobile TV and broadband TV.
Orange said it has been working since 2005 on the development and implementation of three-screen convergence services.
SMG has 13 analog TV channels, 90 digital paid cable TV channels and a full broadcasting Internet TV service, plus 10 analog and 19 digital radio services. It owns and operates five sports centers and 14 cultural art centers. It is also involved in the printed press and has newspapers, magazines and news Web sites. Its Dragon TV and CBN channels are said to be ranked at the top in China’s media industry.