MwareTV, a leading cloud-based multi-tenant platform provider, has implemented a rich video streaming service dedicated to the Ethiopian market. The service is called IGADO+, and IGADO+ works in conjunction with Ethio Telecom, the national provider, to deliver the service over broadband and mobile.
IGADO+ launched with 125 live television channels and thousands of hours of video on demand content. Channels include a broad range of entertainment, children’s programming, education, religion and sports, including match day coverage of Arsenal, a football club in the English Premier League, Real Madrid and its own local sports services. To meet the expectations of the local community, much of the content is dubbed into local languages Amharic and Afaan Oromoo.
In partnership with Ethio Telecom, the service is available on portable devices, with smart TVs to be added soon. Ethio is intensively marketing the IGADO+ service as a value add for its subscribers. It is aimed to be a service for all, with subscriptions as low as 199 Birr a month, equivalent to around US $1.65, and users can subscribe from the Ethio USSD portal.
The MwareTV TVMS (TV Management System) is a completely cloud-based platform which provides all the technology required to maintain a service like IGADO+. It hosts all the content, allowing services to be planned using simple drag and drop tools for operators. The TVMS links directly with the Ethio Telecom subscription management system for a seamless process to subscribe to the IGADO service.
Consumers need a simple, intuitive and readily understood user interface on their smartphones and tablets. A key part of the MwareTV package is a suite of white-label user interfaces for all common devices, which can be quickly tailored and branded with no need for any coding. This makes it simple to create common, attractive and usable apps for all devices.
“Our goal is to make information and entertainment accessible to everyone in Ethiopia,” said Ibrahim Gado, General Manager at IGADO+. “In partnership with Ethio Telecom, IGADO+ provides the Ethiopian community with affordable and engaging content. We worked closely with MwareTV to build the infrastructure which provides all the functionality we need, while still being able to deliver an excellent service at a price point our market will find attractive. We are very excited by the response to our launch.”
Sander Kerstens, CEO of MwareTV, said “What makes the MwareTV proposition so compelling is that it takes away all the technical concerns, hosting them in the cloud, so the operator can focus on delivering a great service. In this case, IGADO can build audience loyalty through great content and attractive marketing offers, confident that our cloud platform will automatically execute all those decisions and deliver the programming, in the best possible quality, through the Ethio Telecom networks to subscribers.
“We also provide all the links to ensure subscriptions and customers are managed correctly,” Kerstens said. “As IGADO has shown, with very low start-up costs and services based on subscriber numbers, with MwareTV you can launch a rich, engaging service which is relevant to the audience and its culture, at a price point which is very compelling.”
