Medialaan taps YoSpace for new online TV service

Belgian broadcaster Medialaan has selected advertising technology outfit YoSpace to provide its dynamic ad insertion system to help it make money from live channels on its new TV everywhere service, Stievie Premium.

A revamped pay version of Stievie’s online television service launched yesterday, offering 18 live TV channels and six catch-up services, , and can be viewed on smartphone, tablet, laptop and TV screen.  Users can use the service to schedule recordings.

The offer includes the Medialaan channels VTM, Q2, Vitaya, CAZ, VTMKzoom, Kadet and Qmusic; VRT channels Eén, Canvas and Ketnet; SBS channels Vier, Vijf and Zes; Discovery channels Eurosport, TLC and Discovery and Fox’s National Geographic and Nat Geo Wild.

According to Medialaan, the channels on its service, taken together account for almost 90% of viewing in Flanders.  The package is available for €9.99 a month.

The service includes startover capability, with viewers able to use ‘scrub’ controls to rewind live streams. Ad breaks for viewers using this capability are made shorter so they are able to catch up with the real-time live programming.

Yospace’s technology is being used to serve ads in the live channels on the platform in personalised streams.

Stievie Premium is available on iOS, Android and web platforms.

“We want to make a difference as a media company and extend our strengths in linear broadcasting to the always-connected online world through radical innovation,” said Pieter Coucke, solution architect at Medialaan.

“In essence we wanted to improve the user experience. By replacing ads that are shown on TV with personalised ads, customers watching the same live stream online have a much more compelling service.”

Edward New, Commercial Director at Yospace, said: “Yospace is the global leader in server-side dynamic ad insertion for live streams.  We were the first to publicly test the technology, the first to announce a commercial launch, and the first to deliver a full sporting season of top-flight football. The project with Medialaan has taken the technology to a completely new level of sophistication that has not been seen anywhere before.  The forward-thinking attitude of Medialaan has helped engineer a step change in live television.”