Volia launches multiscreen service

Leading Ukrainian cable operator Volia has launched a new multiscreen TV service providing streaming content to smartphones, tablets, smart TVs and computers along with Android-based set-tops.

The operator said that about a million users would have access to the service initially at no extra charge from the end of May.

The application will be available on Samsung, Sony, Philips and Xiaomi smart TVs, with others to be added in the future.

The service is available across all internet networks in the country and includes access to premium on-demand movies with content from Disney, Pixar, Fox, Universal, ABC, Paramount and others. It also includes features such as catch-up TV and parental controls.

The operator cited statistics that showed 89% of Ukrainians had at least one TV set their home, while 27% have a desktop computer, 34% have a laptop, 23% have a tablet and 83% have a mobile phone or smartphone.

The launch of a multiscreen service adds to Volia’s existing range of services, which include the interactive TV offering it launched via advanced set-tops in 2013, which is taken by around 200,000 of its subscribers, and the mobile TV offering it debuted in 2017.

“Several years ago, telecommunications giants such as Sky and Virgin Media, Telia and our neighbours at Polsat began offering multi-screen tools. Volia, in turn, launched the mobile application Volia TV as a ‘to go’ service in 2017. Today, smart TVs and boxes for Android are popular in the market, and people are using them not only to watch linear channels. About 30% of Volia subscribers have smart TVs, most of which have been purchased in recent years. That is why the equipment and digital technologies of Volia now allow us to launch the multiscreen platform Volia TV. And I am very proud that quarantine is not an obstacle for our employees – they were able to remotely complete the main stages of product development, which will provide new opportunities for content consumption for our viewers and new audiences, ” said Anton Dzyubenko, CEO of Volia.

“56% of our subscribers watch movies every day. A quarter of our channels are in HD quality. Now subscribers can watch their favourite content anywhere, on all screens and at any time. The new multiscreen platform will help us expand the geography of our products outside the company’s presence – in Odessa, Mykolayiv, Uzhhorod and other cities. After all, we also strive to serve those viewers who do not have the opportunity to connect to our network but are looking for legal world-class content.”