Etisalat UAE launches Switch TV streamer with Synamedia and 3SS

e&’s UAE-based business Etisalat UAE has agreed a tech partnership with Synamedia and 3 Screen Solutions (3SS).

The companies will collaborate to add a lean back TV experience for the operator’s DTC streaming service Switch TV, currently available on LG and Smart TVs along with Apple TV STBs. 

The smart TV app is based on the 3SS 3Ready Product Framework, and has left and right navigation to support the UX in Arabic and Asian languages as well as English. It integrates 3SS’s front-end solution with technologies from Synamedia including its Infinite cloud TV platform.

The Switch TV multiscreen service features free-to-air and premium live TV channels along with catch-up and on-demand viewing from Arabic, Asian and Western TV channels and providers including Zee, BBC, MBC, Fox, Walt Disney, Warner Bros., NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, and Sony Pictures.

Jonathan Haysom, VP of Commercial Products at Etisalat, said: “Since the launch of Switch TV in 2020, we have continued to enhance the service with new functionality and a choice of service levels to suit different budgets. We saw an opportunity to launch apps on smart TVs and Apple TV when choosing Synamedia and 3SS as our deployment partners because their expertise in this field is second to none.”

Jean-Francois Pigeon, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Synamedia, said, “Switch TV has been a game-changer for viewers across the UAE region. A contributing factor to this success is that Etisalat has taken advantage of our technology’s flexibility to add new devices, features and business models, all underpinned by data analytics. Working with 3SS, we have ensured that the smart TV and Apple TV apps for Switch TV feature the same high-end user experience as on STBs as well as the high levels of security Etisalat requires.”

Kai-Christian Borchers, 3SS Managing Director, added: “Smart TV platforms are becoming increasingly important for operators to complement their next-gen STB; it is vital for any successful brand that the user experience on both be seamless, high-quality and unified.We are very proud to support Etisalat, and to continue to collaborate with Synamedia to deliver advanced experiences to more and more smart TV viewers.”