Massive Helps the BBC Deliver News App to Connected TVs

 The BBC went and developed a news application for connected TVs to complement its 24-hour television news channel and web site. The news app will initially be available free of charge on Samsung Smart TVs through their apps store and later it will be accessible on a variety of connected devices and displays, including an international version.

But the story you might not hear is how that Over The Top (OTT) application for connected televisions came to be. Think of the Wizard of Oz; behind the curtain there's someone moving the levers to create the best design and software that lets broadcasters commercialize their video and content for any device – connected TV, tablet, mobile, PC.

Why? Because the connected TV market is seriously heating up.

According to Dan Cryan, Head of Broadband, IHS Screen Digest, the number of TVs actively connected to the internet is set to hit 17.3m in 2014; up from 0.8m in 2010.

“The number of TVs connected to the internet both as the functionality becomes more widespread but also as the service offered become more diverse and compelling, giving consumers are real reason to plug in their new TV set,” said Cryan.

Massive, a UK company that specializes in creating next generation video entertainment for on-demand television, makes the stuff  you probably won’t ever hear of. What that means is they figure out how to interpret and get that content from the internet to you on your connected TV in a way that you have come to expect which is as if you are on your PC or tablet.

Massive announced today that they did just that, working with the BBC User Experience and Design team to design the newly launched BBC News product for connected TV which was launched last week in the UK.

The news TV app combines existing on-demand video and text content from BBC News online and brings it to connected living-room TV screens. Initially, it will be available on Samsung’s range of smart TVs, with plans to support other connected devices over time.

Samsung sold around two million Smart TVs worldwide in the first three months since their launch in early April 2011, selling at an average rate of 22,000 a day, with about 700,000 of them in Europe.

This isn’t the first time Massive has made broadcasters look good. They have delivered dozens of complex and large-scale content solutions for deployment on the web, ITV, IPTV, mobile and in-flight entertainment platforms. From Australia’s first ITV service (Austar) which was the first implementation of MS Windows Media Center for an IPTV application to Telstra/BigPond, the first integration of Google Earth for a Sports site for the Rolex Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race. Massive is behind some of the most advanced on demand television out there.

Even though you might not know it, there's a lot that goes into your TV experience so you can just sit back, crack open your favorite beverage and channel surf.