Euskaltel taps Nagra for 4K Android STB content security

Spanish regional cable operator Euskaltel has partnered with Nagra to secure content on its 2017-launched, Android TV-based 4K set-top boxes.

sede_euskaltelEuskaltel has deployed the Nagra Connect content protection offering in its Technicolor-provided set-top box. The deal marks Nagra’s first operator-tier Android TV rollout.

“By working with Nagra and Technicolor, we were able to introduce a new 4K set-top box that allows us to take advantage of our existing [Nagra-provided] OpenTV backend platform to deliver linear and on-demand premium content while also tapping into a rich Android TV video app ecosystem to deliver even more value to our customers,” said Leticia Sánchez Berian, director of television operations at Euskaltel.

Euskaltel launched its 4K Android set-top box in July and signed up to Google Play, enabling customers to take Google services from their set-tops.

The box can be connected to peripheral devices via WiFi, Bluetooth and USB, and subscribers can use their mobile phones to control it. It can also be connected to a games controller and be voice-controlled.

Other features of the Euskaltel platform include restart service Replay, video-on-demand service Replayteka, seven-day catch-up and DVR.

In July Euskaltel completed the acquisition of the Zegona Communications-owned, Asturias region operator Telecable. By October the company said it had seen its pay TV base grow by 127,000 year-on-year to 394,000 in the year to September, and has seen strong take-up of its new Android TV-based box.

A month later Euskaltel signed a deal to offer Netflix via its new 4K UHD TV boxes from next year and separately unveiled plans to expand to other areas of Spain outside its existing markets of the Basque Country, Asturias and Galicia.

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