Allente: super-aggregators ‘need access to data’ from apps

Super-aggregators such as Allente need more than anything else to get access to data from content app providers, according to Jon Espen Nergard, CTO of Nordic pay TV operator Allente.

“Data is super-important to build that great user experience,” said Nergard, speaking at the Connected TV World Summit in London today.

Access to data enabled users to open the Allente app and find their way to content on different apps that they have previously been viewing, he said, without entering the specific app of the content provider itself.

Nergard said that Allente found data integrations easier with local content providers such as broadcaster TV2. Currently, he said, Allente had been working with the broadcaster to create a stable solution allowing it to surface content that users had been watching outside the TV2 app, and then hoped to scale it out to other providers.

Nergard said that Allente had seen 30% year-over-year growth in usage of its streaming offerings.

TV customers are looking for discounted prices for bundles but also are looking for flexibility, according to Nergard.

However, he said, giving too much flexibility and choice can lead to confusion and is difficult to manage.

Operators need to focus on subscription optimisation. Last year, Allente launched Stream Basic, a low-cost package that does not offer much flexibility. Consumers looking for flexibility can opt for the operator’s Stream Flex 2 or Stream Flex 4 options, which offer more flexibility for a higher price.

“This also gives us a lot of flexibility to play around with our business model and proposition for the customer,” he said. It enables Allente to add other services such as AVOD options, he said.

Creating a seamless experience across different devices is also key for super-aggregating operators, he said.

He said that Allente tried to experiment in how to sell its products.

“We do experiments, and we make sure we know how to scale them properly before we take them out to subscribers,” he said.

Service providers such as Allente have additional opportunities to sign up new users to content services, for example through its hotel business, which enabled it to source leads for conversion to the retail pay TV service, said Nergard.

Nergard said that piracy was a growing problem with 23% growth in piracy over the last year and over a million users of paid-for piracy services across the Nordic markets, which is “a really, really small market”.

“Pirates are the super-aggregators of today, and they don’t pay a dime in content rights,” he said. “The industry needs to come together to fight this – it can’t be done by one player alone.”