Telefónica selects MediaKind’s Aquila On-Demand solution to enhance Movistar+ VoD experience 
  • Aquila On-Demand handles the transcoding, transformation, packaging, and delivery of Movistar+’s on-demand content, more than doubling the current media processing speed
  • Ensures continual enhancements to the Movistar+ user experience with rapid content availability, premium video and audio quality, and access across more devices
  • The microservices-based solution allows for a flexible, multi-site, and scalable deployment, designed to integrate on any cloud infrastructure
FRISCO, TEXAS – May 26, 2021 – MediaKind, a global change leader in media technology and solutions, announces that it has been selected by Telefónica to enhance the video-on-demand (VoD) offerings of Movistar+, the Spanish telco’s pay-TV subscription service. MediaKind’s Aquila On-Demand solution, which launched in August 2020, will be deployed to deliver rapid asset processing of Movistar+’s on-demand OTT and IPTV content, encompassing transcoding, transformation, packaging, and delivery capabilities. Aquila On-Demand will enable Telefónica to add several new VoD offerings to the Movistar+ platform, supported by a range of Digital Rights Management (DRM) platforms, including HLS/Fairplay and DASH/CENC. Movistar+ will benefit from premium video quality up to 4K, enabled by MediaKind’s latest HEVC/H264 codec implementations. The deployment will also give Movistar+ a dramatic performance increase, with an innovative microservices architecture allowing the platform to process the media more than twice as fast, which greatly improves the platform’s user experience. Furthermore, Telefónica’s operations will be significantly simplified thanks to a unification of the graphical user interface (GUI) with the VoD controller. Eugenio Lojo, Head of Transmission and Conditional Access, Telefónica, said: “This past year has demonstrated the insatiable consumer demand for premium quality on-demand video streaming, a trend that will continue. We are continuously looking for new ways to pioneer and deliver the best quality service to our customers. MediaKind’s Aquila On-Demand solution provides us with the ideal tools to ensure Movistar+ provides a consistently exceptional viewing experience. The deployment means that Movistar+’s on-demand content can be made available faster and reach more devices, with an improved video and audio quality. Such a deployment is key to delivering a truly next-generation VOD experience that exceeds our viewers’ expectations.” Stuart Boorn, VP Product Management, MediaKind, said: “We are delighted to help Telefónica enhance its Movistar+ service with Aquila On-Demand. The solution’s innovative microservices design provides Telefónica with the flexibility and scale required to meet increasing on-demand video streaming requirements, exacerbated by the recent global lockdowns. Relying on our robust in-house processing and delivery software, we can help Telefónica deliver a premium viewing experience to its subscribers that exceeds consumer expectations for a modern VOD service, such as premium picture quality and reach on even more devices.” Aquila On-Demand forms part of MediaKind’s latest generation of cloud-native software solutions. It also outmodes previous monolithic solutions by providing significant performance improvements and simplifying network integrations with its simple watch folder ingest methodology, public REST API, and embedded load-balancer. The high degree of investment attributed to in-house codec software development ensures continuous evolution in supporting new standards, such as 8K, VVC, and new HDR formats, enabling MediaKind’s customers to react quickly to changing consumer demands, technological trends, and market challenges. - ENDS - About MediaKind We are MediaKind, a global change leader of media technology and services. Our mission is to build a continuously better media universe, together – alongside our customers and partners. Drawing on our pioneering industry heritage and fueled by innovation, we embrace and champion new standards, methodologies, and transformation to power next-generation, immersive live and on-demand media experiences for the world. Our portfolio offering includes Emmy award-winning solutions for contribution, distribution, and direct-to-consumer video compression; advertising and content personalization solutions; high-efficiency cloud DVR; and TV and video delivery platforms.  For more information, please visit: www.mediakind.com. About Movistar+ Movistar+ is the audiovisual entertainment offer from Telefónica group, the media leader in Spain. Its proposal includes a risky Original production, and the best premium content in sports, cinema, series, documentaries and programs, together with the best features and access on demand, so that users can enjoy television wherever, however and whenever they want. About Telefónica Telefónica is one the largest telecommunications service providers in the world. The company offers fixed and mobile connectivity as well as a wide range of digital services for residential and business customers. With more than 345 million customers, Telefónica operates in Europe and Latin America. Telefónica is a 100% listed company and its shares are traded on the Spanish Stock Market and on those in New York and Lima.