Press
LOVEFiLM has announced that its PS3™ service has now gone live in Germany. The service was developed in partnership with Pushbutton, as a part of the company’s ongoing commitment to LOVEFiLM as its official digital partner.
The LOVEFiLM release stated “LOVEFiLM and Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) have extended their partnership to bring LOVEFiLM to millions of PlayStation®3 (PS3™) users across Germany.
“German members of LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service, streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by post, will be able to stream Europe’s widest choice of titles directly to their TVs – opening up LOVEFiLM in Germany to millions of homes that are already PS3™ connected.
“The move to expand the digital service in Europe and introduce the Sony partnership into the German market follows the launch of the PS3™ service in the UK in November of last year. It is the most significant extension to-date of LOVEFiLM’s direct-to-TV rollout, which began in the UK in March 2010 when LOVEFiLM launched on SONY BRAVIA Internet Video TVs, Blu-ray players and Blu-ray Home Theatre kits.”
Simon Calver, Chief Executive of LOVEFiLM, said:
“The extension of our partnership with Sony beyond the UK is a significant move in expanding our digital home entertainment service internationally. PS3™ already has a strong customer base in Germany who will now be able to benefit from our vast collection of titles that can be streamed directly to their living rooms.
Expanding the digital service in Germany is the latest step in our strategy to make LOVEFiLM available on as many devices as possible and give our members the opportunity to watch anytime, anywhere, anyhow.”
The LOVEFiLM service is available on the XMB (XrossMediaBar) on all Internet-connected PS3™s, providing German members of LOVEFiLM, on subscription packages, with access to hundreds of film favourites, from major studios and independents alike, such as Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest, V For Vendetta, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch And The Wardrobe, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Batman Begins and Beowulf.
Members will be able to scroll through titles on the page, search through categories including ‘Pick of the Week’, ‘Most Watched’ and ‘Highest Rated’, view ratings and search through the LOVEFiLM instant offering by title, actor and genre. LOVEFiLM will also offer German PS3™ users who are not already LOVEFiLM subscribers, exclusive incentives to join the service including free trials.
We know there is a huge interest within our audience for film, and so the addition of LOVEFiLM to our current range of services is a very natural fit and one which significantly enhances the value proposition of PlayStation 3,” said Uwe Bassendowski, MD of Sony Computer Entertainment Germany. “LOVEFiLM has a proven track record of success and innovation in the film distribution field and is a very welcome addition to the PlayStation family that I’m confident PlayStation gamers will embrace enthusiastically.”
YouView has named Pushbutton as a member of its Wider Advisory Group, a committee of experts set up to lend technical advice to the Freeview successor, which is due to launch next year.
These organisations are helping to shape and test the way in which content will be delivered via YouView – and the group’s diversity and expertise will help to ensure that YouView can support a potentially unlimited range of content in the future.
According to YouView the new service “brings you all the plug-in-and-watch simplicity of Freeview, plus the UK’s leading Internet catch-up and video on-demand services… For the first time, your on-screen programme guide will go backwards in time as well as forwards. You can discover and watch great programmes whenever you want – even ones you thought you’d missed.”
YouView will support HD, and a choice of pay-TV channels and on-demand programmes from TV providers such as BT Vision and Talk Talk TV. It offers the “best bits of 21st Century TV” say YouView, things like pause live TV and PVR without subscription fees in an easy to use box.
Pushbutton customer Simon Calver, CEO of LOVEFiLM, said: “LOVEFiLM is committed to bringing its service to as many customers as possible on the broadest range of platforms, and therefore continues to follow and support YouView’s development with interest.”
Paula Byrne, Managing Director of Pushbutton said “We are delighted to offer our expertise to YouView as a member of the Wider Advisory Group. YouView is a most significant milestone in the inexorable march of TV and video content onto IPTV platforms. We anticipate interesting engagements with the platform in terms of work on behalf of our clients, in addition to our continued enthusiastic participation in the Wider Advisory Group.”
On the 14th March LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service, streaming movies and TV episodes over the internet and sending DVDs by post launched its Watch Online service on Oregan Networks’ Onyx media browser.
Pushbutton worked closely with LOVEFiLM on the interface design, integration of the front end with LOVEFiLM API’s and back end systems, and with the Widevine digital rights management (DRM) platform. LOVEFiLM announced the appointment of Pushbutton as its “official digital partner” in November, 2010.
Pushbutton’s Head of Interactive Television and CTO, James Cumberbatch, said “The solution made use of Pushbutton’s Calcium Framework. This allowed us to easily port the Watch Online service to a new platform and integrate tightly with the Widevine playback component.”
The launch of the Watch Online service on Oregan Neworks’ Onyx media browser further increases LOVEFiLM’s platform capability to address a broader cross section of internet-connected television and set-top boxes.
Pushbutton will use its own pbRemote product to power demos on its stand at IP&TV World Forum in Olympia, London, next week.
Team members will be holding iPads loaded with the pbRemote app. They will use pbRemote to select demos and bring them up on our brand new, super slim, Samsung LED televisions.
pbRemote is not just another TV-related app. It has been built from the ground up to sync directly with Mediaroom-based STBs. – and can therefore offer the full range of remote commands from a range of mobile devices including iOS, Android, and Windows Phone. It offers a full palette of remote commands including pause live TV, record, volume, change channel, and add to favourites.
If you are attending the show, come and see us at stand number 131 and ask for a demo. We want you to see for yourself how cool pbRemote is – and we also want you to be impressed by the demos we select for you to see using it.
In addition to pbRemote, we’ll also showcase pbTV – a full blooded companion app designed to run on iOS, Android, and Windows mobile devices. Like pbRemote, pbtv is designed to sync with Mediaroom based STBs and is a ‘white label’ solution that enables operators to add their own branding and unique features.
The Pushbutton stand will also showcase recent client work – including LOVEFiLM for SONY PlayStation®3 and BBC iPlayer for BT Vision.
Commenting on pbRemote, Pushbutton Managing Director, Paula Byrne, said “All platform operators need a companion app solution. The good thing about Pushbutton’s offering is that pbRemote is ready to deploy NOW – and it enables the operator to make that land grab in the minds of their subscribers.”
The Pushbutton team are in Las Vegas this week attending the Consumer Electronics Show, where they are showing off a range of recently launched services, and new products for a range of platforms including IPTV, companion applications, devices, and games platforms.
The company’s Director of iTV, James Cumberbatch is leading the Pushbutton team in Las Vegas. He is joined by Shane Wilson, Director of Product Development North America, and Neil Garret, SVP, Client and Partner Services, North America.
Pushbutton have a suite at the Wynn Hotel, where demos are taking place throughout the show. If you wish to make an appointment to see some of Pushbutton’s recent, cool new projects, and see our new products please send an email to Eugene.lacey@pushbutton.tv.
Pushbutton, the award winning interactive TV agency, headquartered in the UK, is opening an office in Canada. The plan was announced during the iTV TVOT Intensive conference in New York, this week.
The Canadian operation will be headed by Pushbutton’s latest recruit, Shane Wilson, who will also act as Director of Product Development, North America.
The news follows hot on the heels of major product announcements from the fast-growing agency, that last week unveiled two significant digital TV projects in Europe.
During November the company revealed that it is the development house behind the BBC’s iPlayer product that will shortly roll out on the BT Vision platform in the UK. It also announced its new role as Digital Partner for LOVEFiLM, Europe’s largest subscription service, streaming movies and TV episodes over the Internet and sending DVDs by post. This followed the launch of the LOVEFiLM service on Sony PlayStation 3, also developed by Pushbutton.
Commenting on the opening of Pushbutton’s Canadian office, Paula Byrne, Managing Director said “Pushbutton has an outstanding track record over the last eight years in developing products and services for key content and technology clients around the world. 2011 will see us begin to launch our own IPTV and Connected Device products and services that play to our significant strengths in user interface design and application development. We are delighted to have someone of Shane’s calibre to help us in this task and look forward to accelerating our product development with him on board”.
Pushbutton Director of Interactive Development, James Cumberbatch added “This is a very exciting stage in the growth of Pushbutton. The establishment of a Canadian office and the appointment of an experienced IPTV expert as our Product Development Director positions us well to fully exploit the many opportunities in the market. Shane will be working closely with myself and the rest of the Pushbutton design and development teams to help us achieve our aggressive product development strategies in the world of Digital TV”.
Speaking about his new role, Shane Wilson said “This is the perfect time to join Pushbutton. I have followed the company and its success for a number of years and have a huge amount of respect for the team. Pushbutton’s Microsoft Mediaroom IPTV work is outstanding. Now that Canadian Service Providers from coast to coast have deployed Microsoft Mediaroom, there is a significant opportunity to deliver great IPTV apps in this territory and throughout the world”.
The opening of the Canadian office demonstrates Pushbutton’s commitment to the North American market. The company set up a US base on the West Coast in March 2010.