Piksel to acquire shows for OTT players

OTT TV technology specialist Piksel is branching out into content acquisition for OTT players.

The company has set up a new unit, Piksel Content Services, to help telcos, internet service providers, cable operators and media companies to launch OTT ventures by taking over the task of negotiating content rights for them.

Piksel – formerly known as KIT Digital – will manage all stages of the content acquisition process for new OTT players, including the negotiating and licensing of content rights.

The company said the unit would also help media companies that want to deliver targeted content to connected devices, but do not have the necessary specialist expertise.

Piksel is positioning the content unit as an addition to its Digital Showcase software-as-a-service offering.

Mónica Gonzalez Piriz (above) has joined Piksel as vice-president of content acquisition and strategy to head its new content services division.

Gonzalez Piriz was previously head of content acquisition, SVoD and linear, at Millicom, the Latin America and Africa-focused telecom and media company until recently headed by former Modern Times Group chief executive Hans Holger Albrecht.

“I’m excited to join Piksel at such a pivotal time for the company, as it makes a game-changing move to open up the OTT market to a whole new segment,” said Gonzalez Piriz. “The potential for a new wave of OTT players from less ‘traditional’ backgrounds has been growing for a while, but until now there hasn’t been the right incentive out there to support businesses wanting to make this leap. Piksel is now bridging that gap but without the usual price-tag, and taking a compelling proposition to this new sector.”

Piksel is conducting briefings at the NATPE show in Miami this week to discuss the services and the strategy behind it.

“We’re the only company in the market today to offer bespoke content acquisition into our online video proposition, which shows the confidence we have in our services-led business model,” said Piksel chief commercial officer Kevin Joyce.

“Our heritage in online video has helped us understand that services are just as important as first-class technology when it comes to the success of our customers. By handling these aspects – and especially content acquisition – we do the heavy lifting required to build an OTT business, which can often be a daunting and difficult process.”