Ericsson SVOD net buys 2,500 hours

The upcoming subscription VOD service from TV tech company Ericsson has acquired more than 2,500 hours of programming from major international distributors.

Nuvu, which was created for distribution via African mobile operators, will get the programming through agreements with Viacom, MGM, CBS, Al Jazeera, DHX Media and Mattel, among others.

This hands the Nigerian service series such as Hawaii Five-O, Next Top Model, CSI: Miami, Being Mary Jane, SpongeBob SquarePants, Bob the Builder and Vikings, along with a raft of premium Hollywood movies.

Ericsson has already licensed dozens of pan-regional and local African television series from the likes of iRoko, Trace and Agwhyte International, and music videos from 960 Music Group. At launch, there will be around 3,000 local and international series.

“We have spent a great deal of time working with distributors to source the very best and most relevant international and local content for our new SVOD service, Nuvu,” said Ericsson’s head of broadcast and media services, Thorsten Sauer.

“We created Nuvu to help mobile operators in emerging markets to address a significant untapped market for video content. Africa has some of the highest mobile adoption rates globally and there is a high demand for quality content from consumers.”

Significantly, Ericsson’s service allows subscribers to download content during off-peak period for no additional data cost and access the content for 30 days afterwards. It debuts on Android smartphones and will roll out on other platforms and operating systems.