Unified Streaming, an innovator in smart video streaming technologies, announces that it is partnering with Crossmedia to optimize the live streaming and linear programming of Mediaset España, the leader for live linear broadcast and video-on-demand markets in Spain.

Mediaset España is also implementing Unified tech to enable content protection for premium content in its on-demand workflow, and to package its entire video-on-demand catalog, with and without DRM (digital rights management).

Mediaset España selects Unified’s technology as it pivots from push-based streaming to a pull-based protocol, which creates content dynamically, or on the fly, only when it is needed. Mediaset España’s partnership with Unified Streaming also aligns with the Spanish company’s optimization of its multi-CDN (Content Delivery Network) strategy. Spreading distribution over numerous CDNs keeps Mediaset España nimble, diversifies risk, and lets it evade vendor lock-in.

Mediaset España’s pull-based origin, which is running in the Microsoft Azure cloud, facilitates this multi-CDN strategy. Improvement to the caching setup of the CDNs has greatly reduced the requests to, and egress from, Unified Origin to the CDNs.

Rather than signing its systems over to a one-stop-shop, Mediaset España is signaling that it prefers the approach of Unified Streaming, in conjunction with Crossmedia — a specialist with tech that Mediaset España can tailor to its own requirements. If any issues arise, Mediaset España can replace components easily without, for instance, needing to re-encode its content library — an advantage of modularity that beats its previous setup, which necessitated an entire restructuring if any changes were made somewhere in its delivery flow.

With Unified Origin technology Mediaset España gains the flexibility needed to stream to all devices and to serve all use cases. Certain smart TVs and STBs (set-top boxes) can be quirky, since they’re usually outfitted with older standards and legacy DRM (digital rights management) implementation. Unified Streaming finesses these particular third-party idiosyncrasies just as simply as it accommodates the latest standards.

With the help of Unified’s Spanish reseller and integrator Crossmedia, the interoperability of Unified Streaming and Mediaset España has been tested in Azure via Kubernetes, a system for automating software deployment, scaling, and management. With the Unified Origin integration, failover — or the ability of software to switch unnoticeably to a solid backup system, without fuss — has been characterized as perfect.

About the cooperation between his company and Unified Streaming, Mediaset España CTO Manuel Jesús Guisado said, ​“The reason this has worked so well is because Unified’s support team is so laser-focused on packaging, and every packaging issue that was seen in testing, they solved.”

Ewout Meijer, Sales Team Lead at Unified Streaming, said, ​“Mediaset España’s goal of building a best-of-breed OTT solution aligns perfectly with Unified Streaming’s vision of providing broadcasters and operators with the tools to deliver the best and most personalized viewing experience.”

About Mediaset España

Mediaset España is a media company listed since 2004. It boasts a family of complementary channels for different audience profiles that include Telecinco, a leader in commercial free-to-air TV for more than 20 years, aimed at all audience segments, Cuatro, Factoría de Ficción, Boing, Divinity, Energy, and BeMad. Online, Mediaset España has two content platforms: Mitele, which offers all Mediaset España content live and on-demand, and Mtmad, a native digital video channel. Mediaset España also operates in the content distribution segment with Mitele PLUS, a subscription-only platform where viewers can enjoy all Mitele content uninterrupted, along with other exclusive content. The company is one of the largest content creators in Spain thanks to its firm commitment to in-house production. It has a distribution subsidiary, Mediterráneo Mediaset España Group, for the sale of its content and the production of third-party content, with a presence in almost 200 countries worldwide through agreements with the main national and international platforms. Mediaset España is also one of the driving forces behind Spanish cinema, with feature films that have crossed borders and are among the highest-grossing films in the history of cinema in Spain. Publiespaña is the advertising subsidiary of Mediaset España responsible for the commercial operation of all the group’s media.

About Unified Streaming

Unified Streaming is a forerunner in creating smart video streaming technologies and defining industry-advancing standards and specifications. Founded in 2012 and headquartered in Amsterdam, Unified Streaming leads the new wave of content aggregation, providing tools for dynamic and static packaging, capture, and enhanced playlist technology. By building rock-solid software, Unified Streaming helps customers solve complex streaming challenges in a fast-paced, continuously evolving industry. Unified’s streaming solutions are deployed not just to unlock creative new ways to protect and repurpose content, but also to create value and increase profit.

With over 150 broadcasters, telcos, streaming platforms, content creators, and ecosystem partners globally, Unified Streaming produces software that is under the hood of the largest and best-known streaming platforms and services. Every day, customers count on Unified Streaming to enable delivery of outstanding personalized experiences to their viewers, on any internet-connected device, anywhere in the world.

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