Aiming to help operators boost VOD buy rates, SeaChange International has licensed the Aprico content recommendation source code and other intellectual-property rights from Royal Philips Electronics.
SeaChange said it will integrate the Aprico technology for both linear and video-on-demand services -- along with recommendation models -- into the Adrenalin multiscreen back-office platform over the course of 2012.
Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
Aprico Solutions, a Philips-owned software company based in the Netherlands, develops recommendation and targeting technology for personalized TV services, using a database of program guide and Internet metadata from German multimedia company Axel Springer. The Aprico software is embedded in various television, Internet and mobile platforms.
With Aprico recommendation functionality built into Adrenalin, video service providers can improve their VOD buy rates, SeaChange said.
"Finding interesting content has become a real issue, with digital TV subscribers often spending at least 25% of their viewing time browsing content catalogs or hopping channels," SeaChange Software president Erwin van Dommelen said in a statement. "For service providers, helping subscribers find content they will enjoy is key to retaining viewers and maximizing revenues."
SeaChange CEO Raghu Rau, who was named the company's permanent chief executive as of May 1, added that the Aprico deal "is part of SeaChange's strategy to grow revenues through targeted investments and expansion into adjacent products."
SeaChange plans to demo Adrenalin and its other multiscreen software offerings at The Cable Show, May 21-23 in Boston and at Germany's ANGA Cable Show next month.
