Espial Announces Alexa Certification for 18 Service Providers Using Its Elevate TVaaS Platform; an Industry-First Bulk Certif...

Espial (TSX: ESP), makers of the award-winning Espial Elevate, an innovative TV as a Service (TVaaS) platform, today announced they have certified several convenient Amazon Alexa voice controls for Elevate’s next-gen IPTV, app-TV and cable services. In an industry first, Amazon completed a bulk certification of multiple pay-TV operators, enabling operators to move rapidly through the certification process.

A significant benefit of the Elevate video platform is the ability for operators to benefit from scale. Certifying various OTT services like Netflix, YouTube, and now voice services like Alexa, and making this available to operators reduces costs, accelerates time to market, and allows operators of all sizes to benefit from the most advanced services. Multiple System Operators (MSOs) such as MCTV, Hiawatha Broadband Communications (HBC), Optic Communications, and Eagle Communications are just a few of the operators that offer these services.

With its focus on continuous improvement of the user experience for consumers, Elevate will now enable the customers of certified operators to control their TV experience with simple hands-free control using the highly popular Amazon Alexa device ecosystem. For instance, a simple statement such as, “Watch the Chicago Cubs” will allow a user to watch a baseball game without having to find their remote control.

Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading:"Digital voice assistants like Alexa are rapidly becoming a standard part of the smart, connected consumer home. It makes sense to integrate capabilities like these into next-gen TV services like Elevate."

Travis Kohlrus, Vice President of Broadband Operations, Eagle Communications:“Eagle Communications strives to meet our customers ongoing needs, and voice-controlled devices are topping the charts for customer adoption. We are happy to have partners who help keep us on the leading-edge of these technology advancements to give our customers the best viewing experience.”

Noah Popejoy, Sales and Marketing Coordinator, Optic Communications:“Our team at Optic Communications has always tried to be an early adopter of advancements in our industry. When we were told that Amazon Alexa integration was possible with Elevate, we needed to be one of the first to include it. Customers are integrating more and more IoT devices in their home and we wanted to help customers include their cable television services as well. Alexa capability gives Optic Communications' customers another source of value to an already robust offering,"

Michael McCluskey, VP Product Management, Espial:“Voice assistants are becoming increasingly popular with consumers who are seeing the simplicity and convenience of the interface, and Amazon Alexa has become the most popular voice assistant. With our Elevate TVaaS platform, we have been able to bulk-certify multiple operators to ensure they can offer voice control to consumers who are part of the Alexa ecosystem. With this integration, Elevate enables consumers to find the content they want to watch faster and more easily, leveraging the Alexa range of smart IoT devices.”

A recent research study from Juniper Research estimates there will be 8 billion digital voice assistants in use by 2023, up from the 2.5 billion assistants in use at the end of 2018. It also reported that Smart TVs will have the biggest expansion, growing by more than 100% every year for the next five years.

About EspialEspial is a public software company, established in 1997 and headquartered in Ottawa, Canada. Espial solutions are used by over 100 video service providers and device manufacturers across the US, Canada, Europe & Asia. Espial’s solution portfolio includes client, server and cloud software products along with system integration services to help service providers launch next generation video offerings. Espial’s customers have deployed over 50 million devices, and are serviced through Espial’s global sales, support, and innovation centers. Espial has partnered with leading companies like Netflix, Amazon and Google among others for its Elevate SaaS solution, which powers cable, IPTV, Streaming TV & App-based IP video services for over 30 video service providers. For more information on Espial’s solutions, visit www.Espial.com.

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Nicole BakerEspialTel: +1 613 862 [e-mail]