Viaplay Chooses ThinkAnalytics for Cloud-Based Multi-Screen Search and Recommendations

LONDON, June 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ThinkAnalytics™, developer of the world's most deployed multiplatform TV search and recommendations engine, has been selected by Viaplay to power multi-language intelligent search and recommendations for its popular online pay-TV service in the Nordics.

A cloud-based deployment, the ThinkAnalytics Recommendations Engine is now live on the Viaplay service in Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland.

Viaplay chose ThinkAnalytics because of its ability to manage cloud-based search and recommendations in Swedish, Norwegian, Danish and Finnish, as well as its range of recommendations techniques and metadata enhancement capabilities. The Recommendations Engine is integrated with thePlatform's mpx video publishing system.

The Viaplay deployment uses a mix of advanced, personalized and non-personalized recommendations techniques – including personalized 'content for you', 'what's popular', category-based, related content and intelligent search – to help subscribers find great content on a wide range of devices including PCs, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, and games consoles.

"We realized early on that recommendations help us to showcase our vast library of premium content," said Rikard Steiber, CEO of Viaplay. "ThinkAnalytics' Recommendations Engine allows us to offer a great personalized experience by making it easy for users to find the content they love, whenever and wherever they want – and on the device of their choice."

"By drawing on our metadata enhancement capabilities and extensive range of algorithmic techniques, Viaplay is now offering cloud-based recommendations that ensure subscribers extract the most value from their service. This is an important enhancement in a region where sophisticated consumers expect their TV services to understand their taste and propose new content," said Peter Docherty, Founder and Chief Technology Officer, ThinkAnalytics.

ThinkAnalytics' Search and Recommendations Engine helps video service providers to accelerate the deployment and streamline the management of personalized services across the device ecosystem.

Featuring the industry's most comprehensive data and text mining platform, ThinkAnalytics' Recommendations Engine delivers personalized, multi-screen recommendations that combine multiple sources of data in 17 languages. ThinkAnalytics has a customer base of over 50 video service providers including Fox, Cox Communications, Liberty Global, BSkyB, Swisscom, Unitymedia in Germany, and Zon in Portugal. The platform is available as a cloud-based, on-premise or hosted solution.

About Viaplay

Viaplay is Nordics' leading digital entertainment provider for series, movies, sports, and kids' content. Viaplay is part of MTGx, the digital accelerator of Modern Times Group (MTG). Viaplay connects you with the entertainment you love the most across all screens. You can discover and experience entire seasons of series, the best selection of major films and live broadcasts of world class sports events, such as the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, NHL and Formula 1. Viaplay is accessible on the web, iOS, Android smart phones and tablets, Smart TVs, Viasat Set-Top-Boxes, Xbox 360, PlayStation®3 and PlayStation®4. www.viaplay.com.

Viaplay is part of Modern Times Group (MTG), which is an international entertainment group with operations that span four continents and include free-TV, pay-TV, radio and content production businesses. MTG's Viasat Broadcasting operates free-TV and pay-TV channels, which are available on Viasat's own satellite platforms and third party networks, and also distributes TV content over the internet. MTG is also the largest shareholder in CTC Media, which is Russia's leading independent television broadcaster. Modern Times Group is a growth company and is listed on the Nasdaq OMX Stockholm stock exchange. Visit www.mtg.se for more information.

About ThinkAnalytics

ThinkAnalytics is the leading provider and most widely deployed real-time personalized content and recommendations engine in the market today, bringing together intelligent search with comprehensive media content recommendations. ThinkAnalytics Recommendations Engine broadens customers' tastes with a unique personalized experience for live linear TV, VOD and over-the-top, delivered through multiple platforms including the set-top box, Web, IPTV, tablet, mobile, and more. ThinkAnalytics' technology services more than 130 million subscribers worldwide. ThinkAnalytics is a private, employee-owned company. ThinkAnalytics is jointly headquartered in the US and United Kingdom with offices in London, Glasgow and Los Angeles, and has partnerships with leading media corporations worldwide. For more information please go to: www.ThinkAnalytics.com.

SOURCE ThinkAnalytics