Avail Media, TVN merge for linear, VOD combo

Avail Media, an independent linear-content aggregator, today announced plans to merge with video on-demand (VOD) provider TVN Entertainment, creating the largest independent digital media service provider in North America. The combined company will offer a fully integrated, end-to-end television programming package to content owners and service providers with a particular focus on distributing content across any screen.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the chief executive officer of the newly formed company, Ramu Potarazu, said he expects it to close quickly. As a wholesaler, Avail acquires programming from content producers and streams it to the central office of the service provider. Merging with TVN will give it access to more than 8,000 hours of VOD programming from nearly 200 content providers, including the Hollywood movie studios, cable networks and independent content producers that TVN currently works with. Among the investors in the merger is the National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC), which works with Avail to secure programming rights.

The new company will focus its investments on supporting service providers and content owners pursuing three-screen strategies and adding additional layers of personalization and interactivity. Potarazu said they will offer programming across any device or distribution platform and support new services, including video over-broadband, targeted advertising and interactive applications. Joint customers will get access to linear programming from national broadcasters and localized, genre-specific ethnic, international and long-tail content to distribute to subscribers.

"We focus in infrastructure, tools and services, so [service providers] can focus on creating great programming and partnering with all those distributors and content owners to establish the right economic terms and business models," said Doug Sylvester, TVN's president and chief operating officer. "We can be behind the scenes providing the services to help them be successful."

Avail has been ramping up its customer base to include more than 120 tier-two and -three operators, fiber-to-the-home providers, multiple dwelling units, hospitality providers and even cable companies since it was founded in 2007. At the time, IPTV was a burgeoning market, and a number of competing wholesalers were also focused on making telcos' entry into the market smoother and faster. Avail's biggest competitor was SES Americom's IP-Prime service. The satellite-based wholesaler also gained momentum throughout 2008, signing up 65 new customers, but ultimately ran out of steam. SES announced at the end of last year that it would shut down IP-Prime and cease offering the service by the end of July.