Level 3 advances video strategy

Level 3 Communications unveiled three new parts of its video initiative today, including a partnership with Move Networks to deliver high-definition (HD) video streaming over the Internet.

The company announced a video streaming service and aggressive pricing of its video services as well. All of the initiatives are intended to make video over the Internet more viable from a broader set of venues for both user-generated and commercial content, the company said.

The strategic relationship with Move will enable Level 3 to integrate Move’s Media Services technology into Level 3’s content delivery infrastructure and to distribute the software. The two companies also plan to collaborate on future video technology efforts to improve the quality and cost-effectiveness of streaming video over the Internet, Level 3 said today. Level 3 has been actively advancing the video strategy that is the legacy of its Vyvx broadcast services business. Vyvx introduced HD transport in 2004, and Level 3 today has direct HD connectivity to more than 100 professional sporting and multipurpose venues.

Integration of the Move technology into Level 3’s network opens up even more potential venues. “[It] will enable a direct feed from a live broadcast in HD over the Internet,” said Grant van Rooyen, senior vice president of content markets group for Level 3. “We can take video direct from the venue right out to the Internet for mass distribution, and it can be viewed over a Move player in HD.”

The video streaming service will support all common formats, including Real Networks, Windows Media, Move, Adobe Flash and Quicktime, van Rooyen said. The service will enable content providers to use Level 3’s global network of streaming servers to deliver a consistent user experience worldwide, he added.

“We launched cache and download in May, and now we are adding Global Streaming services,” he said. “ It has been in beta for some time, and it is now generally available.”

As the company did when it launched cache and download, it is maintaining its prices for Global Streaming consistent with its Internet access prices, van Rooyen added.

“When we announced cache and download, we announced that we would price at same price as high-speed IP,” he said. “What we are adding now will also be at that price, so you will be able to do Windows Media streaming at the same price as our Internet and cache and download service. We think that is very unique in the marketplace.”

Formats other than Windows Media will incur additional charges due to their licensing arrangements, but Level 3 will not charge a premium for large file sizes or bursting to support the video formats, van Rooyen added. The company believes its aggressive pricing will open Internet video up to a broader range of users, he said.

“One of the primary segments of the market are the major sports leagues, and many who haven’t figured out a path to monetizing their product over the Internet, including high school and college sports, will be able to use this,” he said. “The media and entertainment industries are a target market for this – broadcasters are a key segment in and of themselves. User-generated content will be able to embrace the capability as well, especially as we bring HD to user-generated content.”

The partnership with Move enables a more cost-effective way of delivering high-quality video streaming because the Move software opens up multiple simultaneous streams, which eliminates the need to distribute servers to thousands of locations in order to facilitate continuous video without disruptions caused by multiple network hops. The video stream is capable of adjusting to constrained bandwidth conditions without buffering, as well. Level 3 will be able to provide large capacity volumes without having to dedicate numerous
content delivery network servers to proprietary stream software.