Accenture Video Solution

Driving high performance through advanced broadband video capabilities, 

delivering a personalized content experience anytime and on any device. 

Accenture Video Solution

The Accenture Video Solution helps drive a 

new era of profitable content delivery: 

• From “one-size-fits-all” broadcast TV to 

integrated broadband and broadcast services. 

• From linear channels to a rich mix of 

linear and non-linear offerings. 

• From “walled gardens” and proprietary 

platforms to open solutions enabling 

seamless integration of services. 

• From anonymous viewers to interactive 

consumers with known profiles and 

viewing behaviors. 

• From a generic program guide to a valuable 

resource of personalized recommendations. 

• From same time, same place environment 

to any time, on-the-go environment. 

• From pre-defined video quality to an 

adaptive quality based on broadband 

connection speed. 

The future of TV is today. 

The TV of the future is here. 

Accenture Video Solution 1

The broadband video world: 

Challenges and opportunities 

The age of online and mobile video is here, with the potential to fuel a new era of growth 

for broadcasters, telcos, high-tech companies and retailers. All these businesses now have 

the ability to go directly to consumers with their digital video content, giving customers 

more control over what they watch, when and how. 

But the marketplace is crowded. What’s needed more than ever are industrialized and 

innovative technology capabilities that can help players from all sectors ride this new wave 

of growth in the broadband video marketplace. Accenture’s field tested digital video, 

network, streaming and back-end solutions help reduce implementation risk, speed delivery 

and support new and profitable services. 

New business opportunities 

in the broadband video era 

The era of broadband video is here. The 

widespread penetration of fixed and 

mobile Web-enabled platforms is setting 

the stage for a rapid uptake of digital 

video services, and current broadband 

trends are fueling that growth. This is a 

huge market: One recent study 1 reported 

that approximately 70 percent of global 

online consumers watch video over the 

Web. In the mobile arena, video already 

accounts for more than a third of global 

mobile usage. 

Another recent report from the e-Media 

Institute analyzes online video usage in 

the United States. 2 The US still leads the 

pack in this space and online has become 

almost universal: 8 out of 10 US internet 

users watched video content online at 

least once on average per month during 

2010. Year-on-year all online video indicators 

show consistent growth, as viewing 

accounts for an increasing share of users’ 

online time. In December 2010 almost 89 

million people watched online video in an 

average day. 

2 Accenture Video Solution 

In Europe, Over-the-Top services 

are rapidly becoming a mainstream 

video distribution channel. Broadband 

penetration in the United Kingdom, 

France, Germany, Italy and Spain has now 

surpassed 65 percent. In those countries, 

approximately 80 percent of households 

with a broadband connection have 

sufficient download speeds to enable 

the delivery of Over-the-Top TV. 3 

Extrapolating from those numbers it 

appears that, conservatively, 30 to 40 

percent of western European households 

(representing 140 to 160 million people) 

will soon be watching content via 

internet-connected TV devices. 4 

The video era, especially Over-the-Top TV, 

represents dramatic business opportunities 

for multiple sectors: 

• Traditional communications and cable 

companies have new kinds of value 

propositions to deliver to customers— 

especially in the hosting, management 

and delivery of content to the connected 

home, or as an aggregator. 

• Broadcasters can leverage their strong 

brand names to innovate and reposition 

themselves in the value chain, moving 

closer to the end consumer and providing 

seamless linear and non-linear services. 

• Device manufacturers can help define and 

shape the digital consumer ecosystem 

through a unique, hard-to-replicate user 

experience for Over-the-Top TV provided 

by smart devices. Bundles of content and 

services then can be linked to the device, 

increasing the chances for retention of 

customers. 

• Retailers can also leverage the power of 

their brand, especially in the consumer 

electronics and video space, to offer 

video services Over-the-Top to existing 

customers and to extend that base 

through innovative offerings. 

For all of these players in the broadband 

video ecosystem, successfully managing the 

transition to Over-the-Top services requires 

transformational capabilities across the 

key processes of the video industry: from 

content definition to content management, 

service creation, network and device 

management, as well as innovative 

approaches to customer insight and service. 

1 The Nielsen Company, “How People Watch: A Global Nielsen Report,” August 2010. 

2 e-Media Institute Web-TV Intelligence & Strategies, February 22, 2011. 

3 e-Media Institute Web-TV Intelligence & Strategies, November 30, 2010. 

4 e-Media Institute Web-TV Intelligence & Strategies, November 30, 2010.

Figure 1. US Online Video Consumption - December 09/December 10 

YoY Growth +32% 

Average daily unique viewers (M) 


Average monthly videos per viewer 


Average monthly hours per viewer 

Dec ‘09 

Dec ‘10 

Source: e-Media Institute on comScore data 

Direct to the consumer 

With broadband available almost 

everywhere, providers can now actually 

implement the direct-to-consumer model 

they’ve been speaking about for years. 

Consumers, in turn, have the ability to 

control their viewing consumption and 

to search content just as they do on the 

Web. Broadband delivery of video services 

will change how consumers access broadcast 

entertainment, and how companies 

provide it. Total freedom, flexibility and 

personalization are what consumers now 

possess in this new video age: the ability 

to access whatever they want, anytime, 

anywhere, on any device. 

Meeting the challenge 

187 

At the same time, companies face a 

host of difficult challenges in harnessing 

the broadband opportunity to drive 

high performance. Traditional models of 

communications and content consumption 

are fragmenting as more delivery channels 

are available to consumers than ever 

before. Considerable technological complexity 

underlies the apparently “simple” 

direct-to-consumer model. 

12.7 

Traditional players such as communications 

companies and broadcasters should 

evaluate transforming their operations 

and platforms to serve consumers’ 

emerging needs and preferences, while 

also competing against aggressive new 

entrants from the content, high-tech 

and retail industries. Nimble business 

strategies are essential to cope with 

rapidly evolving monetization models 

and technology capabilities. 

Accenture: The strategies, 

technologies and platforms 

to achieve high performance 

The necessary package of deep 

technology skills, industry knowledge 

across communications, entertainment 

and high tech, and industrialized delivery 

capabilities is what makes Accenture very 

well positioned in the marketplace of 

broadband video platforms and solutions. 

Combining broad strategy capabilities, 

field tested video solutions and platforms, 

advanced video streaming capabilities 

and the ability to offer hosted capabilities, 

Accenture can help your company manage 

the complexities of an open IP delivery 

environment, and deliver a unified 

customer experience across multiple 

devices and platforms—televisions, PCs, 

mobile devices and more. 

67.3 

88.6 

201 

14.2 

Strategic insights, advanced broadband 

video assets and hosted services 

capabilities allow Accenture to deliver 

critical benefits to your company as 

you deliver innovative broadband video 

services to your customers: 

• Better return on investment based on 

smarter decisions about operating 

models and technology platforms. 

• Reduced operating costs through lower 

upfront investments and less expensive 

ongoing maintenance. 

• Access to leading-edge technologies to 

help companies maneuver the complexi- 

ties of video streaming over broadband. 

• Innovative customer experiences, 

resulting in higher satisfaction and 

better retention. 

• Increased opportunities for revenue 

generation, increased average revenue 

per user and interactive advertising. 

Ultimately, Accenture’s digital video 

capabilities and solutions can drive 

revenue growth and a rise in average 

revenue per user by increasing content 

usage and advertising generated-revenues, 

and by improving customer loyalty and 

retention. 


Accenture Video Solution 

The Accenture Video Solution delivers digital video over broadband in a seamless user experience, 

and enables integration between broadband and broadcast digital video on devices, such as 

set-top boxes, Internet-enabled TVs, tablets, smartphones and PCs. The user experience can be 

integrated with linear programming, available through broadcasting or cable technology. 

These capabilities let operators give their customers more choice and control over 

entertainment and interactive experiences. 

The Accenture Video Solution is a 

preintegrated platform based on 

Accenture-owned software components 

as well as commercial off-the-shelf 

products. The solution enables companies 

to launch new services quickly and 

economically while reducing the initial 

costs of IT and infrastructure set-up. 

Accenture helps reduce the risks and 

complexity of managing a project that 

often involves multiple third parties. 

Utilizing Accenture’s market-tested 

assets, providers can deliver a unified 

customer experience and digital TV— 

anytime and anywhere. By integrating 

the digital home with mobile devices, 

consumers can have a digital TV and 

video experience tailored to their 

interests and preferences, and delivered 

to their choice of devices, whenever 

they want and wherever they are. 

With the Accenture Video Solution, 

service providers gain the ability to 

engage and interact directly with their 

customer base and build deeper, more 

effective long-term relationships. 

Advertisers can reach their viewing audience 

with the same accuracy found in 

Web applications, allowing innovative 

advertising capabilities and campaigns. 


Innovations to support 

broadband video solutions 

Several important, market-leading 

technology innovations enable The 

Accenture Video Solution: 

Accenture Multimedia 

Service Delivery Platform 

Using a service-oriented architecture 

approach, the platform can expose and 

orchestrate business services, integrated 

with critical business support system and 

operating support system capabilities. 

Using the foundation of Accenture’s SDP, 

providers can expedite the entire service 

development and execution process. 

Multi-Channel Content 

Access Solution 

This component provides a standard 

architecture and operational support 

from which communications and 

content companies can efficiently offer 

subscribers access to content across 

a wide array of devices. The solution 

standardizes the integration points 

between communications and content 

companies on the one hand, and 

programmers on the other, to allow 

for faster onboarding of programmers. 

Open Gateway for Service Development 

This Accenture asset gives companies 

an open, modular platform for service 

creation and execution, to be installed on 

the access gateway. The solution allows 

users to enjoy their multimedia content 

anywhere, anytime, on any device. 

Adaptive Streaming 

Through adaptive bit rate delivery on PCs 

and set-top boxes, Accenture can deliver 

broadcast-quality service—both standard 

and high-definition—in an open Internet 

environment, even if the broadband 

network is congested or unstable. 

Innovative services 

and features 

The consumer services made possible by 

the Accenture Video Solution include: 

Broadcast TV with video-on-demand 

and interactive applications 

Accenture provides seamless integration 

between live TV and video-on-demand. 

Through a broadband connection, users 

can access any movie or TV program 

(including catch-up TV services) just by 

using their electronic program guide. 

Interactive applications offered through 

this platform can enhance consumers’ 

digital experience, while also allowing 

operators to gather important, real-time 

audience data. 

Support for content consumption 

over multiple devices 

The Accenture Video Solution enables 

a convergent user experience for video 

entertainment across multiple devices, 

including set-top boxes, PCs and tablet 

computers. The solution can also quickly 

adapt to leverage state-of-the art and 

innovative technologies including

Figure 2. Accenture Video Solution Framework 

Accenture Connected TV Video Solution Set-Top Box Framework Gaming Console Android Tablet, Smartphones Laptop Mobile Phone iPadTM connected TVs, gaming consoles, Blu-ray 

systems and mobile devices including 

Android phones. This scalable capability 

can help companies leverage the power 

of the almost-continuous influx of 

innovative consumer electronics devices 

in the marketplace. With the Accenture 

platform, companies can re-use functionality 

across devices, including login and 

customer profile, remote control and 

cross-playback, unified electronic 

program guide, favorites and alerting. 

Virtual linear channels 

Broadcasters can expand the number of 

traditional digital terrestrial television 

(DTT) channels, enabling viewers to skip 

forward and backward using the channel 

program guide. 

Personal TV experience 

With the Accenture Video Solution, each 

member of a household can generate 

a personalized profile, so the viewing 

experience they access and receive is 

tailored to their interests, habits and 

preferences. Users can customize their 

own TV interests, choose categories specific 

to their needs, share content with 

others, and configure the home TV as a 

personal viewing device with the same 

configuration used on the Web TV 

accessed with a PC. They can also use a 

mobile phone or PC to schedule TV or 

set-top box content—programming, 

recording and purchasing content for 

broadband video on demand and live 

broadcast events. 

Video Services / User Experience 

Video on Demand Catch Up TV Virtual Linear Channels EPG Content Recommendation Search Advertising App Store Settings 

Video Management and Streaming 

Network 

Multimedia Service 

Delivery Platform 

Legacy Systems 

Content Production & Management BSS / OSS 

Enhanced profiling to support 

targeted advertising and content 

recommendations 

Because users customize their viewing 

experience and create a profile of their 

interests, operators can understand 

their preferences more deeply. And 

that knowledge can command higher 

advertising revenues, attracting more 

advertisers who can target messages at 

a much more granular level. Having a 

viewing profile means that a person can 

receive content suggestions through an 

innovative content recommendation 

engine. This capability can increase video 

on demand service usage and revenue 

generation from pay-per-view events. 

Consumers can also receive more 

targeted personal advertising based on 

their profiles and viewing habits. 

Social network integration 

The Accenture solution helps providers 

to link their offerings to their preferred 

social network, enhancing the user 

experience and establishing a foundation 

for innovative services that leverage the 

power of social media. 

Digital Rights Management integration 

The Accenture Video Solution helps 

companies address the challenge of 

distributing broadband and broadcast 

content with many different Digital 

Rights Management technologies and 

standards. AVS supports a multi-DRM 

approach. 

Advertising, Recommendation 

and Analytics 

User interface optimization 

Viewing video on different devices 

requires attention to the “unique form” 

factor and experience of each device. 

The Accenture solution calibrates graphic 

rendering for each device, tailoring the 

user experience according to the device’s 

capabilities. 

Device integration roadmap 

Accenture helps companies plot an 

effective path forward as new and 

different devices are enabled. Ongoing 

enhancements and releases of the 

Accenture platform support the integration 

of new generations of devices. 

Interoperability across 

Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) 

This functionality allows an operator to 

balance video streaming traffic generated 

by users from different devices (such 

as Web TV, set-top boxes, tablets) on 

multiple Content Delivery Networks— 

through pre-defined, specific policies 

(for example, percentage, time period, 

thresholds). This innovative capability 

allows for effective management of 

content distribution costs to network 

providers. Policies are easily configurable 

thanks to the dedicated user interface. 


Benefits of the Accenture Video Solution 

Rapid launch of services 

Because of the pre-integrated components of the 

Accenture solution, companies can launch services 

in a matter of months. 

Lower costs 

Companies achieve greater cost savings compared 

to traditional video solutions because the Accenture 

offering is based on open standards and platforms. 


Reduced risk 

Accenture’s implementations with multiple clients 

around the world mean that our clients benefit 

from market-tested experience—proven to deliver 

measurable business value. 

Improved flexibility 

Based on the award-winning Accenture Service 

Delivery Platform, the open architecture of the video 

solution enables a more modular, scalable approach 

to meeting future requirements. 

Seamless user experience across multiple devices 

The solution enables users to watch a video on a PC 

or tablet computer, while simultaneously allowing 

them to control the same video (for example, stop/ 

resume) from their TV.

A compelling user experience 

In a world where content is becoming a commodity, 

delivering a seamless and compelling consumer 

experience represents the distinctive success factor 

for a company delivering broadband video offerings. 

The Accenture Video Solution user experience 

has been designed based on analysis of consumer 

behavior—both traditional audiences and those more 

at home in the digital environment. 

This has helped us identify and address the most 

important potential issues consumers might face 

in using digital video entertainment platforms. 

The result is an integrated, multi-device digital 

ecosystem that engages the audience, and that is 

able to effectively support both the “lean-back” and 

“lean-forward” experience. 

The user interface has been designed to present the 

most relevant and personalized information to 

consumers, integrating content in one unified stream, 

whether it’s a user’s favorite programming, recommendations, 

or linear and non-linear broadcasting. 

Thanks to this approach consumers will enjoy an 

enhanced content discovery experience and a much 

smarter and faster way to access their desired videos, 

even if they have to pay for them. 


TV screen 

Chosen For You 

A powerful recommendation engine 

enhances the customer experience 

providing suggestions coming from the 

user profile / behavior, customer base 

preferences and marketing rules. Through 

a graphic object carousel, user can select 

VoD of interest also filtering by category. 

HD content view through a set of UI 

mechanisms that optimize the HD 

viewing onto IP network. 

TV screen 

Your TV Channels 

Most watched linear channels are 

grouped together in one section (on 

every device), enabling a fast zapping 

powered by the recommendation engine. 

The recommendation engine is combined 

to statistics and editorial suggestions. 

TV screen 

Virtual Linear Channels 

VLCs are an inexpensive and innovative 

way to offer a traditional live experience 

through an “on-demand” playlist. The 

user has full control of the VLC, being 

able to use trick play functions and to skip 

backwards and forwards in the channel. 

Operators can easily increase the number 

of channels transmitted, overcoming 

the limits of broadcasting frequencies, 

satellite or terrestrials. 

TV screen 

My Content 

AVS offers a personal area in the user 

interface (both for connected TV Sets 

and STB) where users can access all 

content directly related to their customer 

experiences (e.g. purchases, recordings) or 

self-generated videos uploaded from any 

other devices including mobile phones, 

tablets and PC’s. Transparent login to 

user’s personal world (no User ID or 

Password needed). 

8 Accenture Video Solution

PC 

Home Page 

The PC home page interface presents 

a powerful recommendation engine 

matching users’ behavior, marketing rules 

and publishing information. It includes 

a carousel of recommended content 

(For You) and also includes special 

content (most popular, recently added). 

PC 

Rollover Catalog 

Rollover capabilities enhance user 

experience, providing a quick preview of 

categories, subcategories and content. 

This capability allows the user to reach an 

area or content item of interest in a short 

and intuitive manner. 

PC 

My Content Upload 

In this area, users can upload selfgenerated 

content (e.g. video, images, 

music) by enabled device (PC and tablet) 

in the cloud, as well as make the content 

available on every device connected to 

AVS. 

PC 

Self-care Area 

A complete set of features that enable 

users to register to linear and non linear 

services, manage their own profile, 

subscribe to new services, access the 

status of their subscription and purchased 

services. 


Tablet Screen 

Home Page and Content Wall 

The home page interface presents a 

complete view of VoD information 

architecture. It includes carousel of 

recommended content (For You) and 

catalogue category tree (All categories), 

and also includes special content (most 

popular, recently added and favorites). 

This design provide a unified customer 

experience across different devices. 

Tablet Screen 

Social Network Integration 

In line with current trends, social 

networking is a key feature of AVS. 

Through integration with major social 

media platforms (Facebook™ and Twitter™), 

users can comment in real time, share and 

follow content suggested by friends, and 

gain credit through reward mechanisms 

for social activity. 

Tablet Screen 

Synch 

The convergent back end enables any 

companion device (e.g. tablets) to extend 

the customer TV experience, providing 

additional content related to the main 

stream on the TV. Wikis (e.g. Wikipedia™), 

Social Platforms (e.g. Twitter™) and stores 

are examples of how the AVS back end can 

broaden the customer experience. 

Tablet Screen 

Download & Go 

Users can not only enjoy their preferred 

content when connected through 3G or 

Wifi but can also download their preferred 

movie or series episode when online and 

watch them on the new iPad3™ even 

when offline and not connected to an 

IP network. 

Tablet Screen 

Audio Track Recognition 

AVS enables Social TV on a companion 

screen to augment the TV experience with 

Gracenote integration. Audio fingerprinting 

technology allows the user to instantly 

identify movies and TV programs in real 

time by simply “listening” to short sound 

clips. Simultaneously, the platform provides 

a link to similar content available on AVS. 

10 Accenture Video Solution

Gaming Consoles 

Voice control 

By speaking commands, viewers can 

request content, play, fast forward, 

pause and stop movie playback, receive 

recommendations or search and retrieve 

any TV program or series. 


Gesture Control 

Leveraging an innovative Kinect™ feature, 

Natural User Interface (NUI) enables users 

to control video content delivery with 

gestures, enjoying a personalized viewing 

and entertainment experience. 


Search 

In AVS for Xbox,™ there is a dedicated 

section to provide search capabilities for 

easier content research. 

WP 7.5 

Catalog 

Although mobile multimedia services have 

yet to become a powerful revenue engine 

for mobile carriers or content providers, 

growth is expected as mobile network 

bandwidth expands and more mobile 

handsets arrive equipped with supporting 

software. AVS is available on smartphones 

to catch this upcoming wave. 

WP 7.5 

Detail Page 

AVS on Windows smartphone provides 

users the benefit of expanded content 

catalog services. It allows users to stream 

TV shows and movies, available in the 

On-Demand catalog on the highresolution 

screen. 

WP 7.5 

My Content 

Users can check in the My Content section 

for their viewing histories, content most 

liked or planned to watch (favorites) and 

subscriptions. 

Catalog Detail Page My Content 


Additional capabilities 

The Accenture Video Solution is also enabled by our deep strategy, hosting and 

testing capabilities: 

AVS in the cloud 

The competitive and flexible nature of 

OTTV services means OTT providers need a 

way to establish services that is not cost 

prohibitive. A cloud-based service offers a 

cost-effective approach because there is 

no need to own the dedicated equipment. 

AVS is available “in the cloud,” providing 

an alternative delivery model to “on 

premises” in order to decrease platform 

and hardware Capex for Over-the-Top TV 

Operators. Cloud-based AVS is able to 

satisfy the needs of clients launching 

an Over-The-Top TV service for multiple 

devices, allowing reduced time-to-market 

and cost effectiveness and increasing not 

only their market penetration, but also 

their revenue potential. Cloud-based AVS 

provides a complete managed service, 

including Service Desk, Data Center 

Services and Video Operation. The service 

is provided by Accenture Software Cloud. 

Managed Operations 

Like a traditional television play out, 

operating an Over-The-Top TV service 

requires organizations and processes 

designed to deliver quality and continuity 

of service, with particular attention to 

prime time and live events, but with 

the added complexity resulting from 

the presence of a hybrid model TV-IP. 

A full featured Control Room enables an 

Operation Team to monitor every aspect 

of on-demand delivery. A powerful operating 

support system controls the status 

of the service on each device. From the 

platform to the network, each technical 

part of the service, response time and 

content delivery network performance 

is monitored to deliver a high-quality, 

end-to-end service. AVS operations 

employs the follow-the-sun operation 

approach ensuring our Global Delivery 

Center and Service Center Network is 

fully enabled to manage AVS operations 

locally or remotely 24 hours a day, 

7 days a week. 


CDN planning 

On-line video consumption is surging, and 

with it the volume of IP traffic coursing 

over Telco networks. Traffic volumes— 

already immense—will swell significantly 

in the next few years. Patterns of video 

consumption are diverse and differ greatly 

from traditional TV. They are changing 

fast and the new digital consumers have 

become more complex, taking more control 

of their viewing, creating personal 

programs and using different devices to 

enjoy content when and where they want. 

Customer demand is accelerating internet 

traffic volumes rapidly. From an Over-the- 

Top service provider perspective, bandwidth 

demand is not easily predictable 

and is affected by many factors, such as 

provided services, video formats, enabled 

devices, usage duration, concurrent playbacks, 

time of day, catalog refreshing and 

country bandwidth. The challenge is to 

determine consumption and accurately 

estimate peaks to satisfy the short-term 

and medium-term bandwidth needs. 

Concurrently, providers need to implement 

solutions to achieve the capacity needed 

and design an architecture that scales 

significantly in coming years. Accenture 

has developed significant knowledge 

about the “Consumption Estimate Model” 

based on previous experience with KPN 

(Telco European Operator) and Mediaset 

(European Broadcaster). 

Supported Devices 

AVS enables a unified and convergent 

consumer experience that can be achieved 

across multiple devices, and personalized 

to individual behaviors. A wide set of 

innovative services can be deployed across 

a range of video-enabled devices available 

in today’s market, including connected TV 

sets, set top boxes, PCs, tablets, smartphones, 

gaming consoles and many others. 

Strategy services 

We help companies across the digital 

video ecosystem to plan and implement a 

comprehensive roadmap for the delivery 

of anytime-anywhere video services to 

a range of devices. Accenture has established 

practices in the communications, 

cable, high-tech, software, broadcast, 

filmed entertainment and retail industries, 

allowing us to understand multiple sides 

of the evolving business landscape— 

essential to defining how digital video 

solutions can be implemented and 

operated. 

We also have extensive experience across 

the wide array of potential business 

models companies may wish to leverage 

as they pursue new offerings for the 

digital consumer. Accenture has delivered 

multiple implementations of online media 

distribution platforms, including one of 

the first subscription-based online video 

platforms in the United States. 

Testing services 

End-to-end testing is exceedingly 

complex in the broadband video era, 

involving vendor products, software 

providers and communications operators 

across networks and geographies. 

Accenture offers a comprehensive 

outsourced testing service covering 

applications, devices and the network. 

Our industrialized testing processes 

help companies launch services and 

devices faster, while also reducing 

costs and turnaround times.

Case study 

Mediaset launches Over-the-Top services for TV, 

PC and other mobile devices 

Company background 

Mediaset Group is the first 

commercial broadcaster in Italy and 

a major media company in Europe. 

The group operates a wide range 

of broadcast and related media, 

including free-to-air generalist 

(Canale 5, Italia 1, Retequattro) and 

mini-generalist television (other 

Digital Terrestrial TV channels), pay 

TV (Mediaset Premium), TV drama 

and film production, broadcast 

infrastructure management and 

home shopping (Mediashopping). 

The company has also expanded its 

business beyond Italy by becoming 

the major shareholder of the Spanish 

broadcasters Telecinco and Cuatro 

and by acquiring Endemol—a leading 

global TV format producer. In 2010 

Mediaset Group reported consolidated 

net revenues of over €4,292 billion. 

Innovative Over-the-Top 

services for Mediaset 

The new Mediaset OTTV service, called 

“Premium Play,” is an innovative 

product that complements the 

company’s traditional linear TV 

premium channel offering, evolving 

the broadcaster’s capabilities toward 

convergent, personalized, multidevice 

models. In February 2011, Accenture 

delivered a leading-edge technology 

solution for Mediaset that enabled 

the company to launch innovative 

Over-the-Top services as part of the 

Mediaset Premium (pay TV) offering. 

Mediaset customers can now enjoy a 

seamless consumer experience for 

accessing linear content, as well as 

nonlinear services such as catch-up 

TV, video-on-demand and virtual linear 

channels on the TV set. The solution 

also enables Mediaset to deliver 

video content to additional platforms 

including PCs, mobile devices and 

connected TVs, so that its consumers 

can create their own personal online 

TV experience. 

How Accenture helped 

Mediaset is leveraging the Accenture 

Video Solution to deliver both linear 

content through the broadcast 

network and advanced interactive 

services through an open broadband 

network on industry-standard set-top 

boxes. The Accenture Video Solution 

has helped Mediaset reduce the initial 

high cost of IT and infrastructure 

setup. It also supports several 

advanced applications such as 

targeted advertising, personalized 

content recommendation and 

adaptive streaming, depending on 

available bandwidth. 

An important enabler to the rapid 

delivery of this solution was 

Accenture’s Innovation Center for 

Broadband in Rome, where a team of 

specialists design and deploy complex 

solutions for leading media organizations 

and service providers around the 

globe. The Center serves as a hub for 

the development of leading-edge 

broadband and broadcast solutions 

based on Accenture’s experience and 

knowledge, functional and technical 

skills, assets, methodologies and 

delivery capabilities. 

High performance delivered 

The service for Mediaset enriches 

the traditional TV consumption 

experience and will bring a new level 

of engagement typical of the online 

world—flexibility and greater 

consumer choice. In addition, this 

solution will enable new ways for 

Mediaset to enhance customer 

relationships, strengthen customer 

loyalty—especially with younger 

generations—and will boost advertising-generated 

revenues and content 

usage, all critical objectives for 

broadcasters as the role of the 

television continues to evolve from 

home television to personal television. 

According to Franco Ricci, 

managing director at Mediaset’s 

RTI, “We selected Accenture as our 

innovation partner because of its 

leading broadcast industry vision 

and its expertise and deep knowledge 

in communications network 

technologies, IT applications and 

video content delivery as well as 

management solutions. The ability to 

launch this new service represents a 

significant step forward for Mediaset 

to become a truly multimedia and 

multiplatform company while maintaining 

our content and technology 

leadership position in the current 

dynamic and competitive market.” 


Case study 

The Accenture Video Solution helps KPN be “Overthe-Top” 

in the Dutch TV market in record time. 

Company background 

KPN is a leading information and 

telecommunications provider in the 

Netherlands, offering wireline and 

wireless telephony, Internet and 

television (TV) to consumers, and 

end-to-end telecommunications, 

information and communications 

technology (ICT) services to business 

customers. In Germany and Belgium, 

KPN pursues a multibrand strategy 

in its mobile operations, and its 

two companies—E-Plus and BASE— 

together are ranked third in the 

market. KPN provides wholesale 

network services to third parties 

and operates an efficient Internet 

protocol-based infrastructure with 

global scale in international wholesale 

through iBasis. At the end of 

December 2010, KPN’s TV and Internet 

customers were at 1.2 million and 

2.5 million, respectively. In 2010, KPN 

reported revenues of €13.4 billion. 

Business challenge 

In a swiftly evolving telecommunications 

and ICT market, it is critical 

for companies to be able to bring 

innovative products and services 

rapidly to the market. “First to 

market” is what makes leaders in 

an already crowded marketplace. 

This race is also fuelling a 

convergence revolution that is 

radically changing the way technologies 

interact with each other and 

presenting people with a whole 

new digital ecosystem of services 

customized to the preferences. ICT 

companies must deliver convergent 

services ever more rapidly and look 

for innovative ways to integrate 

previously separate technologies, 

such as voice, data and video. 


For a broad telecommunications 

service provider like KPN, this 

presents a business environment 

rich with opportunities that it must 

translate into reality faster than its 

competition. 

To defend market share in the 

broadband space and gain a leading 

position in the Dutch interactive TV 

(iTV) market, KPN wanted to launch a 

new offering in linear and nonlinear 

video distribution over broadband 

networks—Over-the-Top TV or OTT-TV. 

For KPN, the payoffs of successfully 

integrating the Internet and TV are 

manifold. iTV will help KPN differentiate 

itself in the highly competitive 

Dutch TV market. Second, iTV can 

help improve customer loyalty by 

providing richer and higher-quality 

“anywhere and anytime” services, 

helping increase revenue per user 

and attract new customers. Third, 

it positions KPN well to increase 

advanced advertising revenues 

through better customer profiling 

and targeting in the future. 

How Accenture helped 

To maximize the business opportunity 

arising from personalized on-demand 

services, KPN realized that its OTT-TV 

service needed to be brought to 

market on multiple devices. KPN 

asked Accenture to provide a seamless 

consumer experience by making 

iTV Online content available on a 

personal computer, Apple iPad™ and 

Android Tablet, alongside conventional 

devices. And to meet evolving client 

expectations, it wanted to gradually 

scale and enrich the offering in terms 

of features, devices and capacity. 

To enable a differentiated and 

interactive consumer experience for 

KPN customers, Accenture leveraged 

the AVS solution to design a set of 

new, leading-edge iTV functions for 

the PC, Android tablet and iPad.™ 

High performance delivered 

The innovative, high-quality OTT-TV 

service—KPN iTV Online—delivered by 

Accenture has helped KPN become 

the first to field this innovation in 

the high-potential OTT-TV market in 

the Netherlands. The pre-integrated 

assets and industrialized development 

processes available at the Accenture 

Innovation Center for Broadband 

enabled Accenture to deliver the 

service in record time and improve 

KPN’s time to market to less than 

five months—from start of the project 

to the initial piloting phase. 

The successful launch of iTV Online 

has significantly altered the Dutch TV 

landscape as KPN beat competition to 

launch the service first. Collaborating 

with Accenture to bring this innovation 

to life, KPN has been able to 

provide an unprecedented customer 

experience, helping it strengthen its 

leading position in the broadband 

space and grow its TV market share 

in the Dutch TV market. 

According to Eric Kuisch, Head of 

Network & Services at KPN, “We 

need acceleration and rigor to help 

us succeed in bringing innovative 

TV services to market; we know 

Accenture can do this as no other.”

Accenture’s distinctive delivery capabilities 

Trusted provider 

Accenture works with 18 of the world’s 

top 20 communications companies and 

41 of the top 50 operators. We have 

collaborated on network transformation 

projects with 95 of the top 100 global 

service providers in the last five years. 

We have won multiple industry awards as 

a trusted delivery provider to our clients. 

Research-based knowledge 

Utilizing our industry and business 

experience, our groundbreaking—and 

ongoing—research program helps 

determine the key ingredients of high 

performance and provides unique insights 

into the characteristics and practices that 

make organizations outperform their 

peers. We can use our research to link our 

work to our clients’ measurable improvements 

in business performance. 

Industry experience across the 

broadband video ecosystem 

Accenture has deep industry experience, 

delivering solutions across the communications, 

cable, high-tech, software, 

broadcast, filmed entertainment and 

retail industries. 

Longstanding alliance 

relationships 

Another important Accenture differentiator 

is our powerful network of alliances. 

These relationships help us leverage 

unique, leading-edge products to tailor 

the right solution for our clients, instead 

of force-fitting unique needs and 

environments onto proprietary platforms. 

Global reach and scale 

Accenture has the global reach, breadth 

of capability and flexibility to help 

operators develop comprehensive 

solutions quickly and cost effectively. 

Our prized set of global assets and 

resources help develop and deliver 

advanced capabilities for our clients. 

Innovation centers 

Our innovation centers located in Murray 

Hill (United States), Rome (Italy) and 

Bangalore (India) identify innovative 

applications for new and emerging 

technologies, support the development 

of demonstrations and prototypes, and 

assist clients with key technical skills. 

Some of our areas of focus include: 

broadband services, next-generation 

consumer experience, service-oriented 

architecture (SOA), information management, 

technology infrastructures and 

open source technologies. 

Leading industry delivery 

Accenture’s outstanding delivery 

capabilities help your company achieve 

extraordinary business results through 

reliable, cost-effective and consistently 

high-quality services. With 120,000 

professionals in more than 50 centers, 

Accenture offices and client locations, 

the Accenture Global Delivery Network 

is one of the largest and most diversified 

groups of professionals in the world. 


The Accenture difference 

Accenture’s extensive experience, strong industry reputation, distinctive innovations and 

market-tested assets differentiate us in the marketplace. 

Accenture is a leading provider of services and 

solutions that can help companies increase their 

ability to generate innovations and launch new 

products and services faster, with less cost and risk. 

For example, Accenture has the largest installed base 

of SDP implementations—more than 50—at wireline, 

wireless and cable companies around the world, 

delivering services to an estimated 300 million 

customers. We support some of the world’s largest 

implementations for clients that include traditional 

telcos and broadcasters, as well as a growing base 

of non-traditional players including 4G companies 

and mobile virtual network operators. 

Experience and strong industry reputation 

Accenture’s work with clients consistently earns 

industry recognition: 

• Fortune magazine has named Accenture the most 

admired IT services company for three consecutive 

years. 5 

• The Global Telecom Consulting Market Analysis 6 of 

2009 named Accenture the “unchallenged market 

leader” in terms of telecom consulting revenues, 

with a global market share of 16.4 percent. 

• In a 2010 report, Accenture received an overall 

“Very Strong” score from Gartner in the Strategic 

Scorecard for Vendors of Next-Generation Service 

Delivery Platforms. 7 


• In another 2010 report, Gartner also ranked 

Accenture first in worldwide revenue and market 

share for BSS, OSS and SDP for cable, satellite and 

multisystem operators. 8 

• Infonetics Research’s recent SDP vendor survey 

concluded that service providers also rated 

Accenture highly for management and for our 

SDP product roadmap. 9 

The International Association of Outsourcing 

Professionals has acknowledged Accenture as the 

global outsourcing market leader for three consecutive 

years. 

Accenture and 3 Italia were honored for deployment 

of mobile TV services based on DVB-H technology at 

the 2007 IEC InfoVision Awards. 

Accenture was awarded first place in the 4G Service 

Creation & Development category at the 2008 CTIA 

Emerging Technology Awards. 

5 Fortune Magazine/Hay Group, “World’s Most Admired Companies Study, 2010,” 

March 2010. 

6 Hot Telecom, Global Telecom Consulting Market Analysis 2009, (4th edition). 

7 Gartner Inc., “Market Insight: Next-Generation Service Delivery Platform 

Market Overview and Strategic Scorecard for Vendors, 2010,” Martina Kurth 

and Jouni Forsman, 21 June 2010. 

8 Gartner Inc., “Market Share: Telecom Operations Management Systems 

(BSS, OSS and SDP), Worldwide, 2007-2009,” Martina Kurth, Kamlesh Bhatia 

and Norbert Scholz, 30 April 2010. 

9 Infonetics Research, “SDP Deployment Strategies and Vendor Ratings: 

Global Service Provider Survey,” Shira Levine, October 2009.

Contact us 

To learn more about how Accenture 

can help your company achieve high 

performance by deploying services, 

content and infrastructure for advanced 

broadband video solutions, please 

contact: 

Angelo Morelli 

Sales Lead 

angelo.morelli@accenture.com 

Francesco Venturini 

Offering Lead 

francesco.venturini@accenture.com 

Giovanni Gagliardi 

Product Lead 

giovanni.gagliardi@accenture.com 

This document is produced by consultants 

at Accenture as general guidance. It is not 

intended to provide specific advice on your 

circumstances. If you require advice or 

further details on any matters referred to, 

please contact your Accenture representative. 

Disclaimer 

All images and titles in the “A Compelling 

User Experience” section are reproduced for 

demonstration or illustrative purposes only. 

They remain the copyright of the owners of 

said material. 

Copyright © 2012 Accenture 

All rights reserved. 

Accenture, its logo, and 

High Performance Delivered 

are trademarks of Accenture. 

About Accenture 

Accenture is a global management 

consulting, technology services and 

outsourcing company, with more 

than 246,000 people serving clients in 

more than 120 countries. Combining 

unparalleled experience, comprehensive 

capabilities across all industries and 

business functions, and extensive 

research on the world’s most successful 

companies, Accenture collaborates 

with clients to help them become 

high-performance businesses and 

governments. The company generated 

net revenues of US$25.5 billion for 

the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2011. 

Its home page is www.accenture.com.

Accenture Video Solution

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