Vodafone & Tivio Studio: Pioneering the World's First Interactive EPG
Overview
In a highly competitive telecommunications market, Vodafone Czech Republic is in a strategic battle with rivals like O2 (Oneplay) and T-Mobile to evolve from a simple TV provider into a dominant, next-generation "super-aggregator."
To win this race, Vodafone partnered with its long-standing technical partner, Tivio Studio, to deploy a multi-phase innovation strategy. This collaboration moved at a speed rivals couldn't match, beginning with a world-first interactive channel deployment and expanding to include massive SVOD bundles and, ultimately, a new, operator-owned FAST channel revenue stream.
The Challenge: The Operator's Three-Front War
Vodafone faced a "three-front war" for market dominance:
- Intense Competition: Rivals were launching their own content initiatives (e.g., O2's Oneplay, T-Mobile's "synthetic channels"). Vodafone needed to respond with a technologically superior offering.
- Subscriber Churn: The constant need to add tangible, exclusive value to its basic TV packages to retain customers and prevent churn.
- New Revenue Streams: A strategic imperative to move beyond subscription fees and build new, high-margin revenue streams from the booming digital advertising (FAST) market.
The Solution: Tivio as Vodafone's Agile Innovation Engine
Tivio Studio's platform provided the core "technical solution" that enabled Vodafone to rapidly test, prove, and scale a multi-phase strategy, establishing its market leadership.
Phase 1: The "StarHouse" — A World-First Interactive Deployment To prove the power of its network and vision, Vodafone, in partnership with Prima, used Tivio's platform to launch what is believed to be the world's first fully interactive, monetized channel directly within a telco EPG.
This was not just another channel; it was a global precedent in interactive broadcasting. Tivio's backend enabled:
- Prime Real Estate: The "StarHouse" channel was placed at EPG position 0, making it the first and most visible channel for all Vodafone TV viewers.
- Deep EPG Interactivity: Viewers could use their standard remote to switch between multiple live camera feeds, access on-demand highlights, and interact with the show in real-time.
- Integrated Microtransactions: The Tivio-powered solution featured in-stream premium unlocks, allowing Vodafone to test a hybrid monetization model where viewers could pay to access exclusive content—a feature exclusive to the Vodafone platform.
Phase 2: The "Prima+ Premium" Anti-Churn Weapon With the Tivio platform's capabilities proven, Vodafone executed a "groundbreaking" mass-market move. Tivio's technology provided the entitlement and delivery framework to bundle the entire prima+ Premium SVOD service directly into all basic Vodafone TV packages—a "market-first" deal that provided immense, undeniable value to subscribers.
Phase 3: The "FAST Channel" Operator Revenue Engine The final evolution of the partnership. Vodafone again selected Tivio as the "technical solution" to launch its own branded FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels, including DVTV Extra, Kviff Channel and Prima+ Channel. Tivio's platform manages the ad-supported stream, allowing Vodafone to create and monetize its own ad inventory.
The Results: A New Standard for Operator Innovation
This multi-phase strategy, all powered by Tivio Studio, secured Vodafone's position as the market's leading innovator.
- ✓ Global Innovation Leader: Deployed a world-first interactive, monetized EPG channel (StarHouse), showcasing a future that competitors could only talk about.
- ✓ Superior Competitive Offering: Launched a multi-pronged content strategy that directly countered and surpassed rival offerings from O2 and T-Mobile.
- ✓ New Operator-Owned Revenue: Successfully opened a new, high-margin advertising business with its own branded FAST channels.
- ✓ Massive Subscriber Value & Reduced Churn: Secured a "groundbreaking" SVOD bundle (Prima+) that made its basic TV package the most valuable in the market.
The Business Impact
“Our strategy is to be the market's leading 'super-aggregator,' not just a provider. Partnering with Tivio gave us the agile technical platform to innovate faster than our competition. We didn't just add an app; we launched a world-first interactive channel with StarHouse, secured a game-changing bundle with Prima+, and are now building our own FAST channel revenue stream. Tivio is the engine for our next-generation TV strategy.”
— Vodafone Czech Republic
For more details please contact:
Adrian Janon
