Music Choice adopts Zixi software-defined video platform

Music Choice, the American television music service, is moving its transmission from satellite to Zixi’s software-defined video platform.

Music Choice digitally broadcasts music channels to multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) in the United States reaching 54 million households via linear television channels, tv-on-demand services, OTT systems, and mobile applications. Music Choice is always looking for ways to innovate and partnering with Zixi allowed the company to explore new and advanced ways of delivering solutions that would be easy to implement, work with their existing hardware infrastructure, allow for better access control over deployments, as well be encrypted to prevent signal piracy. They also wanted a more efficient solution that would enable them to reduce costs by leveraging agile, software-based applications over IP networks instead of relying on rigid, fixed infrastructure.

Zixi’s software-based solution enabled Music Choice to implement a solution rapidly and in a cost-effective manner with efficient use of the Zixi Cloud and the Internet for content delivery. The transition required little operational lift or incremental hardware infrastructure investment as the devices in use were already part of the Zixi Enabled Network of integrated devices.

With the SDVP’s robust suite of analytics that gathers billions of data points a day, Music Choice can garner more insight for affiliates while maintaining visibility and increasing data telemetry throughout the distribution ecosystem. The virtualization of infrastructure with the SDVP and the decision to leverage IP-networks for transport has allowed Music Choice to offer alternative target streams and channels and set the company up for a future expansion to a direct-to-consumer offering. Zixi’s ZEN Master control plane provides the ability to manage and monitor stream deployments across this complex delivery network to ensure broadcast-quality content delivery.

“Zixi offers a complete system platform that is very flexible and at a competitive price,” said Michael McCrackan of Music Choice. “The flexibility, analytics, and agility provided by the SDVP allow programmers like us better insight into distribution with the ability to optimize and localize content.”

“ZEN Master provides the ability to manage and monitor stream deployments across this complex network to ensure broadcast-quality content delivery,” said Brandon Cooney of Zixi. “We are very happy to be able to help Music Choice customize channels for specific locations without incurring additional costs and leverage a more tailored distribution strategy.”