Level 3 Selected for Expertise in Delivering Over-the-Top Broadcast-Quality Streaming
BROOMFIELD, Colo., January 26, 2011
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) today announced that it has been selected to provide content delivery network (CDN) services to support live, 24/7 streaming of WealthTV’s lifestyle channel content over the Internet to Roku’s Web-enabled television set-top boxes nationwide, allowing the entertainment network to expand its audience reach and monetize its content in new ways.
“When we looked at our options for live, broadcast-quality content delivery, Level 3’s depth of experience and technical expertise in delivering high-quality, 24/7 content over the Internet were major differentiating factors,” said Charles Herring, president of WealthTV. “Level 3 ramped up our streaming quickly and efficiently, allowing us to better reach viewers when, where and how they choose.”
WealthTV’s programming lineup is designed to deliver the ultimate vicarious-living experience, featuring world travel, luxury cars, culinary delights, top fashion, international news, movies and more. Level 3 is supporting delivery of this content from encoded signal acquisition and caching to delivery to the consumer. Leveraging its suite of CDN services, Level 3 is delivering WealthTV’s content to Roku users in high-definition using HTTP adaptive bit rate streaming. WealthTV is also using Level 3’s token authentication and geo-intelligence to ensure the protection of content rights holders and delivery to authorized regions.
By working with Level 3 to stream its content to connected devices, WealthTV is able to expand its audience by offering a viable alternative to consumers otherwise unable to receive WealthTV via their cable provider. Roku reported in January that it had sold more than one million boxes and offered 135 channels of streaming content as of December 2010. WealthTV’s channel is now available in the Roku Channel Store.
“Level 3 works with some of the largest media and entertainment customers in the world to deliver live and on-demand events using our CDN service offering,” said Mark Taylor, vice president of Content and Media at Level 3. “As traditional cable networks and content owners like WealthTV look to expand their reach and take a more active role in where and how their content is viewed and monetized, Level 3 is well-equipped to meet all their content delivery needs, from content capture to consumption.”
For more information on Level 3’s CDN capabilities, please visit www.level3.com/index.cfm?pageID=602.
About Level 3 Communications
Level 3 Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: LVLT) is a leading international provider of fiber-based communications services. Enterprise, content, wholesale and government customers rely on Level 3 to deliver services with an industry-leading combination of scalability and value over an end-to-end fiber network. Level 3 offers a portfolio of metro and long-haul services, including transport, data, Internet, content delivery and voice. For more information, visit www.level3.com.