Ericsson and Airtel Nigeria to launch SVoD service NuVu

Thorsten Sauer

Ericsson and telecoms company Airtel Nigeria are due to launch a subscription video-on-demand (SVoD) service called NuVu in Q1 2016.

The SVoD service will be available to more than 30 million Airtel subscribers in Nigeria and will offer around 3,000 local and international TV and film titles.

Ericsson said it is working with a number of international distributors to acquire TV and film content for the new service, and aims to expand NuVu’s content offering “significantly” in the coming years.

Ericsson developed the end-to-end NuVu offering and said it aims to market the service in collaboration with service providers around the world.

“As one of the largest operators across Africa and the third-largest mobile operator in the world, Airtel is the perfect partner to help us launch NuVu. We are very proud to launch NuVu in Africa and we look forward to rolling out this service to other markets over the coming year,” said Ericsson’s head of broadcast and media services, Thorsten Sauer.

He described the launch of NuVu as a “significant landmark” for Ericsson and said that it would help operator partners to address a “significant untapped market for video content”.

The service will launch initially as an Android app for smartphones, with plans to roll out the service on other platforms and operating systems.

NuVu users will be able to download content to their smartphones or tablets and access the content offline for up to 30 days after downloading. The service will also come with a personalised user interface, bookmarking and personal recommendations.

Airtel Nigeria’s chief commercial officer, Ahmed Mokhles, said that through NuVu it will offer a variety of content, including music videos, comedy, movie trailers, cartoons and sports.

“We are delighted to be a part of this project as it also reinforces our commitment to creating real value for all our stakeholders,” said Mokhles.

The NuVu brand identity was created by Ericsson-owned creative agency, Red Bee.