Cable-Tec Expo: MCTV Teams With Espial on IPTV

MCTV, the Ohio-based cable operator formerly known as Massillon Cable TV, said it has launched an IPTV service that is powered by Espial’s “Elevate” software-as-a-service platform.

Read More: Complete coverage of Cable-Tec Expo 2017

The companies said the platform will enable MCTV to manage services across its cable RF and fiber IP customers.

The new IPTV service will support traditional live TV and whole-home DVR capabilities as well as OTT apps and an advanced user interface that can be personalized, they said.  

The video deal comes soon after MCTV announced “Excellerate,” a fiber-to-the-premises deployment/initiative that will result in a GPON network that will overlay its existing hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) plant.

RELATED: MCTV Pushes Fiber-to-the-Premises Overlay With ‘Excellerate’ Initiative

"MCTV is a leading-edge provider of home entertainment services for consumers in our markets," Robert Gessner, president of MCTV, said in a statement. "We recognized an opportunity to embrace IPTV and introduce a new platform that will mimic our RF products and bring the latest IP technology to our customer base. Espial's Elevate cloud platform will allow us to improve our customer service and support operations by providing a single cloud-managed platform with a consistent, unified user experience across our RF and IPTV networks, as well as our managed and consumer-owned devices. Espial also allowed us to seize this opportunity quickly by delivering the IPTV solution in under 90 days."

Espial, which acquired Arris’s Whole Home Solution business last year, said it will show its cloud-based video platform at this week’s SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo in Denver.