SureWest To Launch SeaChange 'Watch & Buy' T-Commerce App For VOD

SureWest Communications will let subscribers purchase several first-run movies from Warner Bros. on DVD the same day they're available on video-on-demand using SeaChange International's "Watch & Buy" application.

The telco upgraded its SeaChange infrastructure to VODlink 5.0, the latest generation of the vendor's VOD software applications platform. SureWest is the first pay-TV provider to offer the SeaChange Watch & Buy T-Commerce app, which was introduced last year. 

Warner Bros. titles available to purchase in SureWest's Kansas City, Kan., market the same day they are released for VOD viewing are to include Arthur, Hall Pass, Something Borrowed, Sucker Punch, Red Riding Hood and Unknown.

"SureWest is operating in an intensely competitive market in Kansas City, and we see our upgrade to VODlink 5.0 and the launch of Watch & Buy as a significant step in differentiating the services and experiences we can offer to current and potential subscribers," SureWest vice president and chief technology officer Ken Johnson said in a statement.

Watch & Buy comprises a set-top application with a customizable user interface and fully managed back-end order fulfillment. A DVD symbol appearing next to select titles in an operator's VOD library indicates that the title is also available for purchase as a DVD or download.

In addition, SureWest's deployment of VODlink 5.0 is designed to provide faster VOD navigation and program launch times as well as enhanced graphics. VODlink is integrated with SeaChange's Axiom on Demand VOD back office at SureWest, but the product can work with third-party VOD systems, according to SeaChange.

Roseville, Calif.-based SureWest offers voice, Internet and TV services in the greater Sacramento region as well as Kansas City and Missouri. The company had 105,100 residential and 7,900 business customers as of June 2011.