Brazilian carrier Net and pay television programmer Globosatlaunch today introduced a new video over Internet offer called Muu. Service will be available for Net’s subscribers, who won’t be charged to access the content through computers, tablets or smartphones. “It’s TV everywhere concept, because users can access their TV content and others programs when they want through Internet,” said Márcio Carvalho, Net’s director for products and service.
Muu is offered by Net and was developed by the Globosat team. In the beginning, Muu will offer 1,400 hours of content, which may increase to 2,000 by the end of 2011.
Although it is similar to Netflix – which announced it will expand to 43 countries throughout Latin America by the end of this year -, Gustavo Ramos, Globosat’s director for Digital Media, believes that Muu is different, since it’s free for Net subscribers. “I don’t know Netflix’s offer for Brazil, but in the U.S., they are similar to television. Muu is much more competitive.”
Last July, online film-rental service Netflix and Mexican broadcaster Grupo Televisa announced a partnership to distribute Televisa soap operas and other programs in that country.
When asked about Netflix, Net’s CEO José Antônio Felix pointed out that the telecom market sees no benefit from companies like Netflix. “They don’t pay taxes or create jobs. They need to have the same conditions as players that are already in the market,” defended Felix.
During a press conference, Net’s CEO made the case for net neutrality rules, arguing that companies that deliver over-the-top should services should pay for the networks they are using. “They cannot ocupied 90% of the bandwidth and not invest in network,” said Felix.
Asked if Muu could compromise bandwidth, since Internet speeds could slow as Muu subscribers congest the network, Felix explained that they are provisioningbandwidth and securing that subscribers won’t have any issue if accessing Muu through Net’s Internet network. “But we can not guarantee that if they access Muu through another Internet carrier provider.” The company said it adopted a content delivery network (CDN) system to support the increased traffic.
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