Tonight thousands of New Yorkers will be able to tune in to “Dancing with the Stars” on their iPads and iPhones, as ABC launches its Watch ABC app to stream live shows to iOS devices. The technology behind Watch ABC comes from a startup called upLynk, a self-funded, 11 person Los Angeles company that streams broadcast-quality video to mobile devices.
upLynk encodes and encrypts video content, and then streams it to the end user. Encryption is handled on the customer’s server using upLynk’s software, then the video is uploaded to the Amazon Cloud, where encoding and ad insertion take place.
upLynk already provides video streaming for several Disney apps, including Watch Disney and Watch Disney Junior. (Disney is the parent company of ABC.) The solution works with iOS, Android, Windows 8, BlackBerry, Mac, Linux and Roku.
The startup says it offers more simplicity and less upfront investment than other video delivery solutions. For example, uoLynk says that ABC affiliates will be able to live steam their content by investing just $1,000 in a Linux server to upload their content to the cloud.
upLynk boasts that it has “the most straightforward pricing plan on the planet.” It charges content producers for each hour of video encoded, stored and streamed, and includes encryption, analytics and ad integration for free.
The company’s business model is a sharp contrast to the approach of another hot startup that is disrupting broadcast television. Aereo has created thousands of tiny TV antennas, and sells connections to users who want to watch or record broadcast TV on mobile devices. So far, Aereo is live only in New York City, but it is expected to go live in Boston tomorrow, and in Atlanta on June 17. The broadcast networks are suing Aereo for copyright infringement, but so far the courts have decided in Aereo’s favor, likening the service to a digital video recorder.
For consumers, Aereo’s approach offers the advantage of delivering all the broadcast networks, plus many popular cable networks. Right now the service is $8 per month in New York, or $12 per month for heavy-duty users who record a lot of shows. Clearly Aereo is working hard to keep its service affordable, at least for now. But in the end its business model relies on consumers paying for content, while upLynk’s approach will deliver live broadcast TV for free.
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