Prolific cooperation of inext and SWEET.TV

The story of an outstanding partnership between inext and SWEET.TV.

In the modern world of IPTV and OTT services, it is hardly possible to find something as common as a business collaboration — and yet effective ones are rare. Some collapse long before it is all said and done. However, sometimes it happens to be a story of massive success and extraordinary compatibility.

The case of SWEET.TV and inext definitely belongs to the latter.

SWEET.TV is one of the most technologically advanced streaming platforms, providing its subscribers with content for the whole family. It is available everywhere within an internet connection. The service belongs to the most successful brands of VAN Group, a media-tech company with a focus on innovative streaming service technologies (headquartered in Bratislava, Slovakia).

SWEET.TV applications can be installed on smartphones, smart TVs, tablets and Xbox, and its content is available in the web version as well.

"Through the course of implementing our service, we searched for a way to operate on TV screens completely independently from Google Play, the Apple Store and other third parties — and finally found one," said Oleksandr Rezunov, SWEET.TV's Director.

inext, a Ukrainian company that specializes in the development and production of Android STBs and media players for B2B and B2C markets, provided the answer to that search, not least due to its versatility and individual approach in developing IPTV/OTT solutions. It is a truly international team, working from Slovakia, Greece, China and Ukraine. The exclusive distributor of inext set-top boxes in Ukraine is ROMSAT.

"What we offer is a high-quality, up-to-date media player whose software is able to use any type of payment system for its applications and is also free of digital stores' license policies," said Pavel Sidorov, inext's Chief Commercial Officer. "Those features are crucial for any operator to provide the best service it can, without paying conditional fees for each subscription charged and dealing with highly inconvenient copyright and licensing procedures, which change on almost a daily basis."

In other words, inext media players based on AOSP are a solution that avoids the extra payments and update restrictions that come with any platform that relies on digital stores. However, inext has another ace up its sleeve that deserves attention.

"The benefit that an operator gains when opting for inext's STB is the ability to completely control the user's device," mentioned Maksym Schygol, inext product manager at ROMSAT. "With the help of the inext Alcatraz system, you can not only see the STB's model name, MAC address, serial number, last IP address and activity status, but you can also deactivate it or send a warning to a user who stops paying for their subscription."

The business partnership started in 2017, when SWEET.TV's management contacted ROMSAT — the exclusive distributor of inext set-top boxes in Ukraine — in order to make a joint product. This decision was based on several years of successful cooperation in a similar project between ROMSAT and the Trinity company, which shares the same holding with SWEET.TV.

Once the product had been effectively tested in small batches and was ready for the mass market, the most 2020-like thing happened — Covid-19. Inevitable major logistics issues changed the way the media player was designed: the unavailability of crucial components from China led to serious shortages (chipsets among others) and, therefore, a need to reengineer the box. The ability to improvise in tough circumstances helped obtain reachable (though more expensive) components for the device and, ultimately, design it in a way superior to what it would have been.

However, it is the unbelievable energy, positive attitude and ambition to change the game on both sides that led to a successful release of the product to the mass market. The number of 100,000 devices was topped by the end of 2021.

"We offer a high-quality, up-to-date media player with all the features available for the SWEET.TV service, at a price lower than it actually takes to purchase an average 32-channel TV tuner," said Pavel Sidorov.

The security of the eventual product for the SWEET.TV service was a point of great importance, therefore the box was developed according to high standards and cannot be reconfigured at home.

The time of the joint project has been highlighted by a smart distribution policy:

• The involvement of retail stores (both digital and regular department stores) played a significant role in increasing stock reduction of the product, thanks to a negotiable discount for them.
• Targeting service consumers who, besides already using it themselves, had elders with old TVs — which are still compatible with inext media players and, as a result, capable of supporting SWEET.TV — helped to expand the market.
• Geography played its part as well: in order to raise regional sales, a notable discount was implemented for both agents and retailers, which led to strong records in those areas.

Having said that, one of the most lucrative steps taken to increase the operator's income was offering a monthly SWEET.TV package with a free inext media player (6-month subscription minimum), as 85–90% of subscribers renewed after the expiration of the trial period.

"Cooperation with inext helped us provide subscribers with a high-quality device that fully met their needs, while gaining access to 270 TV channels, as well as 10,000 films, animations, TV series and training courses on SWEET.TV," said Oleksandr Rezunov.

The strong belief in the quality of the end product by both parties, the desire to craft and develop the technology, as well as the fortitude and willingness to support the people of Ukraine — these are the signs of a bright future. The very best for inext and SWEET.TV is yet to happen!