New deal makes Etisalat’s video-based services available on LG’s 3D Smart TV

UAE telco operator and cable TV provider Etisalat and LG entered a partnership that will see Etisalat’s broadband services and content delivered through LG’s new range of Smart TVs. The first completed effort of the alliance is the launch of Etisalat’s “OnDemand”, the region’s first managed IPTV Video On-Demand Service without Set-Top-Box and “OnWeb”, the new web-based video service that will be available to Etisalat’s fibre-connected residential customers on all of LG’s Smart TVs.

The deal was inked at a press conference in Dubai yesterday.

Etisalat and LG have been working for the last eight months to bring this to fruition, commented Mario J Pino, IPTV Project Marketing Launch Director, Etisalat.

LG has developed broadband-connected TVs that are designed to deliver Web-based content, mostly video, from popular or social websites, in addition to broadcast content from traditional broadcast providers. The connected feature in LG’s Smart TV incorporates a built-in Set-Top-Box.

Two of Etisalat’s video-based services will be available initially on the smart TV range.

The first service, a new service to the eLife family, is eLife OnWeb.  eLife OnWeb will start off by offering content on-demand from over 22 content partners, of which 18 are Western and four are from the United Arab Emirates. 

The second eLife OnDemand service will extend access to the Etisalat Video-On-Demand movie service.  

LG’s Smart TVs are enabled with UGC (User Generated Contents), SNS (Social Networking Service), Photo Sharing Service, Weather forecasts and other applications. Customers subscribed to Etisalat’s eLife services can also access its new ‘Video on Demand’ service that is available on request. In addition to the free-of-charge OnWeb service package, customers will enjoy the option of purchasing exclusive content that will be offered on demand.