Around 3.5 million Swiss people watch television daily. Whether linear or via streaming: the big screen remains the preferred device. What has changed is the technology behind it: Netstream TV now uses Android TV.
Netstream TV runs on televisions, in browsers, and on smartphones and tablets. We call the television the First Screen because it's the primary screen for the TV experience. The previous First Screen app ran on Linux. Solid, but increasingly a bottleneck: tightly tied to specific hardware, costly to develop further, and difficult to brand. Android TV has established itself as the industry standard for modern set-top boxes and smart TVs. The vast majority of devices sold today run on Android TV. We've rebuilt it from the ground up.
New app and complete redesign
The home screen has been completely redesigned. Instead of a static view, there are now lanes with relevant content: Now on TV, Replay, Recordings, Continue Watching, and more. Navigation, design, and interaction follow a unified design principle that is consistent across all Netstream TV platforms.
Android TV: An industry standard with pitfalls
Android TV is currently the dominant platform in the set-top box market. For ISPs and telcos, this means a wider selection of hardware, an established developer ecosystem, and no proprietary lock-in. Those who adopt Android TV move with the market.
Nevertheless, procurement remains a challenge. Around 34% of chip manufacturers report delays due to ongoing semiconductor shortages, which directly impact delivery times for STB components. This is not a new situation, but it is one that still applies today. Anyone planning STBs must factor in lead times.
The positive aspect, however, is that we can roll out our app to virtually any available Android STB. New devices are therefore very often unnecessary.
Netstream TV as a white-label solution
The First Screen app is just one part of the ecosystem. It also includes mobile apps for iOS and Android, web TV in the browser, and a completeagplatform for end customers, devices, and packages, optionally via a web portal or a RESTful API.
Anyone wanting to build their own TV service today faces a complex task: acquiring signals, operating infrastructure, developing apps, and managing store listings. Netstream TVaaS handles all of this as an end-to-end solution.
New tenants go live in a few weeks, not months, thanks to proven processes. There are no high barriers to entry, and flexible pricing models make sense even for smaller providers. The platform scales with growth, whether you have 500 or 250,000 end customers.
The apps appear under the provider's name and branding. Logos, colors, splash screens, app store listings: Netstream remains invisible.
Interested in Netstream TV as a white-label solution? Book a demo or contact us directly.
Roadmap and Releases
Netstream has been developing TV solutions since 2004. Back then, we were the first Swiss company to launch a real-time live online TV platform; adsl.tv was way ahead of its time. Much has changed since then: the platform, the technology, the devices. What has remained is our commitment to delivering TV experiences that work.
Today, we prefer to work behind the scenes, enabling ISPs, telcos, and other providers to offer their customers their own TV product. Our ongoing development of the solution is publicly accessible.
For the changelog: netstream.ch/tv-updates
