Blog

Canal+, a French premium cable channel, will now allow viewers to watch its programming without subscribing to a cable operator. With the help of Technicolor, the channel just launched its first OTT/DTT box, Cube S, according to Advanced Television. The small box's WiFi connection lets viewers watch all their channels, whether they are sitting at home or on the go. In addition to TV shows and movies, customers also have access to unlimited music on the box.

"Canal+ just launched its first OTT/DTT box, Cube S."

Frederic Vincent, executive vice president of technology and information systems at Canal+ Group, said in a statement that Cube S allows the company to offer viewers all of its content over the Internet in one box.

"Our subscribers can consume TV content live or on demand or listen to more than 35M of music tracks or international radios proposed by our partners Deezer and Radioline. Technicolor's engineering and design expertise has allowed us to create a truly innovative and stand-out product that offers all our content in HD," Vincent added.

François Rossiensky, senior vice president EMEA for Technicolor Connected Home segment, said his company is happy to back Canal+ and make it simpler for viewers to access the French channel's premium content.

The OTT set-up box market is growing

It's no wonder Canal+ decided to develop an OTT box for its viewers; the market for these boxes keeps expanding. According to a Set-Top Box Market Monitor report, 31 million STBs will be shipped in 2015.

Daniel Simmons, IHS Technology director of connected home research, said purchasing a box allows viewers to pick the OTT services they like instead of being stuck with pre-installed options.