Simplestream brings the best of UK TV to British Forces and their families around the world

Simplestream, leaders in live and on-demand OTT services, today announced that it has been chosen by Forces Network to build a cross-platform, multi-channel TV Everywhere player for its BFBS TV and Radio services, broadcasting exclusively to Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and their families posted around the world.

This new extensive service, branded the BFBS TV Player, provides 24/7 live streaming access to free-to-air and premium channels, catch-up and hosted Video on Demand. It is available on Responsive Web, Android mobile and tablet, iOS mobile and tablet.

Forces Network on www.forces.net is part of the Services Sound & Vision Corporation (SSVC), a military charity dedicated to informing, entertaining and connecting the Armed Forces. The roots of the Forces Network date back to 1943, and since then it has operated in more than 100 locations worldwide to bring TV, radio and digital news and entertainment to personnel and their families, wherever they are serving.

“It has always been critically important for the welfare of those serving overseas and their families to stay in touch with life back home – and our unique role is making sure they have seamless, legal and highly secure access to the very best of UK TV,” said Quentin Howard, Director of Commercial Strategy & Technology. “Our aim was to build an engaging service that extends our content to multi-platform so it can be consumed flexibly – anytime, anywhere and on a wide range of devices – and that’s exactly what the new BFBS TV Player does. Our unique challenges, including content security, 24 time zones and complex Rights were matched by Simplestream’s expertise and track record in streaming and their knowledge of UK broadcasters. The team delivered just what we wanted in a short timescale, and we’re already excited by the next phase of our OTT and streaming services for military families away from home.”

The service was built on Simplestream’s Cloud TV Platform: an end-to-end, white label solution that enables the rapid deployment of next-generation TV Everywhere services across multiple screens and territories – including support for unlimited live channels, automated catch-up with backwards scrolling EPG, and comprehensive user and entitlement management. Authenticating their Ministry of Defence ID will enable these users to access this wide range of UK content securely and legally whilst overseas

“It’s always great to be able to seamlessly extend content to a variety of connected devices so people can access it however and wherever they are, but it becomes so much more important for those that are away from their homes and loved ones for a significant length of time,” added Dan Finch, Chief Commercial Officer of Simplestream. “Keeping consumers connected with their favourite content is why we do what we do – and it has been an honour to provide such a platform for those who are dedicating so much to this country.”