Altice France-owned news channel BFMTV has launched a new ‘vertical’ smartphone video experience that automatically converts the horizontal frames of standard TV streams to a vertical format better suited to smartphone screens.
The news channel has tapped technology startup Wildmoka to provide the workflow for the new service, dubbed ‘Live Vertical’, which is claimed as a world first for vertical live-streaming.
The new format leans on new methods of managing live production workflows and the addition of a dedicated stream to reposition the elements of the TV screen for a vertical smartphone scree to fill the entire mobile screen with content, regardless of device, brnad or model.
Users have the option, via the BFMTV app, of preserving the traditional 16:9 format for horizontal viewing or viewing the content of the channel on the Live Vertical mode.
Wildmoka, based in France, specializes in real-time enrichment of digital media content and has exclusively developed ‘Live Vertical’ in collaboration with Altice France.
Altice France also plans to offer Live Vertical using Wildmoka’s technology on other group outlets such as BFM Business.
Arthur Dreyfuss, CEO of Altice Média, said: “It is a source of real pride to be the first TV channel in the world to offer an innovation that makes television the best way to get real-time news on a smartphone. Altice France is adding a new dimension to the medium of television, with a unique user experience that will further enhance the leading position of BFMTV and the group’s channels. This innovation is the result of our historical and eternal desire to explore new formats, to continue our investments, and to combine technical progress with editorial quality to present ever more accurate information.”
Thomas Menguy, president and CTO of Wildmoka said: “Wildmoka is proud to have gained the confidence of several Altice Group channels over the past three years and to once again be able to launch, within Altice France, a global innovation based on artificial intelligence and the latest cloud technologies. After assisting in the creation of sports content for RMC Sport, it is BFMTV’s turn to use Wildmoka’s unique expertise around AI and ML to verticalize its content for News in real time, in order to better respond to an increasingly connected and mobile audience.”