TVNZ will launch its OnDemand app for Samsung Galaxy devices on Friday 23 August.
TVNZ’s general manager of digital media, Tom Cotter, says it will “absolutely” be available for other Android devices at some point in the future. But TVNZ is going with Galaxy phones first because the complexity of Android makes it difficult to deploy to all devices running to operating system.
“It’s about getting the consumer experience right, and the diversity of the operating systems makes it quite complicated,” he says.
The app has been available for iOS devices since February this year. The app’s developers, the Digital Arts Network, built the OnDemand app to deploy on both iOS and Android, but several issues held up the Android release.
“It’s making sure it goes through the testing process and quality assurance with Samsung and rights holders as well,” Cotter says.
Most of the difficulty revolves around security issues, he says.
All that said, TVNZ is the first major broadcaster in Australasia to launch on both iOS and Android at all.
“When you go to Australia a lot of the major broadcasters aren’t even on iOS,” says Cotter.
The iOS app has been downloaded more than 323,000 times. More than 6 million videos have been watched in the iOS app.
OnDemand is also available in browsers on PC and Mac, and through software on the PlayStation 3 and on Samsung smart TVs.
