Expanded Partnership Sees West Entertainment Become ANA’s Content Service Provider
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All Nippon Airways (ANA) has expanded its four-year relationship with West Entertainment, with the latter set to become the carrier’s exclusive in-flight entertainment (IFE) content service provider (CSP).
ANA’s back-end content portal will be powered by West Entertainment’s WE by West central management platform, and under the expanded partnership, West Entertainment will manage acquisitions, digital encoding and AVOD management requirements.
The company will work closely with ANA’s programming team to provide passengers with access to the best Hollywood, western, international and south Asian content in-flight. Eric Silverstein, West Entertainment’s director, Operations and Technology, who runs the ANA account and has worked with the carrier for the past four years, said, “We have brought in an expert consultant to assist with Japanese sensibilities and know how.”
The relationship will also see ANA benefit from West Entertainment’s partnership with artificial intelligence company Qloo, which uses data to offer unique insights into passenger preferences. “Qloo offers benefits within and beyond IFE, as a result we’ll be building a variety of initiatives we hope we’ll be able to share in the near future,” commented Silverstein.
In the build-up to the beginning of the extended partnership on September 1, 2021, Silverstein said West Entertainment will work to ensure a smooth transition as well as enhancing service quality and timely delivery. “The first launch cycle is in progress,” he confirmed.
On what secured the new partnership, Kate Groth, West Entertainment’s president, explained, “This latest RFP gave us the ability to showcase our full strength, and this result is a testament of our entire team commitment to deliver financial flexibility while increasing content options for ANA passengers.”
“The key success was building a budget structure that would offer greater flexibility and transparency for ANA to manage their selection and financial wellbeing,” Silverstein continued.