EchoStar, which is DISH Network's main technology partner, has selected Conviva to guarantee video quality of DISH Network's 2 main TV Everywhere services, DISH Anywhere and DishWorld. The former provides live and on-demand access to DISH's programming while the latter is focused on international programming delivered online.

EchoStar will use Conviva's Intelligent Control Platform to optimize streaming video quality in real-time, on a per user basis. Conviva's platform monitors stream quality at an the individual user level, anticipating problems and preemptively optimizing by adjusting the bitrate, content delivery network and other parameters. An analytics suite gives content providers insight into the performance and viewership of their video.

Last year, Conviva processed 45 billion video streams, taking preemptive, corrective actions over 4 million times per day. The company's recently released Viewer Experience Report found that in 2013 stream buffering improved, but was offset by higher video start failures. Demonstrating the correlation between stream quality and viewing time/monetization, Conviva has determined that a 1% increase in buffering reduces viewing time by 11 minutes.

Conviva is a key under-the-hood player helping morph online video into a more TV-like experience. With consumers' massive adoption of connected TV devices and smart TVs, online video is steadily marching into the living room. That's helping drive longer-form viewing, but it also means online video must deliver at TV's quality level, which is a high bar.

These dynamics are especially relevant for DISH, which reportedly plans to offer an over-the-top pay-TV service aimed at cord-cutters and cord-nevers. DISH has announced programming deals with Disney and with A+E Networks, which is a good start, but still leaves the company well short of a complete, compelling lineup. Regardless, if and when the OTT service does launch, video quality will be crucial, and that's where Conviva will no doubt fit in.