Written By: Ryan Lawler, GigaOm
thePlatform is pushing cross-platform compatibility with a new offering that will let its customers create one video player that can be delivered to any device or browser that is trying to access it. That capability is being rolled out due to increased demand for HTML5 video, despite a lack of real standards across browsers for the display and rendering of video players.
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As 2012 kicks off, thePlatform is very pleased to announce that we received a major industry accolade for our mpx video management and publishing system.
IMS Research, a leading global electronics market research company with over 80 analysts worldwide, awarded thePlatform with its prestigious 2012 TV Innovation Award for mpx at an award ceremony during CES 2012. Now in its third year, the TV Innovation Awards recognize the most forward-thinking companies creating products and services that are changing the way people watch television, and have grown to become one of the premier endorsements of innovation in television.
According to IMS Research President, Ian Weightman: “One of the main reasons that the TV Innovation Awards have become so sought after is that each entry is judged on a completely level playing field. This ensures that companies, ranging from the biggest names in consumer electronics to innovative start-ups, can measure objectively how their products stack-up against those of their competitors.”
thePlatform is proud of this accomplishment, and we look forward to providing our customers and partners with continued innovation throughout 2012 and beyond.
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Channeling Television’s Innovation
GigaOm Roadmap 2011
If you’re watching a piece of digital video from a major broadcaster, there’s a good chance it’s handled by thePlatform. From humble beginnings, the company has grown to be a major industry player in the traditional broadcast market. In this talk, learn how the new platforms with which broadcasters’ work will dictate their innovation in the future and understand how the new platforms will affect the way you consume video.
4:10 PM
November 10th 2011
Mission Bay Conference Center at UCSF
1675 Owens Street
San Francisco, CA 94158
Ian Blaine, thePlatform CEO
Ryan Lawler, Staff Writer, GigaOm
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Michael Horwitz Joins thePlatform as Vice President of Engineering – Tina Santos Named In-House General Counsel
SEATTLE, WA – October 3, 2011 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, today announced the appointment of Michael (Mike) Horwitz as Vice President of Engineering and Tina Santos as the Chief Legal Counsel. Mr. Horwitz will lead thePlatform’s core product development, testing and deployment, and oversee the company’s operational business intelligence, including capacity planning and metrics monitoring. Ms. Santos will direct all legal and compliance matters for thePlatform. Both will be based out of the company’s headquarters in Seattle.
“Mike and Tina both have a tremendous record of accomplishment, and I am confident that their respective areas of expertise will strengthen our team,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “Mike brings a wealth of knowledge to the company, in both technology management and product development functions. Tina brings extensive international experience and a strong background in corporate governance for technology companies. Both Mike and Tina will be valuable assets to thePlatform, as we continue to innovate and expand our business.”
Horwitz comes to thePlatform after spending more than five years in senior-level engineering positions at Comcast, building technology teams from the ground-up, managing backend data system development, and executing on the company’s online and next-generation product lines. Most recently, Horwitz served as Senior Director, Engineering for Comcast Converged Products. Before that, he was Senior Manager of Engineering and Principal Engineer, both for Comcast Interactive Media. Prior to Comcast, Horwitz was a technology manager and development lead for a number of network management start-ups in the greater Philadelphia area. Horwitz graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering. He will report to Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform.
Santos joins thePlatform after serving as the General Counsel for StreamServe – a global software company based in Boston – for the past six years, where she managed all legal aspects relating to the company’s internal and external operations in the U.S. and 13 jurisdictions in Europe and Asia. Previously, Santos was a Senior Associate at the London office of Coudert Brothers, LLP, and served as an Associate in the corporate securities and finance group of Perkins Coie, LLP. Prior to attending law school, she worked for Lone Wolf Technologies, a Seattle-based start-up company, where she managed all financing related activities, investor relations and was Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors. Santos received her J.D. with honors from Seattle University’s School of Law, and graduated from the University of Puget Sound with a Bachelor of Arts degree. Santos will report to Jamie Miller, COO and CFO of thePlatform.
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices and TVs. Media companies rely on thePlatform’s mpx system as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
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thePlatform’s mpx Video Management System to Provide Centralized Aggregation and Publishing to Support Web Portals Across Liberty Global’s Footprint – Liberty Global to Use thePlatform’s TV Everywhere (TVE) Solution to Enable Online Catch-Up of Shows for Paid Subscribers
AMSTERDAM – Sept. 8, 2011 – At the IBC conference, thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company and independent subsidiary of Comcast, announced today that it was selected by Liberty Global, Inc., the leading international cable operator with operations in 14 countries, to provide the back-end video management system across its online video properties. Liberty Global will use thePlatform’s “TV Everywhere” solution to enable subscribers to catch-up and watch more of their favorite programs and movies on their computers.
thePlatform’s, cloud-based, mpx video management system will serve as the central aggregation hub for collecting, protecting, and publishing online video to Liberty Global’s various web portals. The system will also manage the authorization of online video watching based on a user’s paid TV subscription package.
“We’re committed to providing our subscribers even greater access to their favorite shows, and enhancing the value of their subscriptions beyond the TV screen,” said Ryc Brownrigg, Vice President of Digital Technology for Liberty Global. “By integrating with thePlatform’s mpx system, we’re gaining a powerful logistics hub that makes it easier for our subscribers to watch premium shows online, while preserving the content rights obligations we have with our content providers.”
“Liberty Global is unquestionably one of the preeminent leaders in television services around the world, and we’re extremely proud that they have selected mpx to help expand their efforts online,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “Our role is to simplify the back-end complexity of online video management, enabling Liberty Global to bring new and innovative video services to market in an efficient and scalable way.”
thePlatform’s mpx system will be phased in to support various online efforts in select regions and then expanded globally. Additional details about the implementation and financial terms of the agreement between thePlatform and Liberty Global were not disclosed.
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices and TV. Media companies rely on thePlatform as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. thePlatform currently provides video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
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First Swedish Deployment of mpx with ATG Vision
SEATTLE and STOCKHOLM, Sweden – Aug. 11, 2011 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, and Real Life Venture AB, a digital media consulting company based in Sweden, today announced a reseller agreement to extend video publishing, management and development solutions across the Nordic countries of Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. The first joint customer is AB TRAV OCH GALOPP (ATG) with their ATG Vision initiative, the official international website of the Swedish Horse Racing Totalisator Board, which is using mpx to publish and manage video content for Swedish Racing including race replays, coverage, jockey profiles and introductory videos on racing and betting.
The joint solution gives content providers across Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden the ability to publish video to PCs, mobile devices and TV using mpx, an enterprise class video publishing platform with additional customization and system integration services from Real Life. With local and specialized support from Real Life, mpx will serve the growing media market in Nordic countries helping content providers extend video across multiple screens and destinations.
“Real Life has a great deal of experience in helping content providers architect and execute business models and technology solutions that extend their business,” said Simon McGrath, general manager of Europe for thePlatform. “As an authorized reseller of mpx we look forward to working with them as they offer local support and build custom solutions for customers across the Nordic countries.”
“Content providers with large video libraries like ATG, benefit from the combination of custom integration services and a scalable video platform to maximize their multi-screen distribution strategies,” said Bo Klevenstedt, president and founder, Real Life Venture. “mpx gives us the robust platform we need to offer our customers a full set of products to build out their digital media strategies.”
“Our business is at the center of an entertainment industry that grows each year globally via close collaborations with international partners. It was important that our online platform could keep up with the pace of change in this area and give us the ability to continue to grow and expand our presence,” said Magnus Tuononen, international project manager of ATG. “By working with Real Life to deploy mpx we were able to extend our business and bring the race track experience online with the flexibility to adapt our international strategy going forward.”
Real Life Venture offers strategic consulting services for content providers, helping them use technology to create business value for today, and step-function growth for tomorrow. The company specializes in helping customers to create online and digital destinations in the new media landscape.
Media companies rely on thePlatform as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. The company’s mpx media publishing system is an enterprise class online video platform that offers a streamlined workflow and support for a wide range of online business models. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
More information about Real Life Venture AB can be found at www.reallife-venture.com. More information about thePlatform can be found at www.thePlatform.com.
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Hemisphere Named as Authorized Reseller of mpx in Australia and New Zealand
SEATTLE and AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Aug. 11, 2011 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, and Hemisphere Interactive, a provider of multi-platform product development, today announced a reseller agreement to extend video publishing, management and development solutions in Australia and New Zealand. Under the new agreement, Hemisphere will become a preferred developer and authorized reseller of thePlatform’s mpx media publishing system, offering local support for customers across the Oceania region.
“We’ve enjoyed a good working relationship with thePlatform over the years, collaborating on online video projects with major media companies around the world,” said Glyn Beaumont, managing director, Hemisphere Interactive. “We look forward to offering our customers here in New Zealand and Australia an enterprise caliber publishing and management system that can help them achieve their business goals.”
“We think Hemisphere is the right fit for thePlatform in the region given their experience with major media companies,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of sales and marketing for thePlatform. “They understand both the business and technical requirements of online video in the local market and we look forward to working with them.”
Hemisphere Interactive provides multi-platform product development of large and small scale cloud-based applications and social media, applications, video distribution and data integration work for large media companies around the world. Customers include Turner Broadcasting, CNN, Comcast, Liberty Media, News Corp., HIT Entertainment and Lockerz.com.
Media companies rely on thePlatform as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. The company’s mpx media publishing system is an enterprise class online video platform that offers a streamlined workflow and support for a wide range of online business models. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
More information about Hemisphere Interactive can be found at www.hemisphereinteractive.com. More information about thePlatform can be found at www.thePlatform.com.
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Elemental™ Server and thePlatform’s mpx video management system integrate to handle large volumes of high-quality video for multi-screen services – Supports Comcast’s XfinityTV.com and Xfinity TV App for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch
Portland, Ore. and Seattle – July 25, 2011 – Elemental Technologies, the leading provider of video processing solutions that enable multi-screen content delivery, and thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, today announced a joint solution for processing and management of large, dynamic video content libraries for IP-connected devices. The integration, designed for service providers and media companies, combines the Elemental Server file-based video transcoding solution with thePlatform’s mpx video management system for multi-screen video delivery.
As part of today’s announcement, Elemental Technologies joins thePlatform’s premier partner program, and the two companies will jointly market each other’s solutions to customers. The first company to use the combined offering is Comcast, which relies on the technology to support its online and mobile initiatives.
“Elemental is at the forefront of providing robust and cost-effective transcoding solutions,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “As online video libraries continue to expand, our customers need scalable means to ingest, transcode and distribute video. We look forward to working with Elemental to serve our mutual customers, and addressing new market opportunities together.”
“Elemental is excited to work with thePlatform to accelerate the management and processing of Comcast’s streaming assets to PCs, tablets and mobile devices,” said Sam Blackman, CEO and chairman of Elemental Technologies. “Comcast, and MSOs in general, are seeking solutions that allow them to cost-effectively scale their operations with minimal impact to existing operations. We’re proud to be ahead of the curve in this area.”
“Comcast is leveraging innovative new technologies that provide cost-effective performance enhancements as we bring more viewing choices to our customers online and on mobile devices,” said Charlie Herrin, senior vice president of product development and technology for Comcast Interactive Media. “Elemental has a highly reliable transcoding solution that coupled with thePlatform’s cloud-based video management, is helping us deliver compelling services to our subscribers.”
Today, Elemental Server’s integration with thePlatform’s mpx allows Comcast to deliver On Demand video to XfinityTV.com, and to the Xfinity TV app for the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch. Elemental Server also provides the capability to support other IP-devices.
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices and TV. Media companies rely on thePlatform’s mpx system as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
Elemental will exhibit its solutions for multi-screen video delivery at the CableLabs 2011 Summer Conference, August 7-10, in Keystone Colorado. Additional information about thePlatform is available at www.thePlatform.com. Additional information about Elemental is available at www.elementaltechnologies.com.
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SEATTLE and LONDON – July 6, 2011 – thePlatform, an independent subsidiary of Comcast and leading white-label video publishing company, today announced the appointment of Simon McGrath as General Manager of Europe. Simon will lead thePlatform’s European go-to-market strategies and operations and will report to Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. Additionally, the company announced that Darren Grimstead has been promoted to Director of European sales.
“Simon is joining thePlatform at a key inflection point in the history of thePlatform and the overall video market,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “European content owners, TV service providers, and other video aggregators are seeking efficient and scalable means to deliver video across multiple screens. We’re confident that Simon’s operational, marketing and sales leadership will play a key role in serving the European market.”
Mr. McGrath has more than 20 years of experience leading strategic operational, marketing, sales and engineering initiatives at global organizations. Most recently, he served as Chief Marketing Officer and Commercial Director of EMEA at SeaChange International Inc., a global leader in the delivery of multi-screen video, which provides back-end solutions to companies such as AT&T, DISH Network, Hutchison Whampoa, Virgin Media, and many others. At SeaChange, McGrath led the acquisition of Mobix Interactive Ltd as well as held responsibility for all EMEA accounts, technology alliances and go-to-market strategies.
Prior to SeaChange, McGrath served as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Director of Strategy, Development and Technology of On Demand Group Ltd., a subsidiary of SeaChange since September 2005. He joined On Demand Group in 2002 as its first Chief Technology Officer, leading the development and launch of ntl (now Virgin Media) Video On Demand, as well as building On Demand’s Content Preparation Centre in London. Previously, McGrathserved as Chief Sales and Communication Officer and Executive Board Member of Lysis SA, a software company specializing in advanced content management solutions for digital television based in Switzerland. McGrath joined Lysis in November 1999 through the acquisition of Concision Limited, a company he founded. He holds a master’s degree in computer science from Cambridge University.
Darren Grimstead has spent the last eight years leading thePlatform’s media and entertainment sales channel as Director, Media & Entertainment Sales. His clients include: PBS, Starz Play, NBC Local Media, truTV, News Digital Media, HIT Entertainment and other top media company accounts. In his new role, he will report to McGrath. Before joining thePlatform, Grimstead held executive sales positions at NetReflector and Loudeye, online media and technology companies, where he led strategic sales, market development, business development and customer acquisition initiatives.
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices and TV. Media companies rely on thePlatform’s mpx system as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
Both McGrath and Grimstead will be based out of London.
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Written By: David Gelles in New York
Television is learning some lessons from the web.
At the Cable Show, the television industry gathering in Chicago last week, technology buzzwords like “apps”, “cloud” and “social” were bandied about with much excitement.
But it wasn’t Apple, Google or Facebook showing off their latest wares. Instead, it was stalwart cable television companies such as Comcast, Time Warner and ESPN seeking to exploit advances in mobile communications, remote storage and software design in a bid to stay relevant to today’s consumer. “The users’ expectation of how to consume video is changing,” said Imran Shah, managing partner at IBB Consulting. The way viewers search for programmes is shifting, and “social recommendations are an integral part of that”.
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thePlatform Brings Cloud-based Video Management to TV – mpx Evolves from Managing Online Video to Managing TV Content for Leading Service Provider in US
SEATTLE – June 14, 2011 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company and independent subsidiary of Comcast, today confirmed that its cloud-based video publishing system, mpx, serves as the central management hub for Comcast’s next-generation Xfinity TV service.
Now in a market trial in Augusta, GA, the Xfinity TV service offers a new personalized user experience on the television, making it easier to navigate, search and select from tens of thousands of choices. thePlatform worked closely with teams across Comcast to design a system that provides greater flexibility and versatility for managing live TV or video-on-demand. This deployment also showcases the ability of mpx to deliver pay-TV services on a vast scale with enterprise-grade reliability for one of the largest TV service providers in North America.
“TV services have historically been defined by infrastructure equipment, but that’s changing,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform and senior vice president in Comcast Converged Products. “Moving forward, cloud computing will play a defining role in enabling TV service providers to innovate and differentiate. We’re very proud to support this initiative with Comcast, and it’s a testament to the robustness and scalability of our capabilities.”
“Comcast is leveraging the best aspects of web-based video architecture to reshape the television experience itself,” said Sam Schwartz, president of Comcast Converged Products. “We acquired thePlatform five years ago in order to bring some of the brightest minds in video systems design and management into our senior planning teams. thePlatform has been instrumental in our efforts to date and is playing a strategic role in the development of our next-generation services.”
TV programming networks and content providers delivering video to Comcast customers who subscribe to the next-generation Xfinity TV service utilize thePlatform’s mpx system to prepare and manage that video using its intuitive web-based console. mpx manages video ingest and aggregation from multiple sources. It also provides the technical foundation for metadata aggregation, normalization, and search capabilities for live-linear channels and video on demand.
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Comcast Taps Industry Leaders Facebook, Intel Corporation, Pace plc and thePlatform – New Xfinity TV Experience Delivers Advanced Search, Personalization and Interactivity
Philadelphia, PA and Chicago, IL – June 14, 2011, Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) today announced that it is working with leading technology and content providers to deliver the company’s next-generation Xfinity® TV experience. This new experience transforms the way consumers watch television with a new guide and user interface that makes the TV screen more interactive, personal and social. Comcast Chairman and CEO Brian L. Roberts will demonstrate this new service and new speeds at the 2011 NCTA show in Chicago on Thursday, June 16 during the General Session that begins at 9 am CT.
Now available in a market trial in Augusta, GA, Xfinity TV brings an entirely new user experience to television that makes it easier to search and select from tens of thousands of choices. Through this experience, customers enjoy:
“We’ve made great progress on providing better tools – first on the web, then on tablets and mobile devices – to make it easier to find what you want to watch, when you want it from thousands of choices. We’re excited to bring those advanced capabilities to the TV set to enable a richer, more personalized experience,” said Sam Schwartz, President of Comcast Converged Products. “This is a new platform for continuous innovation and new product development. We are just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible and we look forward to working with industry leaders like these as we continue to evolve what it means to watch TV.”
Xfinity TV integrates technology, content and applications from industry leaders including:
This is the first of a series of products made possible by Xcalibur, an advanced application and video platform that uses cloud computing services in the Comcast network to bring new, more innovative television services to consumers, faster.
Mr. Roberts’ demonstration will be live streamed on June 16 beginning at 9 am CT/10 am ET at http://2011.thecableshow.com/live and on http://blog.comcast.com/. Video replays will be available on both sites following the June 16th presentation. Demos of this next generation Xfinity TV experience will also be available in the Comcast Cable booth (Booth #1201) at The Cable Show 2011 at McCormick Place in Chicago on June 16th.
About Comcast Corporation
Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK) (www.comcast.com) is one of the nation’s leading providers of entertainment, information and communications products and services. Comcast is principally involved in the operation of cable systems through Comcast Cable and in the development, production and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and other content for global audiences through NBCUniversal. Comcast Cable is one of the nation’s largest video, high-speed Internet and phone providers to residential and business customers. Comcast is the majority owner and manager of NBCUniversal, which owns and operates entertainment and news cable networks, the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, local television station groups, television production operations, a major motion picture company and theme parks.
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Jointly-developed multiscreen video platform unifies video management and delivery for scheduled and on-demand video services
Paris, France/ Seattle, WA – June 13, 2011 – Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext and NYSE: ALU) and thePlatform, a leading online video management and publishing company, today announced a strategic alliance to help cable and IPTV providers deliver a new generation of video services to their subscriber’s TVs, PCs, tablets, mobile phones and more.
The companies have jointly-developed a multiscreen video platform that supports the delivery of live scheduled TV, Video-on-Demand (VOD) and “TV Everywhere” services to a variety of screens, allowing pay-TV subscribers to access their video content in the home or on the go, on whichever device is most convenient to them at the time.
The solution offers advanced video management capabilities together with optimized video distribution through a content delivery network (CDN) deployed by the service provider. It also brings the security and reliability found today on TV set-top boxes to a broader range of devices.
Derrick Frost, SVP, Global IP Video Solutions at Alcatel-Lucent said: “Consumer demand for anywhere, anytime video services is exploding and our customers are looking for an edge. Alcatel-Lucent’s leadership in IPTV and content delivery networks, coupled with our strategic alliance with thePlatform provides a unique suite of capabilities that allow service providers to offer the best of traditional pay-TV and online video worlds to their customers.”
Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform observed: “In recent years, we’ve seen tremendous growth and innovation with online video, which is reshaping the future of TV. Our alliance with Alcatel-Lucent allows us to address the new opportunities and challenges facing TV service providers today. Expanding the use of our capabilities beyond online and mobile video to manage TV itself represents a significant new business opportunity for thePlatform. Alcatel-Lucent’s strong customer relationships and experience in the service provider space will help us reach a broader set of customers than was possible previously. Our joint solution will enable pay-TV providers to create groundbreaking consumer services that unify content delivery across any screen.”
The Alcatel-Lucent Multiscreen Video Platform is made up of three main components – Cloud, Content Delivery Network and Clients – each of which can be deployed individually, in combination, or as part of a comprehensive solution:
The two companies are currently working with a number of leading TV service providers on deployments. Additional information about thePlatform can be found at www.thePlatform.com. Additional information about Alcatel-Lucent’s Multiscreen Video Platform can be found at http://www.alcatel-lucent.com/multiscreen-video-platform.
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thePlatform’s mpx System Enables Cox Subscribers to Watch More Premium Shows and Movies Online
SEATTLE –– May 10, 2011 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, today announced that it was selected by Cox Communications, the third-largest U.S. cable TV company, to provide the back-end video management for Cox’s new video initiative, Cox TV Online.
Cox is using thePlatform’s mpx video publishing system, expanding upon thePlatform’s history of managing Cox’s video for Cox.com since 2008. This unique implementation enables programming networks to maintain the integrity of embedded custom video players on Cox’s website, while providing Cox subscribers with a unified search and discovery experience.
“Cox is committed to delivering our customers the best online video experience,” said Steve Gorman, vice president, converged services and user experience. “We are very pleased to have thePlatform play a key role in Cox’s TV Online offering.”
“thePlatform developed a smart media management platform that allows each of our customers to approach ‘TV Everywhere’ initiatives in their own way,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “One of the exciting aspects of this deployment is the ability to present unified content search and discovery across a variety of programmers’ video players. With mpx, Cox subscribers can watch premium video instantly, while the business policies and financial obligations between Cox and programmers are maintained.”
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices and TV. Media companies rely on thePlatform as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
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thePlatform’s video management system, mpx, now integrates Microsoft PlayReady DRM and adaptive streaming technologies; first joint deployment with Xfinity TV Online
REDMOND, Wash., and SEATTLE — April 8, 2011 — Microsoft Corp. and thePlatform today announced that the companies have integrated Microsoft’s leading digital media technologies, including Microsoft PlayReady and Internet Information Services (IIS) Smooth Streaming, into thePlatform’s mpx video management system. With this integration, premium video providers can deliver protected, high-definition (HD) Web video for both in-home and remote viewing experiences. The solution provides full offline and streaming capabilities across a broad ecosystem of devices spanning Windows-based PCs and Macs.
“Media companies and TV service providers are seeking protected, scalable, cross-platform solutions for publishing premium video,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of sales and marketing at thePlatform. “We’re very proud to work with Microsoft, which has established itself as a leader in the delivery of smooth, high-quality streaming and advanced content protection. Together, our integrated solution can offer our mutual customers a robust, high-quality viewing experience for their viewers around the world.”
“thePlatform is one of the leading online video management and publishing companies, and it offers us the ability to extend the reach of Microsoft technology to more network operators and content creators,” said Austen Mulinder, corporate vice president, Communications Sector at Microsoft. “At Microsoft, we seek out relationships with companies such as thePlatform to create opportunities for media and entertainment companies to innovate, differentiate and create new revenue streams and experiences across the PC, TV, phone and beyond.”
By implementing IIS Smooth Streaming, a feature of IIS Media Services, thePlatform’s customers can present optimal experiences based on available network bandwidth and device capabilities. IIS Smooth Streaming is a form of dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP for delivering live and on-demand content that adjusts video quality automatically and scales massively on content distribution networks. It provides a high-quality viewing experience, which can lead to longer engagement times and makes possible the delivery of full HD 1080p media experiences. thePlatform is also using Transform Manager, which is a server-side transformation engine built into IIS Media Services, to streamline production workflow for content companies by enabling solutions such as encoding once and simultaneously delivering multiple formats.
Microsoft PlayReady technology is widely supported in the industry and draws on the experience gained from more than a decade of investment that Microsoft has made in the development of digital rights management (DRM) technology. By offering Microsoft PlayReady, thePlatform offers content protection technology for publishers on Windows-based PCs and Macs. thePlatform’s support of Microsoft PlayReady underscores its benefits as a flexible, reliable and scalable content protection technology.
Comcast Interactive Media LLC is the first company to combine Microsoft PlayReady and IIS Smooth Streaming technology with thePlatform’s video management services, as part of Comcast’s Xfinity® TV service, which is available online through the company’s popular Xfinity TV app. The technologies are integrated as part of the On Demand video streaming feature on the iPad.
“We’re always looking at technologies that will help us deliver high-quality, premium video to a broad range of IP-connected devices,” said Charlie Herrin, senior vice president of product development and technology for Comcast Interactive Media. “This new, integrated solution from Microsoft and thePlatform supports our ongoing efforts to deliver great entertainment experiences for our customers on all screens and devices.”
Additional information about thePlatform is available at http://www.thePlatform.com. Additional information about Microsoft is available at http://www.microsoft.com.
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Introduced in late 2009 by Comcast as a means for subcribers to get a selection of their cable offerings on PC’s and mobile devices, there are new, significant opportunities emerging around the technology.
According to Marty Roberts, VP of thePlatform, the Seattle-based Comcast unit, a leading onilne video platform company which is deeply involved with “TV Everywhere,” this will soon allow broadcasters to stream content directly to digital devices.
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Remember when Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) insisted that it would play nice with others when it comes to Videoscape, and that its new cloud-based platform wouldn’t give it license to get its Borg on and take over a service provider’s entire TV ecosystem? (See CES 2011: Cisco Wants Videoscape to Play Nice.)
That position is being taken to task in Cisco’s first-ever Videoscape deployment. Telstra Corp. Ltd. (ASX: TLS; NZK: TLS) of Australia has tapped thePlatform Inc. , Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK)‘s media publishing unit, to provide the video-management layer for the operator’s newly expanded TV Everywhere (TVE) initiative.
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Telstra Customers to Benefit from Seamless Viewing Experience on Connected DevicesthePlatform’s mpx Video Management System to Manage Telstra’s BigPond Video for T-Box® Set-Top Box, Connected-TVs and Blu-ray players from LG Electronics and Samsung, and BigPond Web Portal
SEATTLE – Feb. 24, 2011 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company and independent subsidiary of Comcast, today announced that it was selected by Telstra to serve as the central video management system for Telstra’s BigPond TV service across IP-connected devices.
Telstra is using thePlatform’s mpx video management system to enable Australian consumers to easily access and enjoy high quality movies and television content across a broad range of devices.
With thePlatform providing a unified system for aggregating both linear and on-demand video from various content sources, formatting video content to different device specifications and centrally managing and publishing this content for multiple purposes, Telstra customers are able to effortlessly access and enjoy the highest quality content on the T-Box hybrid set-top box, connected-TVs and Blu-ray players from LG and Samsung, and the Web.
Furthermore, thePlatform’s solution will allow Telstra to continue to innovate its leading services over time as new business models, devices and consumer experiences evolve. The new multi-year deal significantly expands on a previous agreement between the two companies that was limited to BigPond’s Web-only movie service.
“BigPond TV gives Telstra customers across Australia the ability to watch a great range of content including sport, entertainment, movies and more on a wide range of devices and thePlatform’s mpx system provides us with the reliability, scalability, and flexibility that will help Telstra continue to deliver the next-generation of IPTV services to our customers,” Telstra’s Head of IPTV, Ben Kinealy said.
“Telstra is at the forefront of an emerging global trend among TV service providers,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “Service providers are looking for a more efficient means to manage and deliver premium video content across any screen. One of the key differences when delivering IP video to the TV, rather than a computer, is that consumers will have a higher expectation for reliability and quality. So, we are extremely proud that Telstra has selected mpx to play such a central role in managing video for Telstra’s advanced set-top boxes and beyond.”
thePlatform’s mpx video management and publishing system enables Telstra to deliver a hybrid live/on-demand IPTV service featuring BigPond TV (music videos, sports and news) and BigPond Movies (including pay-per-view). Channels available on the BigPond TV service include BigPond News, BigPond Sport News, V8 Supercars (motor racing channel), BigPond Music, with more sports and racing content through TVN, AFL and NRL.
thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
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Multi-device delivery represents a major shift for manufacturers
By George Winslow — Broadcasting & Cable, 2/14/2011 12:00:00 AM
If the push to offer more content on more devices promises to fundamentally change the networks used by multichannel providers to deliver TV programming into the home, it is an even bigger deal for equipment and software vendors.
The deployment of TV Everywhere services opens up a huge new sales opportunity. But it could also significantly change the mix of products and equipment those vendors will be supplying, making software and cloud-based services more important and potentially reducing the central place that set-top boxes have long had in cable operations.
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SKY Relies on thePlatform “TV Everywhere” Solution to Manage Subscriber Authentication and Playback Authorization of Premium Shows for Paid Subscribers
SEATTLE and AUCKLAND, New Zealand – Feb. 1, 2011 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, today announced that it was selected by SKY Television, the largest pay television broadcasting service in New Zealand, to provide the back-end video management for the iSKY online TV service. The new iSKY service is currently available to SKY subscribers and provides the opportunity to view their favorite programs and movies on their computers.
iSKY content is based on subscribers’ existing TV packages and features live streaming channels including: Sky News New Zealand, CNN and Sky Sports channels. On-demand content is also available including “catch-up” TV episodes and movies. In addition to these free online services to existing SKY subscribers, the iSKY portal offers thousands of movie titles and TV episodes for rent on a pay-per-view basis.
“Our primary focus for the iSKY service is to provide a seamless entertainment experience for our subscribers,” said John Fellet, CEO for SKY Television. “thePlatform’s proven expertise in supporting large ‘TV Everywhere’ deployments in North America made them the right choice to deliver the scale required to support our back-end video management. The mpx publishing system is easy to use and allows us the flexibility and reliability to ensure that each of our customers logging into iSKY are able to watch the shows and movies of their particular SKY subscription package.”
“SKY Television is at the forefront of innovation by bringing their subscribers a vast library of premium video into a unified customer experience,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “We are very proud to have been selected to provide the central back-end logistics necessary to make iSKY easy for SKY Television and for their customers, and we look forward to supporting their future endeavors.”
thePlatform’s, cloud-based, mpx video management system serves as the central hub for SKY TV’s content partners for publishing video to the iSKY website. SKY is using thePlatform’s “TV Everywhere” solution to authenticate subscribers on iSKY and authorize online playback on individual videos based on a user’s paid TV subscription package.
SKY Television’s broadband partnerships thus far include Vodafone, Orcon, Slingshot, Farmside, Xnet, Woosh, Snap and WIZwireless. SKY subscribers who have one of these internet service providers (ISPs) will be able to take advantage of unmetered plans – iSKY viewing will not count toward users’ monthly data allowance on these ISPs. For more information on iSKY, visit www.isky.co.nz.
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices and TV. Media companies rely on thePlatform as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments. For additional information about thePlatform, visit www.thePlatform.com.
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SAN JOSE, Calif. and SEATTLE, Wash. — Jan. 25, 2011 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) and thePlatform today announced a new alliance aimed at providing enhanced solutions for the delivery of online and mobile content with secure video management and publishing services for media publishers utilizing the Adobe® Flash® Platform. As part of the alliance, the companies will integrate the power of thePlatform’s mpx video management system with the Adobe Flash Platform leveraging Adobe Flash Access software – a content protection and monetization solution for online video, HTTP Dynamic Streaming for expanded content delivery options, and a simplified video management interface providing a complete toolset to publish secure premium video online and to mobile devices.
“People are clamoring to watch content on their favorite device, whenever and wherever they want,” said Ian Blaine, chief executive officer, thePlatform. “However, media companies have to enforce content rights, business polices, and monetization models, while making it appear seamless to consumers. Adobe is a global leader in online video, and our new alliance will deliver a comprehensive set of tools to address the issues and opportunities facing our mutual customers.”
“At Adobe, we are committed to working with partners to develop solutions that enhance video workflows across a wide range of devices and platforms,” said Pritham Shetty, vice president of video solutions, Adobe. “The alliance with thePlatform, a leading video management and publishing services provider, is consistent with our strategy of helping video professionals extend the Flash Platform and make the most of their premium content.”
“The alliance of thePlatform and Adobe will result in a significant upgrade of the video management and distribution capabilities for our online video products,” said John Vartanian, chief technology officer, iN DEMAND. “With the addition of these cutting-edge technologies, iN DEMAND will be able to provide our affiliates with secure, high-quality streaming video delivery.”
Extending Video Workflows with Joint Collaborations
The top 10 video sites in the United States use Adobe Flash technology, making it the number one format for viewing video on the Web*. By leveraging thePlatform’s video management system, which serves numerous media companies and five of the largest TV service providers in the North America, publishers utilizing Flash Access can take advantage of new integrated features that provide a robust and flexible solution for protecting premium content that supports a variety of business models, including video-on-demand, subscription, electronic sell-through and rental. Integrated with HTTP dynamic streaming, this solution also enables an optimized user experience by adapting delivery to the available bandwidth.
For mobile publishing, the companies have collaborated to provide significant integration so users can have an easy-to-use experience on touch screen devices. Utilizing support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1, thePlatform’s solution detects when consumers are accessing video from mobile devices running Google’s Android 2.2 “Froyo” and reconfigures thePlatform’s video player.
The joint collaboration also includes integration with thePlatform’s mpx video management and publishing system so customers can use the Open Source Media Framework (OSMF) with thePlatform’s Feeds Service to deliver video into various playback environments.
Additionally, thePlatform’s mpx video management console is built using Adobe Flash Builder™ 4 software and includes an Adobe AIR® client for file uploads allowing customers to upload, manage, and publish video with a simple and intuitive Web-based interface.
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LAS VEGAS – A clear message that anytime, anywhere video content is destined for delivery over multiple platforms, most notably smartphones and tablets, buzzed the halls during early sessions of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas.
Buoyed by Cisco’s announcement of its five-part Videoscape media suite, which includes Media Gateway, IP set-top boxes, software clients, Media Suite and Conductor, panelists at three key sessions concluded that smartphones and tablets are gaining momentum as video delivery systems.
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Jan. 25, 10-10:45 a.m.
NATPE 2011 – Miami, FL
Digital: Innovating Video Delivery to the Home
We are watching more video online and via over the top technologies such as Rokus, Apple TV, XBox and other services. Apple just rebooted its Apple TV strategy and now Google has jumped into the fray with Google TV. As this area continues to grow exponentially in revenue and consumer adoption, what will the changing video habits mean for TV programmers, studios and networks? How must they adapt and adjust to these innovations in video delivery? Who has the most to gain and who has the most to lose as alternate delivery of TV takes off?
Jim Funk, VP, Business Development, Roku, Inc.
Marty Roberts, VP, Sales & Marketing, thePlatform
Andres Palmiter, Online Video Specialist, comScore
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One of the major challenges for Pay TV operators today is to develop TV Everywhere services that provide their subscribers with access to programming online and especially on-demand. Two models have developed for how the video is aggregated online: one where a service provider ingests, aggregates, stores and plays out the content provided by its content partners, and the other where a programmer manages its own online video portal and subscribers are effectively referred to that site from the Pay TV operator.
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Read Marty’s comments on web video distribution in Light Reading’s latest piece, “Time Warner Cable Hints at Video CDN Plan”.
NEW ORLEANS — CTAM Summit 2010 — Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) is developing a video-optimized content distribution network (CDN) that will store all the MSO’s on-demand content in two master locations before pushing titles out to regional and division locations.
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Online video publishing company thePlatform has taken its mpx video management system out of beta testing and formally released it. The move is notable mpx will make it easier to deliver more content to more devices and because thePlatform, which is an independent subsidiary of Comcast, plays a key role in the TV Everywhere initiatives of a number of major MSOs.
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A glimpse at some of the most interesting lessons learned so far.For nearly a year now, thePlatform has been supporting some of the largest TV Everywhere initiatives to date. In that time, we’ve encountered some surprising – as well as anticipated – challenges while helping our customers architect TV Everywhere. The following is a glimpse at some of the most interesting lessons learned so far in working with programmers and service providers to bring their TV Everywhere initiatives to market.
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Enhancements to mpx Beta Publishing System Include New Tools for Creating and Managing Video Feeds, Advertising Policies, and Advanced Content Restrictions
Company Publishes New Security White Paper on Best-case Practices, Including Securing Content Assets Through the Entire Video Management Lifecycle, From Ingest to Playback
SEATTLE – Aug. 3, 2010 – Media companies and content owners face an expanding challenge trying to publish their video assets across multiple devices with varying rights restrictions and advertising obligations. Today, thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, launched a suite of new features to enhance its customers’ ability to enforce video business policies, monetization models, and content restrictions using the company’s mpx Beta video management system.
Specifically, mpx Beta now includes new tools for creating and managing curated video feeds, integrated support for applying advertising policies, and additional capabilities to enforce viewing restrictions for TV shows, live events, movies, clips, and more. In addition, the company published a new security white paper on best- practices, including methods of securing content between storage and the CDN (content delivery network), and in various playback scenarios.
“Today’s fractured video environment requires content owners to juggle an expanding list of requirements to deliver and protect their assets,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of sales and marketing for thePlatform. “The new enhancements to mpx Beta provide our customers with robust, flexible, and secure tools to protect and monetize their growing premium video libraries across a multitude of devices and platforms.”
Introduced by thePlatform earlier this year, mpx Beta offers features to make managing large content libraries easier; versatile tools to enable more business models across an ever-expanding number of websites, mobile devices, and set-top-boxes; and a continuing commitment to enterprise class performance. The new enhancements to mpx Beta features include:
Feeds provide instant presentations of the playable content catalog, including metadata such as title, descriptions, and thumbnails. The new Feeds service in mpx Beta provides additional capabilities to give content owners more power and flexibility over how content is presented. Specifically, mpx Beta customers can set editorially and dynamic playlists within the feed. Customers can increase their video views by pinning popular content to the top of the playlist and promoting additional videos based on what’s new or a content category.
Customers using Feeds to syndicate their video to partners can also use mpx Beta to apply advertising policies and restrictions to all the content in the feed. This ensures the right ads are played for partners and that content delivery requests are limited to the syndication partner.
Many shows, especially sporting events, have specific, location-based viewing restrictions associated with them that content owners need to manage online in order to comply with content rights obligations. Previously, thePlatform enabled customers to set broad geo-restrictions, but the new mpx Beta enables customers to set much more granular policies.
For example, with mpx Beta customers can now restrict content viewing by country, region, metro code, city, area code, postal code, and set blackout areas for specific audiences within those regions. mpx Beta also gives customers the ability to restrict content by expiration date, referring domain, IP address, and keys. Customers can apply restrictions on content as a global account default, within feeds or on individual videos.
Advertising policies establish a set of rules, settings, and connections to advertising sources to ensure video content is monetized properly. mpx Beta enables customers to create and manage multiple advertising policies within the mpx Beta console, streamlining and simplifying the workflow.
With mpx Beta, customers can set policies to call primary and secondary (failover) advertising providers, providing access to a larger selection of ad inventory for any given show or video clip. mpx Beta enables customers to configure specific ad policy settings for advertising bumpers, pre-rolls, mid-rolls, and post-rolls. Customers can also use the console to set the number of ads to appear in any video, the frequency of ads, and whether users can skip ads or not. thePlatform’s new advertising policy management features are integrated with a wide variety of advertising company partners.
thePlatform also added additional capabilities to mpx Beta today, with full details available at www.thePlatform.com.
Concurrent with today’s announcement, thePlatform published a free, new white paper outlining best practices to secure content at both the media file and playback levels. The white paper discusses security considerations for storage, content delivery, feeds, URL tokens, availability windows, IP addresses, geo-restrictions, domain referrals, device identification, digital rights management (DRM), and entitlements.
Separately, thePlatform also announced today that it was selected by the Outdoor Channel to manage the programmer’s online video publishing efforts. Additional details about that announcement can be found here.
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices and TV. Media companies rely on thePlatform as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
In order to support the increasingly complex needs of customers to manage cross-platform video publishing, thePlatform provides robust customer support, including professional services, account management, and industry-leading 24/7 technical support.
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America’s Leader in Outdoor TV Utilizes thePlatform’s New mpx Beta System to Manage Video and Video Player Technology to Create Custom Viewing Experiences for Consumers on OutdoorChannel.com
SEATTLE – Aug. 3, 2010 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, announced that its mpx Beta video management system has been chosen to manage and publish online video for Outdoor Channel’s popular website, OutdoorChannel.com. In addition, the network is using thePlatform’s video player technology, including features for sharing video across social networks.
Outdoor Channel, America’s leader in outdoor TV, broadcasts prominent outdoor programs focused on hunting, fishing, shooting, off-roading, adventure, and conservation. The network is available through a multitude of cable, satellite and telco providers across the United States, reaching 36 million homes, according to Nielsen Media Research. OutdoorChannel.com, Outdoor Channel’s comprehensive online platform, is the premier digital destination for outdoor enthusiasts, offering in-depth show and host pages, useful information on state hunting and fishing licenses and destinations, and an interactive community section where fans can connect and share their passion. The centerpiece of OutdoorChannel.com is a state-of-the-art broadband video player that enables users to watch an extensive library of thousands of videos – the majority in an HD viewing experience.
“Our website is an established community hub for our fans, where they can view clips of their favorite outdoor shows, like Savage Wild, Duck Commander, or Jim Zumbo Outdoors, and discover new shows, such as Buck Commander, Field & Stream’s Gun Nuts, and Dream Season Celebrity,” said Todd Merkow, president of digital media at Outdoor Channel. “OutdoorChannel.com is currently attracting approximately one million unique visitors per month. thePlatform’s proven video publishing system will provide us with a simpler, scalable and robust back-end to serve our viewers’ appetite for our authentic outdoor content.”
“Outdoor Channel is a recognized leader in creating and delivering video content for outdoor enthusiasts,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of sales and marketing at thePlatform. “mpx Beta will serve as an efficient online video platform as their content library grows and their audience increases.”
In addition to using thePlatform’s centralized video management system, mpx Beta, Outdoor Channel is also utilizing the social media capabilities of thePlatform’s video player. The player includes 10 integrations with leading social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, Digg, Yahoo! Buzz, and provides Outdoor Channel with the flexibility to add more.
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices and TV. Media companies rely on thePlatform as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America, including the largest “TV Everywhere” deployments.
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TV Everywhere is out of the starting blocks, but there are more miles to cover for cross-platform applications.
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Company to Provide Support for Google TV When New Service Launches
SEATTLE – June 23, 2010 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, announced today that its video publishing system can enable customers to publish video across a wider range of popular over-the-top (OTT) services and IP-connected set-top boxes, TVs and Blu-ray Players. With a decade of experience managing cross-platform video publishing initiatives for leading media and entertainment companies, thePlatform outlined its intent to help customers leverage the expanding number of IP-connected home entertainment systems, including the upcoming Google TV platform.
According to The Diffusion Group’s (TDG) report, Broadband-Enabled TV: Evolution of OTT Hardware Platforms, more than 360 million households worldwide will own the components necessary to enjoy OTT video services on their TVs by 2014 – across games consoles, Blu-ray Players, hybrid set-top boxes, Internet set-top boxes, media-centric PCs, and networked digital TVs. Today, thePlatform enables hundreds of media companies to publish and monetize billions of professionally produced video views annually across PCs, TVs and mobile phones. While the majority of the video managed by thePlatform is now delivered to PCs, thePlatform expects that mix to shift dramatically in the coming years with the advancement of more IP-connected devices in the home and more video-centric mobile devices.
“Media and entertainment companies are looking well beyond today’s PCs and conventional set-top-boxes to reach their audiences,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “At the end of the day, our customers produce and distribute compelling video that they want to monetize, and it’s our job to alleviate the complexity to make that happen across any device or platform. Our support for these OTT services is just the beginning, and we look forward to assisting our customers’ efforts across any number of next-generation, IP-connected devices.”
“Boxee’s mission is to create the best experience for enjoying TV shows, movies, and video from the Internet on a TV, no matter what the source,” said Avner Ronen, CEO and co-founder, Boxee. “This new relationship with thePlatform means that media and entertainment companies can now easily add Boxee as a distribution point to expand their audiences and generate more revenue from advertising and rentals/purchases.”
mpx Beta Publishing Profiles, Feeds Service, and Player Development Kit: Support for OTT
Unlike other video management systems, thePlatform’s mpx Beta allows customers to upload multiple media files simultaneously and easily distribute video to websites, mobile phones and other IP-connected devices with a few simple clicks. For example, thePlatform was the first online video publishing company to introduce a profile for the newly released Apple® iPad™ back in February of this year. Today, the company unveiled publishing profiles for several new OTT platforms and stated its readiness to support publishing profiles for Google TV when that service launches.
mpx Beta uses a unique and highly efficient, non-linear “publishing profile” approach that considers a video’s destination point first – in effect, reversing the common workflow for video publishing. Once configured, this “smart publishing” methodology automates the required steps for video management, including file creation, transcoding, thumbnail generation and more. In the end, this intuitive design eases video publishing requirements, simplifies the process, and makes the system more accessible to a broader set of users.
In addition, customers can use thePlatform’s Feeds Service to deliver video into various playback environments and thePlatform’s Player Development Kit (PDK) to build their own HTML5- or Flash-based experiences for consumers.
With today’s announcement, thePlatform has enabled premium video management and publishing to the following OTT services, catering to the varying software and hardware offerings by each:
thePlatform currently provides online video management services to numerous programmers, leading media companies, and five of the top cable TV service providers in North America. In order to support the increasingly complex needs of customers to manage cross-platform video publishing, thePlatform provides robust customer support, including professional services, account management, and industry-leading 24/7 technical support.
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SEATTLE – May 20, 2010 – Comcast Media Center and thePlatform today announced that they have collaborated with Nielsen to validate that their online video publishing solutions successfully preserve Nielsen’s audio watermarks, allowing online publishing of premium, ad-supported video content. Nielsen’s ratings system uses these watermarks to measure audiences for both video programming and commercials. This system provides the C3 ratings, which are the basis for the majority of television advertising negotiations, and will be extended to video viewing on the Internet this fall. This validation is the next logical step in advancing longer-term efforts to provide multi-platform audience measurement for media and entertainment companies served by thePlatform and Comcast Media Center.
thePlatform’s mpx video management and publishing system will allow networks interested in participating in “TV Everywhere” initiatives to distribute their content online, so that Nielsen can measure eligible cable, telco, and satellite video customers who access video programming via the Web.
“The combined capabilities of thePlatform and the CMC represent a fast, seamless and effective means for television networks and their advertisers to measure the ‘TV Everywhere’ audience, which continues to grow as a result of consumer demand for shows they can watch both when and where they wish,” said Gary Traver, senior vice president and chief operating officer of Comcast Media Center.
“Media companies are now wholeheartedly embracing multi-platform video distribution, and they want to make sure that their viewers are counted in the C3 ratings,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “Confirmation that the Nielsen watermarks flow through the CMC process is a critical step to realizing this cross-platform goal.”
For this initial implementation, thePlatform and CMC have developed a streamlined process to deliver national television shows to the Web:
Both companies will continue to work with Nielsen as it introduces the Extended Screen ratings program to the industry later this year.
For more information about this new online commercial measurement capability, visit www.thePlatform.com. For specific details about Comcast Media Center visit www.comcastmediacenter.com. For specific details about The Nielsen Company visit www.nielsen.com.
About Comcast Media Center
Denver-based Comcast Media Center (CMC), a subsidiary of Comcast Cable, provides centralized content management and distribution solutions for cable systems, video content providers and advertisers. More information about the CMC is available at www.comcastmediacenter.com.
Comcast and Comcast Media Center are trademarks or registered trademarks of Comcast. Other trade names used in this document are acknowledged to be the properties of their respective owners.
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thePlatform’s SXSW panelists are professionals in the children’s media industry. They met to discuss challenges and solutions for this diverse and growing niche audience, and what methods and technologies have brought them success. If you would like more information on navigating the children’s media space, send us a note.
Date: Tuesday, March 16th
Time: 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Where: SXSW Conference, Austin, TX
Silvia Lovato Director, PBS KIDS GO! Interactive
Silvia Lovato is the director of the PBS KIDS GO! Web site (http://pbskidsgo.org), PBS’s Web destination for elementary school kids, where she works with media producers in the creation of fun, interactive, educational content for children. Silvia started out in online news and has been a Web producer for over 12 years. She came to PBS in 2000, after completing an MA program in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University. Silvia is originally from Brazil and is interested in how public media ideas and educational resources can be shared across borders.
Dan Manco Sr. Vice President – Digital Media, 4Kids Entertainment
James Milward Executive Producer, Secret Location
Marty Roberts Vice President – Marketing, thePlatform
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Email us today to set up a meeting!
Enables online audiences of media companies to embed and share premium online video across leading social networks Lets consumers easily share clips or segments of premium video and maintains business relationships between content owners and advertisers Available to customers of thePlatform through Player Development Kit 4.2
SEATTLE and SAN FRANCISCO – March 3, 2010 – At the “TV of Tomorrow Show 2010” today in San Francisco, thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, unveiled a new social media player enabling media companies to embed and share premium online video across leading social networks. In addition, thePlatform’s newest Player Development Kit (PDK 4.2) provides standard features that enable consumers to more easily share their favorite clips of premium online video, while preserving the financial obligations between content owners, advertisers and distributors.
“With the right tools in place, media companies can embrace the notion of consumers becoming the best distributors of their video,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “With our new Player Development Kit, audiences can clip and share a favorite portion of video with a few simple clicks. Historically, there has been some resistance from traditional media companies to fully empower consumers to share their videos across social networks because of the need to maintain some control over branding and monetization. Our video management system gives them this control. The advertisements can travel with their virally syndicated content, no matter where it has been embedded.”
Customers who use thePlatform’s new PDK 4.2 will be able to place their entire video player experience – with all of its features, add-ins and components – into a single Adobe Flash file for embedding into social networks, blogs, and affiliate sites. Customers can immediately launch video players that are pre-integrated with 10 leading social media sites. Customers can also easily expand to more social media sites by using thePlatform’s fully documented APIs.
The pre-integrated social media sites include:
Users can also share video with simple e-mail-to-a-friend features, RSS feeds and embeddable links. In addition, thePlatform’s Community Toolkit enables consumers to comment, rate, tag and create favorites via their players. For Twitter, thePlatform has added additional features including support for automatically adding hash tags based on the video’s metadata and short URLs generation to simplify the experience for consumers.
The new social media player also lets consumers legally share specific sections of a video in a manner that preserves the financial obligations between content owners and advertisers.
“One of the most common types of messages when consumers Tweet or e-mail about an online video is to include a note like, ‘Watch what happens at 2 minutes into the video – it’s hilarious,’” continued Blaine. “Our new social media player provides a win-win for consumers and our customers. Consumers can embed and share the portion of the video that most interests them, but the content owner maintains the ability to show advertising and keep the integrity of the financial model.”
“There’s no question that sharing and other social media capabilities are becoming increasingly important features for video players, and that’s also true on AP’s Online Video Network,” said Bill Burke, global director, Online Video Products, Associated Press. “Right now, we’re building enhanced players for our 1500-affiliate network, and having these features as a standard part of thePlatform’s tool set means faster and less costly player development—a real long-term benefit.”
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Two core products, mpx Beta and mpx Dev Kit, designed to deliver an unmatched combination of efficiency and scalability
SEATTLE – Feb. 2, 2010 – SEATTLE – Feb. 2, 2010 – For the past decade, thePlatform has been at the forefront of the online video industry, managing high profile, cross-platform initiatives for some the world’s most recognized media companies and brands. Today, concurrent with the company’s 10th anniversary, thePlatform launched mpx Beta, a radically re-engineered video management system designed to deliver an unmatched combination of efficiency and scalability for publishing online video. In addition, the company unveiled a complementary mpx Dev Kit for companies seeking to enhance and extend their online video platform capabilities.
mpx Beta includes an entirely new and intuitive console for managing video assets; dramatically simplified and faster processes to publish large video libraries across the Web, mobile devices, and set-top-boxes; and advanced personalization features. In addition, the new publishing system is built on a new service oriented architecture (SOA) that provides additional reliability and scalability.
“We’re resetting the bar today,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “Our job is to anticipate and provide solutions that enable our customers to evolve their video businesses in the years ahead. mpx represents the culmination of all of our learning over the past 10 years, and we’ve applied the full resources of the company to develop an easy, streamlined and robust new system to meet the increasingly complex needs of the market.”
Several of mpx Beta’s capabilities represent a marked departure from the conventional approaches traditionally used by “white-label” video service providers. For example, most online video platforms use a basic, linear process for managing and publishing video on an individual basis. While this standard approach was sufficient during the formative years of the online video industry, mpx Beta delivers more efficient and time-saving methods to serve companies with extensive video libraries, syndication requirements and increasingly complex needs.
Unlike other systems, mpx Beta allows customers to upload multiple media files simultaneously and easily distribute video to Web sites, mobile phones and other IP devices – including the newly released Apple iPad. mpx Beta also uses a new and highly efficient, non-linear “publishing profile” that considers a video’s destination point first – in effect, reversing the common workflow. This unique “smart publishing” methodology automates the required steps for video management, including file creation, transcoding, thumbnail generation and more. In the end, this intuitive design eases video publishing requirements, simplifies the process, and makes the system more accessible to a broader set of users.
“As the online on-demand video market matures, thePlatform is continuing to move with the times with the launch of mpx Beta and mpx Dev Kit,” said Adrian Drury, principal analyst, Media, Broadcast and Telecoms, Ovum. “mpx Beta delivers important user interface and content management enhancements that will help content owners and programmers respond to a growing number of channels and platforms, and enable a wider range of non-technical editors and service managers to use thePlatform’s ingest and publishing tools. As for the mpx Dev Kit, if there is a truth in the OVP market, it is that the technical and business requirements of no two media companies are the same. The Dev Kit makes thePlatform’\‘s 10 years of experience in this market available as a library of APIs, and this creates some exciting opportunities for process automation and service innovation. The premium Web video market is growing but the supply chain is becoming more complex. thePlatform is building on its heritage to provide an enhanced set of tools to meet this challenge.”
mpx Beta enables customers to efficiently manage large video libraries more efficiently with personalized user workflows and smart publishing profiles for easy distribution to Web sites, mobile phones and IP-connected devices. Key features include:
mpx Dev Kit offers programmatic capabilities to manage the complete video publishing lifecycle with standardized APIs, complete documentation and extensive code samples. It enables customers to access the underlying services of mpx Beta to extend its capabilities. Features include:
Underlying mpx Beta and the mpx Dev Kit is a new service-oriented architecture (SOA) in which each feature is created based upon its task within the larger whole, resulting in greater reliability and easier scalability for customers. Any media objects added, changed, or managed in thePlatform’s legacy media publishing system (mps) will seamlessly be reflected in mpx Beta, without additional system or service deployments. Customers can use mpx Beta with the wide variety of other online video tools offered by thePlatform (mps) and its ecosystem of partners. These services include optimized content delivery network (CDN) policies, advertising campaign system integration, support for all major video playback technologies such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and others, reporting capabilities and more.
mpx Beta and mpx Dev Kit are being offered to existing customers at no additional charge, and additional features and capabilities will be added throughout the year. In addition, thePlatform provides robust customer support, including professional services, account management, and industry-leading 24/7 technical support.
“Ten years ago there were many questions about how video would be delivered, monetized and consumed,” said Blaine. “We formed our company on the premise that those questions would be answered differently by the individual customers we serve, and we built a platform designed to address them. Today, these same questions remain, but our ability to answer them has expanded dramatically. In 2010 and beyond, consumers will be watching more video with longer durations across an evolving ecosystem of devices. Our customers, in turn, want to reach larger audiences to drive revenues and increase brand loyalty. mpx will enable them to address this growing opportunity in the years ahead.”
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Company provides new features to enable consumers with TV subscriptions to watch more of their shows online
SEATTLE – Nov. 18, 2009 – Programming networks face an increasing number of technical options and requirements as they evaluate their “TV Everywhere” plans. Today, thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, announced a new suite of features designed to enable programmers to provide “TV Everywhere” capabilities on their own Web sites, while preserving their financial and content rights arrangements with TV service providers.
“In a world where multiple service providers offer multiple subscription packages on multiple platforms, programmers need a simple, flexible solution that helps reduce complexity and meet the expectations of their service provider partners and consumers,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “This is a natural enhancement of a very successful business model between programmers and TV service providers. Consumers win because there will be far more online video than ever before, and both programmers and service providers win because they can extend their video to the Web in a secure manner.”
To date, most of the public discussion about “TV Everywhere” has focused on the “authentication” of subscribers, in other words, how a programmer’s Web site knows whether an individual consumer is a subscriber to a particular TV service provider. thePlatform’s solution addresses that challenge and then adds the capability to validate and authorize the playback of individual shows. In addition, the company supports adaptive content discovery and monetization policies to support various business policies between programmers and service providers, and offers a range of other tools to improve online viewing for consumers.
The initial challenge for programmers’ Web sites is to authenticate a consumer is a subscriber to a particular TV service provider. Complicating matters are the various back-end billing systems used by TV service providers. Today, thePlatform introduced a new Authentication Adapter service as part of its media publishing system (mps). The Authentication Adapter will act as a proxy that can authenticate consumers for programmers for the numerous TV service providers’ billing systems. With this adapter, thePlatform will manage the complex cross-referencing and interface required from the various companies involved.
Once a consumer is authenticated as a subscriber, programmers need a mechanism to authorize playback of each show based on the consumer’s subscription package. To accomplish this, thePlatform maps each individual video to each service provider’s channels. By connecting the consumer to a list of approved channel IDs and each video to its channel ID, thePlatform’s video management system can provide robust and flexible authorization tools necessary for “TV Everywhere” video playback. Within milliseconds, thePlaform’s system can verify alignment between the video, the TV service provider’s channel lineup, and the consumer’s subscription package; ensure that media rights associated with individual shows – such as airdates, geographic restrictions, and other business polices – are enforced; and re-verify that the consumer is still an active customer of the TV service provider. This approach will ensure that consumers can start watching their video instantly, while the business policies and financial obligations between programmers and service providers are maintained.
Programmers also need flexibility when it comes to personalizing their video Web sites for consumers based on business arrangements with TV service providers. For example, if a consumer visits a programmer’s Web site and searches for a particular show that isn’t included in their TV subscription package, service providers have a choice of what to present to the consumer. These options include: constraining the search results to only those videos the consumer is allowed to watch; providing full search results with an up-sell opportunity to subscribe to a premium subscription package; or offering a pay-per-view option for that online show, similar to today’s TV video on demand (VOD) systems. thePlatform’s “TV Everywhere” solution serves as the source of standardized content access rules across service providers, providing programmers with the versatility to support these various scenarios.
In addition, thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) provides programmers with a wide variety of other online video tools, including comprehensive video management, optimized content delivery network (CDN) policies, advertising campaign system integration, support for all major video playback technologies such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, Move Networks, and others, reporting capabilities and more.
Media companies use thePlatform’s mps as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to four of the top five U.S. cable TV service providers, numerous programmers, and other leading media companies. thePlatform is also managing the back-end for Comcast’s On Demand Online trial in conjunction with numerous programming networks.
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"thePlatform Touts "Tv Everywhere" Solution to Programmers" - Broadcasting & Cable
Acudeo ad policy integration from Tremor Media provides simplified means to manage multiple advertising systems, and meet customers’ evolving needs
SEATTLE – Oct. 6, 2009 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, and Tremor Media, the leading online video media company, have partnered to introduce a new set of comprehensive advertising management features for online video as part of thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps). The new Acudeo ad policy and management tools are designed to help publishers increase their advertising revenue, while decreasing the complexity of managing a vast ecosystem of advertising partners.
With thePlatform’s newly integrated Acudeo ad policies, companies with premium online video sites can now manage advertising policies, patterns, formats, and delivery in a single, easy-to-use interface. The new features will serve established companies seeking to integrate multiple advertising networks, or companies building new video sites that want a high-degree of flexibility and adaptability.
“For many professional online video sites, managing advertising policies can be a major headache,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of marketing for thePlatform. “It’s often a very fragmented and complex process. Our new features, however, are specifically designed to simplify our customers’ lives so they can focus on how to best generate revenue for their video.”
“We are thrilled that thePlatform selected Acudeo as their ad management platform to empower publishers with a seamless solution for monetizing video inventory,” said Jason Glickman, CEO of Tremor Media. “Our expanded partnership with thePlatform further demonstrates the value Acudeo brings to the market and validates the need for a single-source inventory management and monetization solution for video publishers”.
Customers can take advantage of an intuitive and easy-to-use control panel to set up and execute video ad policies. The new features offer a comprehensive menu of advertising policy management benefits, including the ability to:
Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. Customers of thePlatform have the option to easily add the Tremor Media ad network as part of the new Acudeo ad policy management and monetization tools.
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thePlatform to manage two key online video initiatives for Big Ten Network
SEATTLE – Sept. 29, 2009 – Today, thePlatform, the leading white-label video management company, announced that it has been selected to manage and publish online video for the Big Ten Network. Specifically, thePlatform will provide centralized back-end management support for two major video initiatives, one aimed at serving international audiences outside the U.S. and Canada, and the other serving domestic sports fans.
The Big Ten Network, a joint venture between Fox Cable Networks and subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference, is the first nationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. For international fans, the Big Ten Network will utilize thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) to manage the Big Ten Network’s new international streaming package, the “Big Ten Ticket.” All televised Big Ten Network football and men’s basketball games will be available live and on-demand online to viewers living outside of the United States, Canada and the Caribbean on www.BigTenTicket.com. The Big Ten Network will televise between 35-40 football games and 105 regular season men’s basketball games, plus three Big Ten Tournament games, in 2009-10.
For North American audiences, thePlatform’s media publishing system will also support the Big Ten Network’s webcast of a wide-range of other sports video for the fans of the University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, and University of Wisconsin.
“We are expanding our online video efforts to serve the fans of the Big Ten Network worldwide,” said Michael Calderon, director of new media for Big Ten Network. “thePlatform has a proven history of managing large and complex video offerings for many leading content companies, and we believe their system gives us the flexibility, scalability, and ability to monetize video in the way that we need.”
“The Big Ten Network is already the place for fans to stay connected to their favorite teams and sports content within millions of households across the US,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of marketing for thePlatform. “We’re very proud to have been chosen to help them deliver more of their incredible library of collegiate sports video to online audiences around the world.”
thePlatform publishes video, and other media, to PCs, mobile devices, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually.
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Popular travel site to utilize thePlatform to publish and syndicate video across the web and mobile
Seattle, Wash. – September 15 – Today, thePlatform, the leading white-label video management company, announced that it has been selected by Travel Channel Media to manage and publish broadband video across both web and mobile destinations. Travel Channel Media is the premier channel for travel-related content, both on television and the web, serving an aggregated audience of more than 94 million U.S. cable homes and two million unique web visitors per month.
Travel Channel Media will utilize thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) to manage the distribution and playback of short form programming, including original video and clips from popular shows such as: Travel Channel’s Man v. Food, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Ghost Adventures, Samantha Brown’s Passport Series, and Dhani Tackles the Globe. In addition to broadband video publishing, thePlatform will also manage the network’s syndication efforts to third-party web destinations and mobile sites including: MSN Video, iTunes Podcast, YouTube, Comcast’s The Fan, as well as the mobile video services of Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel. Travel Channel Media is also utilizing thePlatform’s video player to create custom, interactive viewing experiences for their audiences.
“Due to the diverse viewing habits of our consumers, we want to broadly distribute our programs in order to reach the maximum number of viewers,” said Drew Frederick, Sr. Director, IT & Technology at Travel Channel Media. “We turned to thePlatform because of their vast experience in supporting wide spread syndication for online and mobile which allows us to quickly expand our advertising reach and grow our audience.”
“Travel Channel Media is widely viewed as one of the principal destinations for travel-related content, and we’re proud to support their broadband and mobile video efforts,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “As their publishing needs grew increasingly complex, we were able to step in and help them distribute their content widely, increasing their brand exposure and the number of opportunities to monetize their content library.”
thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually.
About Travel Channel Media
Travel Channel Media is an integrated travel media business, and is wholly owned by Cox Communications, Inc., a leading multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company. Travel Channel Media includes: the Travel Channel television network, available in 94 million U.S. cable homes; Travel Channel HD™, the network’s high-definition simulcast; travelchannel.com, the network’s broadband travel hub; Travel Channel’s video-on-demand (VOD) and HD VOD offerings; its mobile content platform, Travel Channel GO™; World Hum (worldhum.com), a leading online travel blog; and FlightDeck™, an innovative content-sharing and advertising network for online publishers and advertisers.
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New partners join thePlatform Framework from across the online video ecosystem including: advertising, content delivery, syndication, analytics, and more
SEATTLE – Sept. 10, 2009 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, today announced that more than 20 new companies have recently joined thePlatform Framework, the company’s extensive partner program. The vast majority of these newly integrated partner solutions are currently in production or trial with customers of thePlatform. With today’s announcement, thePlatform’s open media publishing system (mps) now has an even broader menu of pre-integrated service and technology choices to serve the professional online video market.
More than 80 companies now participate in thePlatform Framework, which spans the entire ecosystem of online video, including: advertising campaign management systems, ad sales networks, analytics and reporting, content delivery networks, content protection, media formats, transcoding engines, payment processors, syndication outlets, video search, and more.
“In an increasingly robust online video environment, media companies want the flexibility to integrate and test new technologies that best suit their business needs without worrying about compatibility issues,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of marketing for thePlatform. “Our role is to make online video publishing a seamless process for our customers and allow them to easily publish their content regardless of the technical requirements. thePlatform’s Framework is key to that strategy, and it enables our customers to work with a wide variety of best-in-class companies in the online video space.”
thePlatform publishes video, and other media, to PCs, mobile devices, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. thePlatform’s customers also benefit from a wide choice of pre-integrated partner services and technologies through thePlatform Framework.
thePlatform Framework gives technology companies full-featured software development kits, engineering support, training, and development sandboxes for a quick implementation. The recent additions to thePlatform Framework include companies in the following specialties:
For more information, please visit our partner section.
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With Verizon and Time Warner Cable adding TV Everywhere trials to the one already underway at Comcast, early successes in overcoming complex challenges to execution are dramatically improving the prospects for pervasive availability of this new subscription TV service model in the not-too-distant-future.
Read the rest of the interview here.
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To take your broadband video beyond novelty and into strategy, it’s critical to present a user experience that is compelling, interactive, and aligned with your business. This webinar will show you how to optimize your broadband video players to meet your business goals and provide a great user experience.
Joshua Kinberg is the Director of Online Video Product Management at PBS. He oversees design, development, and execution of rich video experiences for pbs.org, local station and producer web sites, and the video infrastructure of PBS and PBS KIDS. Before joining PBS, Joshua was VP Product Development at Odeo, a start-up focused on podcast search and syndication, and was the Founder & CEO of FireAnt, a startup that created the first RSS-enabled media player for the videoblogging community. Joshua holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design in New York.
Bill Burke is responsible for global product management of AP’s online video products, including the subscription-based video and the Online Video Network (OVN). Subscription clips are produced for media and other digital companies around the world, while the OVN is an online video network of about 1,800 newspapers and television and radio stations in the U.S.
Burke joined AP in 1997 and until 2007 was Product Manager for ENPS, AP’s newsroom computer system, directing software development and managing enterprise installations such as Tribune and ESPN. Before joining AP, Burke was a news director, manager, and producer at several South Florida television stations, and at WIS-TV in South Carolina.
Marty Roberts’ diverse leadership background includes ten years of product management and marketing. His experience developing strategy, building relationships with development organizations, and creating new products and services helped increase the customer base and profitability for organizations such as GiftCertificates.com and RealNetworks. Since joining thePlatform, Marty has contributed to the company’s success by updating the messaging, redesigning the web site, launching several successful products and increasing the brand awareness through advertising and PR.
Will Richmond is editor and publisher of VideoNuze, a widely-followed online publication which provides daily industry analyses and news aggregation for broadband video decision-makers available at www.videonuze.com. Will is also president and founder of Broadband Directions LLC (www.broadbanddirections.com), a market intelligence, consulting and industry events firm specializing in broadband-delivered video.
Will has worked in the broadband, cable TV, content and technology industries for 20 years. He is an acknowledged thought-leader in the fast-growing broadband video area whose insights are sought out by C-level executives, venture capitalists, journalists and others.
Will has spoken or moderated at numerous industry conferences and webinars. He currently serves on the CTAM New England and CTAM New York board of directors and American Public Television’s board of trustees. Will has a BS from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
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Internet TV provider thePlatform has an advantage over its competition because it’s owned by Comcast.
But even with corporate ownership and first dibs on plum projects like TV Everywhere, the firm is still feeling the broader economic pressures like anyone else.
Read the rest of Daisy Whitney’s Beet.tv article here.
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thePlatform ranked third among mid-sized companies on annual list of 100 top companies in Washington state
SEATTLE – June 26, 2009 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, today announced that it was named by Seattle Business Monthly as one of “Washington’s 100 Best Companies to Work for in 2009.” At a recognition dinner held last night in Seattle, thePlatform was selected as the third best mid-sized company to work for in 2009, out of hundreds of nominated companies in Washington state.
“We are honored to receive this recognition from Seattle Business Monthly,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “We continually strive to make thePlatform an engaging, fun, and rewarding place to work. As the online video industry grows, it’s clear that our success is dependent on hiring and retaining the best people available. We’re very committed to our employees, and extremely proud of the work they do everyday to serve both our customers and each other.”
“thePlatform’s strong performance in Seattle Business magazine’s 100 Best Companies To Work For competition reflects the strong culture that it has built to attract and retain talent,” said Leslie Helm, editor of Seattle Business magazine.
Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. As tracked by comScore Video Metrix, thePlatform’s clients had a combined total of more than 689 million video views in March of 2009. Customers include BBC, Cablevision, CBS College Sports, CNBC, Comcast, Corus Entertainment, Cox Communications, ExerciseTV, Gannett/USA Today, HIT Entertainment, PBS, PBS KIDS Sprout, Sony BMG, Starz, Time Warner Cable and numerous others.
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Robust technology developed specifically for large media companies with extensive or dynamic online video libraries Media companies to use new service for fast and simple ingest of videos and associated metadata Expands on company’s recent efforts to lower delivery and storage costs for online video
SEATTLE – June 9, 2009 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, today introduced a new video Ingest Service as part of the company’s media publishing system (mps). Developed specifically to address the challenges of companies with large or dynamic video libraries, thePlatform’s new Ingest Service reduces the costs and complexity of publishing video online. This effort builds on similar cost-saving initiatives for small and mid-sized media companies through its new content delivery network (CDN) and storage services, which thePlatform introduced earlier this year.
The new Ingest Service gives customers an easy, versatile and automatic means to move video and metadata online and into thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps). The service addresses what thePlatform has found to be the three key criteria necessary to serve large media companies with best-in-class video ingest system capabilities. These include: 1) the ability to replace manual processes with an automatic means to upload new online video libraries; 2) constant monitoring of video files via “Watch Folders,” which enable video to be ingested from files placed in an FTP folder, and/or a Feed Reader, which enables Media RSS to automatically ingest content; and 3) the use of ingest adaptors that convert various proprietary metadata formats into the industry standard, Media RSS. Each of these capabilities is a part of thePlatform’s new service.
Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. As tracked by comScore Video Metrix, thePlatform’s clients had a combined total of more than 689 million video views in March of 2009. With thePlatform’s advanced technology and market scale, the company is able to leverage its collective assets to dramatically lower the cost of running online video businesses for its customers.
“For media companies that want to publish their programming quickly to consumers, the first critical bottleneck is ingesting that video content into a system that can deliver it,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “Historically, this has been technologically difficult, time-intensive and expensive for many media companies. Our new Ingest Service helps remedy many of those issues.”
“Given the nature of the broadband video publishing, the larger the video libraries, the more they are constantly changing,” said Greg Ireland, research manager, Consumer Markets: Video, IDC. “Media companies with sizeable video content are looking to leading-edge technology and systems to enable the delivery of content to viewers, quickly and economically. The new Ingest Service is an important addition to thePlatform’s media publishing system and should bring efficiencies to the broadband video business.”
mpsManage Ingest
An optional service for customers of thePlatform’s mps, the mpsManage Ingest Service gives customers a fast and simple way to place videos and associated metadata into the system for distribution. Key features and benefits include:
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I’ve written a number of times over the last few months about the recently disclosed plans from Comcast and Time Warner to deliver cable programs online to their paying subscribers. In general I’m a big fan, as these plans offer the potential for users to watch cable shows online that are mostly available through in-home set-top boxes only today.
Read the rest of Will Richmond’s VideoNuze post here.
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Clips and full length programs of Chaotic: M’arrillian Invasion, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sonic X, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other popular programs now available at www.4Kids.TV and www.4kidsTV.com Video Portal
thePlatform discloses that more than 8% of its video views now come from kids’ programs; 141% Year-over-year growth in kids’ related video views
Seattle, Wash. – April 20, 2009 — thePlatform, the leading white-label video management company, today announced an agreement with 4Kids Entertainment to manage the publication and delivery of online video to the 4Kids Entertainment portal, www.4Kids.TV and the new video programming portal www.4KidsTV.com. 4Kids delivers popular content to online and broadcast audiences through its 4Kids destination sites 4kids.tv and 4KidsTV.com, in addition to TheCW4Kids Saturday morning programming block, including popular shows such as Chaotic: M’arrillian Invasion, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Sonic X, Kirby, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and 20 additional titles representing more than 1,000 full-length episodes.
As more parents and kids turn to the Internet for on-demand viewing of their favorite shows, thePlatform disclosed that children’s programming now represents more than eight percent of all the video views it manages on behalf of major media companies. Compared to this period last year, the collection of kids’ programming it delivers throughout its video management system has grown by 141% in the past year. 4Kids joins a number of the most popular children’s programmers including PBS KIDS Sprout, Hit Entertainment and Corus Entertainment that rely on thePlatform to publish and syndicate Web video.
“Online video is a great supplement to our traditional television business, and we view it as a tremendous growth opportunity,” said Mark Kirk, Vice President, Director of Interactive Operations, 4Kids Entertainment. “We turned to thePlatform because of their success in deploying, managing and driving views to many of the largest video portals on the Web, and their experience with this particular genre of content.”
“4Kids has a global reputation for professionally produced kids’ programming, including for the CW here in the U.S.,” said Marty Roberts, Vice President of Marketing, thePlatform. “Many of their viewers are kids and pre-teens that are growing up in an on-demand world – on TV and on the Web. We’re proud to serve as the video management system for 4Kids, and look forward to supporting their online initiatives.”
thePlatform publishes video, and other media, to PCs, mobile devices, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. thePlatform’s clients, as tracked by comScore, had a combined total of more than 559 million online video views in February of 2009.
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Just how easy, or not, will it be to make something like Jeff Bewkes’ vision for TV Everywhere a reality? Depends on who you ask. Last week, I highlighted some comments by ExtendMedia’s new CEO Tom MacIssac describing the proposed global online authentication system for pay-TV subscribers as a potential quagmire of technical, logistical and political pitfalls. A few days later at Cable Show 2009, however, Bewkes himself blithely dismissed the problem, calling online authentication “not hard to do.”
Read the rest of this article here.
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FierceOnlineVideo recently caught up with Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform, the Seattle, Wash.-based online video management and syndication platform. We talked about thePlatform’s progress in 2008, plans for 2009, and Blaine’s thoughts on the online video industry.
Read the rest of this article here.
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Chicago Sun-Times and others utilize new optional CDN and Storage services to lower costs. Company unveils discounts for select services from companies within thePlatform’s Advantage program
Seattle, Wash. – Feb 9, 2009 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, today introduced two new, optional services designed to reduce the overall cost of delivering broadband video for small and mid-sized media companies. Companies using thePlatform’s video management and publishing system can order content delivery network (CDN) and storage services directly through thePlatform at significantly lower rates. In addition, thePlatform introduced a new preferred pricing program that provides additional savings for customers who use services from select companies within thePlatform’s extensive partner program.
Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. thePlatform’s clients, as tracked by comScore, had a combined total of more than 440 million video views in December of 2008. Given the volume of video thePlatform manages, the company is able to leverage its collective purchasing power to dramatically lower the cost of delivery and storage.
“Effectively monetizing online video is one of the most discussed topics among media companies today,” said Greg Ireland, research manager of Consumer Video Markets, IDC. “While focus on revenue is necessary for growth, companies must also prioritize ways to lower costs in order to improve the economics of online video. Innovative cost-saving initiatives, like those thePlatform announced today, can help to drive efficiency and growth across the industry.”
“While we’re best known for serving some of the largest media companies in the world and providing maximum flexibility to our customers, we recognized that we could do more for smaller and mid-tier customers,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “By providing low-cost storage and delivery options, in addition to our core service, we estimate that mid-size customers delivering up to 500 thousand video views per month could save up to 32 percent on their total cost to deliver video to consumers.”
One of thePlatform’s initial customers to sign up for the new services is the Chicago Sun Times, one of the top 10 most-read daily newspapers in the United States. The paper’s Chicago Sun-Times News Group Online Network reaches over 3,425,000 unique monthly users.
“It is important to take advantage of efficient business models as we explore producing and delivering more online video content,” said Mark Roth, Director of Media Services, Chicago Sun-Times News Group. “With thePlatform’s new CDN and storage packages, we will lower our total costs, enabling us to focus on growth — without being restricted by fears of what could be prohibitive costs.”
mpsManage CDN & mpsManage Storage
The mpsManage Content Delivery Network (CDN) service provides flexible terms, distributed architecture, and technology that is specifically tuned for video delivery. mpsManage CDN features utility-based pricing with no long-term agreements or minimums required. In addition, the solution has been specifically customized for customer needs by offering Adobe Flash Media Server, progressive downloads, bandwidth throttling, load-balancing and digital media system security. Access points are available globally throughout the US, Europe and Asia. The mpsManage CDN services are made possible by a partnership with EdgeCast Networks.
mpsManage Storage provides flexible terms, enterprise-grade performance, dynamic access and utility-based pricing to simplify the process of hosting digital assets. As customers’ needs change, thePlatform’s new cloud-based storage offering scales dynamically to match the volume required.
thePlatform’s Advantage Program
Today, thePlatform also announced the Advantage pricing program that offers savings to customers who use services from companies within thePlatform’s extensive partner framework. Customers using thePlatform’s media management and publishing system can receive a 10 percent or greater discount on services such as advertising, reporting and analytics, and online community creation from a select group of partners:
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“Despite the overall economic climate, the consumption of premium online video continues to grow, especially for our customers,” said thePlatform’s Ian Blaine, whose clients include news organizations such as The Associated Press, News Corp. and others.
Read the rest of this article in The Puget Sound Business Journal.
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Agreement covers 50 major entertainment and news destinations including news.com.au, The Australian and Vogue.au.
Seattle, WA
January 20th, 2009
thePlatform, the leading white-label video management company, and News Digital Media, the online business of News’ Corporation’s Australian subsidiary News Limited, today announced that thePlatform will publish and manage online video across 50 News Digital Media properties, including news.com.au and major newspaper websites, including The Australian. The agreement also calls for thePlatform to provide broadband video publishing services to News Limited’s major magazine properties including Vogue.com.au and NotebookMagazine.com.au.
News Digital Media, one of Australia’s largest and most innovative digital media publishers, reaches nearly 10 million unique browsers each month through its digital media properties. In addition to managing and syndicating video among News Digital Media sites, thePlatform will also serve as the aggregation point for content from third party sources such as The Associated Press, Reuters and Sky News. News Digital Media joins a number of premier news sources, including The Associated Press and Gannett, that utilize thePlatform to manage and syndicate their broadband video.
“We chose thePlatform due to their extensive experience in supporting the digital operations of major news and media properties,” said Michael Lynch Video Technology Manager, News Digital Media. “With their system, we have standardized our video operations in order to quickly publish both our own and third-party news and entertainment content across our network.”
“Millions of people in Australia, and around the globe, turn to News Digital Media for breaking news and entertainment stories,” said Ian Blaine, CEO, thePlatform. “With our system, News Digital Media can introduce premium ad-supported video to their portfolio and syndicate stories throughout their properties in a matter of minutes.”
As part of its rollout, News Digital Media has incorporated a number of thePlatform’s technological capabilities to improve viral discovery, search and video views, including:
NDM Sites Managed by thePlatform
News Digital Media Sites news.com.au truelocal.com.au CareerOne.com.au carsguide.com.au moshtix.com.au
Newspaper Properties dailytelegraph.com.au theaustralian.com.au heraldsun.com.au couriermail.com.au perthnow.com.au adelaidenow.com.au themercury.com.au
Magazine Properties vogue.com.au taste.com.au notebookmagazine.com overlander.com.au
thePlatform is the only white-label video management company that publishes media to the PC, mobile, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s open system as the central hub for managing and monetizing billions of professionally produced video views annually. Customers rely on thePlatform to design unique Internet TV channels and syndicate video to the most popular destinations. The company offers customers unmatched flexibility to tailor their business needs through the broadest set of integrated partners, including leading campaign systems, content delivery networks (CDNs), player technologies, syndication destinations, and more. Customers also benefit from 24/7 technical support and the ability to monetize their media businesses via advertising, subscriptions, or digital download services.
About News Digital Media
News Digital Media is one of Australia’s largest and most innovative digital media publishers. We are Australia’s first choice when it comes to online news, sport and weather. We are the place people go to for things that interest and matter to them.
News Digital Media is made up of 23 digital properties, purpose built to deliver 360 degree coverage of the lifestyle, needs and interests of our audience of Aspiring Australians – the people who work hard and actively spend to have the best possible lifestyles for themselves and their families.
Through news and entertainment at NEWS.com.au and the masthead sites of News Limited’s newspapers; search at truelocal.com.au, CareerOne.com.au or carsguide.com.au; access to the latest entertainment and music information at moshtix; corporate training at Learning Seat; or indulging a personal interest at vogue.com.au,notebookmagazine.com or overlander.com.au – News Digital Media has become part of life for Aspiring Australians. www.newsdigitalmedia.com.au
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By Linda Hardesty – Communications Technology, December 9, 2008
Cable viewers are watching large amounts of online video, even twice as much as video on demand (VOD), according to a recent survey.
“Video views exploded across the industry,” writes Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform and SVP, content publishing, for Comcast Interactive Media (CIM) in an end of year post on his Web site. Read the rest of this article.
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By Todd Spangler — Multichannel News, 11/8/2008 11:06:00 AM
Ready for interactive, on-demand TV ads in the palm of your hand? Even if you are, your phone — or your wireless operator — may not be.
Mobile VOD ads have a long way to go before they’re a mainstay of the business, but operators and mobile publishers have been encouraged by early tests. Read the rest of this article.
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ACTON, MA, Nov 04, 2008
Boston.TV Taps Azuki Systems and thePlatform to Deliver Optimized Mobile Video ExperienceAzuki Systems, Inc., an innovator in the interactive mobile media technology market, today announced it is working with thePlatform, the leading white-labeled video management and publishing company, to extend Boston.TV’s desktop content to mobile devices, and enable the rapid and seamless socialization of rich mobile media. Boston.TV, Boston’s premier online video entertainment network, is leveraging Azuki’s MashMedia Platform and thePlatform’s Media Publishing System (mps) to build and sustain mobile community around Boston events, entertainment, sports, music, restaurants, arts, parties and more. Read the rest of this release here.
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By Thomas Claburn
InformationWeek
October 7, 2008 03:40 PM
Media companies should invest in describing their content with metadata, to make it discoverable and make it as easy as possible for consumers to engage with, experts suggest. Read the rest of the article.
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Third-largest volume of online video compared to leading U.S. Online Video Properties;CEO Ian Blaine discusses concept of the ‘Long Leash’ and the intersection of social networking and online video during industry keynote at Contentonomics
Los Angeles and Seattle – October 7
Today, during a morning keynote at Contentonomics in Los Angeles, Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform, disclosed that thePlatform’s clients, as tracked by comScore’s Video Metrix, had a combined total of 329 million video views in July of 2008.
Compared to the leading U.S. online video properties, thePlatform’s volume of video ranks it third in terms of the amount of video the company manages. However, unlike Google (including YouTube) and Fox Interactive Media (including MySpace), which rank first and second respectively, the video managed by thePlatform is all premium video from leading media companies, nearly all of which is monetized through advertising.
“The question today isn’t how to monetize user generated video. That’s a tired subject, and it’s not a great business,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “The real question is how to make professional, high-quality video exhibit the same viral traits and success we’ve seen with user generated content, which will better serve the consumer and the content owners’ bottom line.”
The Long Leash
Blaine continued, “The biggest inhibitor to the viral growth of video on the Web is that media companies are reluctant to distribute their content broadly to destinations they can’t control. What content owners need is a ‘long leash’ to let their video run far and wide. With this long leash, media companies can still maintain control and monetize video wherever it lands.”
During his keynote today, Blaine discussed a broad range of ideas about the intersection of video and social networking. In addition, thePlatform showcased collaborative efforts with two other subsidiaries of Comcast Interactive Media, StreamSage and Plaxo. With StreamSage, the companies demonstrated how advanced metadata techniques can yield better search results and better viewing experiences for consumers. With Plaxo, Blaine was joined on stage by Joseph Smarr, Chief Platform Architect of Plaxo, and the two demonstrated ways they are providing a “longer leash” that will enable media companies to share video across social networks, and across platforms like the PC, mobile phone, and television.
Additional information about Contentinople’s Contentonomics show can be found at here.
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NEW YORK — The Associated Press has selected thePlatform, a Seattle-based video technology provider, to launch a more flexible, enhanced version of its Online Video Network, which distributes AP’s acclaimed video content to more than 2,000 newspaper, broadcast and other media Web sites throughout the U.S.
Rollout of the new technology platform, to be completed by December, will provide network affiliates with greater ability to showcase their own news video as well as to offer higher video quality for AP’s coverage of world events, which most recently included the Olympics in Beijing, the U.S. presidential campaign and the hurricanes that hit Haiti, Louisiana and Texas.
AP’s Online Video Network provides in-depth video reports specifically designed for viewing on the Internet. Brought to market in 2006, the network now reaches 61 million unduplicated unique visitors through its 2,100 affiliate sites.
The world’s largest news gathering organization, AP draws on its worldwide staff of journalists, a global network of news sources and a rich historical archive to create authoritative video clips of international and national events, entertainment, sports, and business news.
“We’ve been very aggressive in providing top stories and breaking news video coverage wherever it happens,” said AP Executive Editor Kathleen Carroll. “For instance, we chased half a dozen hurricanes over Florida and the Gulf Coast and produced scores of video clips including first-person accounts, extensive raw video and live streaming. We also made available to OVN affiliates last week never-before-seen 1973 video on the release of John McCain when he was a North Vietnam prisoner of war.”
OVN’s technology platform, initially provided by Microsoft, will now be licensed from thePlatform, an industry leader in the broadband video management and publishing market, which is a subsidiary of Comcast. In addition to offering enhanced content, AP will offer network affiliates for the first time a fully embeddable video player for video destination pages. The new system will also support higher video quality.
“For perspective, this is easily one of the largest online video initiatives to occur in 2008,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “In many ways, it’s like launching thousands of individual video sites at the same time, and we’re very proud to help the AP provide broader video coverage to millions of viewers.”
“The new version of the network will make it easier for our affiliates to incorporate compelling news video on their Web sites,” said Jane Seagrave, AP’s senior vice president of Global Product Development. “As video becomes the storytelling medium of choice on the Internet, we’re improving the content as well as the technical environment.”
About the AP
The Associated Press is the essential global news network, delivering fast, unbiased news from every corner of the world, to all media platforms and formats. Founded in 1846, AP today is the largest and most trusted source of independent news and information. On any given day, more than half the world’s population sees news from AP.
About the Online Video Network
The AP Online Video Network is an ad-supported news video service that draws on the global news gathering resources of The Associated Press and its network of members and customers in the United States to provide video summaries of breaking news stories for Web sites.
On the Net: www.ap.org
Contact: Jack Stokes, AP Corporate Communications, 212.621.1720
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September 16, 2008 – SEATTLE
Earlier this year, thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, unveiled the industry’s largest collection of integrated partners for serving the professional online video market. Today, the company announced that it will bolster its roster of advertising integrations, with the additions of: 24/7 Real Media, Microsoft’s AdManager, DoubleClick In-Stream, Tremor Media, Kiptronic, and LiveRail.
More than 60 companies participate in thePlatform Framework, the company’s premier partner program, which spans the entire ecosystem of online video, including: advertising campaign management systems, ad sales networks, content delivery networks, content protection, media formats, transcoding engines, payment processors, syndication outlets and video search.
Prior to today’s expansion, companies participating in thePlatform Framework within the area of advertising and monetization, included: Adap.tv, BlackArrow, DoubleClick (DART), Lightningcast, Panache, PayPal, ScanScout, and SpotXchange. With the addition of these six new technologies, thePlatform now offers the industry’s largest set of advertising capabilities for online video.
“Media companies are demanding more choices and enhanced capabilities to support their advertising efforts in online video,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “As part of the open, video management system that we provide, customers want the ability to work with the best-in-class solutions providers in a seamless way. With the addition of leading solutions like 24/7 Real Media, Microsoft’s AdManager, DoubleClick In-Stream, Tremor Media, Kiptronic, and LiveRail, we now offer the largest set of advertising choices for online video in order to meet the diverse needs of media companies of all sizes.”
24/7 Real Media
“As media companies continue to offer more online video, their demands and that of their advertisers, are evolving in ways that benefit from 24/7 Real Media’s depth of support,” said Nicolle Pangis, Vice President, Product Management, Global Media and Technology of 24/7 Real Media, Inc. “Together with thePlatform’s video management and publishing system, we will be able to work on holistic solutions for our collective customers as they look to maximize the efficacy of their online advertising efforts.”
24/7 Real Media, Inc., a WPP company, empowers advertisers and publishers to engage their target audiences with greater precision, transparency and ROI. Using its award winning ad serving, targeting, tracking and analytics platform, powerful search marketing technology and global network of specialized Web sites, the company provides robust advertising solutions for the growing online video market.
Microsoft’s AdManager
“Microsoft understands that ad revenue and inventory management are critical to online video publishers, and we are continuing to expand our world class online video advertising capabilities to keep ahead of customer demands,” said Geoffrey Coco, senior product manager, video, Advertiser and Publisher Solutions, Microsoft. By combining the capabilities of Microsoft’s AdManager and the video management expertise of thePlatform, Microsoft offers a compelling and comprehensive solution to our customers.”
With Microsoft’s AdManager, publishers can easily obtain campaign data and make optimization updates in real time, quickly discover trends, accurately forecast inventory, and precisely target audiences. Microsoft’s AdManager provides custom statistical dashboards, expanded custom reporting capabilities and unique visitor statistics, as well as an intuitive user interface.
DoubleClick In-Stream
“DoubleClick and thePlatform are aligned to meet the needs of our shared clients. We know that publishers care about efficiency and scale in their online advertising operations. Our integration with thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) ensures that the video advertising workflow can be done in the same system that is already in place for display and rich media advertising. This streamlining helps publishers grow their business in online video,” said Google Group Product Manager Ari Paparo.
thePlatform’s mps sophisticated ad placement tools work with DART for Publishers and DoubleClick In-Stream. thePlatform’s integration with DoubleClick In-Stream helps video content owners dynamically insert ads into video playlists and measure ad viewing behavior. Its integration with DART for Publishers provides trafficking, targeting, forecasting and reporting on video advertising. Together, thePlatform and DoubleClick give publishers the tools to manage successful video advertising campaigns with efficiency and scale.
Tremor Media
“We’re pleased to work with thePlatform to serve the needs of its clients as they look to manage and monetize their video assets to create new, effective, high value revenue channels,” said Jason Glickman, CEO of Tremor Media.
Acudeo is the next generation Video Monetization Platform from Tremor Media, a leading online video advertising network. Acudeo solves the complexities involved with video ad delivery with a solution that offers the same ease and ad server compatibility that publishers are accustomed to for their banner advertising. Because publishers can schedule and dynamically deliver in-stream video and overlay ads from multiple ad sources through their existing ad server they can maximize their ad delivery opportunities and revenue.
Kiptronic Media Services Platform
“Major media publishers are embracing distributed media to build audience and maximize revenue. Kiptronic is pleased to be working with the thePlatform to serve the needs of our joint customers by making dynamic ad insertion into distributed media seamless to their publishing, distribution, and ad operations processes,” said Bill Loewenthal, President and CEO of Kiptronic. “Kiptronic provides the tools that major media publishers need to maximize the value of their assets and ensure their ads go wherever their content goes.”
Kiptronic’s Media Service Platform dynamically inserts video and audio ads into digital media for consumption on any device and application (web pages, iPhone ™ & iPod ™ mobile digital devices, Facebook widgets, applications such as Adobe ™ Media Player & iTunes ™, internet connected TVs, smartphones and PCs). Kiptronic’s technology is integrated into the leading CDNs and is compatible with leading ad serving platforms including DoubleClick’s DART for Publishers and Microsoft’s AdManager. Publishers can seamlessly activate Kiptronic without changing the publishing process.
LiveRail
“LiveRail delivers best of breed technology solutions to manage, optimize and track advertising within video content” said Mark Trefgarne, CEO of LiveRail. “By combining LiveRail advertising technologies with thePlatform’s industry leading publishing environment, publishers now have the ability to not only deliver and distribute their content efficiently, but to monetize it in a way that is simple, effective and measurable for their advertisers”.
LiveRail’s next-generation advertising technologies make it simple to manage, target, optimize and track online video advertising. Whether managing campaigns sold by your internal sales team, or optimizing ad-serving from multiples partners, ad networks and sources, LiveRail’s video-specific approach delivers powerful, streamlined solutions with native support for modern video ad formats such as pre-rolls and overlays, rich video-centric reporting, automated video asset encoding and tag-based targeting that works directly with thePlatform’s content tagging system.
Additional companies will join thePlatform’s partner program in the coming months. Technology companies interested in participating in thePlatform Framework and utilizing its open application programming interface (API) should visit www.thePlatform.com.
thePlatform is the only white-label video management company that publishes media to the PC, mobile, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s open system as the central hub for managing and monetizing billions of professionally produced video views annually. Customers rely on thePlatform to design unique Internet TV channels and syndicate video to the most popular destinations. The company offers customers unmatched flexibility to tailor their business needs through the broadest set of integrated partners, including leading campaign systems, content delivery networks (CDNs), player technologies, syndication destinations, and more. Customers also benefit from 24/7 technical support and the ability to monetize their media businesses via advertising, subscriptions, or digital download services.
On Tuesday, September 30, TV Week and thePlatform will present a free webinar entitled “Getting Smart About Broadband Video Advertising.” The webinar will discuss lessons learned by large and small broadband video providers and cover a wide range of topics to optimize advertising for online video. Presenters include Mark Larkin, VP Programming, CNET TV; Chris Moise, CEO, MyOutdoorTV; Marty Roberts, VP Marketing, thePlatform and will be moderated by Chuck Ross, VP/Publisher and Editorial Director, TV Week. To register for the free webinar, visit our Events page.
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Jeremy Pemble of JLM Partners for thePlatform, (206) 381-3600 or Troy Edwards of JLM Partners for thePlatform, (206) 381-3600
Will the Web cannibalize TV? Or will TV triumph, using the Web and its ancillary services as handmaidens to help grow audiences? Will platforms and programmers as we know them devolve into a free-for all whatever-whenever-wherever a la carte universe? And most important of all …
Read the rest of Evie Haskell’s story here.
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A unit of cable giant Comcast Corp., an emerging player in Internet video, has cut a series of deals to handle online video for three other major cable operators.The Seattle-based subsidiary of Comcast, thePlatform, has reached deals to deliver video to Web sites aimed at subscribers to the high-speed Internet services of Time Warner Cable Inc., Cablevision Systems Corp. and Cox Communications Inc. Cable operators are increasingly seeking to become destinations for online video, as consumers spend more time watching television shows, movies and other clips that they download from Apple Inc.‘s iTunes, Google Inc.‘s YouTube and other Internet sources.
Read the rest of the Wall Street Journal Article here. (Subscription required.)
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New York, NY and Seattle, WA
Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC), the second-largest cable operator in the US, and thePlatform, the leading broadband video management and publishing company, today announced that thePlatform will serve as the central backend video management system for Time Warner Cable’s Road Runner portal.
Under terms of the agreement, thePlatform will aggregate and publish video content and associated advertising for the popular website. In addition, Time Warner Cable will have access to thePlatform’s media player tools in order to create unique video channels and playback experiences for consumers. Road Runner currently offers a wide range of video content from a number of marquee content companies and programmers including: CNN, HBO, Music Choice, and Showtime.
“Part of our core mission is to provide robust and compelling video experiences for consumers, whether in front of their TVs or PCs,” said Peter Stern, Chief Strategy Officer for Time Warner Cable. “As online video continues to grow in popularity on Road Runner, we need an efficient and proven way to continue meeting the growing demand. We’re working with thePlatform because of their versatility and ability to create solutions uniquely tailored to our needs.”
“Time Warner Cable is one of the most creative and forward-thinking companies in the video arena today,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “They have built a great consumer portal with content from a number of premier sources, and we’re pleased to play a role in their efforts. By removing much of the ‘behind-the-scenes’ technical complexity, we will enable them to focus their time on providing new and enhanced viewing experiences for consumers.”
Hundreds of companies use thePlatform to manage billions of video plays every year. thePlatform’s system manages the entire logistics process behind the publication of broadband video from the content owner to the consumer. Media companies and video sites rely on thePlatform’s services to manage their media, generate revenue from their content, syndicate media to outlets, and create unique broadband video players.
In addition to Time Warner Cable, thePlatform provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands including: BBC, Corus Entertainment, CBS’s College Sports TV, CNBC, Comcast, Gannett/USA Today, Fancast.com, Helio, HIT Entertainment, PBS, PBS KIDS Sprout, Sony BMG, The Hearst Corporation, Verizon Wireless, Vongo and numerous other media companies.
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Jeremy Pemble, JLM Partners for thePlatform, jeremy@jlmpartners.com, 206.381.3600
Alex Dudley, Time Warner Cable, alex.dudley@twcable.com, 212.364.8229
Seattle, WA
thePlatform disclosed today that its collective clients, as tracked by comScore Video Metrix, provided a combined total of more than 270 million video views to consumers in the month of May of 2008. For comparison in terms of volume, this means that if thePlatform was a consumer video website, the company would rank fourth (4th) on comScore Video Metrix’s list of top 10 online video properties in May. Unlike much of the user-generated video on the top video sites; however, the video managed by thePlatform is predominately professionally-produced content from media companies that is being monetized through advertising and other methods. A listing of comScore’s top 10 online video properties for May can be found here.
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SEATTLE and SAN FRANCISCO, July 15, 2008 –
thePlatform, the leading broadband video management and publishing company, today announced that it has acquired assets from San Francisco-based Chirp Interactive, Inc., a provider of social media applications. thePlatform will have access to key Chirp assets and Chirp’s technical development resources as select personnel will become employees of thePlatform. In addition, thePlatform announced that it is now actively investigating ways to attract technical talent from Silicon Valley, including opening a branch office.
Chirp has launched internet applications that combined social networking with media consumption capabilities. While thePlatform disclosed that it will not continue Chirp’s services moving forward, the company said that it will build new community and content discovery features into its media publishing system, leveraging the expertise of Chirp’s core product development team.
“Chirp’s team has proven expertise in designing rich media applications that integrate with social networking sites, and we look forward to leveraging their team’s talent to enhance online video services for our customers,” said Ian Blaine, CEO and co-founder of thePlatform. “As the market for online video continues to grow, we’re also pleased to begin a more concerted effort in the Bay Area to draw upon the region’s immense technical talent.”
Hundreds of companies use thePlatform to manage billions of video plays every year. thePlatform’s system manages the entire logistics process behind the publication of broadband video from the content owner to the consumer. Media companies and video sites rely on thePlatform’s services to manage their media, generate revenue from their content, syndicate media to outlets, and create unique broadband video players.
thePlatform provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands including: BBC, Corus Entertainment, CBS’s College Sports TV, CNBC, Comcast, Gannett/USA Today, Fancast.com, Helio, HIT Entertainment, PBS, PBS KIDS Sprout, Sony BMG, The Hearst Corporation, Verizon Wireless, Vongo and numerous other media companies.
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In this short interview with Beet.TV, thePlatform CEO’s Ian Blaine covers a lot of ground. Find out why we saw potential in the broadband video market years ago, get an overview of what we do and how we work with delivery partners, and how we help broadband video businesses like syndicators manage and publish their media.
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SEATTLE, WA / PALM DESERT, CA — MAY 13, 2008
PBS announced today that it has chosen thePlatform to power its new online video initiative that will significantly increase the amount of PBS video available on both pbs.org and local PBS station Web sites.
PBS will use thePlatform, the leading broadband video management and publishing company, to publish and manage its national broadband video programming on its Web sites, including pbs.org, pbskids.org, pbsparents.org and pbsteachers.org. The agreement also allows PBS to enable online video distribution of national programming to PBS member stations and their respective Web sites. In addition, local PBS stations will have access to thePlatform’s publishing system and video player technology to publish locally produced content to their individual Web sites and to make it available to other local PBS stations. The announcement was made by Jason Seiken, PBS Sr. VP, Interactive, at PBS’ annual Showcase meeting in Palm Desert, Calif.
“We’ve already rolled out hundreds of hours of video on pbs.org, and it’s proven to be tremendously popular, as shown by the 1.2 million streams of the recent FRONTLINE program ‘Bush’s War,’” said Seiken. “Using thePlatform’s technology will allow us to execute on our far-reaching video strategy and considerably increase online video on both pbs.org and local PBS station Web sites.”
“PBS has a proud history of offering important, high-quality programming across the country,” said Ian Blaine, CEO, thePlatform. “We’re very proud to be serving as the back-end publishing system for their broadband initiatives and look forward to helping local and national PBS audiences enjoy newly available broadband video.”
Hundreds of companies use thePlatform to manage billions of video plays every year. thePlatform’s system manages the entire logistics process behind the publication of broadband video from the content owner to the consumer. Media companies and video sites rely on thePlatform’s services to manage their media, generate revenue from their content, syndicate media to outlets and create unique broadband video players.
In addition to PBS, thePlatform provides online video publishing and management for a host of well-known consumer brands including: BBC, Corus Entertainment, CBS College Sports, CNBC, Comcast, Gannett/USA Today, Fancast.com, Helio, HIT Entertainment, PBS KIDS Sprout, Sony BMG, The Hearst Corporation, Verizon Wireless, Vongo and numerous other media companies.
For more information, visit www.theplatform.com or www.pbs.org.
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LOS ANGELES and SEATTLE, April 8, 2008
CelebTV.com and thePlatform today announced a partnership to manage and publish video and associated advertising on the CelebTV.com site and help to efficiently syndicate television-quality video content to CelebTV’s premiere broadband partners such as AOL Video, Comcast.net, iTunes, and YouTube.
“As demand for our entertainment video news has grown, we needed a more flexible and scalable back-end system that could grow with us,” said Dana Golden, Vice President and General Manager of CelebTV.com. “Our content is increasingly viewed on leading websites around the world, and thePlatform gives us a simple and efficient means to publish and syndicate video to those sites.”
Since launching in February of 2007, CelebTV.com has quickly become a top destination for breaking celebrity news. Viewers have watched more than 350 million on-demand videos, which include 12-14 two-minute segments offered each day. CelebTV.com uses close-up camera angles and enhanced graphics to maximize the viewing experience on a smaller screen.
“CelebTV.com is a powerhouse in the celebrity TV news genre, and we’re very pleased to assist them as they expand their reach across the web,” said Marty Roberts, VP of Marketing for thePlatform. “Whether managing their online video and digital advertising assets or utilizing the existing technical integrations we already have with their distribution partners, we’re committed to helping CelebTV.com continue its impressive growth.”
thePlatform’s system manages the entire logistics process behind the publication of broadband video from the content owner to the consumer. Media companies and video sites rely on thePlatform’s services to manage their media, generate revenue from their content, syndicate media to outlets and create unique broadband video players. Hundreds of professional media companies use thePlatform for their online and mobile video needs, handling billions of videos requested by consumers every year.
In addition to CelebTV.com, thePlatform currently provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands including: BBC, Corus Entertainment, CNBC, CBS’s College Sports TV, Comcast, Gannett, Helio, HIT Entertainment, PBS KIDS Sprout, Sony BMG, The Hearst Corporation, Verizon Wireless, Vongo, and numerous others. Media companies interested in publishing or syndicating their video across the web and mobile phones should visit www.thePlatform.com.
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Seattle, February 13, 2008
thePlatform, the leading broadband video management and publishing company, today announced an agreement with Corus Entertainment to deliver broadband video through a number of Corus’ entertainment portals. Corus is a leading Canadian-based media and entertainment company with various holdings in specialty television. With this deal, thePlatform provides broadband video management support for TreehouseTV (http://treehousetv.com), Canada’s only national TV network for preschoolers; YTV (http://ytv.com), Canada’s leading youth network; and WNetwork (http://www.wnetwork.com), the number one specialty network for women.
In addition to managing Corus’ online video across their branded websites and aggregating content from outside providers, thePlatform is syndicating Corus’ original programming to other destination sites. Also, Corus is using thePlatform’s mpsPresent Player Development Kit to develop and deploy custom Flash-based players across each of their entertainment portals. Clips and full-length programs of popular Corus video are now generating more than 4 million views per month through thePlatform system.
“Corus continues to innovate and develop its online destinations, and has now deployed a number of successful online video destinations,” said Marty Roberts, Vice President of Marketing, thePlatform. “We’re pleased that by using thePlatform, they are able to easily manage, syndicate and monetize their online assets.”
In addition to Corus, thePlatform currently provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands including: BBC, CNBC, CBS’s College Sports TV, Comcast, Gannett, Helio, HIT Entertainment, PBS KIDS Sprout, Sony BMG, The Hearst Corporation, Verizon Wireless, Vongo, and numerous others.
thePlatform’s system manages the entire logistics process behind the publication of broadband video from the content owner to the consumer. Media companies and video sites rely on thePlatform’s services to manage their media, generate revenue from their content, syndicate media to outlets and create unique broadband video players. Hundreds of professional media companies use thePlatform for their online and mobile video needs, handling billions of videos requested by consumers every year.
Media companies interested in publishing or syndicating their video across the web and mobile phones should contact us here.
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SEATTLE – February 6, 2008
As the market for professionally produced online video has matured, so too has the need for media companies to incorporate highly flexible, open and robust methods that help them keep pace. Today, thePlatform, the leading broadband video management and publishing company, announced the broadband video industry’s largest collection of pre-integrated partner technologies and an open approach for assisting media companies with their online and mobile video initiatives.
thePlatform’s customers benefit from the widest choice of pre-integrated partner services and technologies to support their unique business needs. Companies participating in thePlatform Framework, the company’s premier partner program, span the entire ecosystem of online video, including: advertising campaign management systems, ad sales networks, content delivery networks, content protection, media formats, transcoding engines, payment processors, syndication outlets and video search. In addition, customers can easily use their own in-house digital asset management system, customer relationship management and other back-office applications in conjunction with thePlatform’s system.
“Every media company has its own unique vision for online video, and they are becoming less tolerant of technology constraints or specialized vendors that inhibit their growth or agility,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “Our customers want the ability to trial new technology and choose the best vendors without dramatically impacting their operations. thePlatform framework addresses this need with a robust menu of pre-integrated solutions that give them flexibility to easily create the optimal solution. No other broadband video management company has our open approach to partners or proven history in the space.”
“thePlatform and Cisco are collaborating on the creation and deployment of streamlined web-video management, distribution and delivery platforms enabled by the Cisco Content Delivery System,” said Paul Bosco, Cisco vice president and general manager of video and broadband initiatives. “We are also focused on convergent platform extensions supporting the fusion of web, television and user-generated content built around the consumer media experience across the growing number of wired, wireless and mobile devices in our lives. We welcome the opportunity to be a founding member of thePlatform’s ecosystem program and to continue our engagements with innovative customers worldwide.”
The Ecosystem
thePlatform Framework gives technology companies full-featured software development kits, engineering support, training, and development sandboxes for a quick implementation. Companies participating in thePlatform Framework include:
Advertising & Monetization
Content Delivery
Playback Experience
Transcoding
Content Syndication
Professional Services
Digital Asset Management
Content Protection
Additional companies will join the partner program in the coming months. Technology companies interested in participating in thePlatform Framework and utilizing its application programming interface (API) should visit www.thePlatform.com.
thePlatform’s system manages the entire logistics process behind the publication of broadband video from the content owner to the consumer. Media companies and video sites rely on thePlatform’s services to manage their media, generate revenue from their content, syndicate media to outlets and create unique broadband video players. Hundreds of professional media companies use thePlatform for their online and mobile video needs, handling billions of videos requested by consumers every year.
Media companies interested in publishing or syndicating their video across the web and mobile phones email us here.
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LOS ANGELES and SEATTLE, January 14, 2008
ExerciseTV, the first comprehensive on-demand network dedicated to fitness, sports training and motivational programming, today announced it has partnered with thePlatform, a leading “white-label” broadband video publishing company, to grow and expand the video offerings on its fitness destination site (http://exercisetv.tv). thePlatform is working with ExerciseTV to publish free web video workouts, clips, and download-to-own fitness titles in support of the fitness network’s online storefront.
ExerciseTV boasts over 5 million views a month for its television on-demand offering and is one of the only places online where consumers can purchase and then download workouts to their PCs, iPODs and other portable video devices. Overall, thePlatform is handling the publishing and management of ExerciseTV’s original library of over 200 download-to-own fitness titles featuring many of the nation’s most popular trainers. The partnership will help ExerciseTV expand its viewership by syndicating the programmer’s original content to other destination sites. In addition, ExerciseTV has customized the look and feel of the site’s Flash-based players using thePlatform’s mpsPresent Player Development Kit.
“Our online site has been a springboard for us, helping us to create new business models and avenues that make ExerciseTV programming available to more people, in more formats,” said Chris Mansolillo, General Manager of ExerciseTV. “We chose to work with thePlatform because of their holistic approach to the online video ecosystem and their broad range of functionalities. The collaboration has introduced our fitness programming to new audiences that exercise in their own homes and also to those who want to workout on the go.”
“ExerciseTV is a perfect example of how an online video presence can result in a successful multi-device media play that creates new revenue models and broadens the target audience,” said Marty Roberts, VP of Marketing, thePlatform. “As ExerciseTV expands their site to include more videos and features, the system will be able to grow with them and our open standards will position them to easily take advantage of the very latest technology developments.”
thePlatform manages the entire logistics process involved in the publication of broadband video from the content owner to the consumer. thePlatform’s open system integrates with technology providers that span the online video ecosystem, giving media companies the maximum flexibility to design solutions unique to their needs. Customers of thePlatform benefit from a choice of pre-integrated partner technologies, including advertising campaign management and billing systems, content delivery networks (CDNs), digital rights management (DRM), video formats, video player technologies and more.
thePlatform currently provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands, including: BBC, CNBC, CBS’s College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Gannett, Hearst, Helio, HIT Entertainment, PBS KIDS Sprout, Sony/BMG Music, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies.
About ExerciseTV
ExerciseTV is a multi-platform, on-demand media company dedicated to fitness, motivational programming and sports training. The video-on-demand (VOD) television network, which launched in January 2006, is currently available in more than 23 million homes in the United States via Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Cox Communications and Bresnan Communications. ExerciseTV is the first VOD network to offer advertisers the opportunity to seamlessly integrate their messages into the network’s programming. Online, www.exercisetv.tv is the premiere destination where hundreds of titles from the world’s best fitness professionals can be downloaded for use on a personal computer or portable device. ExerciseTV was founded by Jake Steinfeld of “Body by Jake,” and developed by Comcast Corporation (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), the nation’s leading provider of cable, entertainment and communications products and services. ExerciseTV is managed by Comcast, with New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc., and Time Warner Cable acting as additional equity partners. For more information, please visit www.exercisetv.tv.
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December 14th, 2007
Frank Smith at Contentinople recently caught up with our CEO Ian Blaine, and Ian relayed his views on the NBC/iTunes distribution agreement, content providers’ broadband challenges, emerging online video standards, and other broadband video topics.
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SEATTLE, December 3, 2007
thePlatform, a leading “white-label” broadband video publishing company, announced today that it has promoted two executives from within the company’s ranks to VP posts. Alex Glass will assume the role of Vice President, Operations and Marty Roberts has been appointed Vice President of Marketing.
In his new position as VP of Operations, Alex will manage the entire lifecycle of thePlatform’s systems and networks, working to constantly improve the reliability and scalability of the company’s services. As VP of Marketing, Marty will lead the company’s marketing team and overall communications strategies, formulate messaging, launch new products and drive overall awareness of thePlatform’s brand.
“Both Alex and Marty have been valuable assets to our team and have helped us achieve our success in the broadband video market,” said Ian Blaine CEO of thePlatform. “Over the last year, thePlatform has seen a tremendous amount of growth and has signed a number of marquee customers, and we feel confident that Marty’s and Alex’s experience will benefit us as we continue to introduce new products and expand our customer base.”
Before becoming the VP of Operations, Alex Glass worked with thePlatform as a Solutions Architect, the Director of Customer Service, and the VP of Client Services. Prior to joining thePlatform, Alex was with Digeo, Inc. where he worked as both a Project and Program Manager responsible for the deployment of an interactive television personal video recorder.
Before joining thePlatform, Marty Roberts held product management and marketing roles at RealNetworks and at GiftCertificates.com. During his 10 years of experience, he developed strategies, built relationships with development organizations and created new products and services that increased the customer base and profitability of both companies. Marty joined thePlatform in 2006 as Director of Marketing.
thePlatform currently provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands, including: BBC, CNBC, CBS’ College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Gannett, Hearst, Helio, HIT Entertainment, PBS KIDS Sprout, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies.
Press Contact:
Stacy Oaksmith, JLM Partners for thePlatform, stacy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
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Seattle, November 27, 2007
thePlatform, a leading “white-label” broadband video publishing company, today announced it has been selected by Gannett as the back-end management system for publishing online video to Gannett’s diverse holdings of Web site destinations, including USATODAY.com and more than 150 newspapers, television and niche Web properties around the world. As part of the comprehensive agreement, thePlatform will not only play the central aggregation role for Gannett’s web video assets, but will also serve as the central distribution hub to syndicate video content among Gannett’s numerous destination Web sites. Syndicating content to third-party outlets also will be far faster and easier.
“Video is a popular part of all of Gannett’s Web sites, and delivering increasingly strong quality content is of the utmost importance to us as we expand and enhance our video offerings throughout our Web sites and across our digital properties,” said Jack Williams, president of Gannett Digital. “We needed a centralized, scaleable, and easy-to-use video management system as we expand our offerings and tie our sites together into a cohesive network. thePlatform has a long history with initiatives of this magnitude, and we look forward to working with them to deliver ever more compelling multimedia experiences to our audiences.”“As one of the world’s preeminent online publishers, Gannett is at the forefront of connecting millions of consumers to information every day,” said Ian Blaine, CEO, thePlatform. “We’re proud to play such a central role with Gannett and to provide them with an efficient and cost-effective means to publish and share video across their newspapers and TV stations’ websites.”
In addition to Gannett, thePlatform currently provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands, including: BBC, CNBC, CBS’ College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Hearst, Helio, HIT Entertainment, PBS Kids, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies.
thePlatform manages the entire logistics process that governs the publication of broadband video from the content owner to the consumer. thePlatform’s open system integrates with technology providers that span the entire online video ecosystem, giving media companies the maximum flexibility to design solutions unique to their needs. Customers of thePlatform benefit from a choice of pre-integrated partner technologies, including advertising campaign management and billing systems, content delivery networks (CDNs), digital rights management (DRM), video formats, video player technologies and more. For Gannett specifically, thePlatforms’ back-end management and syndication system will work in conjunction with players and advertising solutions delivered by Maven Networks.
About Gannett Co., Inc.
Gannett Co., Inc. is a leading international news and information company that publishes 85 daily newspapers in the USA, including USA TODAY, the nation’s largest-selling daily newspaper. The company also owns nearly 1,000 non-daily publications in the USA and USA WEEKEND, a weekly newspaper magazine. Gannett subsidiary Newsquest is the United Kingdom’s second largest regional newspaper company. Newsquest publishes nearly 300 titles, including 18 daily newspapers, and a network of prize-winning Web sites. Gannett also operates 23 television stations in the United States and is an Internet leader with sites sponsored by its TV stations and newspapers including USATODAY.com, one of the most popular news sites on the Web.
Press Contacts:
Jeremy Pemble, JLM Partners for thePlatform, jeremy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
Stacy Oaksmith, JLM Partners for thePlatform, stacy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
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NEW YORK/SEATTLE — November 14, 2007
HIT Entertainment, a leading provider of quality preschool entertainment, announced today that thePlatform, the leading “white-label” broadband publishing company, has been selected to manage the back-end video platform for HIT’s brand specific web channels and the syndication of its world-renowned children’s videos to other destination websites in multiple countries around the world.
thePlatform launched video on the US Thomas & Friends site in late October and saw more than 3 million streams in the first two weeks. The roll-out of video on HIT’s other brand sites such as Angelina Ballerina™, Barney™, Bob the Builder™, and Fireman Sam™ will continue through 2008. In addition, thePlatform will manage and publish online video for other HIT Entertainment properties such as Guinness World Records.
“HIT is always looking for new and innovative ways to expand distribution of our award-winning content,” said Robert Weisstuch, Senior Vice President/Chief Information Officer, HIT Entertainment. “By utilizing thePlatform, we will implement an online publishing and management system that can handle our needs and be flexible enough to grow with our content and viewers into the future.”
“HIT Entertainment’s family of brands includes some of the most well known and respected characters on the planet – especially by families with young children,” said Ian Blaine, CEO, thePlatform. “We’ve worked closely to automate HIT’s online video initiatives for both HIT owned and third-party represented properties. With a centralized system in place, HIT can focus their energies on their primary business of creating new and compelling family content.”
thePlatform currently provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands including BBC, CNBC, CBS’ College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Hearst, Helio, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies.
Media companies interested in publishing or syndicating their content across the web and mobile phones should visit www.thePlatform.com .
About HIT Entertainment
HIT Entertainment, owned by private equity investment group Apax Partners, is one of the world’s leading independent children’s entertainment producers and rights-owners. HIT’s portfolio includes properties, such as Barney™, Bob the Builder™, Thomas & Friends™, Pingu™, Fireman Sam™, Angelina Ballerina™ and Rainbow Magic™. HIT represents Fifi and the Flowertots™ in North America and Japan and acts as a worldwide representative for The Jim Henson Company’s library of classic family brands and as representative for The Wiggles® in the UK. HIT also owns the Guinness World Records™ publishing and television property. Launched in 1989, HIT’s lines of business span television and video production (including studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events. With a catalogue of more than 1,000 hours of young children’s programming, HIT sells its shows to more than 240 countries worldwide, in more than 40 different languages and has operations in the UK, US, Canada, Hong Kong and Japan. In 2005, the Company joined Comcast Corporation, PBS and Sesame Workshop to launch PBS KIDS SproutSM, a 24-hour digital cable channel and VOD service for preschoolers. For more information, visit www.hitentertainment.com.
About thePlatform
thePlatform™, a subsidiary of Comcast, is the leading broadband video ASP for content providers, broadband media sites, and mobile businesses. thePlatform currently manages and publishes online video on behalf of some of the most well known consumer brands, including: BBC, CNBC, CBS’ College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Hearst, Helio, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies.
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Jeremy Pemble, JLM Partners for thePlatform, jeremy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
Stacy Oaksmith, JLM Partners for thePlatform, stacy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
SEATTLE, November, 14, 2007
thePlatform, a leading “white-label” broadband video publishing company, announced today that it has been tapped by PBS KIDS Sprout as the backend video platform for the 24-hour preschool network’s website (SproutOnline.com).
thePlatform will manage the publication and delivery of online video clips from Sprout’s lineup of children’s shows to the network’s website. The site currently offers video clips from popular preschool shows such as Angelina Ballerina™, Barney and Friends™, Berenstain Bears™, Bob the Builder™, Caillou®, Dragon Tales™, Fireman Sam™, Make Way for Noddy™, Pingu™, Sagwa: The Chinese Siamese Cat™, Sesame Street®, Teletubbies™, Thomas & Friends™ and Zoboomafoo™. Sprout was created as a partnership among Comcast Corporation, HIT Entertainment, PBS and Sesame Workshop and is available on digital cable and satellite television to 35 million homes.
“ThePlatform’s system allows us to bring the Sprout experience to the web in an engaging and convenient way for parents and preschoolers,” said Eileen Diskin, vice president of marketing, PBS KIDS Sprout. “It gives our viewers the ability to access and watch clips from their favorite shows anytime, in a user friendly way with a system that also streamlines business processes and allows us to quickly refresh content and grow our online presence.”
“Sprout offers one of the most popular children’s programming lineups available on both television and on demand today, and we’re pleased to help them expand that presence with online video,” said Ian Blaine, CEO, thePlatform. “Programmers like Sprout need a path to publishing content that is scalable and enables them to seamlessly work with diverse technology partners and advertisers in a centrally managed way.”
thePlatform currently provides online video publishing and management for a host of well known consumer brands, including BBC, CNBC, CBS’ College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Hearst, Helio, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies.
Media companies interested in publishing or syndicating their content across the web and mobile phones should visit www.thePlatform.com .
About thePlatform:
thePlatform™, a subsidiary of Comcast, is the leading broadband video ASP for content providers, broadband media sites, and mobile businesses. thePlatform currently manages and publishes online video on behalf of some of the most well known consumer brands, including: BBC, CNBC, CBS’ College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Hearst, Helio, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies. .
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Jeremy Pemble, JLM Partners for thePlatform, jeremy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
Stacy Oaksmith, JLM Partners for thePlatform, stacy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
September, 2007
What must be put into place to shape a successful all-IP entertainment and communications service? In ScreenPlays online magazine, read CEO Ian Blaine’s insights on how thePlatform is bringing together content discovery, personalization, and advertising to prepare broadband for the television environment.
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London/Seattle (June 27, 2007)
thePlatform, the leading broadband video application service provider, today announced that BBC Global News will use thePlatform’s media management and publishing system to distribute short-form video content to YouTube. Media companies currently rely on thePlatform to syndicate and publish video to a wide range of broadband destination websites.
“Our aim is to bring BBC World News to audiences wherever they are and YouTube is one of the ways we do that,” said Michele Grant, senior vice president of BBC Global News Development. “thePlatform gives us a publishing system for delivering our content while maintaining our required business controls.”
“We’re excited to support BBC Global News as they expand their distribution of broadband video to YouTube and other outlets,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of marketing for thePlatform. “By using our mpsConnect service, BBC Global News and other media companies will reduce the technical complexity of these distribution agreements, allowing them to focus on capturing new digital media syndication opportunities.”
BBC Global News will publish up to 30 news clips per day, with up-to-the-minute news and analysis from around the world. A dedicated channel has been created on YouTube called “BBC World News” at http://youtube.com/bbcworldnews.
By using thePlatform, media companies will easily be able to create their own destination video sites as well as syndicate video to leading broadband and mobile destinations such as AOL, Apple iTunes Podcaster, AT&T, MSN, Sprint TV, Verizon Wireless, Yahoo, YouTube, and many others.
Customers of thePlatform include the new broadband video joint venture between NBC Universal and News Corp, ABC News, CNBC, CBS’s College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, E!, Hearst, the Oxygen Network, Sony/BMG Music, Ruckus, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies. Additional information can be found at www.thePlatform.com.
About thePlatform
thePlatform™, a subsidiary of Comcast, is the leading broadband video ASP for content providers, broadband media sites, and mobile businesses. thePlatform currently manages and publishes online and mobile video on behalf of some of the most well known consumer brands, including ABC News, Amp’d Mobile, CNBC, CBS’ College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Hearst, Helio, Microsoft, the Oxygen Network, Sony/BMG Music, Ruckus, Telstra, Verizon Wireless, Vongo and others. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
Press Contacts:
Jeremy Pemble, JLM Partners for thePlatform, jeremy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
Stacy Oaksmith, JLM Partners for thePlatform, stacy@jlmpartners.com, 206-381-3600
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San Mateo, CA (May 14, 2007)
adap.tv, a unique online video advertising platform that allows publishers and advertisers to match relevant advertising with online video content, today announced a strategic partnership with thePlatform, a leading provider of broadband video management and publishing services. Customers of thePlatform’s media publishing system can use adap.tv’s advanced technology to place relevant, viewer-friendly ads in real time, providing publishers with additional revenue from their broadband video.
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Seattle, April 17
thePlatform, the leading broadband video application service provider, today announced that it has signed a deal to provide content publishing and distribution services for the Internet video venture to be launched by NBC-Universal and News Corp. The joint venture will include thousands of hours of full-length, premium content from major networks and film studios that will be distributed to hundreds of millions of consumers via some of the biggest portals on the Web.
“With a seven year history of managing online video on behalf of some of the most well known consumer brands, thePlatform has a proven record of success that should serve us well,” said George Kliavkoff, Chief Digital Officer, NBC Universal and interim CEO of the NBCU/News Corp. joint venture. “Together, we will provide our partners with an efficient system for managing, syndicating and generating revenue from broadband video.”
“We’re proud to play such a key role in this landmark Internet video distribution network,” said Ian Blaine, CEO, thePlatform. “Our technology’s versatility and scalability helps NBC-Universal and News Corp.‘s venture manage content and syndication in a highly centralized way, benefiting consumers, content owners, destinations web sites and advertisers.”
This new agreement builds upon thePlatform’s existing relationship with NBBC, supporting its broadband video marketplace. thePlatform currently manages and publishes online video for ABC News, Amp’d Mobile, CNBC, College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, E!, Hearst, the Oxygen Network, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Ruckus, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies.
For more information, visit www.thePlatform.com.
About thePlatform
thePlatform™, a subsidiary of Comcast, is the leading broadband video ASP for content providers, broadband media sites, and mobile businesses. thePlatform currently manages and publishes online and mobile video on behalf of some of the most well known consumer brands, including: ABC News, Amp’d Mobile, CNBC, College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, Hearst, Helio, Microsoft, the Oxygen Network, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Ruckus, Telstra, Verizon Wireless, Vongo and others. For more information visit www.thePlatform.com.
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Seattle, April 4
With so many web sites delivering online video today, content companies are seeking new ways to create differentiated viewing experiences for consumers and to strengthen their brands across the web. thePlatform, the leading broadband video application service provider, today introduced a new software suite that enables content companies to quickly create custom video players for delivering broadband and mobile video to consumers. In addition, thePlatform is now offering companies the ability to create their own branded desktop software that enables consumers to download and manage music, videos and other digital media files.
thePlatform currently manages and publishes online video on behalf of some of the most well known consumer brands, including ABC News, A&E, Amp’d Mobile, CNBC, College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, E!, Hearst, Microsoft, the Oxygen Network, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Ruckus, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless and dozens of other companies.
“Movie studios, music labels, television programmers, digital aggregators and content companies of all types are constantly looking for better ways to connect audiences to their online video offerings,” said Ian Blaine, Founder and CEO of thePlatform. “Historically, we’ve been focused on helping these companies manage their ‘back-end’ online video needs, but now they’re asking for more. They want our help with creating unique consumer experiences without the high costs and long development times. Our newest product, mpsPresent, gives companies an easy way to create more immersive brand extensions and deliver custom experiences for online viewers.”
“At this early stage in the online video market, companies should be looking at creating custom user experiences, and it makes sense to start by looking at the players and media management software itself,” said Michael Wolf, Director of digital home research for ABI Research. “Very quickly, however, this customization will shift from one about simple aesthetics to creating unique functionality and capabilities. thePlatform is very well positioned to help content companies make this critical pivot.”
Compared to conventional approaches, mpsPresent is an easy and cost efficient means for companies to create branded experiences for their audiences. With mpsPresent, broadband video channels can be designed and deployed for playback on PCs, mobile phones and set-top devices. mpsPresent consists of four elements:
G4 was one of the fastest growing networks on television last year and is a leader in reaching the 18-34 year old male audience through a wide range of topics including video games, the Internet, broadband, technology, comics, animation and more. Tools such as thePlatform serve an important function within the G4 Multiplex, a non-linear distribution strategy that effectively delivers content via podcasts, the web, video on demand, mobile devices and more.
“Not only does our audience want cutting-edge content, but they want it presented to them in dynamic and compelling ways,” said Joshua Krane, VP of Interactive & New Media at G4. “thePlatform’s new mpsPresent services gives us the potential to create and update our branded broadband video channels, quickly and easily.”
Partners are already enhancing and extending mpsPresent. For example:
For more detailed information on mpsPresent, visit www.theplatform.com.
thePlatform™, a subsidiary of Comcast, is the leading broadband video ASP for content providers, broadband media sites, and mobile businesses. thePlatform currently manages and publishes online video on behalf of some of the most well known consumer brands, including: ABC News, A&E, Hearst, Amp’d Mobile, CNBC, College Sports TV, Court TV, Comcast, E!, Microsoft, the Oxygen Network, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Sony/BMG Music, Ruckus, Telstra, Verizon Wireless, Vongo and dozens of other companies. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
Jeremy Pemble, JLM Partners for thePlatform, 206-381-3600
Stacy Oaksmith, JLM Partners for thePlatform, 206-381-3600
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Seattle/Orlando, March 26
thePlatform, the leading “white-label” broadband and mobile video publishing software company, today announced a new agreement with Helio to aggregate and manage the carrier’s rich portfolio of mobile video content. Helio’s full line-up of content providers will have access to thePlatform’s system for uploading, scheduling, and managing video.
This new agreement builds upon the growing number of wireless carriers and content companies that rely on thePlatform for a proven means of delivering video and music services to millions of mobile consumers.
“Helio is on the cutting-edge of delivering compelling multimedia experiences to mobile consumers,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “As such, they needed a simple and proven way to receive and manage video from dozens of content providers for delivery to consumers. We’re very pleased to be supporting their efforts.”
Serving both carriers and content providers
For wireless carriers and MVNOs, thePlatform provides full-scale digital music and video management and publishing services, which enable service providers to receive and manage files from numerous content partners. In this model, thePlatform serves as centralized aggregator for managing content. In addition to Helio, thePlatform also manages the back-end video platform for Verizon Wireless’ V-Cast service and the music and video services for Amp’d Mobile.
For digital content owners, thePlatform can serve as centralized distributor to publish content to multiple mobile carriers simultaneously. thePlatform’s “mpsConnect” service enables content companies to upload a digital media file once, instead of having to work through each carrier’s distinct requirements. thePlatform takes the files and automatically formats them to meet the specific requirements of each carrier and their different handsets.
Wireless carriers and content companies interested in more detailed information should visit www.thePlatform.com.
About thePlatform
thePlatform™, a subsidiary of Comcast, is the best-in-class broadband and mobile video ASP for content providers, broadband media sites, and mobile businesses. From a set of end-to-end products to a customized system, our proven technology supports diverse business models with a scalable, intelligent approach to solving customers’ unique broadband and mobile video publishing needs. thePlatform’s customers include ABC News, Amp’d Mobile, CNBC, College Sports TV, Comcast Interactive, Hearst, Microsoft, the Oxygen Network, PRIMEDIA, Scripps, Ruckus, Vongo, Telstra, Verizon Wireless, and dozens of other companies Learn more about thePlatform at www.theplatform.com.
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Content owners are getting more comfortable with digital distribution, but they’re still finding challenges in implementing rights management systems and establishing licensing agreements, and can find that lack of DRM standards inhibits their digital media business opportunities. However, today there are suppliers that can offer content owners solutions, and a growing number of industry groups are working on making DRM technology interoperability more promising. Read the article
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Online TV portals and a slew of other programmers are looking to stake out territory on the broadband TV frontier, hoping to cash in on the growth of this multimillion-dollar industry. As playing broadband content on TV gets easier, operators are readying themselves for the big shift from cable to more agnostic means of getting their content into viewers’ homes. There are three major players in Internet video services: content delivery networks, who supply bandwidth and operate streaming; video syndicators, supplying content acquisition and ad sales; and management publishing service providers, of which thePlatform is a major market leader, providing an array of services for broadband video distributors. Read the article
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Twelve different criteria were considered in the ranking process, including customer base and solutions for cross-platform publishing of video content. thePlatform’s Media Publishing System (MPS) currently supplies many of the world’s leading entertainment & media companies with comprehensive solutions for distributing and syndicating content. The ABI Research report “Broadband Video ASPs Matrix” is located at http://www.abiresearch.com/products/vendor_matrix/Broadband_Video_ASP_Matrix.
“A proven ability to deliver scaleable broadband video delivery solutions to a number of large customers, including some of the largest media companies in the world, is a key reason for thePlatform’s number one position in our Broadband Video ASP Vendor matrix,” said Michael Wolf, Director of digital home research for ABI Research. “Their strength in publishing and syndicating digital media, especially across broadband and mobile platforms adds to their leadership position.”
“thePlatform’s lead ranking by ABI Research is the result of our innovative, comprehensive approach to broadband video publishing,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “Our success is a direct result of investing in an open conversation with our customers and embracing the unique requirements of their digital media businesses.”
Started in 2000 and handling more than a billion annual requests, thePlatform is an established industry leader in cross-platform publishing. Major customers include ABC News, Amp’d Mobile, CNBC, Comcast, College Sports Television, Court TV, mobile ESPN publishing, Microsoft, Scripps Networks (HGTV, DIY Network, Food Network & more), Vongo, and Verizon Wireless V CAST.
With a growing client base, media companies are also finding thePlatform’s innovative approach as an ideal solution for their broadband video needs. Quincy D. Jones III, founder and chairman of QD3 Entertainment, a multi-platform media and entertainment company that produces, aggregates and distributes original urban programming across online, DVD, television, VOD, mobile and theatrical platforms, reports company expansion due to cross-platform publishing.
“The goal of QD3 is to provide urban entertainment to our customers however they want it, when ever they want it,” says Quincy D. Jones III. “We have recently selected thePlatform’s Media Publishing System to eliminate the complexity of distribution to customers on broadband and mobile platforms and increase the reach of our programs.”
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform™ is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System™ (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere—over any network, to any device. In June of 2006, thePlatform was acquired by Comcast Inc., but remains an independent subsidiary. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
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Los Angeles, CA (CTIA WIRELESS I.T. & ENTERTAINMENT 2006), September 12, 2006. – thePlatform, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today announced the immediate availability of Connectors by thePlatform. Built on thePlatform’s Media Publishing System, this scalable web-based service accelerates the technical execution of digital media licensing agreements, letting content providers reliably publish digital audio and video to broadband media sites and mobile carriers.
“Expanding the reach of digital media through licensing is a tremendous business opportunity for content providers, mobile carriers and broadband media sites,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “To date, broadband and mobile syndication has been impeded by the technical complexities to add new content or distribution partners. Connectors by thePlatform provide a reliable service to accelerate the publishing process and enable content owners and distributors to quickly reach the full potential of broadband and mobile media.”
Among the first companies to take advantage of Connectors by thePlatform is Airborne Entertainment, a leading provider and publisher of premier mobile entertainment content and applications.
“Airborne Entertainment is a pioneer in producing original digital media content for the mobile marketplace with over six years of experience. We represent premiere brands like MAXIM Magazine, Family Guy, mary-kateandashley, SPEED Channel and the NHL in the mobile space and intend to publish video on every major carrier,” said Mike Amin, Sr. Product Manager, Audio & Video for Airborne Entertainment. “thePlatform is introducing an impressive list of Connectors to accelerate our distribution to mobile carriers. Connectors will enable the fulfillment of our mission by reducing the time, effort and cost underlying our digital media licensing agreements.”
Connectors by thePlatform alleviate media distribution agreement problems by consolidating technical requirements from many partners to one. Content providers can simply use thePlatform’s Media Publishing System (MPS) with Connectors to easily publish media to distributors. The new service enables content providers to:
Easily upload media. The Web-based Ingest Wizard uploads content and meta-data through an easy-to-use interface. Content providers can dynamically select multiple distribution outlets, share common metadata information between distributors, and validate information for required fields and formatting.
Correctly format files for every distributor. Built-in transcoding ensures that media files are in the correct bitrate, format, and size for each targeted distributor.
Secure files per customized business rules. File management tools ensure all media files automatically respect content providers’ usage rules and load their media into their target content distribution network.
thePlatform also announced it has built Connectors for each of the following broadband media sites and mobile carriers:
Amp’d Mobile
Cingular Wireless
Comcast.net
GoTV
MobiTV
MSN Video
QuickPlay
Sprint TV
Verizon Wireless
With thePlatform’s Web services-based architecture, Connectors can be built for new distributors in a matter of days. Connectors also have the ability to quickly incorporate feature enhancements and changes to publishing standards, ensuring that distribution continues and maintenance costs remain low. More information about Connectors by thePlatform is available at www.thePlatform.com.
“QuickPlay Media is focused on extending the brands of media and content providers to the exploding mobile video market,” said Raja Khanna, QuickPlay Media’s chief creative officer and co-founder. “Connectors by thePlatform will make it easy for our partners to publish to our platform.”
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform^TM^ is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System^TM^ (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, CSTV, Microsoft, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information, visit www.theplatform.com.
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Inc. magazine today announced its 25th annual Inc. 500 ranking of the fastest-growing private companies in the country. An industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions, thePlatform, ranks No. 65 on the list, with three-year growth of 1058% percent.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform™ is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System™ (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers enabling customers to publish digital media anywhere—over any network, to any device. Leading customers include ABC News, Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, CSTV, Microsoft, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online and Verizon Wireless.
“We’re honored to receive such a distinguished recognition from Inc. Magazine,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “This is really a testament to our talented and dedicated team, which has worked tirelessly and led us to become one of the industry’s most well-known and trusted companies.”
The 2006 Inc. 500, as revealed in the September issue of Inc., reported the most robust bunch of companies the magazine has ever compiled, with aggregate revenue of $19.7 billion, up from $16.5 billion last year and $12.9 billion in 2000.
“If you want to find out which companies are going to change the world, look at the Inc. 500,” said Inc. Editor Jane Berentson. “These are the most innovative, dynamic, fast-growth companies in the nation, the ones coming up with solutions to some of our most intractable ills, creating systems that let us conduct business faster and easier, and manufacturing products we soon discover we can’t live without. The Inc. 500 list is Inc. magazine’s tribute to American business ingenuity and ambition.”
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform^TM^ is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System^TM^ (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court TV, Microsoft, National Geographic, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information, visit www.theplatform.com.
Inc., the only major business magazine dedicated exclusively to owners and managers of growing private companies, delivers real solutions for today’s innovative company builders. It provides hands-on tools and market-tested strategies for managing people, finances, sales, marketing, and technology. Inc., a Mansueto Ventures LLC publication, inspires and informs, with cutting-edge coverage that reflects our readers’ energy, brashness, and imagination.
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Las Vegas (NAB2006). thePlatform, the leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today unveiled MPS FLASH Portals, which make it simple for content owners and distributors to publish their broadband video into a Flash-based experience that is advertising and syndication enabled. An extension of thePlatform’s award-winning Media Publishing System (MPS), MPS FLASH Portals provide content owners and distributors with a customizable Flash template that makes it easy to manage and monetize all forms of digital video through their own branded services and via affiliate syndication. thePlatform is demonstrating the new technology at its booth (No. SL1210) at NAB2006, the National Association of Broadcasters’ annual convention, April 24-25 in Las Vegas.
MPS FLASH Portals are designed to flexibly accommodate the needs of content owners, who can customize each template with different colors, branding and visual effects, or use them as a foundation to create a completely unique video presentation. The software also gives content owners the ability to limit the number of syndication access points for more controlled distribution. With MPS FLASH Portals, content owners can dynamically insert ads with sophisticated ad placements tools that are pre-integrated with leading ad inventory management systems such as LightningCast and DoubleClick’s Dart for Publishers. In addition, thePlatform has enabled support for automatic transcoding of digital video files into Macromedia/Adobe Flash 8. This gives content owners easy access to a popular new format along with current favorites, including Microsoft Windows Media.
“We’ve proven the value of MPS by managing the delivery of billions of audio and video files for some of the world’s best-known media companies,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “Our customers have depended on us to provide rock-solid media management and publishing tools for their video services. Now with MPS FLASH Portals, we’re extending the functionality of MPS to embrace the consumer experience in our signature fashion. That means flexibility, scalability and total control of the business model and branding for our customers.”
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform™ is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System™ (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court TV, Microsoft, National Geographic, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information, visit www.theplatform.com.
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Las Vegas (NAB2006). Maven Networks, Inc., the pioneer in commercial use of high-resolution video delivered via the Internet to PCs, TVs and portable devices, and thePlatform, the market-leading provider of digital video publishing solutions, are partnering to provide cutting-edge Internet TV solutions. The two companies’ integrated offering presents an unparalleled, complete digital media delivery solution, from content management to rich consumer experience. The combined solution will make it faster and more affordable for media companies to launch highly scalable, unique and engaging Internet TV experiences that will keep audiences coming back for more. Having a combined ten years of complementary product development and market experience, thePlatform and Maven are uniquely qualified to meet the rising demand for best-of-breed broadband video solutions.
With skyrocketing consumer demand for Internet TV, media and entertainment companies are constantly challenged by the costs and technical complexities associated with rapidly transferring large media asset libraries online, integrating with existing business systems and workflow processes and creating compelling and engaging consumer experiences. With the combined capabilities of thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS) and Maven Network’s Maven Media System (MMS), media companies can quickly and easily launch a comprehensive solution that addresses the full spectrum of Internet TV requirements, including advanced media and content management, business process integration and media control, workflow and publishing, and engaging, highly interactive consumer experiences. Together thePlatform MPS and Maven Media System’s streaming and download media players will provide unparalleled interactive consumer experiences.
“Over the past year, delivering video over the Internet has emerged as the number one business priority for many media companies, both large and small,” said Will Richmond, president of Broadband Directions LLC, a leading marketing intelligence and consulting firm. “Each and every day brings new announcements of further broadband video initiatives, which continue to raise the competitive bar for all market participants. In this environment, media companies will continue to prefer vendors who have demonstrated domain expertise and the ability to execute with best-of-breed, affordable solutions on highly compressed timelines.”
To be demonstrated at NAB2006 in Las Vegas, the Maven Media System can seamlessly re-purpose media managed by thePlatform MPS to:
Quickly create and assemble video libraries within Maven’s workflow, publishing and player designer environment. Publish and deliver highly interactive Web streaming and desktop download player experiences from within a single, unified Maven Publisher environment, using video, meta data and associated content managed and controlled within MPS. Securely transfer content published through the Maven Media System by leveraging MPS’ advanced rules management capabilities. Provide turn-key commerce enablement, including encryption and digital rights management, for both streaming and download solutions.
“Media companies turn to Maven Networks to supply unrivaled consumer experiences while protecting their investment in content infrastructure. The design of our technology makes integration with third-party content tools such as the industry-leading offerings from thePlatform, affordable and easy to manage,” said Hilmi Ozguc, CEO of Maven Networks. “Combining thePlatform’s sophisticated content, meta data and policy management capabilities with Maven’s simple-to-use workflow and publishing tools and unsurpassed consumer experience capabilities enables media companies to quickly move media assets online, and deliver audience experiences that increase media consumption and drive new revenue streams.”
“Together, Maven Networks and thePlatform can provide an unparalleled broadband video publishing solution that addresses the needs of content owners, aggregators and consumers alike,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “This partnership is solid proof of thePlatform’s commitment to providing our customers with great consumer experiences and the flexibility to use integrated technologies from third parties. The result of our partnership will be an end-to-end video publishing solution that provides complete control of every stage of the process, from ingest to consumer playback.”
Maven Networks pioneered the commercial use of HD video delivered via the Internet to PCs, TVs and portable devices. Its product, Maven Media System™, is the critical technology link between video programming and building a loyal, revenue generating Internet TV viewership. Based on patent-pending technology, Maven’s integrated video publishing and distribution platform provides unrivaled customer experiences across multiple devices for both download and streaming environments. Maven has operations in the United States, United Kingdom and Australia. Maven Media System is used by industry-leading organizations across the globe including 20th Century Fox, A&E Television Networks International, Atom Films, CJ Media, Disney Buena Vista Pictures, Hallmark Channel, National Geographic Channel, Pepsi, and Sony Pictures, to deliver compelling, interactive broadband video channel experiences using DVD and HD-quality video.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform™ is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System™ (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court TV, Microsoft, National Geographic, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information, visit www.theplatform.com.
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REDMOND, Wash., and BEDMINSTER, N.J. Microsoft Corp. and Verizon Wireless today announced that Verizon Wireless, the nation’s leading wireless provider, has chosen the Microsoft® Windows Media® Format to power V CAST, the nation’s first 3G consumer wireless broadband multimedia service, delivered over Verizon Wireless’ high-speed 3G EV-DO (Evolution-Data Optimized) network. Starting Feb. 1, Verizon Wireless V CAST customers can stream and play back exciting audio and video clips using Windows Media, the highest-quality digital media format available for streaming and download-and-play applications. Using technology from Microsoft, PacketVideo and thePlatform for Media Inc., V CAST customers can enjoy the first-of-its-kind wireless broadband entertainment experience in the nation.
“During customer sneak previews of V CAST in Washington, D.C., and San Diego, Verizon Wireless customers were very impressed with the high quality, clarity and consistency of the video clips they viewed with Windows Media,” said John Stratton, vice president and chief marketing officer of Verizon Wireless. “The compression and quality benefits of Windows Media combined with the reach and capability of our 3G EV-DO network are allowing us to deliver the premier wireless multimedia entertainment service available today.”
“We are excited that Verizon Wireless chose Windows Media to power V CAST, which sets the standard for wireless multimedia services in the United States,” said Amir Majidimehr, corporate vice president of the Windows® Digital Media Division at Microsoft. “Video clips on V CAST are consistently streamed at 15 frames per second, capturing the graceful pass of a tiny football among a myriad of players, or a weatherman showing storm cloud movements on a geographical map. The advent of this dynamic service highlights Microsoft’s leadership and commitment in providing its partners with the best technologies for audio and video playback over wireless networks.”
V CAST wireless multimedia content will be available to Verizon Wireless customers in the Get It Now® virtual store for $15 monthly access, in addition to their regular Verizon Wireless calling plan.
“Microsoft worked closely with experienced partners, including thePlatform and PacketVideo, to deliver a complete end-to-end solution from the handset player to the infrastructure,” said Neil Sharma, business development manager in the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft.
On Feb. 1, Verizon Wireless customers will be able to access V CAST on three new phones: the LG VX8000 from LG Mobile Phones, the SCH-a890 from Samsung Telecommunications America (Samsung) and the CDM-8940 from UTStarcom Personal Communications. The phones come preloaded with PacketVideo’s media player and content catalog for consistent user experience and ease of navigation. The PacketVideo player, built with integrated Windows Media playback, features an easy-to-use interface that allows users to rewind or fast-forward streams, download clips for local playback, and effortlessly navigate between video segments.
By capitalizing on the comprehensive functionality of thePlatform media publishing system, Verizon Wireless can easily aggregate video for delivery over the V CAST service. thePlatform media publishing system also will enable V CAST subscribers to set preferences for their favorite content, receive SMS alerts as new content becomes available, and view new video clips within their favorite genres. thePlatform also enables V CAST users to receive a summary of their video purchases through their monthly statement.
Windows Media is the leading digital media platform, providing unmatched audio and video quality to consumers, content providers, solution providers, software developers and corporations. Windows Media offers the industry’s only integrated rights-management solution and the most scalable and reliable streaming technology tested by independent labs. Windows Media Technologies includes Windows Media Player for consumers, Windows Media Services for servers, Windows Media Tools for content creation, and the Windows Media Software Development Kit (SDK) for software and hardware developers. Windows Media Player, available in 26 languages, is the fastest-growing media player. More information about Windows Media can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia.
Verizon Wireless owns and operates the nation’s most reliable wireless network, serving 42.1 million voice and data customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, N.J., Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at http://www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Microsoft, Windows Media and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Get It Now is a registered trademark of Verizon Wireless.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
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SEATTLE. thePlatform, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today announced thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS) has added support for RSS (Really Simple Syndication), the XML-based Web content syndication format. MPS is a comprehensive digital media publishing solution, enabling content owners, aggregators, and enterprises to manage and deliver digital media content to PCs, mobile devices and TVs. Today, thePlatform MPS enables content owners and aggregators to quickly publish their audio and video content in multiple digital media formats, bit-rates, content categories, and device profiles. Now, with built-in support for RSS publishing in MPS-powered media portals, streaming or downloadable content can be easily discovered by a wide range of RSS-enabled podcasting media aggregators, digital media search engines and directories, such as Apple iTunes, Google, MSN, Yahoo!, and others.
“MPS is a proven system for digital audio and video aggregation, management, syndication and publishing, powering many top brand-name content owners and aggregators today,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “Now, integrated RSS support enables MPS-powered media portals to be discovered and consumed by an even broader range of consumer applications and service providers, further extending the reach of our customers’ content.”
MPS enables content owners and aggregators to manage and publish their media in a variety of digital audio and video codecs and formats, including Windows Media, Flash, MP3, MPEG-4, 3GPP and others, for playback on PCs, as well as a variety of portable media players and cell phones. With the integrated content management features in MPS, content owners can logically manage and organize their media, using unlimited content categories. Integrated RSS publishing support in MPS enables content owners to make their video publishing portals discoverable. Content owners can also publish categorized feeds, enabling more personalized, device-specific, consumer experiences.
Using built-in MPS features for end-user authentication, digital media content can be secured and accessed via proper authentication or it can be made freely available. Through advanced commerce and digital rights management support, content can be published with recurring subscription, pay-per-view or advertising business models. Content owners or aggregators can deploy MPS as a carrier-grade hosted (ASP) solution, or as a self-hosted or hybrid application. Content owners such as ABC News, CourtTV, CNBC Dow Jones, Primedia, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online, and media aggregators such as Comcast (“The Fan”), Microsoft (MSN VideoDownloads), and Verizon Wireless (V CAST) use MPS to easily aggregate, manage and publish their digital media for delivery over broadband and mobile networks.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court TV, Microsoft, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online, and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
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AMSTERDAM, Netherlands. thePlatform, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today announced the latest release of thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS). MPS is a comprehensive digital media publishing solution, enabling content owners, aggregators, and enterprises to manage and deliver digital media content over IP networks to PCs, mobile devices and TVs. MPS now has improved integration with third-party technologies such as Digital Rapids, which enables secure automated real-time encoding for on-demand delivery over IP-networks. thePlatform will preview the new MPS release at Stand M110 of the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) 2005, as part of the IBC Mobile Zone.
“Together with thePlatform MPS, Digital Rapids Stream Z enables content producers to get the highest-quality secure video along with the most comprehensive management and publishing capabilities,” said Brick Eksten, president of Digital Rapids. “This is the best of both worlds for content owners who wish to deliver over broadband and mobile networks.”
thePlatform also announced that more than 200 content providers are now connected to MPS, including ABC News, CBS MarketWatch, Fox Sports Interactive, The Weather Channel, and many others. In addition to these companies, many media owners and aggregators today use MPS to easily syndicate and publish audio and video content over broadband and mobile networks.
Content owners or aggregators can deploy MPS as a carrier-grade hosted (ASP) solution, or as a self-hosted or hybrid application. Content owners such as CourtTV, CNBC Dow Jones, Primedia, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online, and media aggregators such as Comcast (“The Fan”), Microsoft (WindowsMedia.com, MSN VideoDownloads), and Verizon Wireless (V CAST) use MPS to easily aggregate, manage and publish their digital media.
“MPS is a proven system for audio and video aggregation, management, syndication and publishing, powering the network-effect between leading content owners and aggregators,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “Our latest available features, including advanced support for digital rights management and integrated real-time video encoding, will help our customers even better monetize their assets over IP-based broadband and mobile networks.”
Key MPS enhancements that enable better integration with third-party tools and technologies include:
Secure Real-time Encoding using Digital Rapids: MPS is now tightly integrated with the Digital Rapids StreamZ encoding solution, enabling content owners to capture and encode content in real-time for on-demand delivery. Encoding can be fully automated, enabling new channels to be added seamlessly, and for another encoder to take over should failure occur during the process. And now using MPS for Windows Media Video 9 (Microsoft’s implementation of VC-1, the proposed SMPTE standard) content, content owners can simultaneously secure that content with Windows Media DRM 10. MPS creates the DRM profile on the encoding machine and manages the generated licenses and keys inside MPS.
Secure Encoding using the Windows Media Encoder: MPS now also supports live DRM with integrated support for the Windows Media Encoder (WME) 9 Series. As WME encodes the content using WME, it can automatically secure it with DRM. Content producers using MPS can easily create encoding profiles in the WME that automatically link to DRM licenses generated in MPS.
MPS SDK APIs: With these APIs, MPS now enables easier integration with third-party transcoding applications. MPS will preview API-level support for tight integration with third-party transcoding applications, enabling even broader format and codec delivery, including those prevalent in mobile applications such as 3GPP, 3GPP2, H.263, H.264, AAC, AAC+ and others.
Enhanced Windows Media DRM 10 support: MPS will support DRM license chaining and revocation. License chaining authorizes and authenticates a user once (as opposed to every time he/she tries to access content), making it easier to acquire content licenses via subscription-based services. License revocation support from MPS will enable service providers to disable content playback on PCs or devices should the consumer lose authorization to access the content.
Additionally thePlatform will also preview improved commerce support for subscription management. MPS will soon enable more flexible subscription options, such as coupons, credits, and promotions, as well as more precise subscriber activation and de-activation capabilities.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court TV, Microsoft, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online, and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
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LOS ANGELES and SEATTLE. North Americans soon will be able to purchase and view Asian-originated TV programs and movies—previously only available in VHS tapes or DVD—within days, not months, of broadcast or release. GlobeVISION, a content aggregator and service provider specializing in offering content to North American Asian subscribers, and thePlatform, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today announced that GlobeVISION chose thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS) to deliver personalized television and movie programming to GlobeVISION’s subscribers.
GlobeVISION will conduct a trial of the IPTV service beginning in November 2005, and intends to make it commercially available for North American Asian populations during the second quarter of 2006. The service will give customers access to on-demand subscriptions and premium pay-per-view content, including high-definition movies. Specially designed set-top boxes provided by Korea-based I-Cube will enable users to purchase and store content for viewing at a convenient time on their televisions.
“GlobeVISION has chosen thePlatform Media Publishing System to aggregate, manage and publish its IPTV video-on-demand service offering,” said Edward Bach, CEO of GlobeVISION. “Our service will bring timely and culturally relevant content to consumers’ living rooms, using MPS as the foundation.”
“We’ve proven the strength and flexibility of thePlatform MPS for PC broadband and mobile publishing, and we’re now extending that reach to TV delivery,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “Innovative companies like GlobeVISION are recognizing the tremendous opportunity of delivering content over IP-based networks. Our job is to help them bridge the technical complexities that stand in the way of making money from digital content delivery.”
With thePlatform MPS, GlobeVISION can efficiently aggregate Asian-originated video-on-demand content from many different providers and deliver it to customers via broadband in multiple formats and bitrates. In addition to aggregating content, MPS makes it simple for GlobeVISION to associate rich metadata with content, enabling customers to easily discover and receive personalized media based on their selected preferences.
MPS will enable GlobeVISION to streamline the entire video broadband publishing process including:
Content Ingest and Management: GlobeVISION will be able to easily aggregate and incorporate content into MPS from content providers. MPS can import content metadata from media files or add additional metadata to media objects that can store multiple media files in different formats and bit rates.
Content Policy and Business Rules: GlobeVISION can set usage rules on its video content via MPS’s built-in support for Windows Media Digital Rights Management 10 (WM DRM). MPS will enable GlobeVISION to set categories and control the policies regarding how content can be experienced by its subscribers.
Publishing: MPS will automatically publish content in the correct formats, in the correct size and bit rate. GlobeVISION will deliver its content in a variety of formats for TV playback, including Windows Media Video 9/VC-1, MPEG-2 and MPEG-4.
Reporting: Using MPS’s built-in reporting capability, GlobeVISION will receive detailed reports on the quality of end-user experiences, including which content is most popular. This data will enable GlobeVISION to test new content genres and programming, and to constantly refine its service offerings.
Integration with Business Systems: Through the MPS Software Development Kit (MPS-SDK), MPS can integrate with notification services and GlobeVISION’s internal and third-party billing, credit card processing, and authentication systems. Via a powerful set of Web-services based interfaces, MPS can automate and customize all aspects of the media publishing process, facilitating integration through existing customer and third party system components.
Headquartered in Los Angeles, GlobeVISION is a global digital media service provider specializing in IPTV and Digital Multimedia Broadcasting (DMB) services. In November 2005, GlobeVISION will start a North American IPTV trial service for Asian populations, providing TV programs and movies from their home country. GlobeVISION expects to commercially launch the service in the second quarter of 2006. For more information see www.globevision.tv.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, Court TV, Microsoft, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online, and Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
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Seattle, Wash. and Sherman Oaks, Calif. thePlatform®, a leading provider of digital video publishing solutions, and GoTV Networks, the innovative, on-demand mobile television network, today announced that GoTV has chosen thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS) to aggregate, manage and publish digital video for personalized delivery to mobile phones.
GoTV already has successful video products available on the Sprint and Nextel mobile networks. All GoTV content is available in a unique on-demand model which is updated 24 hours a day and allows customers to “watch what they want, when they want it.”
“GoTV is constantly striving to improve the delivery of its mobile video content. thePlatform Media Publishing System will make it easier for us to continually update our news, sports, music and entertainment products, creating the immediacy of broadcast television within our superior on-demand model,” said David Bluhm, CEO of GoTV Networks. “From our in-house studios to our category-leading licensed content partners, we work with a wide variety of programming sources. thePlatform will help us in our goal of providing the best consumer experience in mobile television.”
With MPS, GoTV can easily manage video coming from multiple sources, whether from its existing content providers, its own mobile-optimized productions, or from more than one hundred leading content providers running MPS today. It can also easily publish this video for delivery over multiple mobile networks, for playback on a variety of cell phones.
“Our work with GoTV showcases the strength and flexibility of thePlatform Media Publishing System to manage video from any source, and publish it to multiple carriers,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “Our ability to manage the complex process of delivering timely digital audio and video in different formats and bitrates, each with varying business rules and policies, enables GoTV to achieve greater revenues from its content.”
GoTV (www.gotvnetworks.com) delivers instant, on-demand television programming direct to the mobile phone handset or wireless device, providing news, sports, music, entertainment, and other essential content customized specifically for the mobile user. GoTv’s on-demand model “gives the people what they want” with a unique user interface that provides continually updated content, yet allows the user to choose what he or she watches at any time. GoTV’s staff of Emmy Award-winning producers work with the company’s best-of-breed media partners, including ABC News, ABC Entertainment, Univision, Fox Sports, iFilm, Variety, and others to create constantly updated programming optimized for both low-bandwidth and 3G handsets. GoTV products are available on Sprint, Nextel, and Boost Mobile wireless networks.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform For Media, Inc. is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media to any device. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services-based MPS-SDK. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
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Seattle, Wash. and Aliso Viejo, Calif. thePlatform®, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, and Amp’d Mobile, the first fully integrated 3G mobile entertainment company for youth/young adults, today announced that Amp’d Mobile has chosen thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS) to aggregate and manage digital audio and video for personalized delivery to its subscribers’ handsets and computers. Amp’d Mobile will launch later in 2005 with a unique blend of video and lifestyle content, including 3D games and music downloads created for the 18-34-year-old wireless user.
“Using thePlatform will help Amp’d deliver a rich audio and video service to our subscribers – with a dual delivery approach to mobile, and computers,” said Chris Houston, vice president, wireless operations, Amp’d Mobile. “Dual delivery of entertainment content is a key piece of our strategy, allowing our users to easily manage their files on the desktop, and if they prefer, play songs and video clips anywhere, on their mobile phone.”
With thePlatform MPS, Amp’d Mobile can efficiently aggregate and deliver youth-oriented audio and video over its 3G EV-DO service, and also via broadband to computers, in multiple formats, (including MP3, WMA, WAV, AAC and MPEG-4), and bit rates. In addition to aggregating the content, MPS allows any metadata to be combined with the content, enabling consumers to find and receive personalized media. Using MPS, Amp’d can also give subscribers a detailed summary of their audio and video purchases on their monthly statement.
“The strength and flexibility of thePlatform MPS for broadband audio and video publishing is proven, and now it is being chosen to support leading wireless services,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder, and CEO of thePlatform. “Delivering timely digital audio and video in many different formats and bit rates, each with varying business rules and policies, to wireless devices and computers, is a complex proposition. We make this simple for both existing content owners running MPS today and for innovative new consumer service providers like Amp’d.”
MPS will enable Amp’d to streamline the entire audio/video mobile and broadband publishing process including:
Content On-Boarding and Management: Amp’d will able to easily aggregate and incorporate content into MPS from the more than 100 content owners using MPS today, or via new content providers. MPS can import content metadata from media files, or add additional metadata to media objects, that can store multiple media files in different formats and bit rates.
Content Policy and Business Rules: Amp’d can set usage rules on its audio and video clips via MPS’s built-in support for Windows Media Digital Rights Management 10 (DRM). DRM will enable Amp’d to control how content is purchased by its subscribers, whether via subscription, pay-per-view, pay-per-clip or other models.
Publishing: MPS automatically publishes content for delivery over broadband and mobile networks to computers and mobile phones, in the correct format, size and bit rate.
Reporting: Using MPS’s built-in reporting capability, Amp’d will receive detailed reports on the quality of end-user experiences, including which content is most popular. This enables Amp’d to test new content genres and programming, and to constantly refine its service offerings.
Integration with Business Systems (BSS/OSS): Through the MPS Software Development Kit (MPS-SDK), MPS can integrate with Amp’d Mobile’s internal and third-party billing, authentication, notification and handset personalization services. Via a powerful set of Web-services based interfaces, MPS can automate and customize all aspects of the media publishing process, facilitating integration through existing customer and third party system components.
For PC users, thePlatform will supply its white-label MPS Download Media Manager (DMM). The DMM will enable Amp’d to manage media downloads and DRM licenses for computer customers using Amp’d Live, the broadband-enabled entertainment service.
Amp’d Mobile will be the first fully integrated MVNO for youth, young professionals and early adopters. By leveraging the power of 3G EV-DO, Amp’d will offer traditional services plus a completely fresh user interface and experience designed specifically for this market. With myriad options to meet each person’s individual needs, Amp’d will bring a more relevant, personal experience to mobile entertainment and the wireless lifestyle. Targeted to launch later in 2005, more information can be found at www.ampdmobile.com.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform For Media, Inc. is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media to any device. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services-based MPS-SDK. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
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SEATTLE, WA. thePlatform®, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, today announced that Warren N. Lieberfarb has joined its Board of Directors. Lieberfarb’s experience working to define new business models and methods of delivery for filmed entertainment will be a significant addition to thePlatform. thePlatform’s customers include media, entertainment and enterprise companies using thePlatform’s technology to publish digital media for delivery over any network and to any device.
“Warren brings not only extensive entertainment industry experience, but also exceptional insights,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder, president and CEO of thePlatform. “His expertise will be tremendously valuable as we continue to expand, and develop our comprehensive digital media publishing solution for our growing base of customers.”
“I am very excited to be working with Ian Blaine and his talented team at thePlatform,” said Warran Lieberfarb. “This company has revolutionized digital publishing, enabling any content owner or aggregator to mine new business opportunities by delivering digital media over any network, to any PC or device. As a member of its Board of Directors, I look forward to helping thePlatform continue its remarkable and rapid success.”
Credited as the architect of the DVD, Warren Lieberfarb has been an industry leader in new channels for distributing filmed entertainment. Instrumental in the development of pay television, home video and cable, he began his career at Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox before heading Warner Home Video for nearly twenty years. He is currently the president and chief executive officer of Warren N. Lieberfarb & Associates, a media, entertainment and technology-consulting firm.
The Financial Times dubbed Lieberfarb “Warner’s Man of Steel,” and also wrote, “Without his commitment and sharp elbows, the market would probably still be waiting for the DVD explosion. At best, digitally recorded films would be available in a muddle of incompatible formats.” Wired magazine selected him as “one of the 20 people reinventing Hollywood,” and in 2001, Entertainment Weekly named Lieberfarb one of the “101 Most Powerful People in Entertainment.”
In 1999, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented him with an Emmy Award for the development of DVD technology. Last year, Lieberfarb was the first recipient of the Wharton/Infosys “Technology Change Agent” award for his pioneering efforts in developing and bringing the DVD to market.
Lieberfarb serves on the board of trustees, and on the board’s nominating and development committees, of the University of Pennsylvania. He is on the undergraduate executive board of The Wharton School. He serves on the board of directors and the board of trustees of the American Film Institute, chairing its entrepreneurial committee, and on the board of directors of DTS (Digital Theatre Systems, Inc.) Mr. Lieberfarb is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform For Media, Inc. is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media to any device. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s Web services MPS-SDK. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
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SEATTLE, WA. thePlatform, a leading provider of digital audio and video publishing solutions, announced today the release of thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS) 5.0. thePlatform MPS is the most comprehensive digital media publishing solution, enabling content owners, aggregators, and enterprises to manage their digital media content once, and deliver it anywhere. At NAB, thePlatform will show significant enhancements for digital media content management and publishing, and will preview a Windows Media Video 9 (Microsoft’s implementation of VC-1, the proposed SMPTE standard) HD-based client-side download manager that enables content owners and service providers to deliver video via subscriptions with their own branding and content offerings.
Films Media Group is the one of the latest customers to select MPS. “thePlatform’s Media Publishing System offers us the tools to effectively manage our vast library of digital video content,” said Frank Harms, executive vice president of marketing and sales at Films Media Group, the leading source of educational media products in North America. “MPS allows us to make our high quality videos available online for our customers to view quickly and easily, while providing a way to monitor usage and ensure security of our number one asset — our content.”
MPS 5.0 includes many new features for enhanced publishing workflows and compliance scenarios. Key features include:
Notifications. When updates to media are made in MPS, the application can now automatically communicate these changes to external systems, such as third party asset management tools or compliance recording systems. This further helps automate publishing workflows.
Customizable Permissions. Customers’ account administrators now have fine-grained control over how media managers work with media files and MPS features.
Content Restrictions. Content owners have an additional level of control over the time window during which media can be made available to end-users, as well as the permitted methods of delivery, and access control enforcement. For example, content can be streamed or downloaded for a period of one month from air date, but only when protected with Windows Media DRM.
Enhanced QuickTime file support. QuickTime files are automatically verified and metadata is extracted upon upload.
“We are continually innovating and extending our comprehensive media publishing solution so we can help enable the vision of manage once, deliver anywhere,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder, president and CEO of thePlatform.
In addition to improvements in the MPS core, thePlatform announced two new add-ins to the system. The Remote Media Processor (RMP) allows processor and bandwidth intensive tasks such as file transfer, verification, and digital rights management (DRM) packaging to happen behind client firewalls. Customers can utilize MPS as an application service (ASP), an internal deployment behind their firewalls, and now in hybrid scenarios via the RMP.
The most exciting new component is the MPS Download Media Manager (DMM). The MPS DMM is thePlatform’s “white-label” client-side application that enables content owners, aggregators, and distributors to offer a customized, turnkey end-user video service that reflects their own branding. The DMM enables end-users to manage and download more secure, personalized digital media to PCs and devices via subscriptions. It provides the ultimate in end-user control, and is tightly integrated with thePlatform MPS. The DMM has been designed to handle WMV9 (VC-1) -formatted widescreen (16:9) content streams or downloads from premium content providers using Windows Media DRM 10. thePlatform will showcase the first public preview of the DMM at NAB.
“With the unveiling of MPS Download Media Manager, thePlatform continues their tradition of providing innovative solutions for video delivery,” said Kevin Unangst, director of the Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft Corp. “Their support of Windows Media high definition content will ensure service providers are ready for the ever-increasing demand for digital media delivery to PC’s and devices.”
Attendees of the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention (April 18-21) will be able to experience the new MPS features first-hand at thePlatform’s booth, SL 3322 and in the Microsoft/NAB Digital Media Theater, SL 332.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform For Media, Inc. is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media to any device. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s the Web services MPS-SDK. For more information visit www.theplatform.com.
By subscribing you can keep up-to-date on our latest news and events.
MISSISSAUGA, ON (CANADA) and SEATTLE, WA (USA). North Plains Systems, providers of digital asset management (DAM) solutions, and thePlatform, providers of digital video publishing solutions, announced a technology partnership to enable seamless workflow integration across their products, North Plains Telescope™ Video Manager and thePlatform® Media Publishing System (MPS). Together, the companies will provide content owners the most complete end-to-end digital media asset management, aggregation, syndication, publishing and reporting solution available.
North Plains Systems’ TeleScope is the world’s leading front-end digital asset management solution for the production and archiving of rich media content. thePlatform’s MPS, the most comprehensive digital media publishing solution, enables the next step in the process, and makes it easy for content owners, aggregators, and enterprises to deliver their digital audio and video anywhere, over any network to PCs, portable devices and cell phones.
“The combination of North Plains and thePlatform creates a powerful all-digital media supply chain for video programming. Together, they create a truly efficient and controlled manufacturing and delivery process for broadband content that begins with concept development and production and continues through to multi-channel publishing to any device,” said Mukul Krishna Senior Industry Analyst/Program Leader – Digital Media, Frost and Sullivan. “The collaboration and tight integration of proven digital asset management technologies with broadband publishing systems will enable compelling revenue models for repurposing and personalizing broadcast assets over broadband and mobile.”
Utilizing its flagship product, TeleScope, North Plains streamlines Web, broadcast, and cable video, as well as, video-on-demand production. Any digital or analog long-form video, storyboards, and other metadata are ingested by TeleScope and then stored, edited and transcoded into high-resolution formats for downstream processing. Now the North Plains TeleScope digital asset management solution is able to plug directly into thePlatform MPS.
“A unified video production and publishing solution based on Web services will allow our broadcast and entertainment customers to remain in the forefront of the growing broadband and mobile programming and syndication market,” said Hassan Kotob, CEO of North Plains. “The combination of TeleScope and the MPS provides content owners with the necessary production, security and automation efficiencies required to create programming for PCs, mobile phones and personal viewing devices derived from broadcast assets.”
“The partnership between thePlatform and North Plains enables us to bring content owners the best in asset management with the best in digital media publishing” said Ian Blaine, co-founder, CEO of thePlatform, “thePlatform MPS is a natural extension to North Plains’ solution, as our solution makes it simple to deliver digital media anywhere”.
At NAB both thePlatform and North Plains will demonstrate a technical preview of how they are bringing together the best in mature asset management technology and digital media publishing. thePlatform will show the MPS in their booth SL3322, and in the Microsoft/Digital Media Theater SL 332. North Plains will demonstrate the Telescope in their booth SL455E and and in the Microsoft/Digital Media Theater SL 332.
For over 10 years, North Plains has provided leadership to the digital asset management market with an approach focused on industry innovation, customer success and company profitability. With over 22 million assets under management and over 250,000 users worldwide, North Plains is recognized as the leading digital asset management solution provider. For more information please visit www.northplains.com.
Headquartered in Seattle, thePlatform is an industry-leading provider of digital media publishing solutions. The company’s flagship product, thePlatform Media Publishing System (MPS), is a comprehensive solution for media, entertainment and enterprise customers. With thePlatform MPS, customers can publish digital media anywhere – over any network, to any device. Leading customers include Bank of America, CNBC, Comcast, CourtTV, Microsoft, Scripps Networks, The Wall Street Journal Online, and the groundbreaking V CAST service from Verizon Wireless. Custom feature enhancements and seamless systems integration are a simple matter using thePlatform’s the Web services MPS-SDK. For more information or to download the software, visit www.theplatform.com.
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thePlatform for Media, Inc.
1000 Second Avenue, Suite 1000
Seattle, WA 98104
| Phone: | 1 (206) 436-7900 |
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| Fax: | 1 (206) 257-6060 |
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