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Tag: Microsoft

  • TV channels get unique AI: Zone TV & Ooyala partner Microsoft

    MUMBAI: ZoneTV, taking a quantum leap forward in the linear TV experience, will utilize media logistics tools from Ooyala, a global provider of video monetization technology and services, plus Video Indexer, part of Microsoft Cognitive Services, to automate the curation of content of a first-of-its-kind, customizable suite of linear TV channels which launches this fall. ZoneTV has licensed digital-first content which it will curate into specialized channels delivered to pay-TV subscribers. For consumers, these channels will initially appear like any traditional linear channel. But ZoneTV’s unique service allows consumers to do more, combining linear, ondemand and customized choices into a new offering called ZoneTV Dynamic Channels. The company’s ability to curate 6,000 hours of videos on the fly in these channels creates a unique and personalized experience for the consumer.

    “We’re building the next generation of pay-TV services, so we need next-generation tools. With the combination of Ooyala’s platform and Microsoft Cognitive Services, the ZoneTV Programming Studio delivers an unmatched capability to enhance the TV ecosystem and translates into a one-of-a-kind viewer experience,” said ZoneTV CEO Jeff Weber.

    The content in the specialized channels will be presented in a consumer-friendly, easily discoverable way to viewers. ZoneTV will achieve this using the ZoneTV Programming Studio, which is integrated with Ooyala’s Flex CMS and with Video Indexer, part of Microsoft Cognitive Services, to curate fine-tuned specialized channels.

    The combination of these tools features advanced algorithms that characterize content; the platform automatically extracts and analyzes metadata to identify video genre and content sentiment, pulls topics from speech and text, translates captions into multiple languages and integrates subscriber analytics. This provides quick scalability for ZoneTV as it adds additional content, and reduces manual processes that can slow content curation and introduce errors in metadata translation and application.

    ZoneTV, Ooyala, Microsoft Join Forces to apply AI to Linear TV Channels “Ooyala puts a premium on collaboration, which is what our Integrated Video Platform solutions are all about. To be the bridge bringing Microsoft AI innovation to ZoneTV, an exciting North American programmer, is putting us at the center of reshaping TV for tomorrow,” said Ooyala CEO Jonathan Huberman.

    In addition, ZoneTV will utilize Ooyala’s Flex Platform, the company’s versatile and customizable solution for video production and distribution workflows, for its end-to-end video workflow for both new specialized channels and its VOD assets. Flex runs on Microsoft Azure Media Services and can transform assets into any format for distribution to any device with Ooyala’s video platform; and it automates transcoding, packaging and syndication, which gets content in front of audience faster. Ooyala Flex is the only workflow tool which can be 100% cloud-hosted, freeing up space in an affiliate’s data center.

    The collaboration features a full-featured workflow solution with both operational dashboards as well as creative dashboards to allow efficient editing, content review and metadata entry. “ZoneTV shows what Microsoft Cognitive Services can do for TV programming. By integrating their content with Microsoft Azure, they can leverage Azure Media Analytics and Ooyala Flex for automated content indexing potentially driving more value for ZoneTV affiliates and subscribers,” said Microsoft Corp. GM – enterprise video Sudheer Sirivara.

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  • Fox, Viacom & WWE — entertainment stocks on investors’ radar

    MUMBAI: Stock-Callers.com has initiated research coverage on four Diversified Entertainment companies, namely: Twenty-First Century Fox Inc., Viacom Inc., Lions Gate Entertainment Corp., and World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. The Entertainment Industry is a constantly evolving group that mainly comprises television networks and station owners, which are typically involved in programming and production of content. Learn more about these stocks by downloading their comprehensive and free reports at:

    Twenty-First Century Fox

    New York headquartered Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.’s shares finished Friday’s session 2.03% lower at $27.94. A total volume of 29.19 million shares was traded, which was above their three months average volume of 8.53 million shares. The stock has gained 0.23% on an YTD basis. The Company’s shares are trading above their 200-day moving average by 0.19%. Moreover, shares of Twenty-First Century Fox, which together with its subsidiaries, operates as a diversified media and entertainment company in the US, the UK, Continental Europe, Asia, Latin America, and internationally, have a Relative Strength Index (RSI) of 30.99.

    On May 08th, 2017, Twenty-First Century Fox announced the appointment of Melody Hildebrandt to the role of Global Chief Information Security Officer. In this role, Ms. Hildebrandt will oversee the protection and risk management for enterprise communications, technologies, and assets for 21CF. She joins the Company from Palantir Technologies, where she served as executive vice president and directed the cybersecurity practice. Her appointment is effective on June 01st, 2017.

    On May 11th, 2017, research firm Rosenblatt upgraded the Company’s stock rating from ‘Neutral’ to ‘Buy’. FOXA complete research report is just a click away and free at:

    Viacom

    Shares in New York headquartered Viacom Inc. ended the day 0.26% higher at $34.61 with a total trading volume of 4.39 million shares. The stock is trading 12.96% below its 200-day moving average. Shares of the Company, which operates as media brand worldwide, have an RSI of 16.05.

    On May 05th, 2017, research firm RBC Capital Markets reiterated its ‘Underperform’ rating on the Company’s stock with a decrease of the target price from $35 a share to $30 a share.

    On May 10th, 2017, Viacom’s emerging entertainment technology group, Viacom NEXT, premiered an original virtual reality music experience for the song “Withdrawal” by Atlantic Records recording artist Max Frost at the 2017 Microsoft Build Developer Conference. The video harnesses cutting-edge Microsoft Mixed Reality Capture technology, bringing fans face-to-face with photorealistic holographs of Frost, who sings and plays multiple instruments simultaneously in an immersive, underwater environment.

    Lions Gate Entertainment

    Santa Monica, California headquartered Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.’s stock rose 1.63%, closing the session at $23.72. A total volume of 528,394 shares was traded, which was above their three months average volume of 488,870 shares. The Company’s shares have gained 1.89% in the last one month. The stock is trading 0.25% below its 50-day moving average. Additionally, shares of Lions Gate Entertainment, which engages in motion picture production and distribution, television programming and syndication, home entertainment, branded channel platforms, interactive ventures and games, and location-based entertainment in Canada, the US, and internationally, have an RSI of 54.96.

    On May 05th, 2017, Lions Gate Entertainment announced that it will release its Q4 and full year financial results for the fiscal year ended March 31st, 2017 after market close on Thursday, May 25th, 2017. Senior management will hold its analyst and investor conference call to discuss the Company’s FY17 financial results at 5:00 p.m. ET on that same day. Sign up for your complimentary research report on LGF-B at:

    World Wrestling Entertainment

    On Friday, shares in Stamford, Connecticut headquartered World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. finished the session 0.94% lower at $19.94. A total volume of 257,981 shares was traded. The stock has gained 9.02% on an YTD basis. The Company’s shares are trading above their 200-day moving average by 0.06%. Furthermore, shares of World Wrestling Entertainment, which engages in the sports entertainment business in North America, Europe, Middle-East, Africa, Asia/Pacific, and Latin America, have an RSI of 37.08.

    On May 04th, 2017, World Wrestling Entertainment announced financial results for its first quarter ended March 31st, 2017. Revenue for the quarter increased 10% to $188.4 driven by the Company’s Live Events, Network, and Television segments. The Company also reported net income of $0.9 million, or $0.01 per share; operating income of $4.0 million; and adjusted OIBDA of $18.6 million for Q1 2017. Get free access to your research report on WWE

  • Microsoft is Arnab Republic’s technology partner

    MUMBAI: Republic, Arnab Goswami’s most-awaited media technology venture, announced Microsoft India as its technology partner.

    Through this unique partnership, Microsoft will power Republic’s broadcast techniques using some of its latest hardware and software offerings to deliver a superior news visualization experience for viewers.

    Republic is an independent platform for journalists and content professionals. The venture will create a movement that will put the power of journalism into the hands of the citizens, and will be India’s first footprint in global journalism.

    Republic editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami said, “We are a media-tech company and we are confident that together with Microsoft, we will change the way media and technology come together for a world class product for the generation next. This partnership is just the beginning.”

    “The News landscape has evolved dramatically and Republic is at the forefront of that transformation. The partnership with Microsoft will bring its first-party devices, its productivity platforms and cutting edge innovation to dramatically enhance news delivery on linear and video on demand. The Republic audience is in for a treat!” mentioned Republic CEO Vikas Khanchandani.

    Microsoft through its mobile-first, cloud-first approach will help Republic rewrite how news is delivered to the consumer. Republic will use a range of Microsoft products and services that are designed to make newsrooms more productive. Through its computing infrastructure, Microsoft Azure will host the complete digital universe for Republic. Taking advantage of the Windows Mixed Reality experiences and cutting edge Surface Pro 4 devices, Republic is going to change the way news is consumed by viewers. Republic will also use Microsoft’s Office 365 for the collaboration and productivity needs of its employees.

    “We look forward to working with the team at Republic to make this news platform a success in the market. Innovations in news formats and employing new means of storytelling are some of Republic’s value propositions. We are extremely excited to power this digital transformation in the media and entertainment space with integrated hardware and software experiences,” said Microsoft India president Anant Maheshwari.

  • Google, Microsoft and Reliance may help design rlys ad tech

    MUMBAI: Leading global companies such as Google, Microsoft and Reliance may be keen to take part in the Indian Railways project and help design platform screens advertising technology. Railways is putting together a strategy to launch two lakh screens across India, aiming at a revenue Rs 10,000 crore in 10 years, the Times of India reported, for which a tender could be awarded by May this year.

    Indiantelevision.com had earlier reported that content on demand on trains and at stations is a sizeable market. According to a report by the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), the infotainment market to be around Rs 2,277 crore in three years’ time.

    The Railway Ministry, in a bid to revamp railways, may invite bids for Content on Demand (CoD) and railradio services in April. Services that would be included under the CoD initiative are — movies, TVserials, short videos, kids’ shows and devotional content. The CoD would also include streaming audio such as regional songs, movie songs, and devotional music; and providing electronic newspapers, gaming and educational content. Railways’ bids for app-based cab services will also be invited by May.

    The video, radio, digital music and digital gaming contracts will be for a period of 10 years. The railways is, through these initiatives, expecting revenue of Rs 16,000-20,000 crore in 10 years.

    As per the BCG report, to provide offline content, railways may have to shell out Rs 38,000 per coach. But, the online content will be expensive — for Rs 25 lakh each. Coaches are required to be well equipped to offer content streamed via the internet.

    Also Read :

    Govt may invite bids for railway TV content this month, market pegged at Rs 2.3k cr

     

  • Dentsu Webchutney appoints Ajay Ahluwalia as ECD

    MUMBAI: Dentsu Webchutney, the digital agency from Dentsu Aegis Network, has roped in Ajay Ahluwalia as executive creative director. He will be based out of the agency’s Gurgaon office. His last stint was with Contract Advertising where he handled some of the biggest brands in the country including Microsoft, Ten Sports and JK Tyres.

    With over 20 years of cross-category, cross-platform experience along with a diverse set of exposure spanning sales, marketing, photography, martial arts, and naturally, creative, Ahluwalia is all set to lead the charge for the agency.

    The keen motorcyclist and the black belt holder expressed his delight by saying, “I’m excited to join Dentsu Webchutney and the young brigade that is bubbling with energy to break the conventions with digital innovations.”

    Not only has Ahluwalia launched brands like Samsung and Bacardi in India, but also has helped nurture names like NIIT, and set up Oxygen – one of India’s first agencies to engage in the digital workspace.

    Commenting on Ahluwalia’s appointment, Dentsu Webchutney co-founder and chief creative officer Sudesh Samaria said, “It’s great to have someone of Ajay’s experience onboard in a digital environment, especially when the lines between mainline and digital are blurring as we speak. We look forward to him driving infectious ideas which resonate with the Dentsu Webchutney culture.”

    Dentsu Webchutney remains by far, the most awarded agency. Webchutney’s clientele include Airtel, Flipkart, Quikr, Swiggy, Tetra Pak, Canon, Whirlpool, Indusind Bank, Red Bull amongst others.

  • FirmDecisions to help advertisers make better media investment decisions

    MUMBAI: FirmDecisions, part of UK-based Ebiquity Group and an independent global marketing auditor, has formally announced its entry into the Indian market. It’s actively pursuing a JV here to help advertisers know that their media investment advisors are not commercially compromised. The firm has conducted 5,000+ audits in 70+ countries over the past 17 years facilitating financial transparency in the client-agency relationship for many of the world’s biggest advertisers. The right contract terms ensure client interests are protected and Firm Decisions is highly regarded worldwide for its ability to ensure this happens.

    At a recent workshop organised by FirmDecisions, 30+ leading Indian advertisers shared their growing concerns on media transparency and their eagerness to know more about the black box of media trading incentives (e.g. rebates) between their appointed advisors and media suppliers.

    FirmDecisions MD Stephen Broderick said, “The increasing disconnect between advertisers and media agencies over rebates calls for more transparency. In many countries, including the US and UK, advertisers are urging their peers to tighten contracts and adapt a new framework. Indian advertisers by early adaption will avoid issues that other markets have already gone through.”

    FirmDecisions is the first and largest independent global marketing compliance specialist who ensure financial transparency in the client-agency relationship for the world’s largest advertisers like Unilever, Coca-Cola, Microsoft, and Jaguar Land Rover. They have been instrumental in taking the findings of the ANA Report global to identify five areas where advertiser(s) should focus their energies – Internal Governance, Management and Ownership of Data, Contract Management, Audit Rights and Code of Conduct.

  • Microsoft enables video calling on Android with Office 365 in 19 languages

    MUMBAI: Microsoft Corp. on Tuesday announced the general availability of Microsoft Teams, the company’s new chat-based workspace in Office 365. The new tool for team collaboration is now available to Office 365 business customers in 181 markets and 19 languages.

    Customers worldwide are choosing Microsoft Teams to enable collaboration within their organizations. Since announcing the preview in November, more than 50,000 organizations have started using Microsoft Teams, including Alaska Airlines, ConocoPhillips, Deloitte, Expedia, J.B. Hunt, J. Walter Thompson, Hendrick Motorsports, Sage, Trek Bicycle and Three UK.

    “In a world where information is abundant and human time and attention remain scarce, we aspire to help people and groups of people be more productive, wherever they are,” said Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella. “Office 365 is the broadest platform and universal toolkit for creation, collaboration and communication. Today we are adding a new tool to Office 365 with Microsoft Teams, a chat-based workspace designed to empower the art of teams.”

    Office 365 is designed to meet the unique workstyle of every group with purpose-built, integrated applications: Outlook for enterprise-grade email; SharePoint for intelligent content management; Yammer for networking across the organization; Skype for Business as the backbone for enterprise voice and video; and now, Microsoft Teams.

    According to Trek Bicycle vice president of global customer service Laurie Koch, “Microsoft Teams is already streamlining the company’s work by providing assets and tasks in context: “Across Trek’s global teams, the integrated collection of Office 365 apps serves up a common toolset to collaboratively drive the business forward. We see Microsoft Teams as the project hub of Office 365 where everybody knows where to find the latest documents, notes and tasks, all in line with team conversations for complete context. Teams is quickly becoming a key part of Trek’s get-things-done-fast culture.”

    Microsoft has introduced more than 100 new features to Teams since November, including: an enhanced meeting experience, with scheduling capabilities; mobile audio calling, with video calling on Android now and coming soon to iOS and Windows Phone; email integration; and new security and compliance capabilities. The company has also delivered new features to make Microsoft Teams accessible, such as support for screen readers, high contrast and keyboard-only navigation. Guest access capabilities and deeper integration with Outlook, and a richer developer platform are targeted for June of this year.

    Microsoft Teams brings together people, conversations and content, along with the tools that teams need. It’s integrated with familiar Office applications and is built from the ground up on Office 365 and Microsoft’s global, secured cloud. Microsoft Teams is built on four core promises:

    · Chat for today’s teams. Microsoft Teams provides a modern conversations experience, with threaded, persistent chat to keep everyone engaged. Team conversations can be either private or visible to the entire team, and users can access multiple teams, making it easy to switch between projects.

    · A hub for teamwork. The Office applications and services that teams use every day — Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneNote and PowerBI— are all built-in, so people have the information and tools they need.

    ·Customization for every team. Microsoft Teams offers the ability to customize work spaces with tabs, connectors and bots from third-party partners as well as familiar Microsoft tools like Microsoft Planner and Visual Studio Team Services. Today, more than 150 integrations are available or coming soon, with companies like SAP, Trello, Hipmunk, Growbot and ModuleQ building on the platform.

    · Security teams trust. Microsoft Teams is built on the hyper-scale, enterprise-grade Office 365 cloud, delivering the advanced security and compliance capabilities our customers expect. Teams supports global standards including SOC 1, SOC 2, EU Model Clauses, ISO27001 and HIPAA.

  • Google, MS agree to crack down on online content piracy site

    NEW DELHI: A global war on content piracy, including in India, just got a leg up. For the first time, global tech giants Google and Microsoft have agreed to tighten up their search engines as part of a crackdown on content piracy websites illegally streaming events and films with the UK regulator Ofcom backing it.

    Google and Microsoft’s search engine Bing have signed up to a voluntary code of practice and will ensure offending websites are demoted in their search results, according to a PTI report from London, which goes on to state that he entertainment industry reached the agreement with the tech giants after talks brokered by the UK government.

    The initiative will run in parallel with existing anti-piracy measures, which includes initiatives by PIPCU or the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU), which is a specialist national police unit dedicated to protecting the UK industries that produce legitimate, high quality, physical goods and online and digital content from intellectual property crime.

    PIPCU operationally independent and launched in September 2013 with £2.56million funding from the Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of the UK until June 2015, got additional funding from the IPO in October 2014 till 2017. The unit is dedicated to tackling serious and organized intellectual property crime (counterfeit and piracy) affecting physical and digital goods (with the exception of pharmaceutical goods) with a focus on offences committed using an online platform.

    The PTI report, quoting BBC and dwelling on Google and MS moves, stated that the code said to be the first of its kind in the world is expected to be in operation by the middle of this year.

    Jo Johnson, the UK’s minister for universities, science, research and innovation, was quoted in the report as saying that the search engines’ “relationships with our world leading creative industries needs to be collaborative”. He added: “It is essential that (consumers) are presented with links to legitimate websites and services, not provided with links to pirate sites.”

    Google has indicated that the effort would provide a way to check that its existing anti-piracy efforts were effective, rather than committing it to adding new measures. “Google has been an active partner for many years in the fight against piracy online. We remain committed to tackling this issue and look forward to further partnership with rights holders,” a Google spokesperson was quoted by PTI as saying.

    The UK’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) led the discussions, with the assistance of the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. Britain’s communications watchdog, Ofcom, supported the talks by exploring techniques that could be used to ensure internet users avoid coming across illegal content.

    Trade body Alliance for Intellectual Property director-general Eddy Leviten told the BBC, according to the PTI report, “Sometimes people will search for something and they will end up unwittingly being taken to a pirated piece of content. What we want to ensure is that the results at the top of the search engines are the genuine ones. It is about protecting people who use the internet, but also protecting the creators of that material too.”

    Besides demoting copyright infringing sites, search engine auto-complete functions, a time-saving feature that suggests what users may be looking for, are also expected to remove terms that may lead to pirated websites. Compliance with the code will be monitored by the IPO over the next few months.

  • Buyers queuing up to buy Twitter; Disney, Microsoft included

    Buyers queuing up to buy Twitter; Disney, Microsoft included

    MUMBAI: Is Twitter up for sale? If the mounting media reports are to be believed, it most likely is. A queue of potential buyers is reportedly is lining up at its corporate doors. Among them: salesforce.com, Alphabet (google’s parent), Microsoft and Disney.

    Analysts say that it is no surprise that Twitter is in the market for buyers. It has been under tremendous pressure to find revenue streams what with the rising power of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social media outlets.

    Says an industry observer: “They received interest offer from salesforce.com and then probably Jack Dorsey, its CEO, and the board probably decided to pursue it as a strategy to see where it could lead to, and they have been fielding enquiries. For a media company, a Twitter acquisition makes sense as there are not too many companies on the social side out there with a subscriber base of 300 million. This is a good opportunity for them to make a play.”

    Salesforce.com is reportedly working with Bank of America on a potential bid while Disney is working with a financial advisor to evaluate whether they should throw their hat in the ring, says a Bloomberg report.

    Bloomberg appears to be betting on Disney being the front-runner. Reason: both Disney CEO Bob Iger and Dorsey are pretty close. Dorsey is on the Disney board along with Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg. And, Iger has been mentoring Dorsey for sometime now. Additionally, the former has been working on evolving Disney — as its traditional cable TV business is under pressure from cord-cutting and video-on-demand streaming services – into increasing new media plays.

    In recent times, Disney has invested in video streaming service Hulu, Shane Smith digital media company Vice and HBO Now tech partner MLB’s BAMTech. Twitter too has partnered with BAMTech for its live streaming services, says Bloomberg.

  • Buyers queuing up to buy Twitter; Disney, Microsoft included

    Buyers queuing up to buy Twitter; Disney, Microsoft included

    MUMBAI: Is Twitter up for sale? If the mounting media reports are to be believed, it most likely is. A queue of potential buyers is reportedly is lining up at its corporate doors. Among them: salesforce.com, Alphabet (google’s parent), Microsoft and Disney.

    Analysts say that it is no surprise that Twitter is in the market for buyers. It has been under tremendous pressure to find revenue streams what with the rising power of Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and other social media outlets.

    Says an industry observer: “They received interest offer from salesforce.com and then probably Jack Dorsey, its CEO, and the board probably decided to pursue it as a strategy to see where it could lead to, and they have been fielding enquiries. For a media company, a Twitter acquisition makes sense as there are not too many companies on the social side out there with a subscriber base of 300 million. This is a good opportunity for them to make a play.”

    Salesforce.com is reportedly working with Bank of America on a potential bid while Disney is working with a financial advisor to evaluate whether they should throw their hat in the ring, says a Bloomberg report.

    Bloomberg appears to be betting on Disney being the front-runner. Reason: both Disney CEO Bob Iger and Dorsey are pretty close. Dorsey is on the Disney board along with Facebook’s Sheryl Sandberg. And, Iger has been mentoring Dorsey for sometime now. Additionally, the former has been working on evolving Disney — as its traditional cable TV business is under pressure from cord-cutting and video-on-demand streaming services – into increasing new media plays.

    In recent times, Disney has invested in video streaming service Hulu, Shane Smith digital media company Vice and HBO Now tech partner MLB’s BAMTech. Twitter too has partnered with BAMTech for its live streaming services, says Bloomberg.