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  • Battery Ventures invests sizeable sum in enterprise software firm Signiant

    Battery Ventures invests sizeable sum in enterprise software firm Signiant

    MUMBAI: Intelligent file transfer software  company Signiant has got a shot in the arm with technology-focused investment firm Battery Ventures investing a sizeable sum in it.  (Signiant called it “ a majority growth investment” though terms were not disclosed as the firm is  private.). 

    Signiant’s innovative technology allows large media files—from movies and TV shows to sports and news content—to move through the media supply chain quickly and securely, regardless of where the files are stored. The core technology is becoming more critical as media companies increasingly produce rich, effects-laden content for distribution across a range of online streaming platforms, often involving creators and vendors in multiple locations. From its key position at the foundation of the media tech stack, the company is now expanding the functionality of the file transfer SaaS platform into adjacent media services.  

    Signiant’s flagship products are used by some of the world’s largest media and entertainment companies in sectors such as post production, professional sports, gaming, and broadcast/cable TV. Customers include large companies such as NBCU, Warner Bro Discovery, Ubisoft and the National Hockey League, as well as many smaller companies throughout the global media ecosystem. 

    “We are thrilled to partner with Battery, a firm with a long history of scaling enterprise SaaS businesses, to begin writing the next chapter of the Signiant story,” said Signiant chief executive Margaret Craig. “Both the company and the media industry are at inflection points. We feel our solutions are uniquely suited to meet the current moment in media and entertainment, which demands the type of efficiency and fast time-to-value that only a modern multi-tenant SaaS platform can deliver.” 

    Signiant will use the investment from Battery to fund product development and go-to-market activities, as well as potential future acquisitions in the media technology space. The company previously completed two add-on acquisitions which expanded Signiant’s product footprint. The company remains committed to pursuing future acquisitions to better serve its customers.  

    “As the production of media content becomes more specialised and complex, owing to advancements in video and sound quality, and fancy visual effects, it means media files have gotten larger and more difficult to move around and track,” noted Battery Partner Dave Tabors. “In our view, Signiant has cracked the code on how to tackle this problem, building a robust SaaS business to facilitate the transfer of these files in a secure way. And we see the opportunity to grow the company’s market even more.” 

    Added Roland Anderson, a Battery principal: “Signiant’s solutions, including its Media Shuttle product—which uses a proprietary protocol to move files over any IP network, between both public cloud and on-premises storage locations–are high-quality and extremely sticky among its customers. We’re excited to work with the company to fuel further growth, both organic and through potential acquisitions.” Both Tabors and Anderson are joining Signiant’s board. 

    Pharus served as exclusive advisor to Signiant on the transaction and Mintz Levin acted as counsel to the company. 

  • Most TV execs can’t sell streamlined multichannel ads, rely on homegrown tech: Study

    Most TV execs can’t sell streamlined multichannel ads, rely on homegrown tech: Study

    MUMBAI: Most TV companies are unprepared for advanced TV, a research has revealed.

    SintecMedia Survey finds that 69 per cent of TV media executives admitted their inability to sell streamlined multichannel advertising, while 59 per cent rely on homegrown technology.

    SintecMedia, a leading provider of broadcast and digital management software, has announced the results of a research study of TV media executives and agency media buyers about the future of TV, problems facing media companies, and how media companies plan to manage advanced TV advertising and delivery.

    The study includes results from a survey in partnership with MediaPost as well as interviews with executives from market-leading companies including Charter Spectrum Reach, Hulu, Scripps Network, and Turner.

    Fifty-nine per cent of TV media companies rely on homegrown technology to sell their inventory, a fact that will make it difficult for companies to adapt as advanced TV forces new technology and process into the advertising organization. The study also finds that the executives believe that their companies are unprepared for changes. Less than one third, 31 per cent believe that their company has what they need to sell digital and linear TV in a single streamlined process.

    SintecMedia is also a software partner for brands including NBCU, CBS, ABC, AT&T, STARZ, Star India, Seven Australia and Sky. SintecMedia and MediaPost surveyed TV executives, digital executives and agency media buyers.

    TV media executives, the study reveals, are not aligned with media buyers about several key advanced TV elements. While TV executives believe that TV ratings metrics will become the standard for multichannel and advanced TV advertising, agencies believe that the impression will become the significant metric. What’s more, TV companies feel confident that the TV department will take on more digital sales while agencies believe that digital will take on more TV sales.

    The study finds that demand for advanced TV inventory is founded on fast transactions, easy delivery and big scale. Technical and organizational friction within TV companies creates barriers that could frustrate media buyers looking for easy ways to buy audience-targeted campaigns from TV companies, potentially giving digital companies like Facebook and Google a window of opportunity.

    TV companies are, however, in a good position to grab market share in advanced TV if they can overcome technical and operational hurdles quickly.

    “TV companies and digital companies are both vying for advanced TV market share, with widely varying business models. The future of TV requires a profitable combination of quality content, multichannel distribution and ad sales built on a flexible, centralized technology stack. This strategy empowers the media company to control their transactions and make decisions quickly,” said SintecMedia CEO Lorne Brown.

    “Our research shows that many TV executives are facing critical trade-offs to reap small rewards from compromised projects now compared to more ambitions strategic initiatives that ensure that they preserve their control and profitability in the future,” Brown added.

  • Paywizard’s Vaguine joins Ownzones as SVP, to elevate European presence

    MUMBAI: Continuing its expansion throughout Western and Eastern Europe, Ownzones Media Network, the OTT EntTech company, has named Serge Vaguine as Senior Vice President, Business Development.  Vaguine will be based in London. The announcement was made today by Douglas Lee, Head of Programming at Ownzones.

    In this newly created post, Vaguine takes on the responsibility of increasing the company’s worldwide distribution platform services and technology offerings. This includes Ownzones’ OTT video delivery platform, which provides end-to-end solutions for delivering world-class viewing experiences. On the content front, Vaguine will handle the distribution for 420TV, a new VOD “all things cannabis” channel featuring 4K original, multi-episodic series’, long and short form news, informational and entertainment content, as well as Ownzones Passport, a localized app that gives consumers access to original video programs with top international and local influencers and Hollywood movies.

    “Our goal is to gain a foothold in more established European markets, and Serge is a results-driven senior sales and business development executive with a proven track record,” said Lee.  “Given his significant global experience in selling complex software and his deep background in digital media and entertainment, he is the perfect choice to lead us both in the content and technology sales efforts.”

    Previously, Vaguine served as Vice President Sales at Paywizard Group, a provider of subscriber management and billing solutions for pay TV operators. Vaguine undertook the task of boosting subscriber acquisition and retention as well as providing predictive churn analytics and rich data insight to the firm’s clients, including BT Sports, BoxNation, NBCU and ITV.

    From 2006 to 2014, Vaguine served as Director of Business Development, EMEA at Amino Communications, the leading provider of innovative hybrid TV, IPTV and cloud TV solutions and was based in Cambridge during his nine-year tenure with the company.

    Also Read :

    Netflix’s Nick Nelson joins Ownzones Media as head of product innovation

  • NBCU’s Fandango acquires Warner’s Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes

    NBCU’s Fandango acquires Warner’s Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes

    MUMBAI: Once known simply as an online movie ticketer, NBCUniversal’s Fandango has made impressive strides over the last several years to evolve its business into an experience brand that super-serves consumers throughout a movie’s lifecycle.

    Now going a step further, Fandango has signed an agreement to acquire digital movie brands Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, owned by Warner Bros Entertainment.

    The addition of Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, along with Fandango’s recent acquisition of on-demand video service M-GO, will expand the company’s theatrical ticketing business and create the industry’s premier digital network for all things movies.  

    With this acquisition, Fandango’s combined audience reach will grow to over 63 million unique visitors per month and more than 100 million mobile app downloads, and offer consumers the most comprehensive resource for movie information, theatrical ticketing, movie trailers and original video content for movie discovery, and home entertainment.  

    Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, including its world-famous Tomatometer rating tool (representing the percentage of positive professional reviews for a given film or television show) will continue as consumer-facing brands, as well as exciting new additions to Fandango’s digital network. As part of the deal, Warner Bros. Entertainment will take a minority ownership stake in Fandango and serve as an ongoing strategic partner. Fandango will remain a unit of NBCUniversal.

    “Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes are invaluable resources for movie fans, and we look forward to growing these successful properties, driving more theatrical ticketing and super-serving consumers with all their movie needs,” said Fandango president Paul Yanover. “Our new expanded network will also offer unparalleled capabilities for all of our exhibition, studio and promotional partners to reach a massive entertainment audience with innovative marketing and ticketing opportunities,” he added.

    In January, Fandango acquired M-GO, a leading digital distributor of new release and catalog movies to a wide variety of connected, over-the-top (OTT) and mobile devices including Android, iOS, Samsung, LG, Roku, and others. With M-GO (to be rebranded later this year), Fandango plans to work with exhibitors and studios to build streamlined solutions for “super tickets,” theatrical ticketing and home entertainment product bundles, gifts with purchase and other new promotional opportunities.

    Fandango’s vision for super-serving consumers throughout the movie lifecycle is also extending globally.  Just four months ago, Fandango made its first move internationally and acquired Brazil’s Ingresso.com, the top online ticketer in South America’s largest movie marketplace.
    The addition of Rotten Tomatoes will also strengthen Fandango’s presence overseas, as the Tomatometer is also used by international movie lovers.

    Fandango’s most recent acquisitions follow on the heels of the company’s record-breaking year in 2015, where it experienced 81 per cent growth in US ticketing, and for the first time in a single year, received more than one billion visits.

  • NBCU’s Fandango acquires Warner’s Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes

    NBCU’s Fandango acquires Warner’s Flixster & Rotten Tomatoes

    MUMBAI: Once known simply as an online movie ticketer, NBCUniversal’s Fandango has made impressive strides over the last several years to evolve its business into an experience brand that super-serves consumers throughout a movie’s lifecycle.

    Now going a step further, Fandango has signed an agreement to acquire digital movie brands Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, owned by Warner Bros Entertainment.

    The addition of Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, along with Fandango’s recent acquisition of on-demand video service M-GO, will expand the company’s theatrical ticketing business and create the industry’s premier digital network for all things movies.  

    With this acquisition, Fandango’s combined audience reach will grow to over 63 million unique visitors per month and more than 100 million mobile app downloads, and offer consumers the most comprehensive resource for movie information, theatrical ticketing, movie trailers and original video content for movie discovery, and home entertainment.  

    Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes, including its world-famous Tomatometer rating tool (representing the percentage of positive professional reviews for a given film or television show) will continue as consumer-facing brands, as well as exciting new additions to Fandango’s digital network. As part of the deal, Warner Bros. Entertainment will take a minority ownership stake in Fandango and serve as an ongoing strategic partner. Fandango will remain a unit of NBCUniversal.

    “Flixster and Rotten Tomatoes are invaluable resources for movie fans, and we look forward to growing these successful properties, driving more theatrical ticketing and super-serving consumers with all their movie needs,” said Fandango president Paul Yanover. “Our new expanded network will also offer unparalleled capabilities for all of our exhibition, studio and promotional partners to reach a massive entertainment audience with innovative marketing and ticketing opportunities,” he added.

    In January, Fandango acquired M-GO, a leading digital distributor of new release and catalog movies to a wide variety of connected, over-the-top (OTT) and mobile devices including Android, iOS, Samsung, LG, Roku, and others. With M-GO (to be rebranded later this year), Fandango plans to work with exhibitors and studios to build streamlined solutions for “super tickets,” theatrical ticketing and home entertainment product bundles, gifts with purchase and other new promotional opportunities.

    Fandango’s vision for super-serving consumers throughout the movie lifecycle is also extending globally.  Just four months ago, Fandango made its first move internationally and acquired Brazil’s Ingresso.com, the top online ticketer in South America’s largest movie marketplace.
    The addition of Rotten Tomatoes will also strengthen Fandango’s presence overseas, as the Tomatometer is also used by international movie lovers.

    Fandango’s most recent acquisitions follow on the heels of the company’s record-breaking year in 2015, where it experienced 81 per cent growth in US ticketing, and for the first time in a single year, received more than one billion visits.

  • NBCU inks deal with Bomanbridge to distribute ‘Chef in Your Ear’

    NBCU inks deal with Bomanbridge to distribute ‘Chef in Your Ear’

    MUMBAI: Singapore based production and distribution agency Bomanbridge Media has inked a deal with NBCUniversal International Networks (NBCU) for pan Asian broadcast of the Canadian cooking competition show Chef in Your Ear. The new show will air on Diva channel.

    Chef in Your Ear will feature two award winning chefs being challenged every week to deliver a dish. The dishes have to be prepared, cooked and plated by a complete kitchen novice, wearing an earpiece, and taking instructions from their mentor chef.

    The chefs can see, hear and talk to their rookies, but they can’t smell, taste or touch the food.

    Bomanbridge Media CEO Sonia Fleck said, “Bomanbridge is pleased to bring NBCU the entertaining hit series, Chef in Your Ear. This hot cooking competition show, which is also a format, is enjoying tremendous success on important channel brands such as Food Network in Canada, and CJ Media in South Korea. This unique take on the cooking genre will be sure to please viewers in the region.”

    The show is also available as a format. CJ E&M from South Korea recently renewed the format for a second season, and is currently on air with its first season.

    Mongol TV Mongolia also licensed the format.   

    “The Format People are delighted that Chef in Your Ear is reaching an even wider audience in the Asia region. At the heart of every episode is an amazing journey where regular people with no cooking skills or confidence discover the secrets and the joy of producing tasty food, and want to share it with their families – all thanks to the chef in their ear,” voiced Format People CCO and partner Justin Scroggie. 

    “We are confident that NBCU will enjoy as much success with the show as the Food Network has,” he further added.

  • NBCU inks deal with Bomanbridge to distribute ‘Chef in Your Ear’

    NBCU inks deal with Bomanbridge to distribute ‘Chef in Your Ear’

    MUMBAI: Singapore based production and distribution agency Bomanbridge Media has inked a deal with NBCUniversal International Networks (NBCU) for pan Asian broadcast of the Canadian cooking competition show Chef in Your Ear. The new show will air on Diva channel.

    Chef in Your Ear will feature two award winning chefs being challenged every week to deliver a dish. The dishes have to be prepared, cooked and plated by a complete kitchen novice, wearing an earpiece, and taking instructions from their mentor chef.

    The chefs can see, hear and talk to their rookies, but they can’t smell, taste or touch the food.

    Bomanbridge Media CEO Sonia Fleck said, “Bomanbridge is pleased to bring NBCU the entertaining hit series, Chef in Your Ear. This hot cooking competition show, which is also a format, is enjoying tremendous success on important channel brands such as Food Network in Canada, and CJ Media in South Korea. This unique take on the cooking genre will be sure to please viewers in the region.”

    The show is also available as a format. CJ E&M from South Korea recently renewed the format for a second season, and is currently on air with its first season.

    Mongol TV Mongolia also licensed the format.   

    “The Format People are delighted that Chef in Your Ear is reaching an even wider audience in the Asia region. At the heart of every episode is an amazing journey where regular people with no cooking skills or confidence discover the secrets and the joy of producing tasty food, and want to share it with their families – all thanks to the chef in their ear,” voiced Format People CCO and partner Justin Scroggie. 

    “We are confident that NBCU will enjoy as much success with the show as the Food Network has,” he further added.

  • NBCU names Ian Trombley as president, operations & tech services

    NBCU names Ian Trombley as president, operations & tech services

    MUMBAI: NBCUniversal has named Ian Trombley as president of operations and technical services (O&TS).

     

    Trombley will be responsible for the company’s owned studio and post production operations servicing television and film, including the network operating centers in Denver, New York, and New Jersey.

     

    He also will lead global security, business services and the facility management of NBCUniversal’s real estate portfolio. 

     

    Trombley will report to NBCUniversal EVP Adam Miller.

     

    Miller said, “Ian is a talented and proven executive who has been an integral part of the O&TS team for the last 15 years. His operations expertise and thorough understanding of the company leave him uniquely positioned to succeed in this important and complex role.”

     

    Most recently, Trombley was EVP of television operations where he was responsible for the day-to-day operations and engineering for 30 Rock studios, facilities and the on-air and non-linear origination for the company’s portfolio of networks. 

     

    Trombley led the rebuild of legendary 30 Rock studios 6A, 6B and 8G, the design and construction of the new state-of-the art Studio Production Gallery and control rooms, and the renovation of over one million square feet of NBCUniversal’s 30 Rockefeller headquarters and New York metro properties.

     

    Trombley succeeds John Wallace, a 27- year veteran of NBCUniversal, who joined NBC in 1988 as a member of the famed Page Program and rose through the ranks, holding a variety of leadership positions throughout the company during his tenure. Most recently, Wallace was president of O&TS since 2011 and prior to that president of the NBC Owned Stations from 2007-2011.

     

    “John’s contributions to NBC over the course of his career are truly immeasurable. His impact is felt all over the organization from technology to real estate to culture. In just the past year, he successfully led the extensive 30 Rockefeller Plaza restoration project which will have a lasting impact on visitors to NBCUniversal and all our employees. Most importantly, however, John has been a valued mentor, colleague and friend to so many of us here. We thank him for his outstanding work and commitment to the success of this company,” said Mr. Miller.

     

    Trombley will work alongside Wallace for the next five weeks to ensure a smooth transition before assuming the role on 8 September.

     

    During his 15 years with NBCUniversal, Trombley has held a number of leadership positions in broadcast and technical operations, facilities and studios management, and Information Technology. He played a critical role leading the NBC network’s transition from analog to digital television (DTV) and has built and launched multi-channel, multi-platform distribution operations in both New Jersey and Colorado, supporting the company’s cable channels, global networks, and TV Everywhere.  

     

    Trombley joined NBCUniversal from GE where he had previously held positions within the Quality and Information Technology divisions.

  • FCC: Dish Network resists Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger

    FCC: Dish Network resists Comcast-Time Warner Cable merger

    BENGALURU:  Citing irreparable harm to competition and consumers, and no discernible benefits, from the proposed union of the first and second largest cable companies in the nation, Dish Network Corp (Dish Network) filed its reply at the FCC to Comcast-Time Warner Cable’s (TWC) Opposition to the Petitions to Deny their proposed merger.

     

    “Everyone who likes to watch high-quality online video has particular reasons to worry about the proposed merger,” said Dish Network senior vice president and deputy general counsel Jeff Blum. “More than 54 per cent of the country’s high-speed broadband connections would be controlled by the combined company, and all online video distributors would be at the mercy of Comcast-TWC.”

     

    Some of the key points of Dish Network reply include:

     

    Comcast-TWC will be able to destroy OVDs with impunity. And destroy them it will: Dish’s experience based on the business case for Dish World and Dish’s soon-to-be-launched domestic OTT service demonstrates that an OTT could still turn a profit if it were to suffer foreclosure at the hands of a standalone Comcast, but not if the effects of the foreclosure spread across both of the Applicants’ systems. Based on his analysis of that business case, Dish’s expert economist Professor David Sappington concludes that, while foreclosure conduct on the part of Comcast today is probably survivable for an OVD such as Dish’s new OTT service, the same conduct would be lethal if undertaken by Comcast-TWC.

     

    As the petitions and comments demonstrate, high-speed cable broadband connections are the lifeblood of over-the-top (“OTT”) video services that typically target national audiences. For that reason, among others, the relevant geographic market for this transaction is national. Furthermore, the relevant product market should include only those services capable of supporting the robust online video services that consumers demand, which requires a household to have actual and consistent download speeds of at least 25 Megabits per second (“Mbps”). If approved, the combined Comcast-TWC would control more than 54 per cent of the broadband pipes in the United States that have speeds of at least 25 Mbps, and will be on a path to virtual dominance of the high-speed broadband market given that the combined company will pass nearly 70 per cent of pay-TV households in the US.

     

    Use of the Commission’s own method for estimating actual departures of a rival’s subscribers due to temporary foreclosure with a time horizon of six months leads to the conclusion that Comcast-TWC can reap eye-popping gains from denying its competitors NBCU programming. This will affect competition in a number of ways. It will cause subscribers to leave the competing distributor in favour of Comcast-TWC; it will cause dissatisfied Comcast-TWC subscribers to stay put instead of losing their access to NBCU; and it will let NBCU extract higher prices for its own programming by leveraging the fear of foreclosure.

     

    The merger’s claimed benefits, if any, cannot outweigh the merger’s harms. In the Opposition, the Applicants devote hundreds of pages to extolling the purported benefits of the merger. Many of these benefits are illusory or speculative—characteristically, the Applicants offer no more precise quantification than “hundreds of millions of dollars.” Many of the benefits are also not merger-specific. The upgrade of TWC systems, supposedly made possible thanks to the merger, is a prime example. Public documents show that TWC had planned to complete this transition itself as a standalone company. This means that large portions of the claimed benefits attributed to TWC upgrades (again left unquantified) should be disallowed in their entirety.

     

    Conduct conditions would fail to address the merger’s many harms. Conduct conditions did not work for Comcast-NBCU, and they would not work for this transaction, which poses substantially greater risks of harm. There is little reason to believe that Comcast will alter its pattern of repeatedly breaking promises. Moreover, the complexity of the gatekeeping function over the Internet choke points alone promises a myriad of technicalities that would likely allow circumvention of, and/or interpretive debate over, any conditions. Ultimately, if the Commission approves the merger believing that conditions are sufficient to address all the harms, there is no going back. The consequences of getting it wrong are too great, the risks too high. The public deserves better.

  • Iconic Gibson Amphitheater makes way for a Harry Potter attraction

    Iconic Gibson Amphitheater makes way for a Harry Potter attraction

    MUMBAI: NBCUniversal (NBCU) is demolishing the Los Angeles theme park‘s 41-year-old site in September to make way for a Harry Potter attraction and other "improvements." As reported by The Hollywood Reporter.
     
    The Gibson Amphitheater, a popular concert venue since its inauguration in 1972 as the Universal Amphitheater, will be leveled as early as October.
     
    It’s been assumed for months that the iconic amphitheater would need to perish, since NBCU has been saying that its joint-venture attraction with Warner Bros. called ‘The Wizarding World of Harry Potter’ was to be constructed at the north end of the park, which is where the amphitheater is located. On Wednesday, the decision was made formal.
     
    “This fall, a celebrated chapter in Los Angeles’ rich musical history will come to a close when the Gibson Amphitheater shuts its doors in September,” NBCU and Live Nation said in a release Wednesday. Live Nation leases the 6,200-seat amphitheater from NBCU.
     
    Live Nation is organizing a special "finale" concert on or about 6 September (acts have yet to be announced) to celebrate the 41-year-old venue, but details still are being worked out.