The Samsung TV Plus streaming platform has announced that Samsung TV and Galaxy owners in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, the U.K., and Germany can view season one of “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” on-demand for free, Samsung TV Plus. The first season of the series will be available until August 28. The launch is designed to help promote the series prior to the launch of the second season. This marks the first time ever that Prime Video is making available the entire first season without a subscription, bringing the popular series to nearly 300 million screens, for free...

STAMFORD, Conn.—ESPN has announced a new long-term deal with Genius Sports Limited that ESPN said will help transform ESPN’s live data-driven storytelling for NCAA sports and enhance broadcasts for the NBA and WNBA. As part of the agreement, ESPN will expand its college sports coverage with real-time team and player stats from Genius Sports, the exclusive distributor of official NCAA Data, with access to data across 65,000 NCAA games a year inclusive of basketball, football, ice hockey, volleyball and soccer.Additionally, ESPN is extending its deal with Genius Sports around NBA player-tracking data insights while adding the WNBA to its portfolio of...

SAN JOSE, Calif.—Harmonic has announced DMS X, a new SaaS-based version of its Distribution Management System for the company's industry-leading XOS advanced media processor. Running on the public cloud, DMS X improves the way broadcasters and content providers can manage and securely distribute video content over satellite, managed IP and open internet delivery networks. With DMS X, content providers have the flexibility to remotely manage advanced playout workflows; download clips, graphics and playlists; monitor edge devices and distribute high-quality video content to affiliates via internet, satellite and hybrid primary distribution."The broadcast industry's shift to IP-based video delivery mechanisms underscores the importance...

NEW YORK—Proximic by Comscore, a division of Comscore Inc., has announced that Horizon Media, the largest U.S. media agency has selected Proximic by Comscore as its preferred contextual intelligence provider. With this agreement, Horizon Media’s clients will be able to seamlessly tap into thousands of Proximic by Comscore’s contextually-powered targeting segments, with a specific focus on Proximic’s ID-free Predictive Audiences, the companies said. “In light of signal loss and increased global privacy regulations, sophisticated media buyers like Horizon have already begun to adopt privacy-focused technologies that will insulate them from these ongoing shifts in the identity landscape,” said Kathryn Roganti, senior vice...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—ATSC will exhibit at the SET Expo 2024 at the Distrito Anhembi Convention Center in San Paulo, Brazil, Aug. 19-22, on the heels of the SBTVD Forum recommending adoption of the ATSC 3.0 physical layer to the Brazilian government for its TV 3.0 next-generation terrestrial broadcast standard.The SBTVD Forum (Fórum do Sistema Brasileiro de TV Digital Terrestre) gave a thumbs up to the ATSC 3.0 physical layer after rigorous testing, including field trials. Brazil is expected to begin TV 3.0 deployment next year.Exhibiting at the SET (the Society of Brazilian Broadcast Engineers) Expo gives ATSC the opportunity to inform...

SUNRISE, Fla. and NEW YORK—The reigning NHL Stanley Cup Champions, the Florida Panthers, have announced a multi-year deal with ViewLift, a leading digital content distribution and monetization platform, to launch a new direct-to-consumer (DTC) streaming service. This service will allow Panthers fans to stream all locally-available games live on major devices, including web, mobile, and connected TV platforms.ViewLift, already a provider of streaming tech and services to the NHL, and its platform is used by Vegas Golden Knights and Washington Capitals. The Panthers previously announced that Scripps would air locally produced games over the air on three broadcast stations in Florida. In...

DENVER—Veritone’s artificial intelligence-based media and entertainment solutions are available in AWS Marketplace, a curated digital catalog of independent vendors with software solutions that runs on Amazon Web Services (AWS), the company said today.The availability of its AI solutions in AWS Marketplace provides media, entertainment and sports customers with the ability to access, purchase and deploy the company’s AI solutions directly within the AWS cloud environment. “Being listed in the AWS Marketplace is a significant milestone for Veritone’s media and entertainment and sports solutions, and another step in expanding our reach to help more organizations harness the power of AI to transform their operations,” said Sean King, Veritone general manager, Media and Entertainment. “Rights owners, rights holders and creators now have powerful AI tools at their fingertips.” Veritone media and entertainment solutions now in the AWS Marketplace include:  Veritone Digital Media Hub – an AI-powered digital asset management and monetization solution. Veritone Discovery – powered by Veritone’s aiWARE enterprise AI platform, Discovery enables customers to discover large amounts of visual and audio broadcast data and easily track and verify ads in near real-time. Veritone Attribute – a turnkey broadcast attribution solution that enables customers to optimize linear TV and radio campaigns by correlating ads with web lift in near real-time. 

DALLAS—TMT Insights has appointed Nav Khangura vice president of sales and business development with responsibility for expanding the company’s footprint in EMEA.Khangura will focus on accelerating the company's market presence and driving sales growth across its portfolio of operations software solutions and consulting and implementation services, the company said. Working with clients to deliver improvements across digital supply chains, including media content management, cloud technology and SaaS/D2C experiences, Khangura brings extensive M&E experience to his new role. During his career, Khangura has held roles at Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Ericsson Broadcast and Media Services and most recently was vice president of business development at Prime Focus Technologies, it said.TMT Insights will exhibit at IBC 2024.More information is available via email.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—LG Ad Solutions has released a new a report that highlights the importance of black and African American CTV viewers with data showing their purchasing power and a survey that shows they are more likely to take action after seeing a CTV ads. The report, “The Inclusive Screen: Black Americans,” which is based on a survey of nearly 1,500 Black and African American CTV users, found that CTV (Connected TV) is a pivotal environment for advertisers to connect with Black Americans in personalized and impactful ways. The study reveals that Black CTV users are more likely to take action after...

CLAREMONT, N.C.—CommScope, a major network connectivity provider, has announced the first major sale of the company’s recently acquired Casa Systems virtual CMTS and QAM video solution to Kábelszatnet, one of Hungary’s leading providers of cable, Internet, and voice services. The sale also includes CommScope’s Distributed Access Architecture (DAA) Remote PHY (R-PHY) shelves and DC2180 DAA Cabinet Nodes. The announcement comes only seven weeks after CommScope announced the company’s acquisition of Casa Systems’ cable assets in May.CommScope’s vCMTS and QAM video solution will be the key operating component of Kábelszatnet’s DAA deployment, which will enable Kábelszatnet to move DOCSIS signal generation from...

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is calling on the FCC to take action to improve customer service for consumers with broadband, phone and cable services. Rosenworcel has shared with her fellow commissioners a Notice of Inquiry that, if adopted, would seek information on ways to ensure that consumers have appropriate and efficient access to customer service resources when working with their phone, cable and broadband providers.  “Consumers deserve the ability to resolve problems quickly and easily, in a way that works for them, not just what benefits the company’s bottom line,” said Chairwoman Rosenworcel.  “That’s why we are seeking information on how to promote efficiency in customer service in the telecommunications industry.  Through this effort, we want to explore solutions to take some of the pain out of routine customer service problems and pass along cost savings to consumers.”The Notice of Inquiry would seek comment on a number of related topics including, but not limited to:  Simple cancellation; Access to live representatives;Establishing uniform requirements regarding installations, outages, and service calls; Automatic renewal of service or price increases; Special considerations for people with disabilities, and more.

WASHINGTON, D.C. & OVERLAND PARK, Kans.—The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) and ACA Connects (ACAC) will host their 19th annual Independent Show (TIS) themed “Faster, Farther and Together” on August 19-22, 2024 at the Omni Nashville Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.“We are as relevant to broadband and video service providers today as the day we started 40 years ago. We were the first organization to create a co-op buying experience offering significantly discounted video pricing that allowed our members to feature video channels at prices comparable to those of the largest companies. Our members represent nearly one third of all...

DALLAS—As many streaming services and video distribution companies struggle to expand their reach and develop profitable offerings, a new white paper from Parks Associates and JW Player (JWP) highlights the increased complexity of a video landscape and the ongoing decline of traditional TV.   The survey found that 67% of consumers watch social video and 50% watch free ad-supported video. But only one-third watch pay TV, and 14% use an antenna to watch over-the-air broadcast. In addition, 65% of U.S. internet households report watching video on a mobile phone, a significant increase from ten years ago, when just 30% regularly watched video...

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. & NASHVILLE, Tenn.—BNS Inc., a business, technology and engineering services company, has announced a partnership with the video intelligence solution provider NPAW that will see them work together on the delivery of end-to-end video intelligence solutions for streaming services. As part of the agreement, the companies said they will offer state-of-the-art video analytics and reporting tools that enhance user experience and performance efficiency for service providers across North America. The combination of NPAW’s extensive device monitoring and testing tools with BNS’s media and entertainment industry expertise and understanding of the North American market, will also help expand NPAW’s footprint...

LAS VEGAS—Elation has announced that its PULSE PANEL FX lights were used in the live broadcast of the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29 from Las Vegas Sphere —the first ever live TV broadcast from that extraordinary space. When the NHL decided to elevate the draft experience by hosting it at the Sphere, they sought a top-tier designer with extensive large broadcast TV and touring experience and tapped Tom Kenny for the job. Already familiar with the venue from his early consulting work on the Sphere project, Kenny also has long-time associations with Willie Williams and the entire U2 crew...

CENTURY CITY, Calif.—Ateliere Creative Technologies, a GenAI media software solutions company, has announced the availability of Ateliere Live, its new software and cloud-native live production and editing platform. The solution will debut at IBC 2024. “Ateliere Live solves the hard challenges around live production, empowering customers to attain unprecedented levels of operational and environmental efficiencies,” said Dan Goman, CEO, Ateliere. “Adopting Ateliere Live will give your organization a more flexible and efficient way of working and remove the complexity to produce better outcomes for your business.” The company said that Ateliere Live is designed to help redefine the future of live...

NEW ROCHELLE, N.Y.—As streamers and content distributors work to attract new subs in an increasingly competitive media landscape, a new study from Horowitz Research highlights the importance of in-language and international content in attracting rapidly growing Asian American audiences. The new study, FOCUS Asian Volume I: Subscriptions 2024, reports that Asian Americans say that in-language and international content is an important consideration when making subscription decisions. It also found that more than half (54%) of Asian audiences watch at least some Asian-language content at least occasionally, and over 4 in 10 say content from their country of origin or heritage (45%) and/or...

LEXINGTON, Mass.—Signiant will showcase its latest product innovations as well as partnerships, such as the recently announced collaboration with TMT Insights at IBC 2024, Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Amsterdam Convention Center.The partnership has led to the creation of an Intelligent Ingest solution designed to simplify large-scale media ingest. Users can save time and money through the Intelligent Ingest solution, which enables the planning and tracking of both proactive and reactive inbound content from greenlight through receipt, the company said.The solution streamlines the inbound flow of media files from a large and diverse set of partners and instantly validates when components...

TV ad measurement company iSpot has announced that it has received industry certification from the U.S. Joint Industry Committee (JIC) for its measurement capabilities and methodologies covering critical areas of the cross-platform TV advertising industry.In addition to receiving certification for overall transactability, iSpot’s latest measurement methodology, iSpot Data Connect, has been deemed ready for scalable transactions in all currency classifications that were evaluated by the JIC, iSpot reported. This includes Total Households and Audiences across both Average Commercial Minute, Exact Spot Ad measurement and Personified Demos – which is how 90% of the TV marketplace is traded on today.In announcing...

NEW YORK—Warner Bros. Discovery is reporting record Olympics streaming and TV audiences in Europe during the Paris Olympics and that its streaming service Max boosted viewership and engagement across Europe. WBD reported that about 7 billion minutes of Olympics coverage was streamed in Europe during the games with a record 600 million minutes streamed during a single day on Sunday August 4. In addition, its streaming service Max added a record number of new paid streaming subscribers over the Games period; 77% more than Tokyo 2020, with Saturday August 27 becoming Warner Bros. Discovery’s biggest ever single day for new paid...