TECHNOLOGIES,BUSINESS
Arena Group | January 13, 2023
On January 12, 2023, The Arena Group acquired Fexy Studios, an award-winning creative agency that produces television series, streaming and digital video programming, and branded content across mobile and desktop web, OTT, broadcast television, YouTube, Twitch, Instagram, Facebook, webinars, and more.
The Arena Group will utilize the strength of its core brands and continued audience growth, as well as Fexy's production and branded video capabilities, to enhance streaming, sponsored content, and television programming while boosting sales and revenue across The Arena Group's properties.
Rob Barrett, The Arena Group's President of Media, stated, "Fexy Studios has demonstrated a great ability to create compelling programming and digital video content that resonates deeply with viewers and advertisers. By adding that capability to The Arena Group, we will provide vibrant content and experiences across formats and mediums while building new horizontal, multichannel advertising opportunities throughout our portfolio."
Source- Businesswire
As CEO of Fexy Studios, Cliff Sharples will increase TV, streaming, and cross-platform advertising opportunities and a wide-ranging show portfolio for The Arena Group's verticals.
After the acquisition, the Arena Group's food coverage will expand within Parade Lifestyle Media Group. Kathy Kingsley, GM of TV Programming and Executive Producer on ‘Moveable Feast’ Kaarina Aufrance, GM of ‘Roadfood’, and Bruce Hunter, Head of Sales at Fexy Studios, will join the firm. The transaction will be paid with company stock and cash on hand.
About The Arena Group
The Arena Group, a tech-powered media firm, combines excellent technology, legendary brands, and marketing ability to bring vivid content and experiences to over 120 million consumers each month. It supports brands and creators by delivering technical solutions, distribution, and monetization, enabling journalists, editors, and content creators to impact, enlighten, educate, and entertain people globally. In addition, the company produces vital online destinations that engage consumers with robust journalism and news about their favorite sports teams, investing advice, personal finance, and lifestyle basics.
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TECHNOLOGIES,MEDIA AND BROADCASTING
Cosm | January 12, 2023
On January 10, 2023, Cosm, a significant immersive media and technology producer, acquired C360 judiciously to power immersive experiences.
C360, established in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), delivers immersive video solutions to major broadcasters, digital partners, sports media firms, leagues, and multiple government agencies and initiatives.
Cosm was the lead investor in C360 in early 2022 when the company effectively raised funding to broaden its capabilities with major leagues, teams, and broadcasters and activate its technology in arenas, stadiums, and significant sporting events worldwide. Since Cosm's investment, the two companies have discovered more growth potential with broadcast and league partners and will continue to leverage related technological resources.
Jeb Terry, CEO and President at Cosm, said, "We invested in C360 last year to fuel its growth and, over the past twelve months, recognized the incredible opportunity for us to go further, together." He further added, “We have validated Cosm's best-in-class tech stack with our history of innovation, recent R&D developments, and well-defined roadmap. Now, with C360 as part of our team, our capabilities become even more formidable in the immersive and linear production space. This acquisition reinforces our commitment to our broadcast partners and the value-add approach we take to deal making. It is a testament to our aligned visions of redefining the way the world experiences content and bridging the gap between the experience economy and immersive technologies."
Source: PRNewswire
C360's software and technology will add complementary elements to Cosm's sequential offering by capturing content in-house for its completely immersive venues, including its recently announced venues in Los Angeles as well as Dallas, and clients and partners in sports, entertainment, science and education, parks and attractions, and other industries.
About Cosm
Cosm is a multinational technology company that creates end-to-end immersive experience solutions. It is transforming the way the world consumes content. With 75 years of experience, the enterprise delivers the world's most immersive experiences with unique technology and state-of-the-art venues that flawlessly blend virtual and physical realities, redefining the realm of possibility. The company offers a full-stack experience solution, which involves physical design, engineering, and manufacturing, in addition to the software, display engine, and content requirements for delivering immersive experiences at scale. Its technology allows people to enjoy entertainment in innovative ways in three primary markets, i.e., sports and entertainment, science and education, and parks and attractions.
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TECHNOLOGIES,BUSINESS
Viewlift | January 11, 2023
Viewlift and Bitmovin to Introduce Buffer-free Video Streaming for Global Market
ViewLift, a pioneer in end-to-end streaming and over-the-top (OTT) solutions, has entered a multi-year partnership with Bitmovin.
By incorporating Bitmovin's cloud-based video streaming infrastructure technologies, the collaboration will enhance the quality of streaming on OTT platforms worldwide and improve ViewLift's full-cycle content distribution and monetization potential.
The quality of experience has become the top indicator for viewer retention after recent findings by Bitmovin. The results stated that over half of the users have unsubscribed from a streaming service owing to buffering issues, enabling content owners to bring to the market quickly and at scale, maximizing profits and minimizing churn.
ViewLift's customers can now use Bitmovin to get jerk-free streaming, as the latter’s encoding solutions include the Next-Generation VOD Encoder, which supports multi-codec streaming, 8K, and multi-HDR, and the Live Event Encoder, to handle the traffic.
ViewLift's OTT platform will now also include Bitmovin Analytics. Using an automated device testing solution and Bitmovin Player, it will be able to test, deploy, and improve video playback while ensuring smooth streaming on all devices.
"Partnering with Bitmovin is a win-win for both of us. But the ultimate winners in this partnership are our customers and their viewers. Our joint capabilities are poised to provide them with an unrivaled OTT viewing experience. At a time when streaming quality is critical to viewer acquisition and retention and can make or break OTT businesses, our combined technology advantage will allow content owners to step up their game. Bitmovin's hyper-efficient codecs, cloud-based encoding, and intelligently optimized adaptive bitrate optimized encoding ladders combined with ViewLift's end-to-end content distribution and monetization solutions are a game-changer in the OTT space,"
-Manik Bambha, President of ViewLift, shared about the partnership.
(Source: Business Wire)
About ViewLift
ViewLift® was founded in 2008. It is an edge OTT content distribution platform that assists media businesses, sports leagues, and broadcasters to monetize their content via native branded apps on the web, mobile, game consoles, and other connected smart TVs.
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