Media & Entertainment Industry: Novel Strategies to Thrive in the New Normal

June 20, 2021 | 42 views

Media enterprises will have to quickly learn to run their media operationswhile accelerating digital transformation and adopting emergingtechnologies

Spotlight

CBS Radio

CBS RADIO is one of the largest major-market broadcast media operators in the United States and the undisputed leader in news and sports radio. Producing original audio and video content, live events and exclusive programming broadcast via on-air, online and mobile platforms, CBS RADIO reaches nearly 70 million consumers nationwide each week. As a part of CBS Corporation, the division owns and operates 117 radio stations in 26 markets – including the top 10 as ranked by Nielsen Audio – as well as an extensive array of digital assets. CBS RADIO distributes its programming via AM, FM and HD Radio stations, Radio.com and CBS Local Digital Media apps, making engaging with audiences easier than ever before.

OTHER ARTICLES
MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Microsoft’s xCloud game streaming arrives on iOS with some Apple restrictions

Article | May 19, 2021

Microsoft is expanding its Project xCloud service to the iPhone today. The software giant is launching a beta of xCloud through Apple’s TestFlight service, allowing xCloud testers to try the service on an iPhone or iPad. It’s the first time we’ve seen a cloud game streaming service appear on iOS since the days of OnLive — and OnLive’s iOS app wound up in limbo when Apple didn’t approve it. Google’s Stadia and Nvidia’s GeForce Now are still not available on Apple’s devices, either, and neither company has been able to tell us when that might change.

Read More
MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Apple's AR & VR headset may not need external input for orientation & motion detection

Article | May 21, 2021

Apple is continuing to investigate headsets like its "AR Glasses," as part of its exploration of Augmented and Virtual Reality systems. One such headset in future may utilize sensors that can detect angular rotation, such as that experienced when the device is placed on a user's head or removed. "[It] may be beneficial for the VR headset to be able to detect when a head-worn device (e.g., headset, eyeglasses, headphones, etc.) is being removed from the user's head, is being placed on the user's head, or both," says Apple in US Patent No. 10,557,724, "Angle detection of a rotating system using a single magnet and multiple hall sensors."

Read More
MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Game On: These Entertainment Stocks Hit New Levels

Article | June 22, 2021

Some Chinese entertainment stocks listed in the U.S. got a boost last week after the People Bank of China (PBOC) said it would pump $173 billion into the economy. Since news of the report from Beijing hit the street, one of the biggest gainers was Chinese gaming giant NetEase Inc. (Nasdaq: NTES) NetEase, a partner of California-based Blizzard Entertainment in China, traded as low as $317.48 per American depositary share within the last couple of weeks, and soared as high as $347.95 apiece last week. NetEase rolled out its international presence in recent years in Japan and North America, lowering its China dependency.

Read More

The Future of Tech: Gaming Consoles, the Xbox and PlayStation of Tomorrow

Article | February 10, 2020

Consoles have come a very long way since the arrival of first-generation machines from Atari and Coleco in the seventies. Even the original PlayStation (1994) and Xbox (2001) look dated compared to the 4K/HDR-capable machines of today, and that divide will grow even larger once the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X arrive at the end of 2020. But what about the future? More than once console makers have tried to break new ground, by focusing on functionality beyond gaming, but for the most part those attempts have failed. Nintendo has found the most success with specialized hardware that still focuses on games first, while Sony and Microsoft have seemingly understood that building powerful general purpose machines that are akin to PCs is their best and safest bet.

Read More

Spotlight

CBS Radio

CBS RADIO is one of the largest major-market broadcast media operators in the United States and the undisputed leader in news and sports radio. Producing original audio and video content, live events and exclusive programming broadcast via on-air, online and mobile platforms, CBS RADIO reaches nearly 70 million consumers nationwide each week. As a part of CBS Corporation, the division owns and operates 117 radio stations in 26 markets – including the top 10 as ranked by Nielsen Audio – as well as an extensive array of digital assets. CBS RADIO distributes its programming via AM, FM and HD Radio stations, Radio.com and CBS Local Digital Media apps, making engaging with audiences easier than ever before.

Related News

TECHNOLOGIES

Wilson Sonsini Levels up its E-gaming Practice with NEST Start-up Program and New Gaming-Focused Initiatives

Wilson Sonsini | March 20, 2023

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s Electronic Gaming Group (EGG) is excited to announce the launch of a series of initiatives to increase its support of the game industry: NEST – A suite of legal resources tailored to accelerate gaming start-ups through the critical early stages of their life cycles The Scramble – A yearly publication featuring legal news from the front lines of gaming and providing legal insights Electronic Gaming Group Hub A hub for all things gaming, including a complimentary legal roadmap for early-stage companies, podcasts and insights from Wilson Sonsini’s gaming experts, information about the NEST program, and much more NEST Start-Up Program Starting today, early-stage gaming companies can apply to be part of the first NEST cohort. Those accepted will receive special pricing for some of the most critical legal services gaming start-ups require to launch their business, build their teams, and raise capital. Participants will also receive access to Wilson Sonsini’s gaming sector specialists, who will provide coaching and pitch training, facilitate exposure to investors, and deliver a start-up 101 lecture series to kick off admission into NEST. The Scramble Get your copy of Wilson Sonsini’s first edition of The Scramble and learn about the gaming industry’s hottest legal news from the past year. Find out the sectors being funded, the state of intellectual property in gaming, statistics on past trends, and what EGG is looking forward to in 2023. The Scramble also features a collection of EGG’s industry-leading publications from the last year. Electronic Gaming Group (EGG) Website Wilson Sonsini is launching its brand-new Electronic Gaming Group website to act as a hub of resource tools to support developers, investors, publishers, and others in the gaming industry as they build the next generation of market-leading gaming experiences. In addition to learning more about NEST and downloading The Scramble, users can acquire a complimentary legal services roadmap outlining key needs for early-stage companies in the gaming industry. Users can also tune in to EGG podcasts featuring Wilson Sonsini’s gaming legal specialists. Series I of the EGG podcasts is live and covers hot topics for gaming start-ups, from intellectual property to open-source software, antitrust to NFTs. EGG at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Wilson Sonsini is excited to be back in person at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco from March 20-24. Wilson Sonsini is sponsoring the MIX’s Game Developers Showcase on March 20, where attorneys will be available to answer questions about NEST and the rest of EGG’s gaming initiatives. Wilson Sonsini attorneys John McGaraghan and Andrew Poling will be presenting at the prestigious Open Source Game Development Summit on March 21. About Wilson Sonsini’s Electronic Gaming Group (EGG) Wilson Sonsini has advised hundreds of clients throughout the digital gaming sector and is currently the No. 1 law firm for company-side gaming deals. Wilson Sonsini’s Electronic Gaming Group is comprised of attorneys with deep experience in the gaming industry, including former game fund executives, business development leads at gaming giants, and founders of their own gaming start-ups. Through EGG, clients can gain access to a global network of investors and industry relationships, practical advisors, and top-tier resources to scale through all stages of their business’s life cycle. About Wilson Sonsini For more than 60 years, Wilson Sonsini has offered a broad range of legal services, focused on solving challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leading provider to growing and established clients seeking legal counsel to complete sophisticated corporate and technology transactions; manage governance and enterprise-scale matters; assist with intellectual property development, protection, and IP-driven transactions; represent them in contested disputes; and/or advise them on antitrust or other regulatory matters. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini has 19 offices in technology and business hubs worldwide.

Read More

TECHNOLOGIES, MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Ant Media Integrates Zixi for Live Streaming

Zixi | February 10, 2023

Zixi, a software development company, has recently partnered with Ant Media, and Ant Media Server (AMS) has integrated Zixi's software-defined video platform (SDVP) for real-time live streaming. Using the Zixi protocol, AMS can connect to the vast broadcast-quality live sources and enhance stream resilience with aware routing and patented dynamic family entertainment centers (FEC), network utilization, bandwidth shaping, DTLS and AES content-encryption security, error-free video transfer over IP networks, less uptime, multicast transport, bandwidth efficiency, and encoder backpressure. It can also manage large-scale configurations and networking. AMS is a streaming engine that uses Zixi-enabled live sources and provides streaming with WebRTC technology and sub-0.5-second latency. Auto-scale clustering assists publishers and viewers on a larger scale, supporting a wide range of viewers and streams. Its users can publish AMS streams to the SDVP, utilizing workflow, GPU-accelerated live transcoding, hitless failover, bonding over disparate networks, purpose-built live operations dashboards, live channels' centralized management, and enhanced visualization. In addition, it delivers Zixi-protected streams through the WebRTC full-stack network, SFU, MCU, and Data Channel for global reach. CEO/Co-founder of Ant Media, Ahmet Oguz Mermerkaya, said, "With integrated Zixi Protocol support, Ant Media Servers have access to the industry-leading performance, efficiency, security, and reliability that the SDVP enables." He added, "By leveraging the combined AMS and SDVP solution, our common customers have access to high-performance, scalable real-time video distribution." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) Senior Vice President of Alliances and Marketing at Zixi, John Wastcoat, said, "This exciting integration was initially requested from a video game and Esports live streaming platforms." He added, "And Ant Media Server's WebRTC cutting-edge innovation delivers the infrastructure necessary for next-generation, mission-critical applications such as live game shows, e-learning, and mobile streaming." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About Zixi Zixi, a cloud-driven solutions provider, has an on-premises software-defined video platform, enabling reliable broadcast video delivery over any IP network, protocol, cloud provider, and edge device. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, it has been offering technological services to mobile service providers, video providers, enterprises, and broadcasters worldwide. It specializes in the fields of live streaming, virtual content supply chain, glass-to-glass solutions, video distribution on a large scale, media processing, IP-based distribution, contribution at scale, forward error correction, OTT delivery, seamless failover, multi-path delivery, remote production solutions, live sports distribution, VOD delivery, broadcast solutions, and cloud services.

Read More

APPLICATIONS

Armanino Expands Entertainment Expertise with the Addition of Blue Sky Group and Royalty Compliance Organization

businesswire | March 24, 2023

Armanino LLP, a top 20 accounting and consulting firm in the United States, announced today that leading music business management team, Nashville-based Blue Sky Group, and music rights and royalty auditing firm, Royalty Compliance Organization (“RCO”), are joining Armanino effective April 1, 2023. The strategic additions of these two firms mark a major development that strengthens Armanino’s business management service offerings, broader tax and audit capabilities and gives Armanino a Nashville presence, which is the heart of the music industry. The Blue Sky Group with Harlan Hallet and Steven McMillan and RCO with Wayne Coleman and Darla Crain will integrate into Armanino bringing a wealth of talented entertainment business managers and audit experts in royalty compliance, valuation services, and litigation support capabilities that propel Armanino forward in delivering the preeminent entertainment and business management services. Unique to business management firms, Armanino will continue to provide robust day-to-day business management services along with deepened tax, audit, and other service offerings relevant to the needs of the entertainment industry and ultra-high net-worth clients, all with a white-glove approach focused on client success. "As far as industry-leading experts, we could not be more thrilled with the knowledge and talent that Blue Sky and RCO bring to our team, we know this will be incredibly valuable for our clients,” says Craig Manzino, Partner, Business Management at Armanino. “This will make Armanino one of the only business management groups in the world that will be able to offer the full slate of entertainment services while allowing us to deepen and expand our reach into Nashville, which we view as extremely important for our growth goals.” Armanino’s Business Management team, which serves some of the leading musicians, entertainers and music publishers among other clientele out of their New York City and Los Angeles offices, will now have an office in Nashville. Music City is the country’s fastest growing entertainment hotspot and an office in Nashville gives Armanino’s team and its clients the trifecta of office locations to serve the entertainment industry. “As the industry standard for royalty audit services, RCO is excited to join Armanino’s entertainment practice and tap into the synergies that our firms bring to the table,” says Wayne Coleman, Founder and CEO of Royalty Compliance Organization. Darla Crain, COO of RCO adds, “by combining forces, we will be able to better serve our clients while being able to bring best-in-class offerings to Armanino and Blue Sky’s client base.” “Blue Sky, RCO and Armanino share a common vision for the future of entertainment advice and business management service, and believe that we can evolve into the leading business management firm in the country,” says Harlan Hallet, Partner at Blue Sky. “By combining forces, we are only adding to an already successful business practice but now have the benefit of RCO’s capabilities and the leverage and resources of Armanino’s team. We see this as a major win for the entertainment industry as a whole.” The addition of these firms comes as the entertainment industry continues to show signs of growth and a greater need for royalty compliance and auditing. Armanino is well-placed to take advantage of this growth. With offices serving the entertainment industry now in three major US cities, clients can expect a high-quality service across all aspects of business management from Armanino. About Armanino LLP Armanino LLP is one of the 20 largest independent accounting and business consulting firms in the nation. Armanino provides an integrated set of audit, tax, business management, consulting and technology solutions to companies in the U.S. and globally. The firm helps clients adapt and change in every stage of business, from startup through rapid growth to the sale of a company. Armanino emphasizes smart technology, leading a cloud revolution of financial, operational, sales and compliance tools that are transforming the way companies do business. Armanino is an independent member firm of Moore North America Inc. (MNA), which is itself a regional member of Moore Global Network Limited (MGNL), one of the world’s major accounting and consulting membership organizations. All the firms associated with MNA and MGNL are independent entities, owned and managed in each location. Their membership in, or association with, MNA or MGNL should not be construed as constituting or implying any partnership between them. In addition to its core consulting and accounting practices, Armanino operates its division, AMF Media Group (www.amfmediagroup.com), a media and communications services agency.

Read More

TECHNOLOGIES

Wilson Sonsini Levels up its E-gaming Practice with NEST Start-up Program and New Gaming-Focused Initiatives

Wilson Sonsini | March 20, 2023

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati’s Electronic Gaming Group (EGG) is excited to announce the launch of a series of initiatives to increase its support of the game industry: NEST – A suite of legal resources tailored to accelerate gaming start-ups through the critical early stages of their life cycles The Scramble – A yearly publication featuring legal news from the front lines of gaming and providing legal insights Electronic Gaming Group Hub A hub for all things gaming, including a complimentary legal roadmap for early-stage companies, podcasts and insights from Wilson Sonsini’s gaming experts, information about the NEST program, and much more NEST Start-Up Program Starting today, early-stage gaming companies can apply to be part of the first NEST cohort. Those accepted will receive special pricing for some of the most critical legal services gaming start-ups require to launch their business, build their teams, and raise capital. Participants will also receive access to Wilson Sonsini’s gaming sector specialists, who will provide coaching and pitch training, facilitate exposure to investors, and deliver a start-up 101 lecture series to kick off admission into NEST. The Scramble Get your copy of Wilson Sonsini’s first edition of The Scramble and learn about the gaming industry’s hottest legal news from the past year. Find out the sectors being funded, the state of intellectual property in gaming, statistics on past trends, and what EGG is looking forward to in 2023. The Scramble also features a collection of EGG’s industry-leading publications from the last year. Electronic Gaming Group (EGG) Website Wilson Sonsini is launching its brand-new Electronic Gaming Group website to act as a hub of resource tools to support developers, investors, publishers, and others in the gaming industry as they build the next generation of market-leading gaming experiences. In addition to learning more about NEST and downloading The Scramble, users can acquire a complimentary legal services roadmap outlining key needs for early-stage companies in the gaming industry. Users can also tune in to EGG podcasts featuring Wilson Sonsini’s gaming legal specialists. Series I of the EGG podcasts is live and covers hot topics for gaming start-ups, from intellectual property to open-source software, antitrust to NFTs. EGG at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) Wilson Sonsini is excited to be back in person at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco from March 20-24. Wilson Sonsini is sponsoring the MIX’s Game Developers Showcase on March 20, where attorneys will be available to answer questions about NEST and the rest of EGG’s gaming initiatives. Wilson Sonsini attorneys John McGaraghan and Andrew Poling will be presenting at the prestigious Open Source Game Development Summit on March 21. About Wilson Sonsini’s Electronic Gaming Group (EGG) Wilson Sonsini has advised hundreds of clients throughout the digital gaming sector and is currently the No. 1 law firm for company-side gaming deals. Wilson Sonsini’s Electronic Gaming Group is comprised of attorneys with deep experience in the gaming industry, including former game fund executives, business development leads at gaming giants, and founders of their own gaming start-ups. Through EGG, clients can gain access to a global network of investors and industry relationships, practical advisors, and top-tier resources to scale through all stages of their business’s life cycle. About Wilson Sonsini For more than 60 years, Wilson Sonsini has offered a broad range of legal services, focused on solving challenges faced by the management and boards of directors of business enterprises. The firm is nationally recognized as a leading provider to growing and established clients seeking legal counsel to complete sophisticated corporate and technology transactions; manage governance and enterprise-scale matters; assist with intellectual property development, protection, and IP-driven transactions; represent them in contested disputes; and/or advise them on antitrust or other regulatory matters. With deep roots in Silicon Valley, Wilson Sonsini has 19 offices in technology and business hubs worldwide.

Read More

TECHNOLOGIES, MEDIA AND BROADCASTING

Ant Media Integrates Zixi for Live Streaming

Zixi | February 10, 2023

Zixi, a software development company, has recently partnered with Ant Media, and Ant Media Server (AMS) has integrated Zixi's software-defined video platform (SDVP) for real-time live streaming. Using the Zixi protocol, AMS can connect to the vast broadcast-quality live sources and enhance stream resilience with aware routing and patented dynamic family entertainment centers (FEC), network utilization, bandwidth shaping, DTLS and AES content-encryption security, error-free video transfer over IP networks, less uptime, multicast transport, bandwidth efficiency, and encoder backpressure. It can also manage large-scale configurations and networking. AMS is a streaming engine that uses Zixi-enabled live sources and provides streaming with WebRTC technology and sub-0.5-second latency. Auto-scale clustering assists publishers and viewers on a larger scale, supporting a wide range of viewers and streams. Its users can publish AMS streams to the SDVP, utilizing workflow, GPU-accelerated live transcoding, hitless failover, bonding over disparate networks, purpose-built live operations dashboards, live channels' centralized management, and enhanced visualization. In addition, it delivers Zixi-protected streams through the WebRTC full-stack network, SFU, MCU, and Data Channel for global reach. CEO/Co-founder of Ant Media, Ahmet Oguz Mermerkaya, said, "With integrated Zixi Protocol support, Ant Media Servers have access to the industry-leading performance, efficiency, security, and reliability that the SDVP enables." He added, "By leveraging the combined AMS and SDVP solution, our common customers have access to high-performance, scalable real-time video distribution." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) Senior Vice President of Alliances and Marketing at Zixi, John Wastcoat, said, "This exciting integration was initially requested from a video game and Esports live streaming platforms." He added, "And Ant Media Server's WebRTC cutting-edge innovation delivers the infrastructure necessary for next-generation, mission-critical applications such as live game shows, e-learning, and mobile streaming." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About Zixi Zixi, a cloud-driven solutions provider, has an on-premises software-defined video platform, enabling reliable broadcast video delivery over any IP network, protocol, cloud provider, and edge device. Headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts, it has been offering technological services to mobile service providers, video providers, enterprises, and broadcasters worldwide. It specializes in the fields of live streaming, virtual content supply chain, glass-to-glass solutions, video distribution on a large scale, media processing, IP-based distribution, contribution at scale, forward error correction, OTT delivery, seamless failover, multi-path delivery, remote production solutions, live sports distribution, VOD delivery, broadcast solutions, and cloud services.

Read More

APPLICATIONS

Armanino Expands Entertainment Expertise with the Addition of Blue Sky Group and Royalty Compliance Organization

businesswire | March 24, 2023

Armanino LLP, a top 20 accounting and consulting firm in the United States, announced today that leading music business management team, Nashville-based Blue Sky Group, and music rights and royalty auditing firm, Royalty Compliance Organization (“RCO”), are joining Armanino effective April 1, 2023. The strategic additions of these two firms mark a major development that strengthens Armanino’s business management service offerings, broader tax and audit capabilities and gives Armanino a Nashville presence, which is the heart of the music industry. The Blue Sky Group with Harlan Hallet and Steven McMillan and RCO with Wayne Coleman and Darla Crain will integrate into Armanino bringing a wealth of talented entertainment business managers and audit experts in royalty compliance, valuation services, and litigation support capabilities that propel Armanino forward in delivering the preeminent entertainment and business management services. Unique to business management firms, Armanino will continue to provide robust day-to-day business management services along with deepened tax, audit, and other service offerings relevant to the needs of the entertainment industry and ultra-high net-worth clients, all with a white-glove approach focused on client success. "As far as industry-leading experts, we could not be more thrilled with the knowledge and talent that Blue Sky and RCO bring to our team, we know this will be incredibly valuable for our clients,” says Craig Manzino, Partner, Business Management at Armanino. “This will make Armanino one of the only business management groups in the world that will be able to offer the full slate of entertainment services while allowing us to deepen and expand our reach into Nashville, which we view as extremely important for our growth goals.” Armanino’s Business Management team, which serves some of the leading musicians, entertainers and music publishers among other clientele out of their New York City and Los Angeles offices, will now have an office in Nashville. Music City is the country’s fastest growing entertainment hotspot and an office in Nashville gives Armanino’s team and its clients the trifecta of office locations to serve the entertainment industry. “As the industry standard for royalty audit services, RCO is excited to join Armanino’s entertainment practice and tap into the synergies that our firms bring to the table,” says Wayne Coleman, Founder and CEO of Royalty Compliance Organization. Darla Crain, COO of RCO adds, “by combining forces, we will be able to better serve our clients while being able to bring best-in-class offerings to Armanino and Blue Sky’s client base.” “Blue Sky, RCO and Armanino share a common vision for the future of entertainment advice and business management service, and believe that we can evolve into the leading business management firm in the country,” says Harlan Hallet, Partner at Blue Sky. “By combining forces, we are only adding to an already successful business practice but now have the benefit of RCO’s capabilities and the leverage and resources of Armanino’s team. We see this as a major win for the entertainment industry as a whole.” The addition of these firms comes as the entertainment industry continues to show signs of growth and a greater need for royalty compliance and auditing. Armanino is well-placed to take advantage of this growth. With offices serving the entertainment industry now in three major US cities, clients can expect a high-quality service across all aspects of business management from Armanino. About Armanino LLP Armanino LLP is one of the 20 largest independent accounting and business consulting firms in the nation. Armanino provides an integrated set of audit, tax, business management, consulting and technology solutions to companies in the U.S. and globally. The firm helps clients adapt and change in every stage of business, from startup through rapid growth to the sale of a company. Armanino emphasizes smart technology, leading a cloud revolution of financial, operational, sales and compliance tools that are transforming the way companies do business. Armanino is an independent member firm of Moore North America Inc. (MNA), which is itself a regional member of Moore Global Network Limited (MGNL), one of the world’s major accounting and consulting membership organizations. All the firms associated with MNA and MGNL are independent entities, owned and managed in each location. Their membership in, or association with, MNA or MGNL should not be construed as constituting or implying any partnership between them. In addition to its core consulting and accounting practices, Armanino operates its division, AMF Media Group (www.amfmediagroup.com), a media and communications services agency.

Read More

Events