Three great opportunities for startups in the entertainment space

With over-the-top (OTT) changing the way we consume entertainment across devices, most of the media attention is going to the big players trying to elbow their way into the streaming space with big new subscription services and original programming. Less discussed is the suite of technologies that pave the way for those services to connect to their audience and monetize the content.Okay, it’s true video compression, identity management, analytics, front-end personalization and device-specific experience optimization are not the sexiest topics in the media world.

Spotlight

beIN MEDIA GROUP

beIN MEDIA GROUP is a leading independent global media group and one of the foremost sports & entertainment networks in the world. The group distributes and produces an unrivalled array of entertainment, live sport and major international events across 5 continents, 43 countries and in 7 different languages spanning Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and the Middle East & North Africa (MENA).

OTHER ARTICLES
Virtualization, Media and Broadcasting

Best Oculus Rift Fitness Games 2020

Article | July 13, 2022

No matter what VR headset you own, there are some great virtual reality fitness games at your disposal. However, the Oculus Rift’s stacked catalog and quality exclusives makes it a great option for any fitness enthusiast. From games built around working out to enjoyable titles that make you forget about how active you are actually, there are hundreds of choices. That’s exactly why it can be overwhelming for those that just picked up a headset. To help you find the right fitness title for you, we here at VR Fitness Insider have come up with a list of the best Oculus Rift fitness games 2020. These games are an excellent part of anyone’s fitness journey.

Read More
Technologies, Virtualization

Instagram continues to perform strongly despite inconsistent brand identity

Article | July 27, 2022

Over the last few months Instagram has done its best to capitalise on the latest social media success tactics, often at the cost of its own original user proposition. The photo-sharing app for friends now offers Reels, imitating TikTok’s success. It has rolled out an option to hide Likes, the iconic feature which has characterised social media as a whole since inception. And it now is introducing ‘suggested posts’ to users’ feeds, sorted by topics a profile states they are interested in – potentially putting these ahead of photos and videos shared by profiles they actually follow. Directly mimicking TikTok, this seems to diverge very little in practice from hashtags, which are its original discovery feature. Instead, it seems to want to emulate the usability which younger users are familiar with from TikTok, in order to entice them to increase their Instagram engagement.

Read More
Solutions, Business

Ongoing transitions in gaming industry

Article | July 7, 2022

The gaming industry is continuously evolving with current transitions derived from VR/AR, blockchain, 5G and cloud computing. The aim of this transition is to fulfill requirements of gamers such as reducing the cost of gaming, developing more immersive experience, converting tools bought in games as transferable assets, enabling gamers to play graphic intensive games on low cost devices. Currently popular games are on the go to create augmented reality versions to be played on AR headsets with their mobile phones. The google stadia platform(a platform where graphic intensive games run in data centers and gamers can play them via web browsers) has also enabled the gaming industry to eliminate the computing limitations imposed by running games in mobile devices. The only barrier in coupling both technologies to have the best of both worlds is low bandwidth of 4G which will soon be expanded when 5G rolls out in the market. TRANSITIONS IN GAMING INDUSTRY The real time game play is currently not possible for games running in data centers and being rendered on web browsers of a gamer’s device as there is latency in reflecting the character’s action on the press of a button. Such a transition will eliminate the need for highly expensive gaming consoles which has been curbing the growth rate of the gaming industry. One more concern from gamers that’s being a barrier in revenue generation for the gaming industry is that the weapons, power packs, kits and tool kits bought in any game are simply virtual and become useless when they are done with the game. The idea to buy such time bound utility becomes insensible for players. So, now the gaming industry is evaluating the option to register these buyouts in games on blockchain which can later be used as a non tangible asset by players to trade easily. The gaming theory that’s getting popularised these days will eventually leverage the AR and VR technology to transform the education industry. The idea to provide customers with user manuals running in augmented reality that can enable a non trained worker to operate the machine is also booming. Solidworks by 3Dplm is one such tool that’s heading in this direction. The transitions mentioned above are quite exciting and the way gaming industry and mentioned technologies are evolving we can expect to get our hands on such exciting gaming technology soon too at a fraction of current costs.

Read More
Technologies, Virtualization

3 Applications of AI in the Entertainment Industry

Article | August 2, 2022

The advent of artificial intelligence (AI) in the entertainment industry has automated time-consuming mundane tasks and increased proficiency in delivering winning content to drive engagement. Production businesses can make informed decisions on marketing and advertising because AI can examine critical data and provide important insights into consumer behavior. Let us look at three other important applications of AI in the entertainment industry: Content Personalization Made Easy Streaming websites like Spotify and Netflix contribute content that attracts a diverse audience with different tastes and choices. They are adopting AI and machine learning algorithms to analyze individual user performance and demographics to promote content that users are interested in. Such personalized content recommendations create audience engagement. AI also helps optimize video quality based on how fast the internet is in a certain place so that streaming works without buffering. Streamlined Movie Production Processes The movie production process is time-consuming and complex. Using AI can help automate processes like sound production, storyboarding, scheduling, and pre-production tasks. It can also automatically sync and group filmed clips. Machine learning has graphics and visual effects that can be used to make fictional characters look better. Subtitle Generation for International Communications Content publishing businesses need to cater to an audience from various regions. Multilingual subtitles make this interaction easier. Manual transcription is time-consuming and requires expensive human resources that businesses cannot afford. Also, human error and variable efficiency are issues that can tamper with customer experience. Any kind of delay in presenting subtitles can put the audio-video-subtitles out of sync. AI prevents such mishaps through speech and vocabulary integration in conversations using neural interfaces. Last Words Apart from the implementation of AI in entertainment, the development of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) apps will make the customer experience immersive and captivating. Moreover, AI-based chatbots can be used for promotional operations for books, films, artists, and TV shows. Platforms in the entertainment sector involve AI to efficiently enhance user engagement and production rates.

Read More

Spotlight

beIN MEDIA GROUP

beIN MEDIA GROUP is a leading independent global media group and one of the foremost sports & entertainment networks in the world. The group distributes and produces an unrivalled array of entertainment, live sport and major international events across 5 continents, 43 countries and in 7 different languages spanning Europe, North America, Asia, Australia and the Middle East & North Africa (MENA).

Related News

Applications

MayaMD & LG Electronics Offer New AI Healthcare at Home Program Via Smart TV

MayaMD | February 14, 2022

MayaMD, one of LG NOVA's Proto Challenge first winners, will offer its AI health assistant via LG Smart TVs, creating an exciting new opportunity in the fast-growing home healthcare market. This partnership between MayaMD and LG Electronics kicked off last month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and is open to interested healthcare providers. Multiple studies have shown that home healthcare solutions offer patients and providers more convenient and less costly care options. These findings have become all the more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many patients to delay necessary care. This new offering from MayaMD and LG Electronics allows patients and providers the ability to collaborate at a distance without missing a beat. Initial pilots will integrate MayaMD's state of the art conversational AI health assistant with LG Smart TVs in order to provide care to patients with heart disease. The objective of these pilots will be to measure the impact of this technology on patient engagement and health outcomes. According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults in the US, accounting for 650,000 deaths annually. Since adults with heart disease tend to be more sedentary, and over 70% of adults spend 3+ hours per day using a smart TV, it makes sense that patient engagement would increase via this new delivery channel. "There is so much room for growth here, and we welcome healthcare providers that want to take part in this exciting journey. First come, first serve!", says Dr. Vipindas Chengat, cofounder of MayaMD. A recent study in a peer-reviewed medical journal with researchers and medical faculty from the University of Michigan, UCLA, and University of Utah found that MayaMD's AI health assistant performed at par or better than individual clinicians when providing triage advice, illustrating just how powerful AI can be. We are grateful for the support from LG and encourage providers to reach out to us if interested in participating. This is a phenomenal opportunity," Christian Habermann, cofounder & CMO. About MayaMD MayaMD creates digital tools powered by AI to deliver relevant health and medical information for patients, insurers and providers.

Read More

Products

Polygon Studios Invests in GameOn, Strategically Partners to Bring NFT Games to the Masses

GameOn | December 03, 2021

GameOn Entertainment Technologies Inc. (CSE: GET) (OTCQB: GMETF), a leading game technology provider to media, sports and entertainment companies, is pleased today to announce a strategic partnership with Polygon ($MATIC) & Polygon Studios to build NFT-Based games on their Ethereum-based scaling platform. The deal will see Polygon Studios provide non-dilutive funding for 50% of GameOn's ongoing product development costs. GameOn's product team is spearheaded by Santi Jaramillo, former Head of Sports at Dapper Labs and creator of NBA Top Shot. Polygon, a pioneering blockchain that has onboarded millions to the Web3 ecosystem, recently announced Polygon Studios and plans to commit USD$100 million to projects leading the transition to Web3. Investments include DraftKings, DeFine and now GameOn. MATIC, the native cryptocurrency of Polygon, recently outperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum. Blockchain-based game companies such as Forte have surpassed $1 billion valuations. The Polygon blockchain boasts investors that include Mark Cuban. GameOn continues to deepen its relationship with the lucrative Indian market that is nascent and primed for NFT and blockchain adoption, including a recent expanded partnership with entertainment super app MX Player, and a $6 million investment from its parent company, Times Internet. The Polygon Studios investment allows GameOn to offer the full stack of capabilities from the creation, minting and selling of NFTs, to the game layers it already deploys for white label customers such as prediction and fantasy games, like the Chibi Dinos partnership. For GameOn shareholders, this collaboration provides an opportunity to participate in the upside of the burgeoning crypto and NFT spaces, while accelerating GameOn's product development in a non-dilutive manner. Leveraging Polygon's technology, GameOn continues to lean into blockchain and NFTs, bringing innovative gamification to the rapidly growing Web3 and metaverse economies. Through resource-driving partnerships and M&A, we'll continue to double down on being the one-stop shop for gamification, including NFT-based games." Matt Bailey, GameOn CEO. "Polygon is dedicated to supporting companies that usher in the future of Web3," said Sandeep Nailwal, Polygon Co-Founder. "GameOn is one of the fastest-growing game technology providers in the blockchain space. We're excited to support their development of NFT-based games on Polygon." ABOUT GAMEON ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. GameOn (CSE: GET) (OTCQB: GMETF) powers the biggest sports, media and entertainment companies with the most innovative white label game technologies. GameOn provides broadcasters, TV networks, streaming platforms, leagues, tournaments, sportsbooks and NFT projects with white label prediction games, fantasy games and NFT-based games. Since completing the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator powered by Techstars in 2018, GameOn has secured revenue-generating partnerships with global companies including NBCUniversal, Bravo and MX Player. GameOn has a dynamic and experienced management team led by CEO, Matt Bailey (Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center), Chief Product Officer, Santiago Jaramillo (Dapper Labs, NBA Top Shot, EA Sports) and VP of Partnerships, Ryan Nowack (Madison Square Garden, New York Knicks, New York Rangers), as well as its Directors, J Moses (Take-Two Interactive), Shafin Tejani (Victory Square Technologies), Liz Schimel (Apple, Comcast, Meredith) and Carey Dillen (YYOGA, FIFA, IOC). ABOUT POLYGON Polygon is the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. Its core component is Polygon SDK, a modular, flexible framework that supports building and connecting Secured Chains like Optimistic Rollups, zkRollups, Validium, etc, and Standalone Chains like Polygon POS, designed for flexibility and independence. Polygon's scaling solutions have seen widespread adoption with 500+ Dapps, ~567M+ txns, and ~6M+ daily txns. If you're an Ethereum Developer, you're already a Polygon developer! Leverage Polygon's fast and secure txns for your Dapp, get started here. ABOUT POLYGON STUDIOS Polygon Studios is the Gaming and NFT arm of Polygon focused on growing the global Blockchain Gaming and NFT Industry and bridging the gap between Web 2 and Web 3 gaming through investment, marketing and developer support. The Polygon Studios ecosystem comprises highly loved games and NFT projects like OpenSea, Upshot, Aavegotchi, Zed Run, Skyweaver by Horizon Games, Decentraland, Megacryptopolis, Neon District, Cometh, and Decentral Games. If you're a game developer, builder or NFT creator looking to join the Polygon Studios ecosystem, get started here.

Read More

Business

Esports.net Partners Up with PandaScore to Boost User Experiences

Esports.net | December 02, 2021

Esports.net, one of Catena Media's top esports products, has partnered with PandaScore to offer users stats and real-time data powered by AI technology. With Esports.net, PandaScore has established a wide range of relationships with esports betting operators, esports organizations, news sites, and iGaming affiliate portals. The PandaScore tech team has built a reputation for offering myriad real-time odds and other valuable information for esports bettors. The list of games that are part of this service includes League of Legends, CS:GO, Dota 2, and Valorant. On Esports.net, the PandaScore team will be able to provide crucial data that will reach more than 250,000 users per month. "This is an exciting partnership that will greatly enhance our user experience," said Gianfranco Capozzi, head of esports at Catena Media and product owner for Esports.net. "The PandaScore team has enormous experience in the esports industry, offering robust service and a treasure trove of relevant features for both beginners and advanced users. I am also a great believer in artificial intelligence technology and PandaScore can help us provide our users with an even more immersive experience." We have six years of hard work behind our AI and modeling, delivering high-quality data and statistics to all our clients. Our stats and widgets are key to enriching the services of our partners and the experiences of their audiences. We're really excited to be part of what will make Esports.net one of the most advanced esports service providers on the market." Flavien Guillocheau, CEO at PandaScore Following the recent redesign of Esports.net and infusion of fresh features, the new capabilities are expected to provide an improved user experience for esports fans and casual gamers. Esports.net is the top portal for esports news, events, teams, players and streamers, providing information through its own editorial team as well as other premium content providers in the industry. About Esports.net: Esports.net is a news-focused website that provides users with esports news, wiki guides, daily fantasy and esports betting tips. Esports.net is an official product of Catena Media, one of the leading international providers of media services for online gaming operators. A flagship product in a growing portfolio counting over 10 esports products, Esports.net is dedicated to the esports community and is supported by a number of premium content providers, independent authors and industry experts. Their objective is to fill the gap between the iGaming industry and the emerging esports & gaming audience. About PandaScore: Founded in 2015, PandaScore is the world's AI-powered hub of esports data, whose odds feed is the leading esports product serving the betting industry. The company's combination of innovative data models, artificial intelligence and dedicated esports traders empowers bookmakers with the best esports data and odds to deliver quality ROI, the best uptime and deepest in-play markets in the flourishing, high-growth esports betting sector. PandaScore is a trusted esports data and odds supplier with distribution partnerships including Scientific Games, as well as high profile clients including Entain Australia which runs the Ladbrokes and Neds brands, Betcris, Favbet, FortuneJack, LOOT.BET and more. PandaScore has offices in France, Malta and the UK.

Read More

Applications

MayaMD & LG Electronics Offer New AI Healthcare at Home Program Via Smart TV

MayaMD | February 14, 2022

MayaMD, one of LG NOVA's Proto Challenge first winners, will offer its AI health assistant via LG Smart TVs, creating an exciting new opportunity in the fast-growing home healthcare market. This partnership between MayaMD and LG Electronics kicked off last month at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and is open to interested healthcare providers. Multiple studies have shown that home healthcare solutions offer patients and providers more convenient and less costly care options. These findings have become all the more relevant during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has forced many patients to delay necessary care. This new offering from MayaMD and LG Electronics allows patients and providers the ability to collaborate at a distance without missing a beat. Initial pilots will integrate MayaMD's state of the art conversational AI health assistant with LG Smart TVs in order to provide care to patients with heart disease. The objective of these pilots will be to measure the impact of this technology on patient engagement and health outcomes. According to the CDC, heart disease is the leading cause of death for adults in the US, accounting for 650,000 deaths annually. Since adults with heart disease tend to be more sedentary, and over 70% of adults spend 3+ hours per day using a smart TV, it makes sense that patient engagement would increase via this new delivery channel. "There is so much room for growth here, and we welcome healthcare providers that want to take part in this exciting journey. First come, first serve!", says Dr. Vipindas Chengat, cofounder of MayaMD. A recent study in a peer-reviewed medical journal with researchers and medical faculty from the University of Michigan, UCLA, and University of Utah found that MayaMD's AI health assistant performed at par or better than individual clinicians when providing triage advice, illustrating just how powerful AI can be. We are grateful for the support from LG and encourage providers to reach out to us if interested in participating. This is a phenomenal opportunity," Christian Habermann, cofounder & CMO. About MayaMD MayaMD creates digital tools powered by AI to deliver relevant health and medical information for patients, insurers and providers.

Read More

Products

Polygon Studios Invests in GameOn, Strategically Partners to Bring NFT Games to the Masses

GameOn | December 03, 2021

GameOn Entertainment Technologies Inc. (CSE: GET) (OTCQB: GMETF), a leading game technology provider to media, sports and entertainment companies, is pleased today to announce a strategic partnership with Polygon ($MATIC) & Polygon Studios to build NFT-Based games on their Ethereum-based scaling platform. The deal will see Polygon Studios provide non-dilutive funding for 50% of GameOn's ongoing product development costs. GameOn's product team is spearheaded by Santi Jaramillo, former Head of Sports at Dapper Labs and creator of NBA Top Shot. Polygon, a pioneering blockchain that has onboarded millions to the Web3 ecosystem, recently announced Polygon Studios and plans to commit USD$100 million to projects leading the transition to Web3. Investments include DraftKings, DeFine and now GameOn. MATIC, the native cryptocurrency of Polygon, recently outperformed Bitcoin and Ethereum. Blockchain-based game companies such as Forte have surpassed $1 billion valuations. The Polygon blockchain boasts investors that include Mark Cuban. GameOn continues to deepen its relationship with the lucrative Indian market that is nascent and primed for NFT and blockchain adoption, including a recent expanded partnership with entertainment super app MX Player, and a $6 million investment from its parent company, Times Internet. The Polygon Studios investment allows GameOn to offer the full stack of capabilities from the creation, minting and selling of NFTs, to the game layers it already deploys for white label customers such as prediction and fantasy games, like the Chibi Dinos partnership. For GameOn shareholders, this collaboration provides an opportunity to participate in the upside of the burgeoning crypto and NFT spaces, while accelerating GameOn's product development in a non-dilutive manner. Leveraging Polygon's technology, GameOn continues to lean into blockchain and NFTs, bringing innovative gamification to the rapidly growing Web3 and metaverse economies. Through resource-driving partnerships and M&A, we'll continue to double down on being the one-stop shop for gamification, including NFT-based games." Matt Bailey, GameOn CEO. "Polygon is dedicated to supporting companies that usher in the future of Web3," said Sandeep Nailwal, Polygon Co-Founder. "GameOn is one of the fastest-growing game technology providers in the blockchain space. We're excited to support their development of NFT-based games on Polygon." ABOUT GAMEON ENTERTAINMENT TECHNOLOGIES INC. GameOn (CSE: GET) (OTCQB: GMETF) powers the biggest sports, media and entertainment companies with the most innovative white label game technologies. GameOn provides broadcasters, TV networks, streaming platforms, leagues, tournaments, sportsbooks and NFT projects with white label prediction games, fantasy games and NFT-based games. Since completing the Comcast NBCUniversal LIFT Labs Accelerator powered by Techstars in 2018, GameOn has secured revenue-generating partnerships with global companies including NBCUniversal, Bravo and MX Player. GameOn has a dynamic and experienced management team led by CEO, Matt Bailey (Brooklyn Nets, Barclays Center), Chief Product Officer, Santiago Jaramillo (Dapper Labs, NBA Top Shot, EA Sports) and VP of Partnerships, Ryan Nowack (Madison Square Garden, New York Knicks, New York Rangers), as well as its Directors, J Moses (Take-Two Interactive), Shafin Tejani (Victory Square Technologies), Liz Schimel (Apple, Comcast, Meredith) and Carey Dillen (YYOGA, FIFA, IOC). ABOUT POLYGON Polygon is the first well-structured, easy-to-use platform for Ethereum scaling and infrastructure development. Its core component is Polygon SDK, a modular, flexible framework that supports building and connecting Secured Chains like Optimistic Rollups, zkRollups, Validium, etc, and Standalone Chains like Polygon POS, designed for flexibility and independence. Polygon's scaling solutions have seen widespread adoption with 500+ Dapps, ~567M+ txns, and ~6M+ daily txns. If you're an Ethereum Developer, you're already a Polygon developer! Leverage Polygon's fast and secure txns for your Dapp, get started here. ABOUT POLYGON STUDIOS Polygon Studios is the Gaming and NFT arm of Polygon focused on growing the global Blockchain Gaming and NFT Industry and bridging the gap between Web 2 and Web 3 gaming through investment, marketing and developer support. The Polygon Studios ecosystem comprises highly loved games and NFT projects like OpenSea, Upshot, Aavegotchi, Zed Run, Skyweaver by Horizon Games, Decentraland, Megacryptopolis, Neon District, Cometh, and Decentral Games. If you're a game developer, builder or NFT creator looking to join the Polygon Studios ecosystem, get started here.

Read More

Business

Esports.net Partners Up with PandaScore to Boost User Experiences

Esports.net | December 02, 2021

Esports.net, one of Catena Media's top esports products, has partnered with PandaScore to offer users stats and real-time data powered by AI technology. With Esports.net, PandaScore has established a wide range of relationships with esports betting operators, esports organizations, news sites, and iGaming affiliate portals. The PandaScore tech team has built a reputation for offering myriad real-time odds and other valuable information for esports bettors. The list of games that are part of this service includes League of Legends, CS:GO, Dota 2, and Valorant. On Esports.net, the PandaScore team will be able to provide crucial data that will reach more than 250,000 users per month. "This is an exciting partnership that will greatly enhance our user experience," said Gianfranco Capozzi, head of esports at Catena Media and product owner for Esports.net. "The PandaScore team has enormous experience in the esports industry, offering robust service and a treasure trove of relevant features for both beginners and advanced users. I am also a great believer in artificial intelligence technology and PandaScore can help us provide our users with an even more immersive experience." We have six years of hard work behind our AI and modeling, delivering high-quality data and statistics to all our clients. Our stats and widgets are key to enriching the services of our partners and the experiences of their audiences. We're really excited to be part of what will make Esports.net one of the most advanced esports service providers on the market." Flavien Guillocheau, CEO at PandaScore Following the recent redesign of Esports.net and infusion of fresh features, the new capabilities are expected to provide an improved user experience for esports fans and casual gamers. Esports.net is the top portal for esports news, events, teams, players and streamers, providing information through its own editorial team as well as other premium content providers in the industry. About Esports.net: Esports.net is a news-focused website that provides users with esports news, wiki guides, daily fantasy and esports betting tips. Esports.net is an official product of Catena Media, one of the leading international providers of media services for online gaming operators. A flagship product in a growing portfolio counting over 10 esports products, Esports.net is dedicated to the esports community and is supported by a number of premium content providers, independent authors and industry experts. Their objective is to fill the gap between the iGaming industry and the emerging esports & gaming audience. About PandaScore: Founded in 2015, PandaScore is the world's AI-powered hub of esports data, whose odds feed is the leading esports product serving the betting industry. The company's combination of innovative data models, artificial intelligence and dedicated esports traders empowers bookmakers with the best esports data and odds to deliver quality ROI, the best uptime and deepest in-play markets in the flourishing, high-growth esports betting sector. PandaScore is a trusted esports data and odds supplier with distribution partnerships including Scientific Games, as well as high profile clients including Entain Australia which runs the Ladbrokes and Neds brands, Betcris, Favbet, FortuneJack, LOOT.BET and more. PandaScore has offices in France, Malta and the UK.

Read More

Events