Technologies, Solutions, Media and Broadcasting

Verbit Launches Human-Powered ASR Captioning Solution for Media & Entertainment

Verbit Launches Human-Powered
The Verbit Company, which delivers the world's leading voice AI transcription and captioning solutions, announced  the release of a reliable, flexible and highly accurate automatic captioning product for the media industry. Verbit's new superior ASR and hybrid options mark the expansion of the company and its leading technologies into the broadcast, media and entertainment spaces.

Verbit first made its commitment to expanding into the media vertical with the acquisition of VITAC, the largest captioning company in North America, one year ago. VITAC now serves as Verbit's media and entertainment division. As the nation's largest provider of captioning, VITAC is uniquely positioned to leverage the experience and precision of its professional captioners and Verbit's proprietary automatic speech recognition (ASR) technology to deliver one of the best hybrid and dynamic automatic captions in the market, said VITAC General Manager Doug Karlovits.

Verbit's ASR technology is built on a custom, adaptable and always-trained engine developed by captioning, speech and machine-learning experts. This new product can be adapted to meet the unique and specific needs, demands and expectations of today's broadcasters, networks and content creators across the globe.

The new ASR offering was developed in-house with media end users in mind. It is built on an ensemble of smart, collaborative and enriched language technology solutions. This release marks another milestone in Verbit's commitment to provide an ever-growing, evolving suite of captioning products and accessible communication services that meet client needs.

What sets this product apart is its media-focused features, ones which exceed industry standard ASR, such as professional data prep by specialists who research and review the content added to the ASR engine before each session starts. Clients also can request a "human co-pilot" for control of the live ASR session in real time. This ability provides intelligent support in corrections, custom caption placement, domain changes and more. The product also comes with the same high-level customer support that is synonymous with the Verbit brand and its companies.

This new ASR offering further strengthens Verbit's position as the No. 1 player in the professional transcription and captioning market. The company supports more than 3,000 customers across the legal, media, education, government and corporate sectors. It also bolsters Verbit's positioning as a technology leader in the communications accessibility field.

"Verbit is proud to expand its superior AI transcription technologies into the media space through the launch of VITAC's newest product offering – an adapted and hybrid automatic captioning solution designed for the North American broadcast market,"

-Verbit's Chief Product and Technology Officer Raffi Margaliot.

The new ASR solution will be presented at this year's NAB New York show. Broadcasters looking for a new or improved ASR solution are encouraged to connect with our team onsite to learn more.

The Verbit Company is comprised of Verbit, VITAC, Automatic Sync Technologies (AST), Take 1, Take Note and US Captioning.

About Verbit
The Verbit Company serves as an essential partner to 3,000 businesses and institutions. Verbit's voice AI solutions provide its partners with the tools they need to offer engaging and equitable experiences that not only meet accessibility guidelines, but make verbal information searchable and actionable. Verbit has acquired five companies and currently employs the largest professional captioner workforce in the world. The Verbit Company is driving global accessibility forward and has emerged as the leader in the $30B transcription industry. Learn more: https://verbit.ai.

About VITAC
VITAC is the largest provider of captioning products and services in North America. The company's commitment to communication accessibility is evidenced by its talented captioners, technical expertise, and exceptional client service. Responsible for captioning hundreds of thousands of programming hours each year, its customers include every broadcast company and most cable networks, as well as Fortune 1000 Corporations, educational institutions, and government agencies. VITAC's comprehensive service offerings enable customers to meet requirements as mandated by the Federal Communications Committee (FCC), Ofcom in the UK, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), and Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, among others. For more information, visit: https://vitac.com.

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TelevisaUnivision and Charter Communications Announce Strategic Renewal, Expanding Distribution of Linear Networks

Charter Communications | January 25, 2024

TelevisaUnivision and Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: CHTR) today announced a multi-year agreement to extend and expand their partnership. This agreement provides Spectrum customers with continued access to the most-watched Spanish-language news, sports and entertainment programming in the country. The modern deal framework is designed to enhance Spectrum's ability to serve the massive U.S. Hispanic audience with expanded access to an unprecedented amount of Spanish-language content. As part of the arrangement, TelevisaUnivision will create a new ad-supported premium subscription version of ViX, set to launch later this year. It will be available at no additional cost to Spectrum customers who receive TelevisaUnivision channels as part of their Spectrum TV Select or Mi Plan Latino packages. ViX's "Premium with Ads" offering will give viewers access to the entire ViX Premium content offering, including exclusive original series, novelas, comedies, movies, thousands of live exclusive soccer matches and tens of thousands of hours of library content with a moderate advertising load. The combination of ViX's premium streaming programming with TelevisaUnivision's market leading linear channels will create an unmatched Spanish-language content offering available to Spectrum customers at no incremental cost. In addition to giving Spectrum customers access to the forthcoming ad-supported premium version of ViX, the agreement enhances Charter's flexibility to offer its video customers high-value linear and over-the-top TV packages. TelevisaUnivision's U.S. channels will be included as an integral launch partner in a new, innovative, low-cost Spanish-language internet-delivered video package that Spectrum will launch in the coming months. "We're pleased to enter into an innovative deal with Charter that underscores a shared commitment to the growing Hispanic market and prioritizes their needs and interests, ensuring TelevisaUnivision's leading content remains available to viewers for years to come," said Mike Angus, Executive Vice President, Global Distribution and Streaming Partnerships at TelevisaUnivision. "This deal demonstrates the value we can deliver to our partners and consumers by continuing to invest in both the linear and streaming platforms to create a complementary Spanish-language content ecosystem." "We appreciate TelevisaUnivision's willingness to fully support our new distribution framework, which is good for customers and a significant step forward for the video ecosystem," said Tom Montemagno, Executive Vice President, Programming Acquisition for Charter. "With this agreement, our customers will continue to enjoy access to TelevisaUnivision's extensive Spanish-language programming, including entertainment and live sports, across multiple platforms. This furthers our goal of providing value to customers by including streaming apps with Spectrum services." Spectrum provides customers with access to TelevisaUnivision's networks, including Univision, UniMás, Galavisión, TL Novelas, TUDN, FOROtv, Bandamax, De Película, De Película Clasico, Telehit and Telehit Música. About TelevisaUnivision TelevisaUnivision is the world's leading Spanish-language media company. Powered by the largest library of owned Spanish-language content and a prolific production capability, TelevisaUnivision is the top producer of original content in Spanish across news, sports and entertainment verticals. This original content powers all of TelevisaUnivision's platforms, which include market-leading broadcast networks Univision, Las Estrellas, Canal 5 and UniMás, and a portfolio of 38 cable networks, which include TUDN, Galavisión, Distrito Comedia and TL Novelas. The company also operates the leading Mexican movie studio, Videocine, and owns and operates the largest Spanish-language audio platform in the U.S. across 35 terrestrial stations and the Uforia digital platform. TelevisaUnivision is also the owner of ViX, the largest Spanish-language streaming platform in the world. For more information, please visit televisaunivision.com. About Charter Communications Charter Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHTR) is a leading broadband connectivity company and cable operator serving more than 32 million customers in 41 states through its Spectrum brand. Over an advanced communications network, the Company offers a full range of state-of-the-art residential and business services including Spectrum Internet®, TV, Mobile and Voice. For small and medium-sized companies, Spectrum Business® delivers the same suite of broadband products and services coupled with special features and applications to enhance productivity, while for larger businesses and government entities, Spectrum Enterprise provides highly customized, fiber-based solutions. Spectrum Reach® delivers tailored advertising and production for the modern media landscape. The Company also distributes award-winning news coverage and sports programming to its customers through Spectrum Networks.

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