Blockchain's Role in TV

"Blockchain technology can be leveraged to safeguard user privacy, thereby restoring trust between viewers, advertisers, and content creators. I’m certainly not saying that you can simply take a jar full of blockchain and just smear it on everything to fix the problem." -Gavin Douglas, iPowow.The future of advertising on television and video needs a reality check. Privacy breaches, fraudulent metrics, fake reviews, questionable data analytics, loss of trust between the platforms and the brands -- the complexity of advertising on TV and video content continues to gain momentum in 2018 with very few points of light in the chaos. It’s not news that the current digital media ecosystem is rife with these problems; a landscape heavily marked by a confluence of players, not just the creators and viewers, but also by the middlemen and their respective financial interests.

Spotlight

KOCOWA

KOCOWA+ is an American joint company between wavve, SK Square Americas, and the top Korean television broadcasters KBS, MBC, & SBS. wavve Americas, Inc. (wA) launched KOCOWA, a premium streaming service, offering the latest in Korean entertainment for all audiences in the Americas. Shows are available within 6 hours after their original airtime in Korea, and all programming is subtitled in English, Portuguese, and Spanish making it the preferred place for fans to watch their favorite programs as soon as possible.

OTHER ARTICLES
Technologies, Virtualization

The productisation of music rights

Article | August 2, 2022

News that New York-based Pershing Square Tontine Holdings is planning to acquire 10% of UMGis the latest in a wave of financial transactions in the music rights space. Alongside this, Believe’s impending IPO has the potential to be one of the biggest things to happen to the independent music sector in some time, and comes as part of a wave of IPOs (e.g.WMG,UMG), SPACs (e.g.Anghami,Reservoir) and no end of catalogue funds and acquisition vehicles. This trend, with good cause, has been referred to as the ‘financialisation of music’ but that only captures part of what is at play here. This is more than simply an influx of capital and debt; financial institutions are now becoming part of the plumbing of the music business, and in turn they are changing the definition of what constitutes success. This shift in objectives and desired outcomes has the potential to rebalance how the music industry operates.

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Business

Hi-Res audio: It’s all about a maturing market

Article | July 11, 2022

Music streaming contrasts sharply with video streaming. While the video marketplace is characterised by unique catalogues, a variety of pricing and diverse value propositions music streaming services are all at their core fundamentally the same product. When the market was in its hyper-growth phase and there were enough new users to go around, it did not matter too much that the streaming services only had branding, curation and interface to differentiate themselves from each other. Now that we are approaching a slowdown in the high-revenue developed markets, more is needed. Which is where Hi-Res comes in.

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Technologies

VR Headsets of the Future Might Be Made With Mirrors?

Article | February 14, 2022

Do you get headaches or feel nauseous while using VR headsets? About 20% of people do. Even if VR headsets don’t cause you physical discomfort, you might feel that your virtual worlds seem flat..That’s because they are flat. VR headsets using close-to-eye displays rely on lenses. While a lot of cool technology goes into them, they really work a lot like television or computer screens. Advancements like eye-tracking and autofocus try to fix these problems. But, they’ll never work. At least not according to Doug Magyari. Magyari and Immy, his company based in Troy, Michigan, believe that they have the solution: VR headsets that don’t use lenses.

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Virtualization

Instagram continues to perform strongly despite inconsistent brand identity

Article | June 30, 2021

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.

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Spotlight

KOCOWA

KOCOWA+ is an American joint company between wavve, SK Square Americas, and the top Korean television broadcasters KBS, MBC, & SBS. wavve Americas, Inc. (wA) launched KOCOWA, a premium streaming service, offering the latest in Korean entertainment for all audiences in the Americas. Shows are available within 6 hours after their original airtime in Korea, and all programming is subtitled in English, Portuguese, and Spanish making it the preferred place for fans to watch their favorite programs as soon as possible.

Related News

Media and Broadcasting

Cresset Merges with TRUE Capital Management, Establishes Presence in Sports and Entertainment Industry

PRnewswire | May 10, 2023

Cresset Asset Management (Cresset) and TRUE Capital Management (TRUE) announced today that they have merged, creating a multi-family office with nearly $33 billion in assets under management (as of 5/02/2023) and with offices in 19 locations around the nation. The strategic combination expands Cresset's presence in the sports and entertainment industry. TRUE is a multi-family office that specializes in guiding a diverse roster of clients across sports, entertainment, and entrepreneurism to financial security and generational wealth. TRUE manages $1.7 billion (as of 2/22/2023) of assets on behalf of more than 350 clients, including Deandre Ayton, Robert Griffin III, Marshawn Lynch, Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Plum, Albert Pujols, Logan Ryan, Richard Sherman, Breanna Stewart, and Diana Taurasi. Together with Cresset, TRUE clients will enjoy access to Cresset's scale and national footprint, including its extensive family office services, goals-based financial planning, institutional-quality private investments, and lifestyle services. "We are thrilled to be joining forces with Cresset. Since we started TRUE in 2007, our priority has been to build relationships with our clients based on transparency and trust as they navigate the rare opportunities and unique challenges that come with wealth. That commitment will only be strengthened and enhanced with Cresset," said Doug Raetz, CEO of TRUE. "As we've worked closely with Cresset, it has become clear that the entire Cresset team shares our goals and values. It's an excellent cultural fit, and we are excited to explore new ways to create and deliver success stories for our clients," added TRUE COO Heather Goodman. "When we first met the TRUE team several years ago, we found kindred spirits in terms of how we believe clients should be treated and the positive impact wealth can have," said Avy Stein, Cresset Co-Founder and Co-Chairman. "Our mutual dedication to providing access to a full suite of sophisticated family office services and private investment opportunities makes this an ideal partnership." About TRUE Capital Management Founded in 2007, TRUE Capital Management is a wealth management firm that specializes in guiding its diverse roster of clients to financial security and generational wealth. The firm has built a reputation for serving high-profile clients across all major sports worldwide, the global entertainment industry, and entrepreneurs innovating in our ever-evolving business world. About Cresset Cresset is an independent, award-winning multi-family office and private investment firm with nearly $33 billion in assets under management (as of 5/02/2023). Cresset serves the unique needs of entrepreneurs, CEO founders, wealth creators, executives, and partners, as well as high-net-worth and multi-generational families. Our goal is to deliver a new paradigm for wealth management, allowing clients to pursue what matters most to them.

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Technologies, Media and Broadcasting

ViewLift and Google Enable Multi-cloud and Cloud Agnostic Deployment for OTT

ViewLift | February 13, 2023

ViewLift, a leading provider of OTT and streaming technology solutions, recently announced a novel approach for its clients: the ability to use any major cloud provider or multiple clouds with the click of a button in ViewLift's back-end. The company provides content owners with a comprehensive end-to-end solution for distributing and monetizing their content across multiple device platforms, such as web, mobile, over-the-top, connected TV, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. It will now integrate its technology stack via a new partnership with Google Cloud, offering enterprises a multi-cloud and cloud-agnostic deployment advantage. This deployment capability makes it one of the only platform providers in the OTT solutions industry to provide such agility and flexibility. ViewLift, a longtime partner of Amazon Web Services (AWS), will now offer customers the technology stack of their choosing or the option to run both Google Cloud and AWS in parallel to ensure the highest platform uptimes. In addition, cloud-agnostic deployment provides access to new functionalities and features available on any major cloud, significantly improving the quality, availability, and resilience of ViewLift's solution. Manik Bambha, President of ViewLift, said, "With the Google Cloud integration, we take a major step towards the next level in technology leadership; our customers can choose exactly what cloud services work best for them, letting them mix and match features and functionalities to arrive at an ideal bouquet of services." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About ViewLift ViewLift, headquartered in New York, is a comprehensive digital content distribution platform that enables media companies, broadcasters, sports leagues and teams, and others to monetize their content using native branded apps on major OTT devices, such as the web, mobile, TV-connected devices, and Smart TVs and gaming consoles. Its proprietary intellectual property constitutes a complete tech stack, offering extensive functionality with hundreds of purpose-built features and a shorter time to market. The company's clients include NBCUniversal, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Nexstar, RugbyPass, MotoAmerica, TEGNA, MyOutdoorTV, WSX.TV, and many others

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Solutions, Business

Kargo Integrates Videobyte’s Connected TV Platform to Expand Its Portfolio

Kargo | February 07, 2023

Kargo, an advertising service provider, has recently integrated VideoByte, a video advertising platform for connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) streaming, to expand its portfolio of video formats, commerce and exclusive social formats, and publisher tools with CTV advertising formats. This integration will enhance the connected experiences of the audiences between desktop, mobile, and now connected televisions, gaining the attention of different channels for its brand partners. Founded in 2020, VideoByte has become a prominent advertising service provider in CTV and OTT, integrating top media companies like LG, Tegna, and Viacom. Kargo has expanded its reach across the television advertising industry with this integration. It will launch new advertising products, and Kargo's current customers will get direct access to them. CEO of VideoByte, David Naffis, who will join Kargo as General Manager of CTV, said, "We are thrilled to join the Kargo team and are in lockstep with their mission to develop uniquely differentiated ad experiences that grab attention and drive performance for publishers and brands alike. Kargo's recent growth, scale, and reputation as market innovators will accelerate our go-to-market as we continue to push innovating new CTV formats." (Source - GlobeNewswire) Kargo's CEO and Founder, Harry Kargman, said, "Acquiring VideoByte is a clear next step in our growth and evolution. Kargo has been expanding across multiple screens and the Connected TV experience is calling for this kind of ad format innovation and disruption that Kargo has brought to the mobile screen. VideoByte shares our mission and vision to create unique and performant ad creatives, but they do it on the Connected TV screen which has not been in our product lineup. With VideoByte, we will bring an amazing Kargo experience to Televisions everywhere and change the landscape with new capabilities while driving massive value and success for both brands and publishers." (Source - GlobeNewswire) About Kargo Kargo, an advertising solutions provider, attracts consumer attention across mobile, video, and social advertising platforms for advertising brands with its exclusive omnichannel advertising suite and increases return on advertising spend (ROAS), incremental brand lift, and revenue per impression through creative targeting solutions. Headquartered in New York, it has had offices worldwide since 2003. It provides solutions for load time, identity problems, non-skippable video, poor creatives, advertisements, and infinite scrolls with direct integration and specialized market supplies, optimizing impressions from the best publishers.

Read More

Media and Broadcasting

Cresset Merges with TRUE Capital Management, Establishes Presence in Sports and Entertainment Industry

PRnewswire | May 10, 2023

Cresset Asset Management (Cresset) and TRUE Capital Management (TRUE) announced today that they have merged, creating a multi-family office with nearly $33 billion in assets under management (as of 5/02/2023) and with offices in 19 locations around the nation. The strategic combination expands Cresset's presence in the sports and entertainment industry. TRUE is a multi-family office that specializes in guiding a diverse roster of clients across sports, entertainment, and entrepreneurism to financial security and generational wealth. TRUE manages $1.7 billion (as of 2/22/2023) of assets on behalf of more than 350 clients, including Deandre Ayton, Robert Griffin III, Marshawn Lynch, Nneka Ogwumike, Kelsey Plum, Albert Pujols, Logan Ryan, Richard Sherman, Breanna Stewart, and Diana Taurasi. Together with Cresset, TRUE clients will enjoy access to Cresset's scale and national footprint, including its extensive family office services, goals-based financial planning, institutional-quality private investments, and lifestyle services. "We are thrilled to be joining forces with Cresset. Since we started TRUE in 2007, our priority has been to build relationships with our clients based on transparency and trust as they navigate the rare opportunities and unique challenges that come with wealth. That commitment will only be strengthened and enhanced with Cresset," said Doug Raetz, CEO of TRUE. "As we've worked closely with Cresset, it has become clear that the entire Cresset team shares our goals and values. It's an excellent cultural fit, and we are excited to explore new ways to create and deliver success stories for our clients," added TRUE COO Heather Goodman. "When we first met the TRUE team several years ago, we found kindred spirits in terms of how we believe clients should be treated and the positive impact wealth can have," said Avy Stein, Cresset Co-Founder and Co-Chairman. "Our mutual dedication to providing access to a full suite of sophisticated family office services and private investment opportunities makes this an ideal partnership." About TRUE Capital Management Founded in 2007, TRUE Capital Management is a wealth management firm that specializes in guiding its diverse roster of clients to financial security and generational wealth. The firm has built a reputation for serving high-profile clients across all major sports worldwide, the global entertainment industry, and entrepreneurs innovating in our ever-evolving business world. About Cresset Cresset is an independent, award-winning multi-family office and private investment firm with nearly $33 billion in assets under management (as of 5/02/2023). Cresset serves the unique needs of entrepreneurs, CEO founders, wealth creators, executives, and partners, as well as high-net-worth and multi-generational families. Our goal is to deliver a new paradigm for wealth management, allowing clients to pursue what matters most to them.

Read More

Technologies, Media and Broadcasting

ViewLift and Google Enable Multi-cloud and Cloud Agnostic Deployment for OTT

ViewLift | February 13, 2023

ViewLift, a leading provider of OTT and streaming technology solutions, recently announced a novel approach for its clients: the ability to use any major cloud provider or multiple clouds with the click of a button in ViewLift's back-end. The company provides content owners with a comprehensive end-to-end solution for distributing and monetizing their content across multiple device platforms, such as web, mobile, over-the-top, connected TV, smart TVs, and gaming consoles. It will now integrate its technology stack via a new partnership with Google Cloud, offering enterprises a multi-cloud and cloud-agnostic deployment advantage. This deployment capability makes it one of the only platform providers in the OTT solutions industry to provide such agility and flexibility. ViewLift, a longtime partner of Amazon Web Services (AWS), will now offer customers the technology stack of their choosing or the option to run both Google Cloud and AWS in parallel to ensure the highest platform uptimes. In addition, cloud-agnostic deployment provides access to new functionalities and features available on any major cloud, significantly improving the quality, availability, and resilience of ViewLift's solution. Manik Bambha, President of ViewLift, said, "With the Google Cloud integration, we take a major step towards the next level in technology leadership; our customers can choose exactly what cloud services work best for them, letting them mix and match features and functionalities to arrive at an ideal bouquet of services." (Source – Cision PR Newswire) About ViewLift ViewLift, headquartered in New York, is a comprehensive digital content distribution platform that enables media companies, broadcasters, sports leagues and teams, and others to monetize their content using native branded apps on major OTT devices, such as the web, mobile, TV-connected devices, and Smart TVs and gaming consoles. Its proprietary intellectual property constitutes a complete tech stack, offering extensive functionality with hundreds of purpose-built features and a shorter time to market. The company's clients include NBCUniversal, Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Nexstar, RugbyPass, MotoAmerica, TEGNA, MyOutdoorTV, WSX.TV, and many others

Read More

Solutions, Business

Kargo Integrates Videobyte’s Connected TV Platform to Expand Its Portfolio

Kargo | February 07, 2023

Kargo, an advertising service provider, has recently integrated VideoByte, a video advertising platform for connected TV (CTV) and over-the-top (OTT) streaming, to expand its portfolio of video formats, commerce and exclusive social formats, and publisher tools with CTV advertising formats. This integration will enhance the connected experiences of the audiences between desktop, mobile, and now connected televisions, gaining the attention of different channels for its brand partners. Founded in 2020, VideoByte has become a prominent advertising service provider in CTV and OTT, integrating top media companies like LG, Tegna, and Viacom. Kargo has expanded its reach across the television advertising industry with this integration. It will launch new advertising products, and Kargo's current customers will get direct access to them. CEO of VideoByte, David Naffis, who will join Kargo as General Manager of CTV, said, "We are thrilled to join the Kargo team and are in lockstep with their mission to develop uniquely differentiated ad experiences that grab attention and drive performance for publishers and brands alike. Kargo's recent growth, scale, and reputation as market innovators will accelerate our go-to-market as we continue to push innovating new CTV formats." (Source - GlobeNewswire) Kargo's CEO and Founder, Harry Kargman, said, "Acquiring VideoByte is a clear next step in our growth and evolution. Kargo has been expanding across multiple screens and the Connected TV experience is calling for this kind of ad format innovation and disruption that Kargo has brought to the mobile screen. VideoByte shares our mission and vision to create unique and performant ad creatives, but they do it on the Connected TV screen which has not been in our product lineup. With VideoByte, we will bring an amazing Kargo experience to Televisions everywhere and change the landscape with new capabilities while driving massive value and success for both brands and publishers." (Source - GlobeNewswire) About Kargo Kargo, an advertising solutions provider, attracts consumer attention across mobile, video, and social advertising platforms for advertising brands with its exclusive omnichannel advertising suite and increases return on advertising spend (ROAS), incremental brand lift, and revenue per impression through creative targeting solutions. Headquartered in New York, it has had offices worldwide since 2003. It provides solutions for load time, identity problems, non-skippable video, poor creatives, advertisements, and infinite scrolls with direct integration and specialized market supplies, optimizing impressions from the best publishers.

Read More

Events