Issue link: http://osercommunicationsgroup.uberflip.com/i/123966
24 Wednesday, April 10, 2013 MAJOR ADVERTISERS COMMIT TO BROADCASTERS' CONNECTED TV APPS Broadcasters Show Daily caught up with Nick Meyers, VP of Business Development and had a chance to ask a few questions about Accelerated Media and its time at NAB 2013 so far. BSD: How has the show been for Accelerated Media so far? NM: Busy. Our market timing is perfect! With all the buzz about streaming content and cord cutting, there are many programmers and broadcasters looking to us to help monetize their digital footprint. BSD: Is that what the C.A.N. is all about? NM: Yes. The Companion Ad/App Network allows us to stitch together the digital applications of various content players to provide a one-stop solution to our advertisers. If Ford, American Express, or Dominos can now leverage their existing media buy on the mobile app of Outdoor Channel, FOX Now's tablet app, and KOMO News' connected TV app―we can do that! BSD: And is this something that that advertisers want? NM: Yes, we already have budget commitments from many advertisers and it will expand as more viewers gravitate toward digital streaming solutions. From the advertiser's perspective, there are the cord-cutters, and the cord-trimmers, and a group of young viewers we call "cordnevers" who are using their devices to watch YouTube, Netflix and Hulu. If they can use the same device to get FOX and their local news, weather, etc., that's TMS REPORTS ON SXSW, LOOKS AHEAD TO THE TVNEXT HACK By Mike Fioritto, Product Manager Brand exposure. Prospecting. Developing B2B relationships. Strengthening partner ties. Can you really accomplish all this amid the chaos known as SXSW? For our OnConnect team, the answer was a big "YES." Recently launched with the specific goal of helping developers create fantastic mobile apps, OnConnect Managed Services combines Image Hosting with world-class APIs to deliver the industry's best metadata for celebrities, movies and TV. OnConnect taps into the same data that powers the most exciting entertainment UIs on the planet. Here are the top opportunities we found at the event: Tell your story to developers, venture capitalists and companies interested in the future of TV. People know our customers, but they often don't know that TMS powers their products. Now more of them do. Hear what kinds of projects people are working on and showcase your product in action. We showcased Google TV, WISA ASSOCIATION ENSURES QUALITY WIRELESS AUDIO FOR HOME THEATERS The Wireless Speaker and Audio (WiSA™) Association was launched to advance the adoption of wirelessly transmitted high-definition (HD) surround sound audio in the home theater environment by establishing the industry's first interoperability specification and certification testing programs for manufacturers of high-performance wireless speakers, DTVs, Blu-ray Disc players, and other devices. WiSA compliant products operate in the 5 GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) frequency band. More specifically, WiSA compliant systems use the Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) channels. This sub-band between 5.2 and 5.8 GHz is shared with military and weather (aviation) radar. The equipment must use DFS when radar is detected on a channel and immediately hop to an open channel. The same type of hop happens when the surround sound system detects any other interference (for example, another WiSA system in an adjacent apartment). The sound system will automatically find another open frequency and "hop to it" with no dropouts. The result is audiophile-quality, 24-bit surround sound at up to 96kHz sampling rate! Anthem, Aperion Audio, DEI Holdings (parent company to Polk Audio and Definitive Technology), GGEC ,Hansong Electronics Co., Klipsch, Martin Logan, Meiloon, Paradigm, Pioneer, Sharp, Silicon Image, and Summit Semiconductor are members of the WiSA Association, and many are part of the Advisory Board and Technical Advisory Committee. Special interest groups address various challenges facing the audio industry today, such as DTV applications, 802.1 A/V bridging, interoperability with other radio technologies, and multi-room wireless HD audio technology. WiSA enabled products will be tested to ensure compliance with the WiSA standard. Consumers will be able to purchase Blu-ray players, HDTVs, A/V receivers and gaming consoles displaying WiSA logos, knowing that those devices will work with various speakers brands that also WiSA certified. The result is essentially a plug-and-play scenario for the home theater speaker market. Broadcasters Show Daily where the advertiser wants their message. Plus, these devices are "connected" so we can offer full interactivity instead of just a "lean back" commercial. BSD: So, did you sign a lot of contracts to build apps for content providers? NM: Some of the cable nets and big four already have ad-enabled mobile apps, so we have discussed selling some of their inventory, but many don't have connected TV apps, so we may build those. Most of the local broadcasters were further behind and will need our help to build their apps. BSD: That sounds expensive; will broadcasters pay for that? NM: It's actually very affordable. We are flexible with pricing and offer a bundled discount for multiple apps or multiple stations, and even a subsidized upfront rate with a rev-share agreement since we are so confident that the ad space will sell. Boxee, NextGuide and Zeebox. Tip: "Firefly" on-screen attracts them like, well, flies. Spend time with companies who have data that will "mashup" well with yours. Our APIs make it possible for us to talk with other companies about delivering their complementary data along with our deep entertainment content. Reach out to the developer community. Partnering with the Mashery team, our API platform provider, gave us the opportunity to chat with the company's developer evangelists and other companies about our APIs in more detail. Looking ahead, TMS will be in Many WiSA speakers have built-in amplifiers, and consumers will need to plug each speaker into a local power outlet, but that's typically a lot easier than pulling speaker wires through walls or under the floor. Users can rearrange their living rooms for the holidays, and not be constrained by speaker wires. "We are at a pivotal point in time for providing leadership and new direction for the wireless speaker and audio industry and we welcome the participation of technical advisory committee and special interest groups members in charting the course for wireless HD audio in the home theater," said Jim Venable, President of the WiSA Association. "The WiSA Association has gained significant momentum with the recent release of the industry's first compliance test specification for interoperability and I expect our engagement with the technical advisory committee and special interest groups to be equally groundbreaking in driving additional areas of application for highperformance wireless audio." In August of last year, the Wireless Speaker and Audio Association announced the availability of a WiSAcompliant wireless soundbar system reference design. The reference design is available to all WiSA Association members and is compliant with the current version of the WiSA compliance test specification (CTS). The WiSA CTS is BSD: You're working with StepLeader. Don't they offer digital solutions for broadcasters already? NM: Yes, but that makes them a perfect partner. Our goal is to grow the footprint. Chris Hanburger, VP of Business Development at StepLeader, said 'Broadcasters have come to rely upon Step Leader to be their one-stop shop for all of their digital needs. With native apps, mobile web, and video offerings already in place and supporting interactive advertisements, we selected Accelerated Media as our partner to speed the launch of connected TV apps that now support pre-roll and clickable banners embedded in the broadcaster's app. The decision was made easier by the fact that Accelerated Media also has major advertisers with approved budgets, ready to support this expanded footprint.' For more information, visit booth N6218 or go online to www.aimitv.com. Boston April 27 and 28 for Hill Holliday's TVnext Hack ( w w w. t v n e x t h a c k . c o m / ) . Developers working on apps in these categories will have access to our data: guides connected TV, companion apps and TV everywhere. TMS is a silver sponsor of the event, and there will be some great prizes including a $500 AmEx giftcard for the best use of OnConnect. It's an exciting time to be working in the TV ecosystem―and if you're a developer looking to build the next great entertainment UI we hope to see you there. For more information, visit www.tribunemediaservices.com, call 518-792-9914 or email TMSMarketing@tribune.com. the industry's first compliance test specification that outlines an interoperability testing and certification program aimed at products that offer wireless, interference-free, uncompressed HD audio taking advantage of the unique 5GHz Unlicensed National Information Infrastructure (U-NII) frequency band. The soundbar reference design is architected to ensure interoperability between WiSA-enabled components and to address the minimum requirements for basic system performance (i.e. volume tracking, audio latency, network setup, audio channel assignment, and scalability, etc.) independent of price point and product component attributes. "Our members have been asking for a soundbar reference design to accelerate their WiSA-enabled product introductions and save months in development time and costs," Venable said. "Having immediate access to development and design tools that define HD wireless audio transmission is one of the key benefits of WiSA membership, along with participating in and being aware of the future direction of the wireless audio and speaker industry being led by the association." For more information visit www .wisaassociation.org, call Gabrielle Collier at 408-616-4088 or email gcollier@wisaassociation.org.