RGB Networks, the leading provider of scalable multiscreen IP video delivery solutions, today announced a new partnership for targeted ad delivery with BlackArrow, a worldwide provider of advanced advertising solutions for New Television platforms. Together, the companies have created a standards-based TV Everywhere advertising solution that enables video service providers (VSP) to deliver specific ads to individual viewers watching live or on-demand programming on connected TVs, PCs, smartphones, tablets or other mobile devices.
The joint solution is comprised of the BlackArrow Advanced Advertising System and RGB's Ad Insertion for Multi-bitrate (AIM) solution and leverages SCTE 35 and SCTE 130 standards, to deliver the industry's first end-to-end system for addressable ad insertion in an HTTP streaming video delivery environment. It combines the exceptional ad processing capabilities of the AIM platform and the advanced targeting intelligence of the BlackArrow system to create a fully integrated solution for the scalable delivery of targeted ads that are fully addressable to specific devices and viewers.
"Targeted advertising is a proven revenue generator in the set-top world today, and with the solution pioneered by RGB and BlackArrow, service providers can now extend this successful model to the world of TV Everywhere, delivering hyper-targeted ads to smartphones, PCs, tablets, connected TVs and virtually any other device that receives premium video programming," said Ramin Farassat, Vice President of Product Marketing and Business Development for RGB Networks. "Our customers are ready to take this next step and together with BlackArrow we enable service providers to immediately take advantage of this new revenue generating opportunity and maximize it across all screens."
"The ability of service providers and programmers to monetize TV Everywhere will drive greater availability of video across multiple platforms," said Chris Hock, senior vice president, product management for BlackArrow. "The BlackArrow-RGB joint solution provides superior ad management, ad delivery and IP video capabilities that can help the industry to grow multiplatform revenues."
AIM is a subset of RGB's Enhanced Video Intelligence Architecture (eVIA) allowing for the insertion of ads, as well as program substitution and blackout applications, in a multiscreen IP video environment. RGB Networks is the only vendor to provide all of the ad processing components that make up a complete adaptive bitrate (ABR) ad insertion solution. The company's AIM video targeted advertising solution includes:
- RGB's award-winning Video Multiprocessing Gateway (VMG), which supports the use of the SCTE 35 standard to ensure that ad and HTTP stream segment boundaries are aligned so that ads are accurately substituted.
- RGB's award-winning TransAct Packager which 'packages' H.264-encoded programs and ads into all of the leading adaptive bitrate (ABR) protocols (Apple HLS, Microsoft Smooth Streaming, Adobe HDS and MPEG DASH) for delivery to multiple devices.
- RGB's AIM Playlist Server detects ad signals and pings the BlackArrow system for ad selections.
- RGB's AIM Workflow Engine (AWE), which is the control interface that manages all of the other components. It provides Ad Management Service (ADM) capability for controlling the actual ad insertion and an SCTE 130 interface to external services, such as the Ad Decision Service (ADS) from BlackArrow.
- RGB's TransAct Transcoder for ad preparation, performing adaptive bitrate encoding of ads.
The BlackArrow Advanced Advertising System is used by service providers such as Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Rogers Communications to manage the technological complexities and business issues associated with advanced advertising across multi-platform pay-TV environments. The BlackArrow Campaign Suite enables ad sales organizations to define, manage and monetize multiplatform, multioperator advertising campaigns to reach viewers that increasingly consume time-shifted programming on their televisions, computers, tablets and smartphone devices. For service providers, the BlackArrow Decision Suite offers open, standards-based ad routing, ad decisioning, and proven system interoperability to streamline deploym ent in complex operator distribution environments. For content providers, the BlackArrow Business Suite offers advanced tools for managing avails, or placement opportunities, as well as ad policies, ad sales rights, and asset metadata.
Please visit with both companies at The Cable Show, May 21-23 in Boston for demonstrations and more information -- RGB Networks booth #2141 and BlackArrow Executive Suite ES-27 or CableNET.
About BlackArrow
BlackArrow is a leading worldwide provider of advanced advertising technology for New TV platforms. The company's solutions are designed to expedite advanced advertising within video content on any platform, enabling pay-TV operators and content providers to maximize advertising revenues. BlackArrow is privately held, and backed by Cisco Systems, Comcast Ventures, Intel Capital (NASDAQ: INTC), Mayfield Fund, Motorola Ventures (NYSE:MMI), NDS Group, LTD., Polaris Venture Partners and Time Warner Cable. The company has offices in New York City and San Jose, Calif. http://www.blackarrow.tv
About RGB Networks
RGB Networks enables video service providers to migrate to a multiscreen environment for the delivery of linear and on-demand video over managed and unmanaged IP networks. Wide adoption of the company's IP video solutions is based on core strengths in transcoding, advertising and overlay insertion, and statistical multiplexing. RGB's solutions for video delivery to TVs, desktop and mobile devices are built to deliver the highest video quality at the best price-performance on the market -- they uniquely offer the density and scalability required to support the growing demands of consumers with integrated functionality that simplifies operators' network architectures and minimizes operational costs. RGB's products are deployed by over 200 cable, telco, satellite, OTT and mobile operators in 30+ countries. Venture capita l investment firms include Accel Partners, Comcast Interactive, Focus Ventures, Granite Ventures, Institutional Venture Partners, Kleiner Perkins Caufield and Byers, and Mitsui & Co. Venture Partners. RGB is a private, profitable company based in Sunnyvale, California with offices around the world. For more information, please visit our website -- www.rgbnetworks.com -- and IP video blog -- and follow us on Twitter @RGB_Networks.