IBM Cloud Video Announces New Clients and Product Innovations

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LAS VEGAS, April 18, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Demonstrating momentum for IBM's newly created Cloud Video unit, IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced that Comic-Con HQ, Canadian Broadcasting Corp, AOL and Broadway Video are tapping the company's new Cloud Video unit to do everything from launching new channels for millions of consumers to dramatically improving their video management and distribution.

IBM also unveiled new innovations spanning production and distribution to meet increasing demands for robust and flexible video services. The news was announced on the first full day of the 2016 NAB Show in Las Vegas, at IBM's largest-ever showing at the event.

"IBM is at the forefront of the industry at a time when video is the driving influence in how organizations communicate, share information, and entertain," said Braxton Jarratt, General Manager, IBM Cloud Video Unit. "Today's announcements will be viewed as a significant milestone in the company's cloud video strategy, as IBM makes the sharing, distribution and management of video increasingly simple across any device."

The news further demonstrates the strength of the IBM Cloud Video portfolio, the unit established just three months ago to help clients across a wide range of industries integrate video and use it as a strategic source of data and insight. This includes media and entertainment, retail, education and government services. The unit combines assets from Ustream, as well as the recent acquisition of Clearleap. It will also create solutions that integrate technologies from other IBM investments, including Aspera high-speed data transfer and Cleversafe scale-out object storage, as well as IBM R&D innovations.

Digital video has become the fastest growing data type in cloud workloads, expected to exceed 80 percent of all internet traffic by 2019. After spending billions in R&D and acquisitions, IBM is betting big on cloud video services as a major differentiator in a market that's expected to exceed $100 billion in the next three years.  

IBM Cloud Video to Power Comic-Con HQ Video Channel Set to Debut May 7

IBM today announced that Comic-Con HQ, a partnership between Comic-Con International and Lionsgate (NYSE:LGF), has selected IBM Cloud Video's Clearleap platform to power its new subscription video-on-demand platform.

As part of its multi-year deal, IBM Cloud Video will serve as Comic-Con HQ's technology partner, powering their live-streamed video productions and providing fans with seamless access to the Comic-Con experience 365 days a year. IBM Cloud Video will also provide the ad-free streaming video platform with back-end support for subscriber and content management, billing, and video compatibility on multiple devices.

IBM Cloud Video Serves as Backbone to Canadian Broadcasting Corp's Ad-Supported Video Service

IBM also announced that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada's national public broadcaster, is leveraging IBM Cloud Video's Clearleap platform to bring their next-generation, ad-supported streaming video service to Canadians nationwide. The collaboration helps deliver audiences seamless access to their favorite CBC programming, including CBC-TV and digital originals, documentaries and Kids' CBC across Web, iOS and Android devices.

The video service features a library of over 600 CBC titles including fan-favorites like "Dragons' Den," "Heartland," and "Murdoch Mysteries." As a strategic, end-to-end technology, IBM Cloud Video's Clearleap platform has powered the rollout of the service, which includes geo-fencing capabilities and enhanced accessibility, including closed captioning and described video, complete search and discover functionality and management of a consistent, premium cross-screen viewing experience.

"We knew we needed a video platform to support our strategy of building an audience in an aggressively competitive environment. We worked with IBM Cloud Video because they know what it means for a broadcaster to be digital," said Lauris Apse, Director of Digital Products, CBC. "IBM's flexible video technology, its depth of experience in digital workflow, and its understanding of our existing infrastructure made them the perfect fit to give our audience a great experience."

AOL Turns to IBM to Speed Media Production, Distribution

IBM also announced that AOL, a global digital media and technology company, has deployed a full suite of high-speed transfer and automation software from Aspera, an IBM company, as the backbone for its new media management platform, to support high performance transfers between bi-coastal production facilities and to and from their cloud-based media asset management system, to enable large-scale global collaboration and content distribution between creative teams worldwide.

AOL properties such as AOL On, The Huffington Post, TechCrunch and Engadget are available on 19 OTT devices, and provide editorial and video content at a caliber unlike any other in their spaces. Providing content for their digital properties, AOL's in-house video production through AOL Studios has continued to expand, producing a slate of over 75 Originals, and earning four Emmy nominations while generating between 2 and 4 TB each day.

IBM Cloud Video Platform and Mazda

Unveiling a new vehicle is traditionally done at major auto shows to a small, insular audience of press, analysts, and car people and then trusting that audience to spread the word. By streaming their MX-5 Miata RF unveiling live from the New York International Auto Show on March 22, Mazda reached a global audience of car enthusiasts and prospective buyers, helping expand the conversation to a broader audience than ever before and increasing the reach and ROI of their marketing efforts, while exercising greater control over the way that audience experienced their first look at the MX-5 Miata RF.

New Video Innovations Span from Production to Distribution

For worldwide media companies, providing an exceptional live HD video streaming experience typically requires the use of expensive satellite links or content delivery networks.

With breakthrough software from Emmy award-winning Aspera, IBM is making it possible to use the internet to transport live, high-quality video, from anywhere in the world, with negligible startup delay (one second or less) and a glitch-free viewing experience.

Live and near-live streaming of broadcast-quality video content over IP networks has traditionally used linear transport over satellite and dedicated fiber networks – high quality but limiting for today's use cases. Satellite uplinks and dedicated fiber are often not available on demand, requiring large capital investments and long startup times. This is particularly impractical for live and second-screen experiences and for one-time events that can't justify the investment in dedicated infrastructure, or amortize CDN costs over long viewing periods. In addition, the linear feed format is difficult to customize and integrate with modern file- and cloud-based workflows.

The FASPstream software line is a first-ever open video transport solution capable of high-quality, live streaming over commodity Internet WANs. Built from the ground up by Aspera, the software utilizes the FASP® bulk data protocol to transport live video source and provides timely arrival of the live video independent of the network round-trip delay and packet loss.

"Broadway Video is pioneering in the point-to-point video delivery space creating new workflows that eliminate costly satellite and fiber circuit backhauls and distribution infrastructures," said Rob Weigand, COO of Broadway Video. "Application of FASPStream to these novel workflows ensures critical uptime and reliability, making point-to-point Internet delivery of video possible and practical. The potential savings and efficiencies in both contribution and distribution architecture will change the way B2B and B2C video delivery happens."

"The rate and pace of change in the media & entertainment industry is accelerating and IBM is spearheading that transformation," said Steve Canepa, IBM General Manager, Global Telecommunications, Media & Entertainment Industry. "But IBM's focus is wider than this; we're committed to accelerating the adoption of video into the core application architecture of every industry."

In addition to M&E, the rising adoption of video is increasingly becoming a key method of communications across industries for engaging with customers and employees through webcasts, training and educational webinars, on-demand customer care videos and much more. IBM is making this bet not only in entertainment, but also with commercial brands that are using direct-to-consumer video to reach broadcast-sized audiences.

IBM also announced new software that enables organizations to seamlessly live-stream events like town hall meetings, training sessions and all-hands meetings over enterprise networks while simultaneously maintaining optimal internal network performance. The eCDN software, created by Ustream, resides within an enterprise's firewall and helps clients manage and minimize the impact of video traffic on the network, reducing local network strain and eliminating the need for network capacity upgrades.

About IBM Cloud Video Unit:

Created in January 2016, IBM Cloud Video brings together innovations from IBM's R&D labs with the cloud video platform capabilities of Clearleap and Ustream. Through the unit, IBM delivers a powerful portfolio of video services that spans open API development, digital and visual analytics, simplified management and consistent delivery across global industries. IBM Cloud Video supports top media and enterprise companies with reliable video on-demand and streaming services, including HBO, A+E Networks, BBC America, Scripps Networks Interactive, and Verizon. 

About IBM Cloud:
For more about IBM Cloud, visit here.
For more about IBM Cloud Video, visit here.

Media Contact
Lori Bosio
IBM Media Relations
1 (914) 766-1408
[email protected]

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SOURCE IBM