In Broadcast - July 2013 - 23

ISSUE 21 - JULY 2013 | WWW.INBROADCAST.COM

I N T E R N A T I O N A L

N E W S

InUSA
OTA Broadcasters Rush To IP Services Cont.
this happens, upLynk substitutes
another programme. Aereo airs these
shows anyway, since it is carrying
the broadcaster’s on-air feed.
Yet there is a caveat to this new
deal: The new IP service might
upset some local ABC station
owners since other OTA mobile
television efforts – including Mobile
DTV – are just getting started. In
some cases, these efforts require a
miniature antenna, or a dongle that’s
plugged into the phone or other
portable device with an ATSC A/153compliant Mobile DTV receiver.
Expanding Locally
At the local level, Gray Television,
said that all its stations will soon
be carried on the Internet using
Syncbak’s Internet TV Platform.
The deal brings the total number
of stations deploying Syncbak’s
technology to about 200.
Syncbak’s Internet TV platform
uses location-based authentication
technology to enable local television
stations to stream their signal to inmarket viewers. By partnering with
Syncbak, Gray is able to replicate its
existing national, local and afﬁliate
partnerships on the Internet and
mobile devices.

The Syncbak ipad screen

Gray has been testing Syncbak’s
system at four of its stations for
the past several months. After an
evaluation of those tests, Gray has
decided to launch all of our television
stations commercially on Syncbak’s
platform. Consequently, in the
coming weeks, all Gray stations
will stream on Syncbak.
Gray serves mainly mid and smallsize TV markets. The highest-ranked
market Gray serves is Knoxville,
Tennessee, the 59th ranked market.
One of the stations is afﬁliated with

Fox, six are
with ABC,
10 are with
NBC and 17
are afﬁliated
with CBS
(making Gray
the largest
independent
owner of CBS
affiliates in
the country).
Overall,
S y n c b a k ’s
technology
is
being
tested in
more than
150 television stations in 98 markets
across the US, representing all major
networks, including CBS, ABC,
Fox, NBC and The CW. Strategic
investors of Syncbak include
CBS, the National Association of
Broadcasters and the Consumer
Electronics Association.
Syncbak uses location-based
authentication technology, enabling
local television stations to stream
their signal to in-market consumers.
Even with the CBS investment,
Syncbak will continue to offer

its platform to other broadcast
networks and their station groups.
Martin D Franks, Executive
Vice President of Planning, Policy
and Government Affairs for CBS
Corp., said: “Syncbak’s technology
platform presents several interesting
opportunities for broadcast networks,
their stations and affiliates.”
Attracting Viewers
One potential option for those
using Syncbak and similar IP
streaming technology is to deploy
a “TV Everywhere” model similar to
what North American cable, satellite
and Telco TV services now provide.
Viewers can watch network and local
TV programming on their mobile
devices once they “authenticate”
themselves as customers of a
cable or satellite provider. This helps
maintain programming rights.
A c ro s s t h e c o u n t r y U S
broadcasters are looking for the
best way to respond to consumer
demand for streaming their content.
How they get it into viewers’
hands seems to matter less and
less to consumers. The key is to
attract more eyeballs, wherever
they might be.
23

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In Broadcast - July 2013

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