Video Industry News

The Academy will leverage Grabyo to reach online audiences across the globe for the virtual awards night.

The Television Academy, organizers of the renowned Primetime Emmy Awards, is bolstering its digital content strategy ahead of the unique 2020 Emmy Awards telecast this Sunday with Grabyo, the leading cloud video platform.

While the television industry is going through a challenging period for live production due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the Emmys will be fully virtual this year for the first time.

To be able to adapt to producing the event remotely while reaching its global fanbase, the Television Academy is doubling down on digital content, ensuring the 72nd Emmy Awards show will be available to audiences on every platform and device.

The awards telecast will be shown live in over 30 countries, including in the US by broadcaster ABC. The Academy will utilize Grabyo’s cloud video platform to distribute near-live clips from the telecast to its social media channels and website, throughout the ceremony.

Delivering a multi-platform content strategy for live events is key to reaching an audience at scale. The Television Academy has retained the rights to publish online clips from the awards to ensure audiences have access to every moment as soon as it happens. During lockdown in the US, consumption of digital video has soared, especially on social media platforms.

Using Grabyo’s cloud-based platform, the Academy can ensure each clip distributed to social media is of broadcast quality. Its digital teams will use Grabyo to package and brand each clip as official Emmys content, to ensure fans around the globe are able to connect with the top moments in the show. Additionally, the Academy will use Grabyo’s automated closed caption feature for its content. A recent survey found that over 80% of Americans will watch video on social media with no sound.

The Academy’s digital team will be able to produce, manage and deliver content safely and remotely, with Grabyo’s platform accessible from anywhere with a laptop/PC and internet connection. The Academy’s digital team will work collaboratively in Grabyo for managing all assets as if they were in the same room.

The Television Academy will utilize Grabyo’s Studio platform to clip highlights instantly, then utilizing Grabyo Editor in post-production to optimize content and add branded graphic overlays and automated closed captions. This workflow will allow the Academy to produce TV-quality content rapidly for its social and digital channels.

For more information, get in touch with us at hello@grabyo.com.

Grabyo partnered with IBC Accelerator project champions Warner Music & MTV International to deliver the proof of concept alongside never.no and Joi Polloi.

This time of the year the media and broadcast industry is usually gathering in Amsterdam for the annual IBC conference. However this year, the media and broadcast industry looks extremely different.

Responding to the new challenges faced by media organizations due to the pandemic, the IBC Accelerator Innovation Programme tasked industry-leading champions and innovative tech companies to collaborate on innovation projects that address complex media & entertainment industry business and technology challenges.

Grabyo worked closely with Warner Music MTV International/ViacomCBS, never.no and Joi Polloi to create a disruptive new content format for the music industry. More specifically: The live music talent show that has dominated our screens for the past 20 years

Consumers across the world are increasingly using social platforms to access live and on-demand video content. However, musical TV talent shows that are available on social platforms are simple re-broadcasts of TV content. This format doesn’t take full advantage of the unique features of live social video – they are simply not made for digital audiences and platforms.

This project has shown how music broadcasters, labels and publishers can create a digital-first programme that is immersive and engaging for a social audience, leveraging the interactive nature of live social video whilst ensuring that content is accessible across many devices and platforms.

The project: Singzta

Traditional TV talent shows demand huge amounts of resources and organization, from sourcing and managing contestants to producing shows to air. The Singzta project aimed to streamline this process, creating a fair and ethical talent formato a wider audience, which could spark even greater interest from consumers while bringing down the demands of production.

The concept: An entirely virtual singing competition hosted via a mobile application. The app allows anyone in the world to submit an audition from their mobile device, while other users can browse and vote for their favourites. Everything has to be simple and easy to use, in a smart user-experience that consumers expect from a social media app.

Contestants with enough votes, fairly judged using a unique, comprehensive AI algorithm make it on to a live show to be held weekly, broadcast to the app using Grabyo, with real-time engagement and voting from the audience.

Using Grabyo Producer, the show’s team are able to host a live show, with a live presenter, and mix in VOD auditions and graphic overlays to create a TV-quality broadcast, very similar to the traditional format.

However, the brief of the project was to take the viral and interactive nature of social media platforms and create a fair and positive space for performers and audience members to get involved with the competition.

Using Grabyo’s integration with audience participation platform never.no, the concept was built from the ground up with engagement and moderation in mind. From audience interaction to content moderation, a host of human and AI skills were used to ensure not only that content was suitable, but that performers could take part in the knowledge that they would be safe from inappropriate negativity.

Proof of concept

While there were challenges in forming the idea through to execution, the Accelerator project has shown the industry that the technology is available for this concept to work effectively.

The TV talent show format is ripe for disruption, with the experience of the broadcast, technology and music industry coming together, interest in these types of shows could be reinvigorated with younger consumers.

Consumption of video is moving rapidly online and to mobile devices. This type of production will help the music industry to get out in front of this trend and connect with its fanbase in a more personal way than ever before.

For more information about our IBC Accelerator project, contact us at hello@grabyo.com.

Grabyo’s live video production platform now supports the transport of uncompressed live video, transforming end-to-end live production workflows in the cloud.

Amazon Web Services (AWS) has unveiled its new AWS Cloud Digital Interface (AWS CDI), a new network technology that provides advanced network performance and high-fidelity video transport. Grabyo has been chosen as a launch partner for this new service which provides Grabyo customers, for the first time, the opportunity for uncompressed video transport for live production in the cloud.

AWS CDI has been introduced to address specific challenges in cloud productions. Specifically, workloads that require high-performance connectivity and uncompressed live video transport have historically needed an on-premises deployment, using Serial Digital Interface (SDI) connections.

Grabyo’s platform, which runs on AWS infrastructure, is one of the first to support AWS CDI and can now untether video teams from the restrictions of hardware and location-based live production. This workflow significantly enhances the scale and scope of fully managed live productions.

Optimized for live video performance, AWS CDI is built on existing technologies that run on certain Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2) instances, including Elastic Fabric Adapter (EFA) and the Scalable Reliable Datagram (SRD) protocol.

Once set up, AWS CDI enables seamless transport of uncompressed video up to Ultra-High Definition (UHD) 4K resolution at 60 frames per second (FPS) between Amazon EC2 instances and AWS Media Services, with timing characteristics as low as 8 milliseconds.

With the continued proliferation of over-the-top (OTT) video, and more broadcasters investing in their digital distribution strategies, there’s a growing demand for solutions that can help unify broadcast and OTT workflows. This new service represents a huge leap forward, allowing cloud-solutions to replicate services previously restricted to on-premises infrastructures due to their dependency on reliable high bitrate connectivity between machines.

AWS and Grabyo have opened new doors to broadcasters and media organizations, allowing them to create high-value, scalable productions, using uncompressed video and interoperability with AWS CDI across a range of video services.

To find out more about uncompressed live video transport, or to learn more about cloud production for live broadcasts contact us at hello@grabyo.com.

Grabyo’s new At Home Video Trends reports detail how changes in the lives of sports fans has affected consumption habits and attitudes towards sports video.

The absence of live sport in the summer of 2020 resulted in huge pent up demand from sports fans.

With all sporting events cancelled or postponed, athletes, clubs, leagues and federations were forced to experiment with new ways to entertain and engage fans.

Many began producing more raw, unfiltered content for their social and digital channels. We were invited into the homes of sports stars, as they performed TikTok challenges or took interviews from their couch. Fans were also able to access archive content across social and digital platforms, including full-length matches and watch-a-longs, all while connecting with other fans.

The result of this forced experiment has had a profound impact on how sports fans watch content, and therefore, the perception of value in sports media.

Grabyo’s 2020 At Home Video Trends Report used data from 4000 consumers in the UK, and 4000 consumers in US, to find out how video consumption and buying habits have changed during social isolation in both countries.

Almost 60% of UK sports fans willing to switch to streaming

In the UK, sports fans have little choice in where to watch many major sports. Historically, linear TV broadcasters have held almost all of the premier sporting rights in the UK.

However, this is beginning to change. Amazon Prime Video’s acquisition of ATP tennis rights has brought many top-tier tennis events to fans online. BT Sport has also launched an online-only subscription to allow sports fans to watch sport on its channels, including the UEFA Champions League and Premiership Rugby, without the need for an additional pay-TV subscription, following the evolution of NOW TV from Sky.

Overall, sport has lagged behind the entertainment industry when it comes to flexibility. In consumption, access, and purchasing options. Sports fans have noticed.

Today 77% of sports fans watch video regularly on online streaming platforms, with 68% watching regularly on pay-TV services and 66% watching regularly on social media.

One irreversible effect of lockdown in the UK is the shift to digital consumption, especially in older consumers. Data from Grabyo’s research reports suggests that once consumers try online streaming services, they don’t tend to cancel, or favour pay-TV. During lockdown, the penetration of online streaming services grew at least 20% for consumers over 50.

67% of US sports fans willing to switch to streaming

The US is ahead of the global curve when it comes to streaming adoption. Sports streaming platforms such as DAZN and ESPN+ already offer this type of service with great success – DAZN achieved 950% year-on-year growth in 2019.

In the US market, there is a huge opportunity for broadcasters and rights holders to launch a dedicated streaming service for sports fans who just want to watch online. The latest of these is NBC’s Peacock, which has entered the market with premium rights to sports such as the EPL.

Sports broadcasters in the US are paying attention to wider consumption habits and adjusting to suit consumers. More sports fans are now using social media (76%) than pay-TV/cable (74%) to watch video regularly. 84% of sports fans watch content regularly on online streaming platforms.

This change in consumption habits has caused a shift in attitudes towards watching sports on digital. 67% of sports fans would now be willing to watch sports exclusively on streaming platforms and 69% of these fans would be willing to spend over $10 per month for sports content. For the superfans Grabyo’s new report showed that 31% would be willing to spend over $25 per month on an online streaming service that carries live sports and highlights (VOD).

For more insights, download Grabyo’s At Home Video Trends Reports below.

Stay safe everyone.

The 20th Anniversary of the Sunday Times Tech Track 100 sees Grabyo’s first appearance.

Grabyo has been ranked in the top 100 fastest growing technology companies in the UK by the 2020 Sunday Times Tech Track 100.

Following Grabyo’s inclusion in the Sunday Times’ ’10 Tech Ones to Watch’ list in 2019, which highlighted companies with potential reach the final list, Grabyo has been ranked 84th in the 2020 Tech Track 100.

Grabyo has achieved a sustained period of organic growth, with over 53% rise in sales over the past three years.

During the COVID-19 health pandemic, its cloud video tools have been perfectly positioned to offer support to broadcasters and media organizations as they transition to remote working.

Some notable projects from 2020 include MTV’s pop-up ‘Games Live’ gameshow, EA Sports’ FIFA 20 Stay and Play Cup and the FA’s Football’s Staying Home campaign.

For more information on Grabyo’s services, or to find out more, get in touch.