End-user online video consumers are looking for that one-stop-shop app/solution that can deliver the most video choices easily, quickly and offers up only what their particular device can deliver. Well, that’s the technology behind CastTV’s online video search technology that Tribune Media Services (TMS) will utilize as part of its Zap2it.com entertainment network and offer up to media and tech clients. Dana Gage, TMS Vice President, Marketing/Entertainment Products tells RBR-TVBR TMS was not using CastTV’s services previously. She also tells us the integrated product set will help their media and tech clients provide entertainment-discovery products for any platform: linear, on-demand or online.
So TMS customers will now have access to all the metadata necessary to create entertainment-discovery guides that direct consumers to programs across those three platforms. TMS’ entertainment metadata is currently used by 4,000 media and technology companies in 40 countries.
CastTV has developed search technology that aggregates, indexes and presents data on millions of TV shows, movies, music videos, news and sports clips, and viral videos from more than 1,000 web-video sources. It automatically matches online video to professionally edited, structured databases such as TMS’ TV, movie and celebrity data, allowing for deep integration with existing TMS products. The CastTV system also allows for “device-aware” content-discovery products that can be limited or expanded to include only access to videos that address a customer’s device limitations or the business needs of a video provider.
The acquisition includes all of CastTV’s technology, products, intellectual property and staff, including CEO Edwin Ong and president Alex Vikati, who founded the San Francisco-based company together in 2006.
Combining CastTV’s capabilities with TMS’ deep databases of TV shows, movies and celebrities, will give media and technology companies a one-stop solution for guiding consumers through the rapidly growing array of video platforms. TMS will link the CastTV index of online programs to TMS metadata to enable customers to easily direct consumers to programs regardless of where they are offered.
CastTV also operates a consumer website (www.CastTV.com), which provides more than four million consumers with a comprehensive resource to find what video they want to watch online. As mentioned, TMS will operate the CastTV.com site as part of its Zap2it.com entertainment network, which currently reaches eight million Web visitors and four million mobile app users monthly. TMS will offer ad packages that combine reach of audiences on both sites.
