NAB2013: Vizrt and never.no Demonstrate Integrated Social TV - Graphics Platform


It's increasingly common for viewers to use smart phones and tablets to comment on the TV shows they're watching with others in the social media sphere. Viewers also use social media to share Instagram photos, videos, personal photos, Facebook posts, tweets, and other "User Generated Content" (UGC) that broadcasters want to select and feature on their live shows.



Vizrt and never.no have built an integrated technology platform that bridges the broadcast TV and social media worlds. Vizrt—the leader in broadcast graphics—and never.no—the leader in Social TV—have integrated never.no's Interactivity Suite and other social media toolsets with Vizrt's live graphics systems. As a result, this platform gives broadcasters effective tools for harvesting, managing, and presenting social media content within their live shows. And it lets them leverage their Vizrt graphics systems to display "what's trending" in social media, and promote interactive viewer participation.



At the 2013 NAB Show, taking place April 8-11 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Vizrt and never.no will cross-promote the integrated Social TV and Vizrt graphics infrastructure. At the Vizrt booth (SL3305), visitors will see demonstrations of how this never.no-powered Social TV platform creates a vibrant synergy between the live broadcast and social media audience. 



By integrating never.no's Interactivity Suite with Vizrt's real-time graphics technology, broadcasters can monitor, filter, approve, and harvest UGC—such as tweets, Facebook posts, RSS, video clips, and Instagrams—cascading from today's social media platforms. They can then build playlists or carousels of select social content they want to display within live Vizrt graphics and push them to air. Vizrt's broadcast graphics product line includes: Viz Artist for 3D graphics design, the Viz Trio CG graphics system; Viz Content Pilot, a template-based graphics system; and Viz Engine, a real-time HD video and 3D graphics compositing and rendering system.



"The social TV market is quickly becoming mature, and it's fun to see new and interesting formats emerge, almost on a weekly basis. We're beginning to see a new way of producing TV, quite simply. Trending and polling, using geo-located and in other ways segmented data provides new and very interesting insights, said Lars Lauritzsen, CEO of never.no. "With Vizrt, the gold standard in broadcast visualizations, these insights spring to life and become the basis of innovative storytelling. The next big paradigm shift we believe is Social TV Advertising. The potential for commercialization cannot be overstated, and never.no plans to lead the way."



At the 2013 NAB show, never.no (Booth SL8827) will showcase numerous Social TV demonstrations so broadcasters can gain first-hand knowledge of how these social media management tools can work for them. These demos will highlight the latest enhancements to the never.no Interactivity Suite, a toolkit for creating the technical backbone of interactive broadcasts and digital marketing campaigns that leverage social media. New integrations with Instagram and Google+, along with never.no's Sync for multi-screen advertising synchronization, and the "What's Trending" trend discovery toolkit, are among the latest developments that make it easier for broadcasters to create a compelling Social TV experience.



Both Vizrt and never.no will demonstrate how broadcasters can use "word cloud" graphics to show what keywords are trending on Facebook, Twitter, and other social platforms. If a particular keyword keeps coming up in the social-sphere, like the name of a star athlete, celebrity, or politician, never.no's "What's Trending" toolkit identifies that trend. Broadcasters will also see heat map graphics that enable pop-up displays of select social buzz occurring in different geolocations by selecting places on a map.



"At NAB, we will show broadcasters how our integrated Social TV platform provides an intelligent workflow that simplifies the management and display of user generated content. Without tools specifically designed for Social TV, broadcasters can quickly become overwhelmed by the volume of social media that's being created," said Petter Ole Jakobsen, CTO of Vizrt. "Our Social TV platform powered by never.no helps broadcasters maximize social media platforms to promote their shows and channels as well as harvest valuable data that can benefit their advertising and marketing."



About never.no

never.no's award-winning interactive "TV. Mobile. Social. 1Framework." technology connects fragmented media platforms across broadcast TV systems, mobile, and social media platforms — enabling real-time viewer participation, social TV, and synchronized companion apps. In operation since 1999, never.no has a global customer base including top brands such as Al Jazeera, BBC, CBC, ESPN, MBC, QVC, TV 2 Norge, Univision and ViaSat. More information about never.no products is available at www.never.no.



About Vizrt:

Vizrt provides real-time 3D graphics and asset management tools for the broadcast industry - from award-winning animations & maps to online publishing tools. Vizrt's products are used by the world's leading broadcasters and publishing houses, including: CNN, CBS, Fox, the BBC, BSkyB, ITN, ZDF, Star TV, Network 18, TV Today, CCTV, NHK, The Globe and Mail, Times Online, The Telegraph, and Welt Online. Furthermore, many world-class production houses and corporate institutions such as the Stock Exchanges in New York and London use Vizrt systems.



Vizrt is a public company traded on the Oslo Main List: VIZ, ISIN: IL0010838154. For further information please refer to www.vizrt.com

Martin Burkhalter

CEO

+41 22 365 75 01

MBurkhalter@vizrt.com



Tomer Wald

CFO

+47 5351 8040

TWald@vizrt.com



HÃ¥vard Myklebust

EVP Products & Marketing

+4791845602

HMyklebust@vizrt.com






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