NAB 2016: IBM Cloud Video sees momentum with AOL, Comic-Con HQ


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Michelle Clancy

| 19 April 2016




IBM has 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 to video management and distribution.



comiccon"IBM is at the forefront of the industry at a time when video is the driving influence in how organisations communicate, share information and entertain," said Braxton Jarratt, GM, 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.

Comic-Con HQ, a partnership between Comic-Con International and Lionsgate, has selected IBM Cloud Video's Clearleap platform to power its new subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) platform. As part of its multi-year deal, IBM Cloud Video will serve as Comic-Con HQ's technology partner, powering its live-streamed video productions. 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 also announced that the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), Canada's national public broadcaster, is using IBM Cloud Video's Clearleap platform to bring its next-generation, ad-supported streaming video service to Canadians nationwide. The collaboration helps deliver audiences seamless access to their favourite CBC programming, including CBC-TV and digital originals, documentaries and Kids' CBC across Web, iOS and Android devices.

AOL meanwhile 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.