Syncbak this week pushed forward with the launch of SBTV, a free, ad-based OTT service that enables local broadcasters to distribute their live feeds and on-demand programming around the U.S. on multiple devices.
Syncbak said Gray Television is the first major station group to offer live, ad-based channels across all markets.
Syncbak formally introduced SBTV on Wednesday (May 16) at an inaugural “TechFronts” event in New York focused on the company’s dynamic ad insertion technology, adSync, and topics centered on the larger internet-driven TV syndication market.
SBTV builds on Syncbak’s other work focused on streaming live, in-market TV signals to internet connected devices for services such as CBS All Access (CBS is one of Syncbak’s financial backers), as well as virtual MVPDs such as PlayStation Vue, fuboTV and Hulu (for its new live TV service).
Prior to the debut of SBTV, SimpleSync, Syncbak’s streaming platform, was being used to power more than 7.3 million hours of live TV programming on an annual basis, about triple the 2.5 million hours it was ingesting the year prior, company CEO and founder Jack Perry said in an interview at the recent NAB Show in Las Vegas.
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This week, Syncbak said it demonstrated direct-to-OTT live streams with dynamic ad insertion to viewers across the U.S. in all 210 DMAs via the SBTV app (for iOS and Android) and on the web at Syncbak.TV.
With SBTV, Syncbak is giving local TV stations a way to reach beyond their local markets with live feeds and on-demand content for shows, including news broadcasts, locally-produced programs, syndicated fare, and other content for which they have rights to distribute on a broader basis.
Alongside the baseline SimpleSync platform, SBTV is also underpinned by a DAI system called adSync, and a Cloud Syndication Marketplace that enables partners to syndicate and license their programming for OTT delivery (live, VOD, or both) via local TV stations that are on board with SBTV.
Gray Television, for example, is delivering MomsEveryday via OTT to its own 57 markets as well as to stations in another 154 DMAs via SBTV. Syncbak said about a dozen shows, each with a handful of seasons (including food, a James Beard-award winning series food. Curated, a show airing in New York City) have helped to seed its Cloud Syndication Marketplace.
Northwest Broadcasting also touted its support for SBTV. “SBTV gives our stations the tools we need to deliver our own, unique, hyperlocal OTT channels,” Brian Brady, CEO of Northwest Broadcasting, said in a statement.
