NAB 2019: Grass Valley, Frankly Media Establish Technology Alliance Program for Customers
Grass Valley, a Belden Brand (Booth SL 106) launched the Grass Valley Technology Alliance (GVTA), a new program for technology and solutions providers that delivers improved purchasing confidence and selection for customers. The certification program gives broadcasters and media organizations access to solutions that are interoperable with a range of Grass Valley workflow components and platforms. The initiative also provides GVTA members with co-marketing opportunities and greater market access.
Frankly Media (Frankly), a lens-to-screen digital platform that empowers media companies to publish and monetize their content across web, social, mobile, and OTT experiences, is the Alliance’s first member company. The Frankly Media Express Platform is a suite of tools that enables live and on-demand streams to be edited, managed and delivered to any IP connected device. It brings publishers the multiscreen delivery capability they need to maximize audience value and revenue potential.
“Our customers tell us regularly that they need greater efficiency in how they design and deploy our solutions into their workflows. Precious time is too often wasted dealing with discrete products from multiple vendors that aren’t necessarily built with interoperability in mind,” says Tim Shoulders, president of Grass Valley. “The ability to offer a tested and configured solution with Frankly, especially in a growing area such as digital video delivery, introduces clear benefits to our customers.”
As the need for greater efficiency in the management and distribution of digital video to connected devices and apps continues to grow at an astounding rate, the solutions offered by Frankly are particularly valuable to Grass Valley customers. In addition, broadcasters are increasingly looking to extend their traditional “live” linear broadcast feeds to meet the growing number of digital end-points. The GV STRATUS video production and workflow management platform is now fully interoperable with Frankly’s SaaS-based suite. Integrating deeper into the world of traditional broadcast, capturing signaling data for precise ad replacement and metadata for program manipulation downstream is the foundation of true one-to-one advertising and program decisioning for OTT delivery.
“Frankly’s Express digital video platform and Express Producer CMS fits seamlessly with Grass Valley’s playout systems and optimizes content workflows in a way that streamlines content from lens to multi-screen delivery,” says Lou Schwartz, CEO of Frankly Media. “The ability to deploy a platform like ours that has guaranteed interoperability with Grass Valley’s workflow gives customers a single platform with unique advantages over others who are designing systems without this level of collaboration. Being part of the GVTA gives Frankly the advantageous position of increased exposure in this alliance and Grass Valley’s global customer base.”
Members of the GVTA will work closely with Grass Valley prior to being awarded certification to ensure compatibility, interoperability and strategic fit. Member companies will be listed on Grass Valley’s website and will collaborate on advertising and other marketing activities.
“This Technology Alliance extends the level of certainty we can provide to our customers, during the purchase decision process, that deployment will be fast and straightforward,” continues Shoulders. “Solutions from certified GVTA members will be tested and configured to provide a level of certainty that typically doesn’t exist in the market today.”