NBC Universal veteran Eric Black named Edgio CTO
Edgio has appointed Eric Black as CTO/general manager, media. Having been at the forefront of digital video and live event streaming with NBC Universal for more than 20 years, Black joins Edgio to lead the company’s growth in delivering the highest quality linear, live and on-demand video experiences to every device worldwide.
Prior to joining Edgio, Black led NBC Universal’s media technology strategy across a host of digital properties during pivotal moments in the evolution of live streaming. He managed the first-ever live stream of a Super Bowl in 2010, delivered six Olympic Games (including the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, the largest digital event in history at the time), 2018 FIFA World Cup, and Presidential debates. He also guided the team that launched NBC Universal’s Peacock in 2020. The systems built by Black have focused on both high concurrent traffic and scale, and now deliver more than 20,000 events per year, resulting in billions of consumed minutes.
His contribution to the success of live event streaming has been recognised with nine Emmy awards.
“The appointment of such a well-regarded industry leader as Eric underscores the strength of Edgio’s standing today,” said Bob Lyons, CEO at Edgio. “We are extremely proud of our achievements in building digital video solutions that deliver successful business strategies for leading media and technology companies. Eric’s experience of the biggest live events is unparalleled, and he is the perfect fit for us as we enter the next phase of streaming at scale.”
At Edgio, Black will be responsible for the management and growth of Edgio’s Media Platform, which includes Edgio Delivery, its global CDN network, and Uplynk, its streaming platform.
Edgio’s media solutions operate in a field in which Black has rich expertise, enabling him to hit the ground running and further propel the company’s growth. Edgio has handled hundreds of thousands of live events, including the world’s biggest sports events, such as the FIFA World Cup and Super Bowl. Its Uplynk solution generated 2.4 billion event views, 3.3 billion hours of streamed video, and more than 220 million hours of advertising in 2022 alone.
“I’m incredibly excited to work with the talented team at Edgio that has been at the cutting edge of streaming for over a decade now,” said Black. “Customers trust Edgio as a valued partner – a trust that has been forged over a number of years by consistently solving the complexities of digital video in the most simple and scalable way. I’m looking forward to the future and the groundbreaking opportunities that Edgio brings to our customers.”