Syncbak’s Jack Perry on Television’s Transformation

When the technology Perry built and the legislation he advocated made it possible for satellite companies to authenticate subscribers it cleared the path for satellite providers like DIRECTV and Dish to offer local broadcast stations and become the major distributors of video content that they are todayamp160 Later he built TitanTVcom and AntennaWeborg tools that helped stations and consumers make the transition from analog to digitalamp160 More recently his company Syncbak is making it simple for local broadcasters to stream and monetize their content online and to get the right stations to streaming television distributors vMVPDs thus improving the consumer experienceKathy Newbergeramp160 Youamp8217ve helped change how consumers watch TVamp160 How is Syncbak contributing to that evolutionJack Perry amp160I started Syncbak in March of 2009 with the sole mission of replicating our nation39s overtheair broadcast infrastructure in what we now call overthetop OTT amp160I knew that there was going to be a need for technology so local broadcasters could have their channels carried onlineFor a consumer it means that you can go to an application whether it39s Hulu or Sony Vue or CBS All Access and based on your locationamp160you39re going to get the right ABC NBC CBS Fox or what have you affiliates and the right independent channelsamp160 By replicating the broadcast infrastructure you get the same channels online or overthetop that you get over the airamp160 That39s a very very big dealNewbergeramp160 What does the consumer experience look likePerryamp160 If you have CBS All Access for example and are watching live from your home in New York City or while on a trip to another market we make sure that youamp8217re seeing the right CBS station when youamp8217re watching liveamp160 If you subscribe to Sony PlayStation Vue and you watch live local channels it39s Syncbak that is likely powering itamp160 amp160We do that for a number of the other virtual MVPDsamp160 Weamp8217re the plumbing that makes all that happenIt39s very very hard and the reason that it39s hard is there39s not just one CBS or NBC affiliate there areamp160210 amp160So number one youamp8217ve got to make sure the consumer39s getting the right ones and number two youamp8217ve got to make sure that even in the tiniest little markets like Glendive Montana you39re able to get that broadcast from the local station and get it to the cloud and then from the cloud back down to the viewerWe let stations install our technology onceamp160and then easily deliver their content to many distributors Sony or Hulu or Fubo or whomever amp160and do all the things like rights resolutions and blackouts and digital ad insertion integrated with their traffic so local advertisers can take advantage of this viewing amp160There isn39t anybody even close to doing as much as we doamp160 We do 10 million hours a yearamp160 We39re the people who power the vast majority of liveNewbergeramp160 Nobody except maybe Philo Farnsworth comes out of high school and says quotGee someday I39m going to invent a tool that39s going to help people do this thing that doesnamp8217t exist yetquot amp160How did you come to this amp160How did you become a television engineer and a problem solver in the media worldPerry amp160Laughs I was running a tech company and happened to be at a meeting at our local newspaper one day with some community business leaders amp160I struck up a conversation with the general manager of the TV station who was talking about a problem where he had to figure out where all these subscribers were relative to his broadcast signal amp160I said quotTell me more about thatquotamp160and he did amp160I asked quotHow many of you are therequot and he answered quotOh there39s about 1000 TV stations in the USamp8217amp160 I asked quotIf I build this technology for you would the rest buy itquotamp160and he answered quotThey probably wouldquotamp160amp160That39s how I got started in this on the TV side of things and I haven39t looked back sinceSyncbakamp8217s not in every station yet but we39re getting there amp160We39re in 209 DMAs but we are setting our sights on every station every DMA amp160This is where I don39t mind using my legacy because I think we shouldamp160 I39ve done it before so we39re going to get every local station by hook or by crook before we39re doneNewbergeramp160 Local is so importantamp160 You wrote a piece on Quartz about broadcasting during times of crisisamp160 Can you tell us why even national media folks need to think about localPerryamp160 No one does what local broadcasters doamp160 They step up to fulfill an obligation to serve their communities and they do it well amp160Local news is particularly important amp160Hyperlocal newsamp160weather and sports are important to peopleAs we learned recently during Hurricane Florence when our viewing went through the roof in North Carolina local news is particularly important where the news is breakingamp160 They cover a local story bestamp160 If something is breaking local news is first on the scene and they know the community amp160Sixty percent of the viewing on the hurricane was coming from outofmarketamp160 People searched for local coverageamp160Although people may take local news for granted they rely on it and if it39s not there then there39s a big hole in the product offering any product offeringClick the social buttons above or below to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Syncbak’s Jack Perry on Television’s Transformation

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Kathy Newberger

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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Syncbak’s Jack Perry on Television’s Transformation

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Kathy Newberger

"About That with Carl Mayer": Involved Media Connected Audience Fall 2024 Report (Episode 5) - By Carl Mayer

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