LONDON, June 25, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
Forbidden Technologies plc has
announced that TownNews.com has significantly expanded its
partnership with Blackbird in the U.S. market.
Blackbird Forte will be used extensively by one of
TownNews.com's major partners to deliver news content across
multiple platforms to towns and cities in 11 states across the U.S.
At the heart of the integration is Blackbird, believed by the Board
to be the only codec specifically designed for manipulating video
in the cloud.
Blackbird gives TownNews.com's partner the freedom to rapidly
access, navigate and manipulate content no matter their location.
They can then deliver stories with unprecedented control using
Blackbird Forte's browser-based enrichment, editorial and
publishing tools.
Forbidden has agreed a significant six-digit two-year deal with
TownNews.com for the licensing of Blackbird for use in this media
broadcast infrastructure.
TownNews.com provides over 1,700 newspaper, broadcast and
magazine publications in the U.S. with web, print, mobile and
social media services and solutions. TownNews.com's integration of
Blackbird provides its customers with a powerful editing suite for
rapid and remote manipulation of video content in the cloud.
Forbidden CEO, Ian McDonough,
says: "This expansion of Forbidden and TownNews.com's
partnership is a very exciting development for both companies. This
rollout is the first true execution of Forbidden's OEM strategy for
Blackbird. Blackbird will be a key part of the infrastructure
across U.S. news channels in 11 states. This is a key step in
taking Blackbird deployment to a whole new scale. Our recent
fundraising allows us to execute and support partnerships of this
size to a world class standard."
TownNews.com CEO, Brad Ward,
says: "Blackbird Forte gives our customers powerful
cloud-based video editing capabilities that they can't get anywhere
else. We look forward to continuing to expand our relationship with
Forbidden Technologies for a long time to come."
About TownNews.com
TownNews.com was founded as the International Newspaper Network
(I.N.N.) in 1989 to help community newspapers with developing
technology.
Today, their integrated digital publishing and content
management solutions power some of the most distinguished media
organizations in the industry. More than 1,700 newspaper,
broadcast, magazine and web-native publications rely on them for
their web, print, mobile and social media products.
Their complete solutions suite includes add-ons for data
management, content exchange, over-the-top (OTT) video, business
directory and more, helping to boost revenue, improve efficiency
and grow audiences. Lee Enterprises (NYSE: LEE) of Davenport,
Iowa, became majority partner in 1996. They are
headquartered in Moline, IL.
TownNews.com acquired Field59, creator of acclaimed video
management and streaming solutions for media organizations, in
April of 2018. Field59 have been a customer of Forbidden since
2008.
About Forbidden Technologies plc
Forbidden Technologies plc (AIM: FBT, http://www.forbidden.co.uk
) floated in February 2000. Forbidden
develops, markets and licenses a powerful cloud video platform
using our patented Blackbird technology. The technology underpins
multiple applications which are used by rights holders,
broadcasters, sports and news video specialists, post-production
houses, other mass market digital video channels and
corporations.
The Blackbird technology allows full visibility on
multi-location digital content, improves time to market for live
content such as video clips and highlights for social media
distribution which results in improved monetisation of video
content.
To find out more about Blackbird Forte and Blackbird Ascent
contact commercial@blackbird.video or visit
http://www.blackbird.video.
Blackbird® is a registered trademark of Forbidden Technologies
plc.