The Africa Channel, based in L.A., is currently using WCPMedia Services’ cloud-based media management platform in marketing content to broadcasters, streaming services and other distribution outlets worldwide.
The Africa Channel recently launched a production arm, TAC Studios, to produce original lifestyle programming about contemporary African life, and to market its existing library of premium content. The WCPMedia Services platform allows TAC Studios to set up secure virtual screening rooms to share content with current and potential customers.
“Our customers are able to log in and enjoy a high-quality experience on their desktop, tablet or mobile device,” explains Bill Admans, technology consultant to TAC Studios. “The quality is equivalent to watching shows on a streaming service, for example."
TAC Studios' clients include broadcasters, streaming services and VOD operators in Africa, Europe, Australia and the United States. Its current lineup of programming includes the lifestyle series Africa Everywhere, the food show Africa on a Plate and the adventure reality series First Time Africa.
Admans says that TAC Studios selected the WCPMedia Services platform because its intuitive design made it easy to deploy and operate. “Setting up screening rooms to match the individual needs of our customers is fast, efficient and easy,” Admans notes. “We can upload shows and the associated metadata quickly, and without overburdening our resources.
The platforms Swiss bank level security was another essential ingredient. “It’s a secure screening environment,” Admans says. “We can feel comfortable sharing our content. The platform gives us full control over our marketing. We know who is viewing our content, where and when.”
Admans adds that WCPMedia Services also provides responsive training and support. “WCPMedia has been very responsive in helping us determine our needs and in training our staff,” he says. “As an operation with customers around the world, we also needed a partner who can support us 24/7.”
Google Opens Its Defense In Antitrust Case Alleging Monopoly Over Online Ad Technology
Google opened its defense against allegations that it holds an illegal monopoly on online advertising technology Friday with witness testimony saying the industry is vastly more complex and competitive than portrayed by the federal government.
"The industry has been exceptionally fluid over the last 18 years," said Scott Sheffer, a vice president for global partnerships at Google, the company's first witness at its antitrust trial in federal court in Alexandria.
The Justice Department and a coalition of states contend that Google built and maintained an illegal monopoly over the technology that facilitates the buying and selling of online ads seen by consumers.
Google counters that the government's case improperly focuses on a narrow type of online ads — essentially the rectangular ones that appear on the top and on the right-hand side of a webpage. In its opening statement, Google's lawyers said the Supreme Court has warned judges against taking action when dealing with rapidly emerging technology like what Sheffer described because of the risk of error or unintended consequences.
Google says defining the market so narrowly ignores the competition it faces from social media companies, Amazon, streaming TV providers and others who offer advertisers the means to reach online consumers.
Justice Department lawyers called witnesses to testify for two weeks before resting their case Friday afternoon, detailing the ways that automated ad exchanges conduct auctions in a matter of milliseconds to determine which ads are placed in front of which consumers and how much they cost.
The department contends the auctions are finessed in subtle ways that benefit Google to the exclusion of would-be competitors and in ways that prevent... Read More