Never.no and Pixel Power Form Strategic Alliance for 60 Degree Broadcasting

Never.no and Pixel Power Form Strategic Alliance for 360 Degree Broadcasting Cambridge, UK, 22nd August 2013 - Pixel Power, the leading innovator and supplier of broadcast playout solutions with integrated graphics, has announced that it has formed a strategic alliance with never.no, the social television and social advertising platform. The alliance unites two sector leaders to provide broadcasters and TV producers with the perfect platform to bring together primary and second screen activities to allow a 360 degree viewer experience.

never.no's Interactivity Suite provides the back-end framework needed to enable end-to-end Social TV, Synchronised Companion Apps and Participation TV. One of its core functions is the ability to harvest social media commentaries across e-mail, SMS, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and more so that they can be brought into the live broadcast domain. In turn, Pixel Power's globally renowned graphics technology - including Clarity , LogoVision , BrandMaster and ChannelMaster - then takes that information to air, in as graphically rich a way as the broadcaster desires and without the addition of unnecessarily complex workflows.

Lars Lauritzen, CEO of never.no, says, Broadcast absolutely needs to be part of the social media conversation and this has been recognised by TV stations and producers around the world. From sports fans to reality TV lovers, news hounds to soap opera followers, the interaction between second screen social media activity and TV viewing is a vital interface in the battle for viewer loyalty and creating a real buzz around content.

Much research around social media, in conjunction with broadcast TV provides evidence that it creates higher engagement with programming. Some studies show that when people use social media that's correlated with what they're watching, their engagement is about 1.4x higher. Social media not only drives loyalty, but as messages are being spread that tie in with that programming across a large online network, this activity then increases viewer numbers.

Pixel Power's data integration makes it very easy to work with third-parties like never.no as the company exposes the full feature set of its graphics devices via an XML interface. This provides tremendous data presentation flexibility. Pixel Power's technology provides precise onscreen presentation feedback under automated or manual operator control, allowing accurate data synchronisation with live broadcast.

James Gilbert, Pixel Power Joint MD, says, Working with never.no makes social media integration for broadcasters effortless and seamless. It allows broadcasters to take advantage without incurring integration or development costs. It's vital that onscreen brand identity is maintained while incorporating these new feeds, an area in which we have a considerable amount of expertise. Social media is here to stay and this strategic alliance allows broadcasters to benefit from technology leaders in both fields.

About Pixel Power: Pixel Power provides innovative graphics production and delivery systems for broadcasters, OB truck companies, playout facilities, post-production houses, venues and sports complexes. Our award-winning branding and promotions systems, graphics-enabled master control switchers and sophisticated HD/SD switchable graphics production systems allow producers to deliver dynamic live and pre-recorded content for any SD,HD, 3D stereoscopic, mobile, online or interactive application.

For more than 25 years Pixel Power's engineering prowess and dedication to customer support have made it the industry's first choice. Our customer base of over 2000 systems includes market leaders like BBC, Discovery, ESPN, HBO, ITV, Sky, VIASAT and WDR.

Headquartered in Cambridge, England, Pixel Power has a subsidiary located in Burbank, California and a Middle East office in Dubai, as well as a global network of carefully selected and distributors trained to support any requirement.

About never.no: never.no's award winning Interactivity Suite' is a toolkit specifically designed for broadcasters for creating highly advanced and enriched new forms of television engagement for live and prerecorded programming as well as creating engaging advertising environments via its Sync offering. The Interactivity Suite can be used to effortlessly aggregate user-generated and geo-located content from social media sites including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and Google+ directly into programming and advertising, as well as being able to drive companion apps that enable viewers to interact with their televisions and adverts using an iPad , tablet, PC, or smartphone.

In operation since 1999, never.no has a global customer base including top brands such as Al Jazeera, BBC, CBC, ESPN, Fox Sports, Leo Burnett, MBC, Nick, Procter & Gamble, QVC, Sky, SMG, Sprint, TV 2 Norge, TV2 Danmark, Turner Sports, TVNZ, Univision, Viacom and Viasat.

More information about never.no products is available at http://www.never.no

LINK:	http://www.pixelpower.com/news/neverno-and-pixel-power-form-strategic-...
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