Boston, MA 06/14/2013 (wallstreetpr) – Shares of Gray Television Inc., (NYSE:GTN) were up by 17.46% to close at $6.39 in Thursday’s trading session. Over 1.62M shares exchanged hands which was twice the average volume of 599.15K.
Gray Television Inc., (NYSE:GTN), in mid May announced that all of its 41 television stations will be aired via the Internet TV platform, owned by Syncbak. Including this, the number of stations that deploy Syncbak’s technology comes up to 200.
The Syncbak Internet TV platform deploys a location-based authentication technology. This makes local TV stations to access their in market consumers with their respective signal. Such partnership will help Gray produce the same model on mobile and internet devices, which it has successfully developed in local, national and also affiliate partnership. Syncbak has been on the testing radar of Gray at four different stations for several months. It is on such testing that Grey has decided to launch its television stations commercially on Syncbak’s medium.
Grey is only one of the forty different broadcast groups who are testing Syncbak’s platform. Such technology is being simultaneously tested by network giants such as CBS, FOX, ABC, NBC and the CW. CBS, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association (NABCEA) are joint investors in Syncbak. CBS Corporation (NYSE: CBS) had acquired a stake in the company only last month. It expects to work in close sync with affiliated and owned television stations, advertisers, satellite cable, rights holders and telco partners. Alongside such launch, Syncbak (can be understood to be a venture of CBS itself), will continue offering its platform to various other broadcast networks as well as their station groups.
As per claims by CBS, online space is the real place to be. Although the online audience has not been as explored as the TV audience, it is definitely growing at a fast pace, thereby representing a big opportunity for media companies. Thus making an early dive shall be the ones who later reap the most gains. Till such opportunities are open to be explored, big corporations as CBS or smaller ones such as Grey shall continue to work with Syncbak, to broadcast their services. This might thus help in heading off the challenge that Aereo Inc has been posing. It has in its turn been capturing broadcasters over the air signals and re-transmitting them to several subscribers on Smartphone and tablets.
CBS is a mass media company that has operations in segments, which include Entertainment, Cable Networks, local broadcasting, outdoor and publishing. Earlier on May 31, CBS announced of its acquisition of TV Guide Digital, which includes the popular TVGuide.com and TV Guide Mobile properties. Under the deal, CBS acquired remaining 50% holding in TV Guide Digital shares from Lionsgate.
