![](/sites/default/files/styles/teaser_265_x_175/public/2024-04/technology_man_hands_laptop_0.jpg?itok=JQyn9XIO)
DataBee, from Comcast Technology Solutions, introduces a gen AI powered chatbot to tackle the challenge of finding and validating asset owners
PHILADELPHIA, July 30, 2024 — DataBee™, from Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS), today announced a new generative AI-based chatbot called BeeKeeper AI™, which automatically finds and validates asset owners, closing security and compliance gaps caused by unknown or orphaned assets. Powered by Comcast’s patent-pending entity resolution technology, BeeKeeper AI is now part of DataBee for Security Hygiene, which works on top of the DataBee Hive™ security, risk and compliance data fabric platform to improve security hygiene through automated asset and owner discovery.
BeeKeeper AI uses gen AI to validate asset ownership via automated chat. DataBee for Security Hygiene makes predictions about asset ownership by analyzing who might own the asset and how the asset is engaged. Then BeeKeeper AI automatically reaches out to predicted users to verify asset information and ownership using the organization’s chat client. Unknown or orphaned assets or devices can have significant security vulnerabilities and compliance gaps, so matching up users with devices is critical to closing those gaps and to an organization’s overall security and asset hygiene.
“BeeKeeper AI is an excellent example of the responsible use of generative AI for cybersecurity,” said Scott Miserendino, Vice President of Advanced Cybersecurity Solutions, DataBee. “Because it’s working from a dataset that’s been cleaned and optimized by DataBee within a contained environment, BeeKeeper AI is powered by high quality, complete data and there are proper guardrails around its use and output. We’re looking forward to extending this gen AI chatbot capability to other security challenges over time.”
BeeKeeper AI uses a large language model (LLM) to support chat conversations with potential asset owners, engaging them via Microsoft Teams to ask the question, ‘are you the owner of this device?’. Depending on the answer, BeeKeeper AI can continue its quest—even handling odd-ball responses—until it finds and validates the asset owner. No manual effort is involved in any of this process.
“BeeKeeper AI gives valuable time back to IT, operations, security and compliance teams -- time that would otherwise be spent trying to locate and validate owners of unclaimed devices,” added Nicole Bucala, Vice President and General Manager of DataBee. “Our customers can keep these valuable people resources focused on what matters most and let BeeKeeper AI do the laborious work required to connect the dots between unclaimed assets and their proper owners.”
BeeKeeper AI is available for Private Preview with Microsoft Teams starting the first week of August 2024 and is estimated to be generally available as part of the DataBee Hive suite of offerings in September.
You can learn more about DataBee and all of its products and solutions at the Black Hat USA 2024 conference on August 7 and 8 in booth #4540, or request a meeting with one of our experts during the show.
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About Comcast Technology Solutions
Comcast Technology Solutions, a division of one of the world’s leading media and technology companies, brings Comcast Corporation’s proven technologies to an evolving list of industries worldwide. We believe in continuous innovation, always looking for new and better ways to connect with our customers, as well as aggregate, distribute, and secure our own content, advertising, and data. We invest in and test these solutions, so you don’t have to — freeing you up to focus on accelerating your business, not your tech stack. Through our portfolio of solutions, we bring these innovations to the global marketplace, enabling our partners to think big, go beyond, and lead the way in media, technology, and cybersecurity. For more information, visit https://www.comcasttechnologysolutions.com or databee.buzz.
Media Contacts
Mary Cosmides
Mary_cosmides@comcast.com
+1 (267) 207-5279
Read More
Press releases
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August 01, 2024
NightDragon and Comcast Technology Solutions Launch Joint Initiative to Propel Future Cybersecurity Innovations
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. – August 1, 2024 -- NightDragon, an investment and advisory firm focused on the cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy industry, today announced a new strategic partnership with Comcast Technology Solutions to help advance innovative cybersecurity technologies through increased go-to-market support and opportunities and access to expanded combined networks of industry leaders. As part of the new partnership, NightDragon will work closely with the teams from Comcast Technology Solutions, Comcast Ventures and DataBee™, the premier security, risk, and compliance data fabric platform in the Comcast Technology Solutions portfolio.
Comcast Technology Solutions is a technology and infrastructure leader that enables partners by delivering proven technologies for global video, media, communications, data applications, and cybersecurity and compliance. Under this partnership, Comcast Technology Solutions will expose NightDragon to innovative companies and technologies that may be relevant for investment, go-to-market or partnership opportunities. Additionally, the company will evaluate opportunities to purchase technology from NightDragon portfolio companies or make capital investments through its Comcast Ventures arm.
“This new partnership brings together a powerful combination of leaders at the forefront of cybersecurity protections for critical infrastructure and driving innovation in the marketplace. We look forward to working together with Comcast Technology Solutions, Comcast Ventures, and DataBee to advance cybersecurity innovation in the marketplace and make a difference together in securing our world for tomorrow,” said Dave DeWalt, CEO and Founder, NightDragon.
Comcast Technology Solutions and Comcast Ventures will benefit from early access and exposure to the latest innovations within the NightDragon portfolio, including leading cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy technologies. Synergies identified between Comcast Technology Solutions and NightDragon portfolio companies will allow each party a fresh look at protecting critical infrastructure and driving innovation in the marketplace.
“Innovation and investments in technology, infrastructure and cybersecurity are top priorities at Comcast Technology Solutions, as we’ve evidenced most recently with the creation of the DataBee business and security data fabric platform. Partnering with NightDragon and its portfolio companies offers us a valuable opportunity to get a first view into cutting-edge technologies that can best serve our customers and secure critical infrastructure,” said Ken Klaer, President, Comcast Technology Solutions, and Executive Vice President, Comcast Cable.
Additionally, DataBee, from Comcast Technology Solutions, will benefit from access to NightDragon’s NightScale platform, which helps accelerate growth for leading innovators through access to proprietary playbooks, people, partnerships and programs, and the firm’s Advisory Council of 100+ top cybersecurity and technology leaders. DataBee is a security, risk, and compliance data fabric platform that helps drive smarter decisions with analysis-ready datasets and an evidence-centric approach to security data.
Amy De Salvatore, Partner, NightDragon said, “Comcast is a strong innovator, and this is a unique partnership in that they are a telecom provider, which is different from other strategic partnerships that fall under our NightScale platform and provide value to our portfolio companies. This partnership will be a powerful way for both of our companies to place greater focus and energy on innovation, as well as advance critical technologies like DataBee, which is revolutionizing how we manage and secure data.”
This partnership expands NightDragon's capabilities under its ND Go-to-Market business unit, a dedicated set of playbooks, programs, and partnerships in its proprietary NightScale platform to help accelerate its portfolio's go-to-market capabilities. Comcast Technology Solutions’ leading services and advisory capabilities will complement existing go-to-market partnerships under the NightScale platform, including TD-SYNNEX, Arrow Electronics, World Wide Technologies, Jones Group International, SiteGround, Stratascale, and others.
To learn more about the NightDragon NightScale platform, visit our website.
About NightDragon
NightDragon is an investment and advisory rm focused on growth and late-stage investments within the cybersecurity, safety, security and privacy industries. Its platform and vast industry network provide unparalleled threat insights, deal ow, market leverage and operating expertise to drive portfolio company growth and increase shareholder value. Founded by Dave DeWalt, the NightDragon team has more than 25 years of operational and market expertise leading technology companies such as Documentum, EMC, Siebel Systems (Oracle), McAfee, Mandiant, Avast and FireEye. Read more about NightDragon at www.nightdragon.com.
About Comcast Technology Solutions
Comcast Technology Solutions, a division of one of the world’s leading media and technology companies, brings Comcast Corporation’s proven technologies to an evolving list of industries worldwide. We believe in continuous innovation, always looking for new and better ways to connect with our customers, as well as aggregate, distribute, and secure our own content, advertising, and data. We invest in and test these solutions, so you don’t have to — freeing you up to focus on accelerating your business, not your tech stack. Through our portfolio of solutions, we bring these innovations to the global marketplace, enabling our partners to think big, go beyond, and lead the way in media, technology, and cybersecurity. For more information, visit Comcast Technology Solutions and DataBee.
NightDragon Media Contact:
Sarah Kuranda Vallone
sarah@nightdragon.com
Comcast Technology Solutions Contact:
Mary Cosmides
Mary_cosmides@comcast.com
+1 (267) 207-5279
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July 30, 2024
DataBee, from Comcast Technology Solutions, introduces a gen AI powered chatbot to tackle the challenge of finding and validating asset owners
PHILADELPHIA, July 30, 2024 — DataBee™, from Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS), today announced a new generative AI-based chatbot called BeeKeeper AI™, which automatically finds and validates asset owners, closing security and compliance gaps caused by unknown or orphaned assets. Powered by Comcast’s patent-pending entity resolution technology, BeeKeeper AI is now part of DataBee for Security Hygiene, which works on top of the DataBee Hive™ security, risk and compliance data fabric platform to improve security hygiene through automated asset and owner discovery.
BeeKeeper AI uses gen AI to validate asset ownership via automated chat. DataBee for Security Hygiene makes predictions about asset ownership by analyzing who might own the asset and how the asset is engaged. Then BeeKeeper AI automatically reaches out to predicted users to verify asset information and ownership using the organization’s chat client. Unknown or orphaned assets or devices can have significant security vulnerabilities and compliance gaps, so matching up users with devices is critical to closing those gaps and to an organization’s overall security and asset hygiene.
“BeeKeeper AI is an excellent example of the responsible use of generative AI for cybersecurity,” said Scott Miserendino, Vice President of Advanced Cybersecurity Solutions, DataBee. “Because it’s working from a dataset that’s been cleaned and optimized by DataBee within a contained environment, BeeKeeper AI is powered by high quality, complete data and there are proper guardrails around its use and output. We’re looking forward to extending this gen AI chatbot capability to other security challenges over time.”
BeeKeeper AI uses a large language model (LLM) to support chat conversations with potential asset owners, engaging them via Microsoft Teams to ask the question, ‘are you the owner of this device?’. Depending on the answer, BeeKeeper AI can continue its quest—even handling odd-ball responses—until it finds and validates the asset owner. No manual effort is involved in any of this process.
“BeeKeeper AI gives valuable time back to IT, operations, security and compliance teams -- time that would otherwise be spent trying to locate and validate owners of unclaimed devices,” added Nicole Bucala, Vice President and General Manager of DataBee. “Our customers can keep these valuable people resources focused on what matters most and let BeeKeeper AI do the laborious work required to connect the dots between unclaimed assets and their proper owners.”
BeeKeeper AI is available for Private Preview with Microsoft Teams starting the first week of August 2024 and is estimated to be generally available as part of the DataBee Hive suite of offerings in September.
You can learn more about DataBee and all of its products and solutions at the Black Hat USA 2024 conference on August 7 and 8 in booth #4540, or request a meeting with one of our experts during the show.
###
About Comcast Technology Solutions
Comcast Technology Solutions, a division of one of the world’s leading media and technology companies, brings Comcast Corporation’s proven technologies to an evolving list of industries worldwide. We believe in continuous innovation, always looking for new and better ways to connect with our customers, as well as aggregate, distribute, and secure our own content, advertising, and data. We invest in and test these solutions, so you don’t have to — freeing you up to focus on accelerating your business, not your tech stack. Through our portfolio of solutions, we bring these innovations to the global marketplace, enabling our partners to think big, go beyond, and lead the way in media, technology, and cybersecurity. For more information, visit https://www.comcasttechnologysolutions.com or databee.buzz.
Media Contacts
Mary Cosmides
Mary_cosmides@comcast.com
+1 (267) 207-5279
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July 24, 2024
NBC Sports selects Comcast Technology Solutions for its production of 2024 Olympic & Paralympic Games in Paris
NBC Sports has selected Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) to provide multiscreen video management and delivery for its production of the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympics, July 24-August 11, and, August 28-September 8, respectively.
NBCUniversal’s coverage of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will feature multi-platform offerings across NBC, Peacock, USA Network, E!, CNBC, GOLF Channel, Spanish-language networks Telemundo and Universo, and NBCOlympics.com and the NBC Sports app.
Media mentions
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August 05, 2024
NightDragon, Comcast Technology Partner to Drive Cybersecurity Innovations
NightDragon, an investment and advisory firm focused on the cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy industry, has announced a new strategic partnership with Comcast Technology Solutions to help advance innovative cybersecurity technologies through increased go-to-market support and opportunities and access to expanded combined networks of industry leaders.
Read the full article here.
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August 05, 2024
From Data Chaos to Cohesion: How OCSF is Optimizing Cyber Threat Detection
With the release of version 1.3.0, the Open Cybersecurity Schema Framework (OCSF) introduces several enhancements designed to further standardize and help streamline cybersecurity data management. OCSF is a collaborative, open source effort by AWS and leading partners in the cybersecurity industry, which provides a standard schema for common security events, defines versioning criteria to facilitate schema evolution, and includes a self-governance process for security log producers and consumers.
Read the full article here.
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August 02, 2024
NightDragon, Comcast Launch Initiative for Cybersecurity
NightDragon, an investment and advisory firm focused on the cybersecurity, safety, security, and privacy industry, announced a new strategic partnership with Comcast Technology Solutions to help advance innovative cybersecurity technologies through increased go-to-market support and opportunities and access to expanded combined networks of industry leaders.
Read the full article here.
Latest Stories
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March 28, 2014
Comcast Wholesale Awarded Gold Level Performance Excellence Award From Boeing
Centennial, CO
Comcast Wholesale today announced that it has received a 2013 Gold Level Boeing Performance Excellence Award. Comcast Wholesale maintained a Gold composite performance rating for each month of the 12-month performance period, from Oct. 1, 2012, to Sept. 30, 2013.
The Boeing Performance Excellence Award (BPEA) is an acknowledgement that Comcast Wholesale has demonstrated a dedication to the high performance standards necessary to meet their customer’s expectations and remain competitive in the global economy. This award confirms their commitment to meet or exceed their customer’s requirements on quality and delivery 100 percent of the time.
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January 03, 2014
UP Selects Comcast Wholesale for Multiplatform Content Delivery
Atlanta, GA
Comcast Wholesale is now providing network origination & transmission and VOD programming delivery services
Atlanta, GA and Denver, CO, December 19, 2013 – UP, America's favorite network for uplifting entertainment, has selected the Comcast Wholesale™ business unit's Comcast Media Center™ (CMC™) to provide multiplatform content delivery services, the two companies announced today.
The Comcast Wholesale business unit is now providing channel origination and transmission services for UP from its award-winning advanced-playback environment, which is designed to improve program uptime while simultaneously reducing operator workload. The Comcast Wholesale facility originates UP in HD format as well as down converts the channel into SD, to help make UP available in both HD and SD.
In addition, UP is using the Comcast Wholesale facility's VOD (video on demand) content delivery platform to manage delivery of its VOD programming, which includes its originals, premieres, series and specials. CMC's VOD footprint encompasses cable systems across multiple MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors) serving more than 56 million VOD –enabled households in the U.S. and Canada.
"We have been pleased with the quality of service provided by the Comcast Wholesale facility for the past three years as it allows us to manage our VOD distribution and successfully address a number of our cross-platform content distribution requirements while also assuring a consistent, high-quality experience of our brand across multiple viewing devices," said, Rex Humbard, Senior Vice President, production and operations, UP. "The multichannel origination operation is extremely efficient and effective and allows us to benefit from the economies of scale similar to those enjoyed by network groups that operate their own facilities."
Added Matt McConnell, Senior Vice President & General Manager of the Comcast Wholesale business, "As an established television network, UP is very familiar with the requirements and importance of a quality network origination experience. We are looking forward to the opportunity to bring that level of quality to their linear channel origination and also extend it to the viewer's experience of the network's VOD content through our integrated content management solution."
For nearly 20 years, Comcast Wholesale businesses have been an industry-leading provider of content services across multiple platforms for customers worldwide. The business offers a complete suite of digital video solutions including network origination and playout; transmission (via satellite or fiber); video-on-demand (VOD) aggregation and delivery, including a highly automated process for quick turn-around of on-air ad-supported content; and studio/post production services.
About UP
UP, America's favorite network for uplifting entertainment, is a 24-hour television network that provides high-quality, diverse, family-friendly programming, including original and premiere movies, theatricals, drama and comedy series, music and holiday specials. UP can be seen in more than 65 million homes in high definition (HD) and standard definition (SD) on cable systems including Comcast, Time Warner Cable, Bright House Networks, Charter and Cox Communications as well as DIRECTV (Channel 338), DISH Network (Channel 188) and Verizon FIOS (Channel 224). As part of its mission to entertain and uplift, the network's pro-social initiative "Uplift Someone" reminds and inspires people to do simple acts of kindness. UP is also a service provider to its sister network ASPiRE. Based in Atlanta, UP is a division of UP Entertainment, LLC, which also offers gMovies, the first faith-friendly streaming movie service. Follow UP on the Web atwww.UPtv.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/UPtv, Twitter on @UPtv and Instagram at UP_TV.
About Comcast Wholesale
A division of Comcast Cable, the Comcast Wholesale™ business unit offers third party businesses access to services and technologies developed and proven by an industry leader including HITS® (Headend in the Sky®) and the Comcast Media Center. From content distribution and media management to advertising delivery and IP services, the Comcast Wholesale services portfolio helps businesses launch new products and remain competitive through lower up-front investment, improved efficiency and faster time to market. More information about the range of Comcast Wholesale businesses may be found at www.comcastwholesale.com
# # #
Comcast, HITS and Comcast Wholesale are trademarks or registered trademarks of Comcast. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contacts
UP:
Chelsye Burrows
770.692.4559
cburrows@UPtv.com
Comcast Wholesale:
Andy Holdgate
720-270-1325
holdgatepr@comcast.net
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December 15, 2013
Todd Porch Named VP & GM of Comcast AdDelivery™
Denver, CO
Yahoo! And Nexstar Veteran to Oversee Platform Delivering Video Assets for Over 10,000 Agencies and Advertisers to Majority of All U.S. Media Outlets
Todd Porch, who has overseen digital advertising solutions provided by such industry leaders as Yahoo!, Nexstar and Broadcast.com, has been named Vice President and General Manager of Comcast Wholesale’s AdDelivery™ service. Comcast AdDelivery provides advertisers the opportunity to deliver video assets to 98% of all U.S. broadcast and cable television channels, local broadcast television stations and local cable ad sales operations using a single cloud-based digital asset distribution platform.
Prior to his appointment to the Comcast Wholesale senior leadership team, Porch spent four years as Executive Director of the 250-member Advertising Operations and Account Management unit at Yahoo! Inc. Porch previously had served as the Senior Director of Yahoo! Inc.’s North American Advertising Operations organization. He came to Yahoo! in 2000 through its acquisition of Broadcast.com, where his management roles included establishing and running the company’s broadcast and Internet infrastructure. Porch also served as Senior Vice President of eMedia for the Nexstar Broadcasting Group, where he managed 65 community portals as well as Nexstar’s eMedia content, product, service and sales organizations. The 22-year communications industry veteran previously held various sales and operations management positions in the telecom industry.
“Comcast AdDelivery has successfully completed an initiative to create a near-universal footprint and can now provide advertisers, agencies and post houses with one-stop access to the majority of the country’s national and local television advertising outlets,” said Matt McConnell Senior Vice President & General Manager for Comcast Wholesale. “Todd Porch brings us the leadership and experience that will help to ensure these capabilities continue to expand to meet the needs of advertisers for easy, efficient and fast ad delivery solutions.
Capable of delivering tens of thousands of HD and SD ads per day using Comcast’s enhanced100G fiber backbone, with orders often sent within less than two hours’ time, Comcast AdDelivery currently provides asset management and distribution for over 10,000 national, regional and local advertisers, including delivery of all video advertising for Comcast, the country’s fourth-largest advertiser.
About Comcast AdDelivery
As part of the Comcast Wholesale portfolio of services, Comcast AdDelivery™ operates an automated video asset management solution that utilizes Comcast’s 100G fiber backbone for cost-effective, customizable and secure delivery of HD and SD television advertising spots to national, regional and local media destinations across the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico. Comcast AdDelivery provides advertisers, agencies and post houses a fast, efficient and reliable method for managing and distributing video assets from post-production to broadcast.
About Comcast Wholesale
Comcast Wholesale, a division of Comcast Cable, offers third-party businesses access to services and technologies developed and proven by an industry leader including HITS® (Headend in the Sky), Comcast Media Center™ and Comcast AdDelivery™. From content distribution and media management to advertising delivery and IP services, the Comcast Wholesale services portfolio helps businesses launch new products and remain competitive through lower up-front investment, improved efficiency and faster time to market.
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Comcast, Comcast Wholesale and Comcast AdDelivery are trademarks or registered trademarks of Comcast. All other product or service names and marks are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contact:
Andy Holdgate
holdgatepr@comcast.net
720-270-1325
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November 13, 2013
Comcast Wholesale Expands Cornerstone Capacity Agreement with SES - Media leader secures eighteen transponders to deliver HITS® and Content Services
Luxembourg
SES (NYSE Paris: SESG)(LuxX: SESG) today announced that Comcast Wholesale has renewed and expanded key agreements for nearly 650 MHz of C-band capacity to deliver a broad range of content management and delivery solutions to media companies across North America.
As part of the multi-year deal, Comcast Wholesale (formerly the Comcast Media Center) continues to utilize sixteen transponders aboard the AMC-18 satellite and two additional transponders on the AMC-1 spacecraft to provide cable programmers, MSOs and independent cable operators access to linear and on-demand content distribution solutions including the HITS® (Headend in the Sky®) platform. Comcast Wholesale on-demand programming distribution will be transitioned from AMC-1 to the new SES-3 satellite in 2014.
AMC-18 and AMC-1 make up two-thirds of SES' expanding cable neighborhood at the Center Arc, the heart of North America's prime video distribution location in space. AMC-18 has played an integral role supporting the HITS platform since 2007, when Comcast Wholesale moved its innovative platform from Ku-band to C-band.
"This agreement marks the latest milestone in a long-term, collaborative partnership between Comcast Wholesale and SES that has always strived to meet the evolving needs and demands of the media and entertainment industry," explained Steve Bunke, Vice President of North America Media Sales for SES. "Comcast Wholesale has long been an engine for innovation for the cable industry with its HITS solution aimed at helping independent operators compete in a fiercely contested market. SES is honored to renew and expand our alliance with Comcast Wholesale with a constant eye on the future."
"The ever-changing industry landscape requires a new level of expertise and outside-the-box thinking that SES has always brought to the table in support of our solutions," said Leslie Russell, Vice President and General Manager HITS. "We have the right satellite distribution partner to deliver our comprehensive services portfolio, ranging from linear to on-demand to network origination services.
About the Satellites
Offering prime North America coverage, AMC-1's C-band payload is home to national TV networks broadcasting to thousands of cable headends. AMC-18 is optimized for digital television distribution from the center of the US orbital arc and covers 50 states, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico.
About Comcast Wholesale
A division of Comcast Cable, Comcast Wholesale offers third-party businesses access to services and technologies developed and proven by an industry leader. From content distribution and media management to advertising delivery and IP services, Comcast Wholesale's service portfolio helps businesses launch new products and remain competitive through lower up-front investment, improved efficiency and faster time to market. More information about Comcast Wholesale may be found at www.comcastwholesale.com.
About SES
SES is a world-leading satellite operator with a fleet of 53 geostationary satellites. The company provides satellite communications services to broadcasters, content and internet service providers, mobile and fixed network operators and business and governmental organisations worldwide. SES stands for long-lasting business relationships, high-quality service and excellence in the broadcasting industry. The culturally diverse regional teams of SES are located around the globe and work closely with customers to meet their specific satellite bandwidth and service requirements. SES (Euronext Paris and Luxembourg Stock Exchange: SESG) holds participations in Ciel in Canada and QuetzSat in Mexico, as well as a strategic participation in satellite infrastructure start-up O3b Networks. Further information under: www.ses.com.
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Comcast and HITS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Comcast. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
SES Media Contact:
Markus Payer
Market Communication & PR
Tel. +352 710 725 500
Markus.Payer@ses.com
Comcast Wholesale Media Contact:
Andy Holdgate
Tel. 720-270-1325
holdgatepr@comcast.net
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November 07, 2013
Deutsch LA Selects Comcast AdDelivery for Distributing TV Commercials to Media Outlets
Los Angeles, CA
Deutsch LA is now delivering commercials for select clients with Comcast AdDelivery, the two companies announced today.
The LA office of Deutsch Inc., an Interpublic company, is a full-service agency providing advertising, media planning, and digital marketing. It will initially be using Comcast AdDelivery for two of its clients, Volkswagen and the California Milk Advisory Board.
Deutsch LA’s decision represents the latest additions to the growing list of more than 10,000 national, regional and local advertisers, agencies and post houses that rely on Comcast AdDelivery to meet their video asset distribution requirements.
"As television spots continue to be an important asset in the marketing arsenal to our clients, Comcast AdDelivery proved to us that they could meet our demanding level of execution by providing a high quality, extremely reliable and cost-effective digital asset management solution," said Vic Palumbo, Director of Integrated Production and Partner at Deutsch LA.
A service of Comcast Wholesale, AdDelivery uses Comcast’s 100G fiber backbone for highly reliable and rapid delivery of HD and SD ads electronically to all media destinations across the country. Its footprint encompasses the majority of US broadcast and cable networks, local broadcast stations, cable and other multichannel video distributors, radio stations, and online video web publishers.
“We are very pleased to add the LA office of Deutsch Inc. to the growing list of major advertising agencies and creative houses who have entrusted us to deliver their video assets,” stated Matt McConnell, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Comcast Wholesale. “Our experience in managing advertising for the Comcast businesses, coupled with our access to world class content solutions, allows us to offer the agency and the leading brands it represents unparalleled quality, efficiency, reliability and performance.”
Capable of delivering tens of thousands of HD and SD ads per day, with orders often sent within less than two hours’ time, Comcast AdDelivery currently provides asset management and distribution for over 10,000 national, regional and local advertisers. Comcast AdDelivery is a web-based application, so advertisers and their agencies can access Comcast AdDelivery for video asset distribution from any location, and is widely used by postproduction and dubbing houses.
About Deutsch LA
Deutsch LA is a 480-person fully integrated agency known for its award-winning creative campaigns. Integrated practices at Deutsch LA include creative advertising, media planning and buying, all aspects of digital marketing, direct marketing, public relations, design, branded entertainment and experiential marketing. Deutsch LA clients include Volkswagen, Taco Bell, Dr Pepper, Snapple, 7UP, Nintendo, Anthem Blue Cross, Fresh & Easy, California Cheese, Kettle Chips, Pop Secret and Emerald Nuts. For more information about Deutsch LA, visit www.deutschinc.com.
About Comcast AdDelivery
Comcast AdDelivery, a business unit of Comcast Wholesale, operates an automated video asset management solution that utilizes Comcast’s 100G fiber backbone for cost-effective, customizable and secure delivery of HD and SD television advertising spots with distribution to national, regional and local media destinations across the U.S. Comcast AdDelivery provides advertisers, agencies and post houses a fast, efficient and reliable method for managing and distributing video assets from postproduction to broadcast.
About Comcast Wholesale™ businesses
A division of Comcast Cable, Comcast Wholesale™ offers third party businesses access to services and technologies developed and proven by an industry leader including HITS (Headend in the Sky) and the Comcast Media Center. From content distribution and media management to advertising delivery and IP services, the Comcast Wholesale services portfolio helps businesses launch new products and remain competitive through lower up-front investment, improved efficiency and faster time to market. More information about the range of Comcast Wholesale businesses may be found at www.comcastwholesale.com.
# # #
Comcast and Comcast AdDelivery are trademarks or registered trademarks of Comcast. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contact:
Andy Holdgate
holdgatepr@comcast.net
720-270-1325
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October 31, 2013
Pivot Selects Comcast Wholesale™ Multiplatform Content Delivery
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles and Centennial, Colo, October 31 – Pivot, Participant Media’s new television network targeting Millennials (18-34) has selected the Comcast Wholesale™ media platforms to provide multiplatform content delivery services, the two companies announced today.
The Pivot TV channel is now available via the HITS® “Q2” standard definition satellite platform on AMC 18. Because HITS uses technology that builds upon widely available MPEG-2 infrastructure, Pivot’s carriage on HITS provides the network’s affiliates using MPEG-2 with an alternative to purchasing the additional equipment required for acquiring and down-converting MPEG-4 satellite feeds.
In addition, Pivot has tapped the Comcast Wholesale VOD (video on demand) content delivery platform to manage distribution of its Pivot on demand programming. Pivot’s original series include "Raising McCain" featuring Meghan McCain, “Jersey Strong,” “TakePart Live” and “Please Like Me.” In addition, U.S. television premieres of feature films on Pivot have included "Terms & Conditions May Apply" and "99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film."
Comcast Wholesale’s VOD footprint encompasses cable systems across multiple MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors)serving more than 56 million VOD –enabled households in the U.S. and Canada. The platform’s “Express Lane” VOD service provides Pivot and other TV network customers with a highly automated process for quick turn-around of on-air content, including television commercials that are measured using Nielsen’s commercial ratings system for measuring multiplatform viewership.
“In addition to providing us with one centralized location for addressing a number of our cross-platform content distribution requirements, the Comcast Wholesale platform has a demonstrated track record in quality, speed, efficiency and service to the MVPD community,” said Jon Rees, Senior Vice President, Technology, Pivot.
Added Matt McConnell, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Comcast Wholesale businesses, “We are pleased to welcome Pivot to the hundreds of television networks and other content providers that count on us to deliver their video programming in a manner that reinforces the quality of their brands. The chance to provide a spectrum of content solutions for Pivot, all under one roof, illustrates not only the scope of services we offer, but also the many operational advantages that our customers can experience through an integrated content management solution.”
About Pivot
Pivot (Pivot.tv), which launched nationally August 1st, is a new television network from Participant Media serving passionate Millennials (18-34) with a diverse slate of talent and a mix of original series, acquired programming, films and documentaries. Pivot focuses on entertainment that sparks conversation, inspires change and illuminates issues through engaging content and, through its website TakePart.com, connects audiences to a wealth of content and customizable actions. Pivot is also changing the media landscape, available via traditional Pay TV subscription and integrating a Live and on demand streaming option via its interactive, downloadable Pivot APP. In both content and delivery, Pivot is TV for The New Greatest Generation. Follow pivot on Twitter at @pivot_tv and on Facebook at facebook.com/pivottelevision.
About Comcast Wholesale™ businesses
A division of Comcast Cable, Comcast Wholesale™ offers third party businesses access to services and technologies developed and proven by an industry leader including HITS (Headend in the Sky) and the Comcast Media Center. From content distribution and media management to advertising delivery and IP services, the Comcast Wholesale services portfolio helps businesses launch new products and remain competitive through lower up-front investment, improved efficiency and faster time to market. More information about the range of Comcast Wholesale businesses may be found at www.comcastwholesale.com
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Comcast, HITS and Comcast Wholesale are trademarks or registered trademarks of Comcast. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contacts
Participant Media/Pivot:
Jennifer Garnick
310-623-4984
jgarnick@participantmedia.com
Comcast Wholesale:
Andy Holdgate
holdgatepr@comcast.net
720-270-1325
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September 19, 2013
West Works Studios Still Sounds Good
Comcast Media Center’s Denver video- and audio-production facility, rebranded earlier this year as West Works Studios, has relocated its Los Angeles-based anchor client Universal Sports Network and other sports clients in an increasingly complex audio-postproduction environment.
The 20,000-sq.-ft. facility, which houses 12 postproduction suites networked around an enterprise-level Avid Interplay system, provides studio production facilities and linear master-control origination and distribution services for national and regional sports networks, including NHL Network, iN DEMAND, and Pac-12 Networks, as well as Universal Sports Network, which focuses on Olympic- and endurance-sports programming and is a partnership between NBC Sports and InterMedia Partners.
“The diversity of the multiformat channel lineups — bringing feeds in regionally, nationally and from overseas — is challenging, both for post and live sports origination,” explains Paul Catterson, senior director of broadcast engineering and production operations, West Works Studios. “Some of the audio is discrete 5.1 [surround]; some of it is [matrixed], with a secondary audio program. It can be a struggle getting it all ingested and converted to house formats and then redistributed.”
Some of that is being alleviated with a pair of Lawo mc²66 audio consoles, one of which, a 32-fader console, was installed late last year with an extra MADI card in the HD core as well as a V_pro8 video processor, enabling the network to capture and mix eight-channel feeds via the console’s MADI interface. This, says Catterson, saved the expense of an AES-router expansion for the facility.
He notes that the facility is complex to match new wrinkles in audio post and live-audio integration, citing the CALM Act in particular as having added new levels of responsibility. “CALM compliance has become a bigger issue over the last 12 months,” he says. “We’re responsible for redistribution for our network clients after ingest and post and after local advertisements are inserted, so we have learned to be cautious.”
West Works uses Dolby LM100 loudness metering and Evertz Intelligain processing to manage it; it can extract program-configuration information from a Dolby E or AC-3 stream and configure itself accordingly to account for a multichannel arrangement, critical for an environment like West Works’.
“There’s also a function on the audio consoles that addresses loudness,” Catterson adds, noting that West Works conforms to the generally accepted -24 lkfs level standard. “You need a lot of processing and management to stay on top of that issue.”
Another issue he says requires watching is the quality of automated fold-downs of live sports mixes done natively in 5.1 surround. Ideally, what he’d like to see is less of a technology-based approach and more upstream monitoring of relative levels.
“You can tell by listening to the broadcast audio that the A1 is monitoring the surround mix, not the downmix, especially in the differences between the program audio and the bumpers and other breaks,” Catterson says, although he acknowledges that A1s on live network sports broadcasts have plenty on their plate. “Generally, the dialog is getting lost in the fold-down as the music and effects are turned up.”
All of this becomes more critical as West Works’ project mix leans even more heavily towards sports. He estimates that as much as 80% of its workflow is now focused on sports, the exact opposite of Comcast Media Center’s workload as little as three years ago. That’s coming from new sports-based clients as well as from an existing client base that has become more sports-oriented. He cites evolution of the former Outdoor Life Network (OLN) into Versus and now known as the NBC Sports Network.
“Once we picked up Pac-12 [Networks], the complexity has gone through the roof,” Catterson says. “It’s forced us to constantly rethink how we handle live-sports integration. We’ve moved towards a sports-production grade of operations at the master-control level. Today, we’re handling more complex discrete multichannel audio, and, at the same time, we’re also adding data and graphics integration and doing it at the national-network level and at the regional-network level. It’s not the way post used to be.”
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September 18, 2013
Spanish Network Picks Comcast Wholesale’s VOD Platform
Spanish-language network Vme Media has picked the Comcast Media Center (CMC) to manage and deliver its video-on-demand programming, which includes “Peep,” “Dibo,” “Bruno and the Banana Bunch,” “Wild Animal Baby Explorers” and “Rosie’s World,” is delivered via the Comcast Media Center’s VOD distribution platform.
“Distribution of Vme’s one-of-a-kind entertainment and educational programming through CMC’s platform will complement both carriage of our linear channel in markets serving more than 10 million U.S. Latino households and introduce us to new markets as free VOD content for digital video customers,” said Alvaro Garnica, Vme’s general manager.
The Comcast Media Center’s VOD footprint encompasses cable systems across multiple MSOs serving more than 56 million VOD-enabled households in the U.S. and Canada. Launched in 2003, the CMC's national VOD platform provides a secure content distribution environment for films and other licensed video programming.
“We are very pleased to count Vme among the growing number of video service providers that rely upon us to meet their goal of reaching Spanish-language households throughout North America,” said Richard Buchanan, vice president and general manager of content solutions at Comcast Media Center. “CMC’s VOD distribution platform is ideally suited to meet the needs of Vme and other television programming networks looking for a fast, reliable, cost-effective, widely adopted and quality-driven solution for their content distribution requirements.”
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September 13, 2013
The Latest News in VOD
As video-on-demand (VOD) continues to play an increasingly important role in the business model for cable operators, a number of innovations advancing the management, distribution and monetization of VOD content will be making their way to cable headends in the year ahead, including techology advancements that allow cable-system operators to expand the scope and depth of their on-demand content offerings.
As an example, Comcast Media Center and other VOD content distributors are sourcing VOD content from mezzanine files, allowing the encode of content from very high bitrate sources while transcoding to significantly lower bit rates. This approach allows for more content with higher video quality and less storage overall, and the importance of quality for video on demand cannot be overstated.
Advances that allow cable operators to increase their libraries are also important for maintaining a competitive advantage. Today, satellite operators offer 1,000 or more VOD titles to their customers not only for parity with cable, but to also address the challenges both groups face from online video service providers.
The competitive landscape is analogous to a quality and quantity arms race between platform videos. Offering a competitive lineup of video content and a superior viewing experience will be critical for retaining digital video customers and increasing pay-per-view and subscription VOD revenues.
Advertising revenue is also an important part of VOD’s contribution to the business models of both cable programming networks and cable MSOs. Rentrak’s 2012 analysis found that viewing of free VOD content experienced 17% growth, with viewers watching an average of five hours and 17 free on-demand (FOD) television shows or videos per month, and representing more than $1 billion of annual advertising revenue.
These drivers are helping to focus our industry engineers on enhancements to our infrastructure that can be implemented easily, quickly and cost-effectively. They allow cable system operators to increase their revenues and improve their competitive positioning while making incremental investments in existing equipment.
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July 29, 2013
HITS New HD Release
Denver, CO
HITS®, a division of Comcast Wholesale, today announced plans to further expand the new HITS Q2™ MPEG-2 satellite-based content distribution platform. The advanced encoding technology available on the newly upgraded platform delivers more channels using the same bandwidth. The upgraded technology allows HITS to add 10 new HD channels and three new SD channels to its HITS Quantum SD/HD lineup. This brings the total number of HD channels on HITS Quantum to 34 - a 42 percent increase in the number of HD networks available to cable operators.
Ten new HD channels will be added to the expanded HITS Quantum HD lineup in the third quarter of 2013, including Bio HD, Bravo HD, CNBC HD+, DIY Network HD, E! HD, Hub HD, Investigation Discovery HD, MSNBC HD, Nat Geo Wild HD and OWN HD.
“The advanced video compression technology used on the upgraded HITS Quantum platform allows cable operators to offer more HD channels using significantly less bandwidth, without compromising the viewing experience,” said Leslie Russell, Vice President and General Manager for HITS. “In addition to creating an opportunity for expanding HD channel lineups, these savings in bandwidth can free up valuable spectrum on the local cable plant so operators can allocate more capacity to new business applications.”
In addition to the new HD services, HITS announced the launch of three new SD services including Fuel TV, Nick2 and MSG National as part of the recent “Q2” upgrade. Launched in April, the upgrade uses 256 QAM DVB-S2 technology on 75% of the HITS multiplexes. By freeing up as much as 25% of local bandwidth using existing MPEG-2 architecture, the upgrade enables cable operators to add more SD and HD signals using fewer satellite receivers and their existing customer premise equipment (CPE).
About HITS
HITS is a division of Comcast Wholesale. Recognized for helping cable systems serving smaller markets bridge the digital divide, HITS provides its customers with a wide range of content management solutions for linear television, video on demand (VOD), and advanced services. In addition to the economies of scale provided by its cloud-based solutions, HITS helps cable MSOs innovate and expand upon traditional cable services to remain competitive. More information about HITS is available at www.hits.com.
About Comcast Wholesale
A wholly-owned subsidiary of Comcast Cable, Comcast Wholesale offers third party businesses access to services and technologies developed and proven by an industry leader. From content distribution and media management to advertising delivery and IP services, Comcast Wholesale’s service portfolio helps businesses launch new products and remain competitive through lower up-front investment, improved efficiency and faster time to market. For more information, visit www.comcastwholesale.com.
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Comcast and HITS are trademarks or registered trademarks of Comcast. All other product or service names are the property of their respective owners.
Media Contact:
Andy Holdgate
720.270.1325
Holdgatepr@comcast.net