A+E Networks taps Blackbird for cloud video services

A+E Networks has signed a multiyear deal with Blackbird to incorporate the company’s cloud video technologies into its workflows.

Blackbird said the deal will allow A+E Networks’ video library to be ingested and accessed in the cloud, giving executives, producers, editors, marketers and others within A+E Networks the ability to view, edit and enrich content from anywhere, on any device.

Blackbird will also enable live clipping workflows so A+E Networks can deliver content highlights to social media channels. The Blackbird Review app will allow A+E Networks to review, comment and approve video content on handheld devices.

A+E Networks, which is a joint venture between Disney and Hearst, has a portfolio of channels that includes A+E, History, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, fyi and Viceland.

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The deal with A+E Networks comes after Blackbird’s recent agreements with Peloton, MSG Networks, Deltatre, IMG, NRL and TownNews. The company said the A+E deal is valued at six figures.

A+E Networks earlier this year announced plans to pilot a unified ad decisioning engine with Comcast-owned FreeWheel.

The trials are looking to alleviate the need for separate tech platforms for managing a publisher’s direct sold inventory and for a supply-side platform to handle programmatic demand from open exchanges and demand-side platforms. The companies said that having two sales channels can result in pricing conflicts, TV-compliance issues and negative user experience impacts.