NAB, CEA Backing TV-on-Net Technology

The National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Electronics Association are backing a technology designed to facilitate the distribution of TV stations over the Internet by insuring that only viewers within the stations' over-the-air market can receive them.

The technology is the latest from serial entrepreneur Jack Perry and the first from his new company, Syncbak. NAB made an investment in Syncbak in "the low six figures" earlier this year through its Fastroad program that seeds technology that may be of value to broadcasting, said EVP Dennis Wharton. "The investment recognizes that broadcast television service needs to evolve to reach viewers wherever they are and deliver programs to whatever device they may have," Wharton said. "Local broadcasting and signal distribution via the Internet have not been compatible concepts to date due to the global reach of the Internet. The local TV business model depends on program access based on geographic exclusivity. "The technology underpinning Syncbak allows viewers to be authorized so they will be able to receive the local station signals only in the area in which they reside, thus allowing Internet distribution of local television signals without violating the spirit of the geographic exclusivity business model," Wharton added. Jason Oxman, the CEA spokesman, said moving TV stations onto the Internet makes sense for all involved. "Our member companies are deploying television with Internet connectivity built in and content providers are making broadband-enabled content available at a rapid pace," he said. "The addition of broadcast content to those broadband pipelines would be beneficial to the manufacturers and consumers who buy them." And it is a "good business opportunity" for broadcasters, he said. "We think Syncbak has come up with a promising technology that allows for the seamless migration of broadcast content to the Internet."