NEW YORK—A+E Global Media and Nielsen have announced a new, multiyear deal for measurement, media intelligence and analytics.

The deal includes measurement and media intelligence for A+E Global Media linear and digital brands, including A&E, Lifetime, The History Channel, LMN, and other assets.

As part of the agreement, Nielsen will provide A+E Global Media with linear and digital ratings, and information to help develop advertising, programming, and licensing strategies.

As part of the renewal, A+E Global Media will license new Nielsen services, including Nielsen National Respondent Level Data (NRLD), Nielsen Audience Builder (NAB) and the Data-Driven Linear API (DDL API). This builds on existing services for A+E Global Media, including Nielsen’s Streaming Content Ratings, Streaming Platform Ratings and Ad Intel.

NEW YORK—At A+E Networks, our mission has always been to push the boundaries of what’s possible in media and entertainment. As we’ve grown, so has the complexity of managing our vast content library, which spans iconic brands such as A&E, The History Channel, Lifetime, FYI and Vice TV, as well as content production ranging from scripted series and documentaries to reality TV and digital content. With this growth, the challenge was clear: We needed to evolve our media supply chain to meet the demands of a rapidly changing industry. 

Our journey began back in 2016, and by 2017 we were well into our multiyear cloud initiative, migrating our enterprise systems to AWS. However, it wasn’t until 2018, when new library deals for many different streaming platforms started coming through and our on-premises infrastructure became oversubscribed, that the justification for a cloud-based media supply chain became undeniable. This was the turning point that led us to take our supply chain into SDVI and its Rally platform.

Rethinking the Supply Chain
Leveraging manufacturing principles that tend to break operations down into inputs, processing, and outputs, we started thinking about our supply chain in three high-level phases. First, “In” was where we received new content in and qualified it as ready to use. Next, “During” was where we created all the different versions needed to make a piece of content viable on all platforms everywhere. Finally, “Out” was where we made all our various distribution formats and registered them with each partner and streaming service.

With a high-level outline in place, we began moving media processing into the cloud and digitizing our library. The SDVI Rally platform became the backbone of this initiative, and quickly began to support operations across all phases of the supply chain. We relied on Rally to be our central orchestration platform where we could create automated workflows and tie them together with massively scalable, cloud-based media processing services. This meant that when our library digitization project took off, we were able to scale up our operations seamlessly, handling about 400% more work than we planned for.

The “out” side of our supply chain began to ramp up equally fast and at a similar scale. In one example, A&E was working on a large content deal with a major streaming service—one of our biggest competitors—around the launch of their streaming service. At first, we estimated it would have taken a team of five people 30 to 60 days to manually get all the content uploaded to them and registered in their systems one at a time; we had about 10 days. By spending most of that time building automated workflows in Rally (and working with their engineering team, another Rally user, who was able to support a new way of doing mass content transfers), we were able to send all our content in about 16 hours (and make the deadline with a few hours to spare). 

Streamlining the Process
With our catalog in the cloud and the “in” and “out” transfer phases of our media supply chain well underway, we turned our focus to the “during” phase: media transformation. In this phase, we combined the Rally platform with Arch Platform Technologies and Polaris from TMT Insights to introduce operational management and work order-based editing in the supply chain, streamlining the process of adapting content to address our multiplatform distribution needs. This new platform allows us to automate getting content ready for editors to get engaged, maximize their time making changes to shows, and then automate as much as possible after their work is complete.

Editors log into Polaris, navigate to the Tasks queue and assign an edit job that’s ready for work. This triggers Rally to drop the source file into their personal user queue within the Rally Access Premiere Pro Panel. They launch an Arch cloud workstation with an editing instance set up with Adobe Premiere, and all the right settings and presets to enable this type of transformation work. A Rally Access panel talks back and forth to the supply chain, which allows us to take data that was entered upstream, put it right on the timeline as markers, let the editors do their work at those moments in time, add some more markers and then render the finished product in the cloud. 

Leveraging manufacturing principles, we found that optimizing the handoffs across the supply chain—how content and metadata move from one step to the next—was as important (if not more important) than optimizing each step individually. With our new platform supporting cloud-enabled editing and seamlessly passing media and metadata through all three phases of our supply chain, we’ve made massive efficiency gains in delivering high-quality content to platforms and audiences around the world. 

More information is available at https://sdvi.com.

LOS ANGELES—DirecTV and A+E Networks has announced an agreement that brings many of A+E’s top library franchises to DirecTV streaming and satellite customers via an initial slate of ten new channels. 

These new offerings immediately grow the rich variety of content available to DirecTV customers with a wide range of programming and popular series from A&E, Lifetime, and The History Channel. They are now available to all DirecTV via the Internet and DirecTV Stream customers and any satellite customers who want to access any channel can do so using the DirecTV app. 

A+E Networks is a joint venture of Disney-ABC Television Group and Hearst.

“Consumers today want more choice and customization in their video offerings, and we are working across all of our top programming suppliers to ensure they get it,” said Linda Burakoff, senior vice president of content and programming at DirecTV. “A+E Networks has a proven track record and strong portfolio, and we are pleased to enable our customers a wider array of choices among A+E’s most popular franchises and the ability to explore their most avid interests in greater depth.”

"A+E Networks deeply values our long-standing partnership with DirecTV,” said David Zagin, president, distribution, A+E Networks. “As the media landscape evolves and viewer interests shift, so do our offerings. We are excited to deliver these engaging lean-in experiences with some of the most beloved franchises in our extensive library of diverse content."

DirecTV described the A+E channels now available on the DirecTV streaming lineups as follows:  

• Crime 360 – a true crime destination featuring award-winning investigative series and covering all sides of crime, all the time.
• Deal Zone – Go big or go home. Follow the best deals around with unforgettable pawns, antiques, auctions and road trips.
• UnXplained Zone – Join top investigators as they seek to uncover the truth behind some of the world’s greatest mysteries and cover-ups.
• Movie Favorites by Lifetime: Lifetime movies all day, from psychological thrillers to seductive love stories.
• Duck Dynasty – Meet the close-knit family behind a multi-million-dollar sporting empire, as they live life with a mix of downhome practicality and sharp wit.
• Cold Case Files – There are over 100,000 cold cases in America. Only about 1% are solved. Cold Case Files presented by A&E tells the stories of those who never gave up searching for answers - and finally found justice. Get 24/7 access to this iconic series.
• Modern Marvels – Celebrate the ingenuity and imagination found in the world around us. 24/7 episodes of Modern Marvels, television's most innovative series.
• Tiny House Nation – Renovation experts John Weisbarth and Zack Giffin travel across America to show off amazing and ingenious tiny homes and the inventive people who live in them. Watch the hit shows behind the Tiny Home movement all day, every day, and travel the globe in search of unique tiny homes, 500 square feet or less.
• Ice Road Truckers – At the top of the world, there’s a job only a few would dare! 24/7 episodes of the legendary series.
• Ax Men—Deep in the woods, these loggers are risking it all! 24/7 non-stop episodes of the hard-hitting series.

NEW YORK—Nickolas “Nick” Davatzes, CEO emeritus of A+E Networks who helped create two of the leading cable television networks, A&E and The History Channel, passed away at his home in Wilton, Connecticut on August 21, 2021. He was 79.

Davatzes, a pioneer in the cable television industry, served as president and chief executive officer of A+E from December 1983 to April 2005. 

A+E Networks, a joint venture with Hearst and Disney-ABC Television Group, started with one programming network under Davatzes’ stewardship. Today the company has a portfolio that reaches over 350 million households and 180 territories around the world across every platform.

Davatzes joined the company in 1983 following the merger of the Entertainment Network, owned by RCA and the Rockefeller family, and the ARTS Network, owned by Hearst and ABC. 

He was a founder of A+E Networks, creating and developing the channel in 1984 as the Arts & Entertainment Network. He went on to found and launch The History Channel in 1995. He was succeeded by Abbe Raven as CEO of A+E Networks in 2005. Lifetime and the Lifetime brands later joined the portfolio in 2009.

Davatzes was a leader in advocating for education and public affairs initiatives in the cable industry and was honored with numerous awards for his commitment to education and corporate social responsibility. In November 2006, President George W. Bush presented Davatzes with the National Humanities Medal in recognition of his contributions to the humanities.

In announcing the news of his death, a number of prominent industry executives issued statements highlighting his accomplishments. 

“Nick Davatzes made an indispensable contribution to the growth and success of A+E,” said Frank A. Bennack Jr., executive vice chairman and former CEO of Hearst. “Additionally, if any individual can be thought of as the father of The History Channel, the highly successful franchise born out of A+E, it was Nick. He was an incredibly talented and strongly committed head of both channels for decades when they grew to domestic and international prominence. He was, importantly, for me, for Steve Swartz and all of Nick’s friends at Hearst, a beloved colleague who will be deeply missed. Our condolences go to his wonderful family and all who loved him.”

“Nick was a towering figure in the early days of cable television, helping build some of the most iconic brands in the media landscape,” said Bob Iger, executive chairman of The Walt Disney Company. “An incredible leader, Nick was a person of true integrity and was always a wonderful partner to all of us at Disney. Our deepest condolences go out to his family and to all of our friends and colleagues at A+E Networks.”

Paul Buccieri, president and chairman, A+E Networks Group, said: “Nick was an extraordinary person and leader, and one of the true giants of the cable industry. He launched A&E and The History Channel, two of the most successful brands in television. Nick believed in the power of media not only to brighten people’s lives but also to inform and enrich communities. He leaves a tremendous legacy of support for education and the humanities. Nick is at the heart of everything that is A+E Networks and the soul of our organization. All of us owe a great debt to Nick Davatzes and he will be sorely missed.”

Abbe Raven, chairman emeritus, A+E Networks Group, said: “Nick was an incredible leader, innovator, mentor and humanitarian. As the first CEO of A+E Networks and a pioneer in the cable industry, he set the standard for excellence in television programming, integrity in business and extraordinary leadership. His drive and passion for quality programming led A&E and The History Channel to become leading brands, along with iconic programs such as ‘Biography,’ in the U.S. and across the globe. Nick was responsible for creating and nurturing a culture of creativity and innovation. His commitment to education was at the center of our corporate and community service. His legacy lives on as A+E Networks continues to reflect his leadership, his values, his passion for entertainment and his principles. He was my mentor, champion and dear friend and I, along with so many, will miss him dearly. He was deeply loved and admired by all who had the honor to know him.”

A veteran of the Marine Corps, Davatzes was an advocate for veterans and military families and was the recipient of the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation Heritage Award for his support of the foundation. In December 2000, Davatzes and The History Channel were honored by the United States Navy Memorial Foundation with the Lone Sailor Award. In November 1999, Davatzes was inducted into the Broadcasting & Cable Hall of Fame. Davatzes was honored in 1996 by the Cable Television Public Affairs Association (CTPAA) with its annual President's Award for his commitment to educational initiatives.

In 1995, Davatzes received a Salute to Freedom award on behalf of The History Channel from the USS Intrepid Foundation and, in 1994, Davatzes received the Vanguard Award for Programming from the National Cable Television Association (NCTA). In 1989, Davatzes was awarded the Chevalier des Arts et Lettres by the French government in recognition of the relationship between A+E Networks and the French television industry.

Before joining A+E Networks in December 1983, Davatzes was senior vice president, group executive, for Warner Amex Cable Communications Inc., where he was responsible for four QUBE cable operating companies. He joined Warner Amex in 1980 as senior vice president, administration and human resources.

Davatzes is a member of the St. John's University board of trustees. He served on the board of directors and executive committee for NCTA from 1993 to 2006. He is a past member of the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Davatzes was a member of the board for Cable in the Classroom from 1989 to 2006.

Davatzes received a Bachelor of Arts in 1962 and a Master of Arts in 1964 from St. John's University and received an honorary doctorate in 1995. He also was involved in postgraduate studies at New York University.

Davatzes is survived by his wife Dorothea Hayes Davatzes; son George (Geody) Davatzes and his wife Jennifer Davatzes; son Dr. Nicholas Davatzes and his wife Dr. Alexandra Davatzes; and grandchildren Julia, Nicholas, Elias and Lilly. Davatzes is predeceased by his son Christopher Davatzes.

Calling hours will be held at Raymond Funeral Home in Norwalk, Connecticut, Friday from 4 to 8 p.m. A memorial service will be held at Our Lady of Fatima church in Wilton, Connecticut, Saturday at 10 a.m. Donations can be made in memory of Nick Davatzes to Wilton Library Association Endowment Fund, 137 Old Ridgefield Road, Wilton, Connecticut 06897.

November 15, 2019, UK, London:Arqiva, the international satellite and media services provider, has been selected by the international television company A+E Networks EMEA to provide on-demand content for the channel’s Amazon Prime on demand service in Germany and UK.

A+E Networks® EMEA, has been an Arqiva customer for over a decade, with the existing partnership spanning playout and connectivity across Africa and the Middle East, UK DTH satellite capacity and on-premise VoD processing services across EMEA (including the UK). As part of the new contract, Arqiva will manage the content processing, packaging and delivery of A+E Networks EMEA existing archive content in both UK and Germany, from where it is currently stored on Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) and Amazon Simple Storage Service Glacier, to Amazon Prime.

One of A+E Networks EMEA’s key requirements was for the solution to be able to process all VoD requests as close to the cloud-based archive as possible in order to minimise content movement and therefore avoid costly cloud egress into on-premise data centres. Based on its latest hybrid on-premise/cloud offering, the solution implemented by Arqiva is the first to feature a completely cloud-contained journey, where content is taken from the online archive, processed packaged and delivered to Amazon Prime. This not only ensures significant cost-savings but transcoding in the cloud using AWS Elemental MediaConvert also enables Arqiva to process more simultaneous jobs at a far quicker pace.

Another primary factor in A+E Network EMEA’s decision to select Arqiva’s fully managed solution was its ability to integrate the company’s existing Identity and Access Management resources, ensuring the security of the platform whilst allowing A+E to retain full control of its content access and operation capabilities.

Matt Westrup, VP Technology and Operations at A+E Networks EMEA, said:“In a very dynamic and competitive media environment the ability to quickly and seamlessly deliver an even broader range of A+E Networks EMEA’s premium content to our Amazon Prime audience is a real strategic advantage. A solution like this means we can effortlessly build on our broadcast heritage in a viable way.”

Alex Pannell, Commercial Director Video Channels at Arqiva, said:“This deal marks a really important milestone for Arqiva. A+E Networks Germany is the first customer to use our new cloud VoD solution and its feedback on both the platform and onboarding process has been fantastic. We’ve been working really hard to extend our broadcast products onto cloud infrastructure and have built up an extensive set of skills and experience building on AWS. We see the fact that a major multi-channel broadcaster has adopted the cloud for its content archive as clear proof this was the right strategy to pursue for the future.”

About Arqiva

Arqiva is a leading UK communications infrastructure and media services provider dedicated to connecting people wherever they are through the delivery of TV, radio, mobile and machine to machine communications.

We are an independent provider of telecom towers, with circa 8,000 active sites across Great Britain, and are also the only supplier of national terrestrial television and radio broadcasting services in the UK. Our advanced networks support the exponential growth of connected devices and the ever-increasing demand for data from smartphones to tablets, connected TVs to smart meters.

Customers include major UK and international broadcasters such as the BBC, ITV, Sky Plc., Turner Broadcasting, the independent radio groups, major telco providers – including the UK's four mobile network operators – and energy and water companies.

For more information, news and insights from Arqiva, please visit the website at: www.arqiva.com

About A+E Networks EMEA

A+E Networks EMEA is a leading global media network reaching 74m homes in more than 100 countries across UK, Europe, Africa and Middle East. Our portfolio of popular, high performing and creative brands - HISTORY®, Crime+Investigation®, Lifetime®, HISTORY2®, UK free to air BLAZE®, COSMO in Spain and dedicated VOD brands on key platforms HISTORY Play and Crime+Investigation Play - have entertained and inspired audiences for over 20 years; telling the stories that need to be told. We complement our award-winning factual and entertainment local commissions and global hit factual and drama series with innovative talent-led exclusive digital content and top-rated podcasts. We partner with 366 major operators broadcasting throughout UK, Africa, CEE, German Speaking Markets, Iberia and Italy. With offices in London, Johannesburg, Warsaw, Madrid, Munich and Rome.

LONDON—A+E Networks has entered into a multi-year agreement with Blackbird to incorporate the company’s cloud video platform into its media infrastructure in support of key video workflows, the company said this week.

The Blackbird cloud video platform is designed to enhance productivity across A+E Networks’ operations, the company said.

A+E Networks, a joint venture of Hearst Corp. and Disney-ABC Television Group, has a portfolio of global brands that include History, Lifetime, Lifetime Movies, fyi and Viceland. With the addition of Blackbird, A+E Networks can ingest and access its vast video library in the cloud, giving executives, producers, editors and marketers the ability to view, edit and enrich content from anywhere on any device, the company said.

The setup will make it easier for A+E Networks to repurpose content. Live clipping workflows are also supported, giving the network a quick way to deliver highlights to social media channels.

Another feature of the system is the Blackbird Review app, which will allow the network to review, comment and approve video from handheld devices.

Blackbird values the deal in the high six figures.

More information is available on the Blackbird website.

SAN FRANCISCO—After a two-year discovery and implementation, A+E Networks has launched WideOrbit’s WO Network as the traffic and ad sales platform for its ten cable networks, including A&E, Lifetime, History, Lifetime Movies, FYI, and VICELAND. 

“WO Network provides the A+E Networks’ Ad Sales team with a robust platform to plan, build, deliver and steward optimal media schedules for our clients in an ultra-efficient manner that has the flexibility to adapt to the ever-changing demands of the marketplace,” said Michael Peretz, Executive Vice President, Ad Sales Revenue Management & Operations. “WideOrbit’s Placer is best in breed and has extremely sophisticated functionality that maximizes the clearance of our advertisers’ schedules, driving better results for A+E and our media partners.”

[Read: WideOrbit’s Programmatic Ads On More Than 1,000 TV Channels]

With A+E’s switch to WO Network, WideOrbit now claims that it has more than 100 cable network properties that are live on its sales and traffic platform—the largest of any media business software company. WideOrbit customers include: NBCUniversal, Tribune Media, Entercom Communications, Raycom Media, TEGNA, and AMC Networks. By integrating capabilities, such as traffic management, centralized operations, and streamlined workflows, the company says its platform seeks to simplify media buying and selling and create value for both sides of media transactions.

“When it comes to delivering engaging content to a new generation of audiences in a variety of media formats, A+E is one of the media industry’s most forward-thinking companies,” said Eric R. Mathewson, founder and chief executive officer, WideOrbit. “By installing WO Network, A+E has a flexible, future-proof platform for maximizing the value of its content whether it is consumed on linear, VOD or digital channels.” 

FREMONT, CALIF.—A number of Blackmagic systems are now taking up residence in the Brooklyn, N.Y.-based facility of 45th & Dean, content creation hub for A+E Networks. 4K cameras and production switchers from Blackmagic will assist with the production of content across A+E’s websites, linear channels and other platforms.

Among the gear that 45th & Dean brought in from Blackmagic are six URSA Mini 4.6K and two Micro Studio Camera 4K cameras to capture content in the studio and out in the field. The URSA Mini 4.6Ks have a Super 35mm sensor and 15 stops of dynamic range. In addition, four URSA Studio Viewfinders have been paired with the URSA Mini 4.6Ks, providing a 7-inch screen with viewable tally light, control knobs and large grab handles; two URSA Viewfinders are on deck for outdoor and handheld shooting.

Four Video Assists and four Video Assist 4Ks have also been added to assist in monitoring, focusing and framing shots, and recording. The Video Assist and Video Assist 4Ks are also used to transfer data post-production.

For multi-camera studio shoots, 45th & Dean has installed Blackmagic’s ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K system. This production switcher allows the team to switch between cameras, resolutions and deliver interactive content. An ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Panel is coupled with the ATEM 2 M/E Broadcast Studio 4K, providing full access to controls and the ability to handle multi-layer live productions.