MOLINE, Ill. & London—Blackbird plc has announced that TownNews and its Blackbird cloud native video editing platform are now being used by 80 U.S. TV stations for digital news production. The deployments of Blackbird span 35 states. 

Video production teams at the 80 U.S. TV stations use Blackbird collaboratively to remotely access, edit and quickly publish news content to social, web and other digital platforms. When paired with TownNews’ Field59 VMS, the latest news stories can be quickly delivered to viewers using Blackbird’s browser-based cloud native video editing platform.

Blackbird customers include Univision, IMG, Tata Communications, Sky News Arabia, EVS, A+E Networks, Eurovision Sport, BT, NHL, Cheddar News, Riot Games, the U.S Department of State and 80 US TV stations with TownNews, Blackbird said. 

MOLINE, Ill., & LONDON—Blackbird has announced that 75 U.S. TV stations are using its cloud-native Blackbird video editing platform for digital news production, following its latest deployment in partnership with TownNews.

“The team at Blackbird has been a tremendous partner with us in providing the digital video workflow tools we know our broadcast television customer value and expect,” said Derek Gebler, vice president of broadcast and video at TownNews.

Stations deploying Blackbird use the platform to access, edit and publish news content quickly to social and web platforms. When paired with the TownNews Field59 VMS, the latest news stories can be delivered to viewers quickly using Blackbird’s browser-based, easy-to-use and carbon-efficient cloud native video editing platform, Blackbird said.

TV stations in 35 states have deployed Blackbird, and millions of viewers in the U.S. now consume content through the Blackbird and TownNews Field59 VMS platform.

“Blackbird and TownNews have really built an incredible partnership, which continues to expand at pace,” said Blackbird CEO Ian McDonough. “We started in 2018 with two stations and now have 75. It’s an excellent combined solution and demonstrates perfectly how two companies can work together for the customer’s benefit.”

More information is available on the Blackbird website.

LONDON—Blackbird plc, a U.K.-based provider of the Blackbird cloud-based news production platform, has announced that digital news publisher TownNews has extended its adoption of Blackbird to 14 additional TV stations, bringing the total to 39 stations in 24 states. This is the third time the organization has expanded its use of Blackbird in less than 12 months, according to the company.

The additional stations are owned by seven broadcast groups that provide premium local news content to millions of viewers across the United States.

TownNews' TV news customers use the Blackbird platform in conjunction with the TownNews Field59 VMS to rapidly view, edit and publish video content in an SaaS cloud environment. 

In June 2018, Moline, Ill.-based TownNews launched the combined solution into 17 Meredith Corporation locations across 11 states. In December 2018, they extended this further into three networks owned by Block Communications.

"Our strong partnership with the successful TownNews group is growing quickly and has doubled the number of networks served within a year,” said Ian McDonough, CEO of Blackbird. “Blackbird and TownNews now serve 39 networks in 24 states which demonstrates our scalability. 

"The American news industry is evolving rapidly to accommodate digital consumption. This is where TownNews and Blackbird can add significant revenue advantages in speed and productivity. Commercially our partnership is a great example of a successful OEM strategy where Blackbird and TownNews land and then expand."