Sorenson Media Launches New Spark Brand to Bring Power & Measurement of Digital to Television

Leading Broadcast Groups and Ad Agencies to rollout commercially in 2015 across Smart TVs

SALT LAKE CITY – As part of its continued expansion into the world of television, Sorenson Media announced the launch of its new Spark suite of digitally-enabled TV and analytics products: Spark Enlight, Spark Enhance and Spark Engage. The Spark suite, which builds on Sorenson’s deep heritage in video encoding and streaming, heralds a dramatic expansion for the company into the world of digitally-enabled television. The introduction of the new Spark range of products is also accompanied by a refreshed corporate identity, including a new website, to further reflect the evolution of Sorenson Media and its increasing focus on assisting television broadcasters and advertisers to adapt and thrive in the digital age.

“The advancements in TV enabled by Spark not only make the business of broadcast television better, they will also dramatically improve the TV experience for consumers”

Sorenson Media founder and chairman Jim Sorenson has built and led successful ventures in industries ranging from telecommunication services to real estate development, and has always played a major role at the company. “Sorenson Media has been a thought-leader and pioneer in the video industry for nearly twenty years, and we’ve remained a successful technology business for so long by anticipating major industry shifts and innovating to help our customers meet new market challenges,” said Jim Sorenson. “We believe that the convergence of digital and TV media presents our largest ever opportunity as a company, and with our Spark suite of products we believe we are ideally placed to play a leading role in this emerging and fast-growing industry.”

As viewers and advertising dollars increasingly shift towards digital solutions, television broadcasters and advertisers are searching for ways to adapt to this new digital world. Sorenson Spark draws on the large and growing base of Internet-enabled televisions (also known as ‘Smart TVs’) to bring key digital capabilities such as targeting, personalization, interactivity and measurement to the scale and impact of broadcast television. Spark Enlight brings the power and immediacy of digital measurement to television, while Spark Enhance and Engage bring digital targeting, personalization and interactivity to television advertising and programming respectively.

“The advancements in TV enabled by Spark not only make the business of broadcast television better, they will also dramatically improve the TV experience for consumers,” says Marcus Liassides, President and CEO of Sorenson Media. “Spark brings the interactivity and digital convergence consumers have grown to expect from the Internet to the world of broadcast television at scale for the first time. With Spark, consumers will be able to access a local broadcaster’s catch-up and VoD content at the click of a button, take part in interactive content such as polls, quizzes and contests and even claim discounts and coupons by clicking on TV ads with their remote control or smartphone.”

Sorenson Spark is currently being piloted by some of the nation’s largest broadcast groups, agencies and advertisers across an increasing range of Smart TVs, with initial roll-outs taking place in Sorenson Media’s home Salt Lake City market. The new Spark line-up will be sold alongside the company’s award-winning Squeeze range of encoding and streaming products. Sorenson Media will be exhibiting its full range of Spark and Squeeze products at CES 2015 in Las Vegas from January 6th – 9th in the CES Central Hall, booth 15126c.

About Sorenson Media:

Sorenson Media is focused on providing TV & video solutions that enable its customers to adapt and thrive in an increasingly digital landscape. Founded in 1995, Sorenson Media has been at the forefront of innovation in the world of digital video and television for nearly twenty years. Sorenson’s award winning Squeeze range of encoding and streaming products have been used by video professionals for over a decade to bring quality video to connected devices. Sorenson’s Spark range of products draws on this rich heritage and assists broadcasters, advertisers and content owners to bring digital media capabilities such as addressability, interactivity and real-time measurement to the world of broadcast television. For more information, visit www.sorensonmedia.com.