Msnbc Digital Network Selects Unicorn Media Video Technology Platform for Mobile Delivery

TEMPE, Arizona, February 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

- MSNBC DIGITAL NETWORK MOBILE AND OTT TRAFFIC POWERED BY PATENTED UNICORN ONCE TECHNOLOGY AND DELIVERED ACROSS THE AKAMAI PLATFORM

Unicorn Media, a digital media management provider, today announced that the Msnbc Digital Network selected its patented Unicorn Once™ technology to deliver, monetize and analyze mobile and OTT video content for its world-class brands. Unicorn Once™ enables the Msnbc Digital Network to easily reach devices such as iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Roku and countless others for its world-class brands, which include msnbc.com, TODAY.com and NBCNightlyNews.com.

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The Msnbc Digital Network chose Unicorn Once™ for its ability to simplify workflow and file management, reach the multitude of devices consumers are using to view content, dynamically target and insert ads in real-time and analyze the performance of ad and video content across all platforms and applications. Unicorn Once™ enables the Msnbc Digital Network to use its ad decision engine to dynamically serve ads.  This allows the Msnbc Digital Network to take advantage of the sophisticated monetization strategies provided by Unicorn Once.™ Unlike traditional ad stitching methods, Unicorn Once™ allows for targeted ad content to be adjusted on-the-fly in real time rather than hours/days, without the need for re-transcoding.

Additionally, the Msnbc Digital Network's content performance, including user behavior and interaction can be monitored in real-time via Unicorn Vision™, Unicorn Media's real-time data warehouse. This sophisticated analytics engine not only provides detailed reporting on a given asset or catalog of assets, it also provides information that identifies the means of delivery (i.e. content viewed via a mobile app versus website content) as well as device type and platform. This level of insight provides the ability to adjust ad or video content in real-time across any device or platform to both maximize profitability and increase viewer satisfaction.

Operationally Unicorn Once™ is unique in that it allows for upload of a full segment of content that can later be edited into smaller segments simply by manipulating the query string; reducing spend, complexity, and time to market of topical content. This technology further simplifies workflow by allowing the Msnbc Digital Network to easily tailor content length to conform to typical viewing habits for handsets, tablets, Roku and more. Unicorn Once™ is tightly integrated with the Akamai HD Network, reducing workflow complexities and improving scale for all content that the Msnbc Digital Network delivers out to a multitude of connected and mobile devices. The Akamai HD Network is a cloud based technology platform for live and on-demand streaming that has been proven to manage millions of simultaneous streams and deliver true 1080p on-demand premium content.

"We thoroughly enjoyed working with the Unicorn team.  They were open, honest and had an extremely high level of technical expertise and flexibility," said JoAnne Kennedy, Vice President of Technology at the Msnbc Digital Network.  "I am particularly happy with the sophistication of their platform which allows us to easily target and track video advertising across our mobile sites and apps, deploy a time-based ad tracking system and quickly scale delivery of our online video products."

"Our technology was purpose built to solve the complex challenges faced by the largest media companies in the world, such as the Msnbc Digital Network," said Bill Rinehart, Founder and CEO, Unicorn Media. "We provide the unique ability to effectively monetize and analyze their content in real-time, finally making it possible to truly expand reach and maximize profitability through dynamic ad integration and business intelligence."

About the Msnbc Digital Network

The Msnbc Digital Network is a collection of innovative and powerful news brands that deliver the most compelling, diverse and visually engaging stories on your platform of choice. The world-class brands featured in the digital network include msnbc.com, TODAY.com, NBCNightlyNews.com, TV.msnbc.com, Newsvine, EveryBlock and BreakingNews.com. We provide something for every news consumer with our comprehensive offerings that deliver the best in breaking news, original journalism, lifestyle features, commentary and local updates down to the block level.

About Akamai

Akamai® (NASDAQ: AKAM) is the leading cloud platform for helping enterprises provide secure, high-performing user experiences on any device, anywhere.  At the core of the Company's solutions is the Akamai Intelligent Platform™ providing extensive reach, coupled with unmatched reliability, security, visibility and expertise.  Akamai removes the complexities of connecting the increasingly mobile world, supporting 24/7 consumer demand, and enabling enterprises to securely leverage the cloud.  To learn more about how Akamai is accelerating the pace of innovation in a hyperconnected world, please visit http://www.akamai.com or http://blogs.akamai.com, and follow @Akamai on Twitter.

About Unicorn Media, Inc.

Unicorn Media, Inc. is a digital media management provider that helps companies deliver media to any device, anytime, anywhere, while providing real-time analytics on any platform. Unicorn's core services include Unicorn ONCE™, Unicorn VISION™ and Unicorn ELEMENTS™, technology that allows users to syndicate to any Internet-connected device, track content in real-time across any platform and optimize workflow to maximize profitability. http://www.unicornmedia.com.