Atlantic Broadband Deploys Clearleap's clear|flow Platform

Clearleap, a company which offers a content-acquisition, delivery, management and distribution platform, called clear|flow, that brings broadband video and other Internet-sourced content to television sets, including sets equipped with low-resource legacy cable set-top boxes (note: its most prominent competitor is ActiveVideo Networks, which is currently deploying its platform with Cablevision--see the article posted on itvt.com, June 24th), announced Monday that it has deployed the platform with Atlantic Broadband, the 15th-largest cable operator in the US. The company says that the platform will bring "the power and flexibility of the Internet directly into the Atlantic Broadband video-on-demand and digital TV infrastructure," allowing it to expand its VOD offerings and increase efficiencies in workflow. In addition, Clearleap says, clear|flow's companion clear|profit ad platform will allow Atlantic to quickly insert ads into on-demand programming.

Atlantic deployed the clear|flow platform earlier this month on its Johnstown/Altoona, Pennsylvania system (it plans to launch it in Miami Beach, Florida later this year), and is using it to power a new "Local On Demand" offering, as well as to add a range of made-for-Web video content to its VOD slate. In addition, Clearleap says, Atlantic will be able to use the platform to program customized linear channels. It has already used the platform to launch a range of content, including programming from Revision3 and Next New Networks, and says that it will roll out additional programming offerings in the coming weeks. "We've been looking for an easy way to add local programming to our On Demand offering for some time now," David Isenberg, Atlantic's VP of products, said in a prepared statement. "Clearleap's easy-to-use Web UI, with its built-in workflow controls, and the ability to cross-promote and sell sponsorships using their ad-insertion tools, was an irresistible combination. Clearleap's ability to bring Internet video to our On Demand service was another important driver of our decision. This wasn't just an innovative way to expand our capabilities, it was a practical solution."

Clearleap claims to have signed up five cable and IPTV operators for the clear|flow platform since the latter went live late last year; however, Atlantic is the first operator customer that it has officially announced. It says that the new deal with Atlantic brings the total number of markets it has under contract to 16, including greater Charlotte and suburban Atlanta. "MSO's are realizing that integrating Web technologies into their television services isn't some far-off product development goal with huge hurdles to launch--this is happening now and is much easier to implement than most assume," Clearleap CEO, Braxton Jarratt, said in a prepared statement. "Not only do our customers see immediate value in operational savings and an increase in fresh content offerings overnight, but they also open the door to a more powerful and personal consumer experience."