WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) announced today that its technology division, PILOT, successor to NAB Labs, has invested in Haystack TV. The California-based startup aggregates content from a variety of sources for a continuous stream of tailored news. The videos can be viewed on mobile devices, as well as on connected TVs. Along with the investment NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny will join Haystack TV as an advisor.
Incubated at Stanford’s StartX accelerator, Haystack TV launched in 2014 and is now available on multiple platforms including iOS, Android, Android TV, Apple TV and Chromecast. The app features high quality news videos curated daily from hundreds of news publishers. Users select trending topics that interest them and can also navigate the multiple channels available on the platform. A tailored headline news channel is created for each user based on the user’s tastes, preferences and the day’s trending news.
“Haystack TV provides a platform for individuals to access the news most important to them in an efficient and personalized fashion,” said NAB Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny. “It combines three powerful forces: video content, social media, and personalization to create a compelling user experience across multiple devices. In an increasingly fragmented media landscape, America’s local broadcasters can potentially leverage this type of application to reach and engage an even larger audience.”
“We are excited to be working with the NAB and Sam Matheny to advance the future of TV news,” said Haystack TV Chief Operating Officer Daniel Barreto. “Video news publishers are producing great content every day, but they are struggling to reach younger audiences as TV consumption is inreasingly transitioning to streaming services. At Haystack TV, we are empowering consumers to watch timely and relevant news across all their interests, and helping publishers reach more users online.”
The investment complements other PILOT initiatives, such as its recently announced investments in Yet Analytics, a Baltimore-based company that provides cutting-edge platforms for multi-source data collection and analysis and Antenna, a Durham-based content engagement company that captures reactions from users about mobile and web content. NAB further supports innovation through membership in Dingman Center Angels, a University of Maryland-based incubator; partnership with 1776, an incubator based in D.C. that provides support for startups in government regulated industries; membership in NCSU’s Center for Innovation Management Studies (CIMS) and engagement with SPROCKIT.
About PILOT
PILOT, formerly NAB Labs, is an initiative to bring together leading edge companies, organizations and educators to advance broadcast technology and broadcaster innovation. Learn more at www.nabpilot.org.
About NAB
The National Association of Broadcasters is the premier advocacy association
for America's broadcasters. NAB advances radio and television interests
in legislative, regulatory and public affairs. Through advocacy, education
and innovation, NAB enables broadcasters to best serve their communities,
strengthen their businesses and seize new opportunities in the digital
age. Learn more at www.nab.org.
About Haystack TV
Haystack TV is a personalized video news service that creates a custom newscast for each user through a mix of big data technology and human curation. The service is available for free on mobile, TV, and desktop. Haystack TV was one of the initial launch partners for the Android TV platform, was featured by Google for its Chromecast integration, and was also a winner at last year’s Twitter Startup Competition. Learn more at www.haystack.tv.
