In his complaint, Gary Gannaway says he was misled by Frankly Inc. and its principals when he agreed to take some of its stock as partial payment for WorldNow when he sold the digital platform company to Frankly in 2015 for $26 million. In response, Frankly says Gannaway’s “mess of allegations” have no merit and asks the court to dismiss the complaint on legal and substantive grounds. Contrary to Gannaway’s central claim, it says, there was never a “developed plan” to integrate WorldNow and Frankly tech.
The station group lends the digital platform company $14.5 million and extends it a line of credit for $1.5 more. Frankly CEO Steve Chung says the new loan will be used to pay off notes it incurred when it bought Worldnow last year. The noteholders include Raycom and Worldnow founder Gary Gannaway.
The 17-year-old CMS and digital tech provider owned by Gary Gannaway and Raycom Media is being purchased by publicly traded Frankly, a San Francisco-based provider of messaging technology. After the deal closes, Raycom will have a 20% interest in the combined company.
The Local Consortium announced on Monday that it has formed a partnership with Worldnow, the digital media management and ad services company, to leverage each other’s respective affiliate networks and create greater scale for national advertisers.
Worldnow has introduced Worldnow OTT Gateway, the company’s complete over-the-top platform and experience app studio for connected devices. The company said OTT Gateway “provides a one-stop solution to quickly launch […]
Exclusives
The digital technology and advertising company has promoted its chief revenue officer, Craig Smith. Among his tasks will be creating additional workflow efficiencies in the company’s CMS platforms and the larger newsroom environment. Robert Mischel, who was COO and CFO, left the company earlier this month.
Worldnow, a provider of digital content management and monetization platforms, today tapped seasoned media veteran, Marc Mulgrum as vice president of sales, reporting toWorldnow’s President, Craig Smith. In this role, […]
Raycom Looks To Expand Web News Service
In addition to servicing its stations, Raycom’s 14-person digital newsroom provides stories and other content for the websites of other groups using the WorldNow platform. Right now, the clients are Meredith and Media General, but Raycom would like to recruit more.
Saint Paul, Minn.-based Informed Interactive, the digital business unit aligned with Cordillera Communications’ TV stations, has signed a long-term agreement to return the Cordillera stations to Worldnow’s digital publishing platforms. […]
IB: Gannaway’s IB ‘Facts’ Mostly Fiction
Internet Broadcasting VP John Sailer says that Woldnow CEO Gary Gannaway twisted the truth about IB in his Executive Session interview with TVNewsCheck earlier this week. Contrary to Gannaway’s assertions, IB did not outsource its CMS, it has a fully integrated video player and draws far more than 5% of its traffic from national content. Also, he says, Gannaways estimate of IB’s ad impressions is “entirely incorrect.”
At Worldnow, Metrics Big And Getting Bigger
With the leading station CMS and a station-based ad network that claims 91 million unique visitors each month (and six billion ad impressions), Worldnow has arrived. Here, founder and CEO Gary Gannaway discusses the competition, efforts to improve workflow, his belief that digital can drive news ratings, the need for top managers to treat digital like broadcast and Google’s intentions in TV.
A Multimedia Future Demands Agnostic CMS
For TV broadcasters, newspapers and radio stations, a truly cross-platform CMS that can easily cross over legacy lines and integrate disparate systems and workflows is the grail. A future in which media companies become multimedia organizations may be closer than some think. “Those barriers are coming down,” says WorldNow’s Craig Smith. “The industry needs to break down those barriers.” Part three of a three-part special report. Read the full report here.
CMS Vendors Vie On Changing Terrain
Local newspapers and broadcasters today are seeking content management systems that are faster and more complex than ever before. And while vendors are constantly developing new products to keep up with evolving demands, the industry is facing contraction. “There are just too many players, and nobody is really big enough to have any control,” says Internet Broadcasting’s Elmer Baldwin. “There are some that just aren’t going to survive.” Part two of a three-part special report. Read part one here
For Media Firms, CMS World Gets Complex
Content management systems serving the local media industry have taken a quantum leap forward, and choosing the right CMS has become more complicated than ever. Media companies have some difficult choices: select a system from a vendor, build one in-house or use an open-source system. Ron Stitt, VP of digital media at Fox Television Stations: “The pace of development is still constantly accelerating, and the landscape is incredibly complex when you factor in not just the front end but also the underlying platforms, devices, operating systems, display formats, distribution schemes and advertising/tracking requirements.” Part one of a three-part special report. Read the full report here.
WorldNow Adds KTBS-KPXJ Shreveport
WorldNow announced today that it is adding ABC affiliate KTBS and CW affil KPXJ Shreveport, La. (DMA 82), to its client roster. The stations will be migrating to WorldNow’s digital […]
To Stay Credible, Station Sites Can’t Crash
As websites are quickly becoming a go-to source for breaking news, broadcasters are urged to make sure their sites are optimized to handle unexpectedly large amounts of traffic. Internet Broadcasting’s Elmer Baldwin says stations “have got to be committed to the digital business being serious — and very important to our audience. It’s not just high-powered antennas. The Web is no longer just marketing for a station. It’s absolutely critical … and the primary breaking news source.”
Its Enterprise Content Publishing platform now makes it possible to post content directly to and from ENPS for simultaneous transmission into the Worldnow Enterprise Content Publishing platform to push across Web, video, social and mobile platforms.
Worldnow, the online technology, content and revenue-solutions company for local media, announced today that it has signed an additional 12 clients, bring the total of media companies using its platform […]
VendAsta Technologies and Worldnow today announced a partnership to provide online reputation management and mobile services to small and medium businesses (SMBs) in the United States through Worldnow’s network of […]
Are News Ratings Key To Monetizing Digital?
WTHR Indianapolis GM John Cardenas thinks so, having seen the news ratings at the NBC affiliate (and the related ad revenue) rise along with the usage of its digital offerings. WorldNow, WTHR’s digital technology provider, thinks so, too. It’s been preaching that a real commitment to digital will pay off at noon, 6 and 11, but not all its clients are entirely convinced.
New products are designed to aid targeted display, Web design/maintenance and reputation management.
Media General Taps WorldNow CMS
On Wednesday, the TV and digital media company’s WFLA Tampa, Fla., launched its new website using the WorldNow system and will roll out the new content management system at its 17 other TV sites during the first quarter.
Solving The Challenge Of Online Captioning
By next March 30, stations must provide captioning for the hearing impaired of any full-length newscasts that they simulcast online live or stream within 24 hours of their original broadcast. A number of vendors are working on solutions to this difficult task and say they’ll be ready by the spring deadline.
10.4 million unique visitors logged onto the websites of TV stations in states affected by Hurricane Sandy between Oct. 28 and Oct. 30. This was more than double their normal traffic.
WorldNow, the online technology, content, video and revenue-solutions company for local media, has integrated its technology with the Associated Press’ ENPS. During this year’s NAB, they will showcase their continued […]
With Fox on board, WorldNow figures it now provides online and mobile platforms to about 40% of the 720 news-producing TV stations in the country. EVP Craig Smith says the company’s recent success stems from a decision four years ago to revamp its technology “from the inside out.” It’s all about workflow, says CEO Gary Gannaway. “Our goal is to make sure that we integrate with all systems.”
Five companies — Broadcast Interactive Media, EndPlay, Inergize Digital, Internet Broadcasting and WorldNow — dominate the business of providing digitial platforms and related services to broadcasters. Here’s a quick rundown […]
Vendors See More Digital Complexity For TV
The companies that provide Web and mobile platforms say their TV station clients should prepare for the opportunities — and challenges — of connected TVs, enhanced social media and mobile devices that allow for content tailored to users’ profiles and physical locations. The key to success may be managing the content workflow in the newsroom.
Many TV station groups rely on a small group of outside vendors for Web and mobile platforms and related services, which compete with one another for business from broadcasters and, increasingly, newspaper publishers. Here’s the quick rundown of these companies and what they are thinking.
WorldNow Signs Heritage, Hoak Stations
WorldNow, a digital technology, content and revenue-solution company for local media, today signed a new deal with Heritage Broadcasting and Hoak Media’s WMBB Panama City, Fla. (DMA 156) to provide […]
Meredith Local Media Group has completed the roll out of 10 of its television station Web sites usinge WorldNow’s Web publishing platform.
West Virginia Media Holdings and Grant Broadcasting are moving 16 stations and two publications to the WorldNow Web, mobile and video platforms. Under their newly signed agreement, WorldNow will also provide local sales training and a national ad sales network.
Four years after leaving WorldNow, Meredith Local Media Group has returned to the company for its online technology and sales support. The two companies signed a four-year contract that covers all 12 Meredith stations and starts in June.
The online services firm is providing its services to stations in the Davis TV, Lilly Broadcasting and Sagamore Hill Broadcasting station groups. And WorldNow is adding three more stations owned by New Age Media.
It says its TV station clients will realize digital media revenue increases in the first quarter 42% greater than the same time last year.
WorldNow, an online technology, content and revenue-solutions company for local media, today announced it has signed multi-year extensions with Midwest TV, Dispatch Broadcast Group and Saga Communications. Midwest TV’s extension […]
WorldNow, an online technology, content and revenue-solutions company for local media, today announced it has have signed a multi-year video extension with Gray Television. Gray Television’s upcoming deployment of WorldNow’s […]
WorldNow has hired Elizabeth Firalio to run their local sales, the company announced today. As SVP, local sales, Firalio will manage regional sales directors, sales service managers and the local […]
