Verance Joins AWARN Alliance

Verance, a provider of open standard watermarking, today announced it is furthering its commitment to advanced emergency alerting as one of the newest members of the Advanced Warning and Response Network (AWARN) Alliance.

The AWARN Alliance is a voluntary, international coalition of media, consumer electronics, B2B technology firms and trade associations that have come together to utilize NextGen TV for advanced emergency alerting (AEA), as well as post-alert news and information. ​

AEA technology allows programmers to deliver far more sophisticated emergency information than currently available. Its capabilities include video, images, maps and real-time updates, as well as the ability to turn on televisions and geo-target messages specifically to households in danger zones, such as those impacted by California’s recent rampant wildfires and discretionary power outages.

The Aspect platform is designed to ensure that the metadata and triggers associated with next generation experiences such as AEA can reach 100% of connected televisions across all distribution paths, including ATSC 1.0 and 3.0 over-the-air, cable, satellite and over-the-top services, increasing the reach of life-saving emergency alerts and information.

“On behalf of our coalition, I am very happy to welcome Verance to the AWARN Alliance,” said John Lawson, AWARN executive director. “Aspect watermarking can play a vital role in fulfilling our mission to deliver AEA to the widest possible audience and will enable more lives to be saved during emergency situations.”

“We are strong AWARN supporters and firmly believe AEA technology will enhance broadcasters’ emergency communications and operational capabilities,” said Richard Glosser, head of business development for Verance. “The power of our combined technologies ensures that critical alerts and ongoing information will reach the right households at the right time, including in today’s ATSC 1.0 broadcast environment.”

In May, Verance announced the successful completion of an end-to-end broadcaster-to-receiver test using ATSC 3.0 AEA. According to Verance, the test, which was conducted in partnership with Capitol Broadcasting’s WRAL Raleigh, N.C., Digital Alert Systems and Triveni Digital, “proved that robust AEA messaging could successfully pass through existing ATSC 1.0 over-the-air, cable and satellite paths, as well as OTT platforms and ATSC 3.0 transmissions from a single insertion point. As a result, every member of the general public with a Next Gen TV or ATSC 3.0 media adapter will be able to receive AEA messaging.”