Syncbak's streaming service SBTV has acquired the streaming rights for the short film Backlash, starring Joel Murray, Eliza Murray and Molly Brown. The film was originally scheduled to debut online and at local film festivals, which were inevitably canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. 

Backlash is the first original film being offered on Syncbak's platform, and is joined by other original shows such as Business First A.M. and food.curated.

Backlash takes place in the middle of winter, set in the Midwest in 1987. An entire family has been left for dead and will explore their "demise, environmental themes and the karmic cycle of retribution." The film was directed and written by Max Moore and Jonathan Graf and produced by Mia Reggi.

“The moment we saw Backlash we knew we wanted to carry it on SBTV. In addition to great local programming, viewers can watch live and on-demand news from over 200 local stations across the nation, anywhere they are from any device," said Jack Perry, CEO of Syncbak. "It has been incredibly meaningful to bring this film to SBTV and support work that might not otherwise have had the opportunity to be seen by as many viewers nationally. We will continue to look for other festival and cultural programming that furthers our vision of giving national attention to hyperlocal events and local artists’ works.”

“I was thrilled when Syncbak reached out to us. Carriage of our film on SBTV allows us to reach an audience we otherwise would not have had an opportunity to reach. We’re looking forward to carrying more of our locally produced films on the platform.” said Max Moore, director of Backlash.

SBTV is backed by ViacomCBS, Gray Television, the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and the Consumer Technology Association. It is available on the app, Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku.  

Syncbak's streaming service SBTV is partnering with Gray Television's KTUU to stream the annual Iditarod Dog Sled race. Coverage of the ceremony and beginning of the race started on March 7 and 8. The race is expected to end on March 17.

The race started in Anchorage, Alaska and will end in Nome, which is more than 1,000 miles away. There are 50 teams of 16 dogs from around the world racing this year.

"Gray stations are dedicated to the communities they serve," said Mike Braun, senior VP of digital media at Gray Television. "Whenever there is an opportunity to deliver programming from our local markets to OTT audiences across the nation, we're going to do it. The Iditarod is a long standing tradition for KTUU and we're thrilled to carry coverage of the event live on SBTV."

Viewers can watch the race on SBTV's website, Google Play, the SBTV app in the App store, Apple TV, Fire TV and Roku. KTUU has added daily VOD coverage and two in-field reporters. 

Syncbak this week pushed forward with the launch of SBTV, a free, ad-based OTT service that enables local broadcasters to distribute their live feeds and on-demand programming around the U.S. on multiple devices.

Syncbak said Gray Television is the first major station group to offer live, ad-based channels across all markets.

Syncbak formally introduced SBTV on Wednesday (May 16) at an inaugural “TechFronts” event in New York focused on the company’s dynamic ad insertion technology, adSync, and topics centered on the larger internet-driven TV syndication market.

SBTV builds on Syncbak’s other work focused on streaming live, in-market TV signals to internet connected devices for services such as CBS All Access (CBS is one of Syncbak’s financial backers), as well as virtual MVPDs such as PlayStation Vue, fuboTV and Hulu (for its new live TV service).

Prior to the debut of SBTV, SimpleSync, Syncbak’s streaming platform, was being used to power more than 7.3 million hours of live TV programming on an annual basis, about triple the 2.5 million hours it was ingesting the year prior, company CEO and founder Jack Perry said in an interview at the recent NAB Show in Las Vegas.

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This week, Syncbak said it demonstrated direct-to-OTT live streams with dynamic ad insertion to viewers across the U.S. in all 210 DMAs via the SBTV app (for iOS and Android) and on the web at Syncbak.TV.

With SBTV, Syncbak is giving local TV stations a way to reach beyond their local markets with live feeds and on-demand content for shows, including news broadcasts, locally-produced programs, syndicated fare, and other content for which they have rights to distribute on a broader basis.

Alongside the baseline SimpleSync platform, SBTV is also underpinned by a DAI system called adSync, and a Cloud Syndication Marketplace that enables partners to syndicate and license their programming for OTT delivery (live, VOD, or both) via local TV stations that are on board with SBTV.

Gray Television, for example, is delivering MomsEveryday via OTT to its own 57 markets as well as to stations in another 154 DMAs via SBTV. Syncbak said about a dozen shows, each with a handful of seasons (including food, a James Beard-award winning series food. Curated, a show airing in New York City) have helped to seed its Cloud Syndication Marketplace.

Northwest Broadcasting also touted its support for SBTV. “SBTV gives our stations the tools we need to deliver our own, unique, hyperlocal OTT channels,” Brian Brady, CEO of Northwest Broadcasting, said in a statement.