Synacor said it and AT&T have agreed to push back the launch of a next-gen desktop and mobile portal service to the first half of 2017.

When the contract was signed, they originally estimated that initial, limited deployments would be underway by Q4 2016, but revised that plan after teams from both sides began to craft more detailed development and deployment plans.

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“Given the size and expanded scope of this project and our prior recent joint planning, we've pushed back the official launch date,” Synacor CEO Himesh Bhise said Monday on the company’s Q3 earnings call. "The teams are working very well together."

The current plan is to launch new desktop and mobile apps in the first half of 2017, and then ramp up to complete the deployment through the rest of the year.

Bhise stressed that the overall financial expectation of the AT&T contract is “very much on track,” reiterating that the annual revenue run-rate from the project is still targeted for about $100 million once full deployment is reached.

“We remain pleased with our progress to date,” he said.

On that point, he noted that AT&T and Synacor have already introduced a beta of the new AT&T Live 2.0 mobile app for Android. The beta app, last updated on November 9, provides a curated news feed, breaking news alerts, and trending videos, among other features. So far, the beta app has received a consumer rating of 4.1 out of 5.

Synacor has also adjusted its Q4 guidance to reflect the revised timing of the contribution from the AT&T contract. The vendor, which specializes in customized portals, advertising, video streaming and TV Everywhere authentication technologies, current expects Q4 revenues of $34 million to $38 million, and EBITDA of up to $1 million.

For Q3, Synacor posted revenues of $31.7 million, up 20%, and above guidance of $29 million to $31 million. Advertising revenues rose 38% year-over year. The company also posted a net loss of $3.4 million due to product development investment for the AT&T project.

On the TVE front, Synacor said its Cloud ID business won deals with an SVOD service from a public telecom company and with an also yet-to-be-named regional cable provider.

Synacor also noted that it’s supporting the deployment of Apple’s Single Sign-On platform for video apps and cited its ongoing work for industry-wide standards with CTAM and the OATC (Open Authentication Technology Committee).

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In an interview, Bhise said “several” Synacor MVPD customers are now live with SSO on the Apple platform. “Our job is to make it easier for those operators that decide they want to participate on the Apple platform.”

Synacor also announced it had filed a shelf registration statement aimed at providing the company “with flexibility to access the capital markets in a timely manner.”  Per the shelf registration statement, once declared effective by the SEC, Synacor may from time to time issue common stock up to an aggregate amount of $40 million.

“As we continue to accelerate our growth strategy and identify opportunities for expansion, we recognize that potential access to additional capital and the ability to provide opportunities for institutional investors to access Synacor stock could be beneficial, and we have filed this shelf registration to give us that optionality,” Bhise said in a statement.

“As one can surmise from our current financial performance, we do not have any present plans to issue securities under this registration statement,” he added on the Q3 call.

Synacor ended Q3 with $15.0 million in cash and cash equivalents, versus $16.3 million at the end of the prior quarter.

Synacor also said an initiative called “3/30/300” -- with a goal of generating $300 million in revenues and $30 million in EBIDTA in three years – is also on track.

Synacor shares closed up 158%, to $3.64 each, Thursday, the day after the company announced a mobile and Web portal services contract with AT&T that will be worth about $100 million a year when it’s fully deployed by sometime in 2017.

Synacor will invest about $10 million over the next 12 months to develop and deploy the systems for the AT&T deal, Synacor CEO Himesh Bhise said in a conference call on Thursday, noting that the work will also improve the platforms for Synacor’s existing and new customers.

The AT&T agreement is a three-year deal with auto-renewals, Synacor said.

The deal with AT&T is “validation of our transformation, but also an indicator and accelerator of our future growth potential,” Bhise said.

On that note, Synacor also announced a new initiative it’s calling “3/30/300,” with a goal of generating $300 million in revenues and $30 million in EBIDTA in three years.  “This is now our path. It’s achievable and we’re already working hard toward it,” Bhise said.

Synacor has set 2016 revenue guidance of $125 million to $135 million.

Bhise said the plan is to get to $300 million by adding the $100 million coming way of the AT&T deal alongside growth from other organic and incremental growth in areas such as TV Everywhere authentication, advertising (including programmatic advertising), and opportunities in international and enterprise markets.

About 60% of Synacor’s revenue comes from search and advertising, with the rest coming way of recurring and fee-based models.

Shares in Synacor spiked more than 119% in after-hours trading Wednesday after AT&T awarded the Buffalo, N.Y.-based company with a beefy portal services contract.

They said the expected revenues from the contract are expected to be about $100 million per year after full product deployment sometime in 2017.  Early products will get underway in Q2 2016, with more to commence by Q4 2016.

Per the deal, Synacor’s on tap to develop and manage desktop and mobile portal services for AT&T “to drive user engagement.” The portal will be populated with “rich content sourced from popular brands,” and will be monetized through search and advertising.

The value of the AT&T agreement is a massive one for Synacor, which posted total revenue of $110.2 million in 2015 alone, with $78.3 million coming way of search and advertising revenue.

While obviously good news for Synacor, it was not so for Yahoo. The new deal “effectively moves a major chunk of AT&T’s business away from Yahoo,” which has had a partnership with AT&T going back about 15 years, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The AT&T-Synacor deal enters play amid upheaval at Yahoo, which is seeking to sell its Internet assets, with AT&T competitor Verizon expected to make a bid in the first round.

“We are honored to have been selected from among the contenders AT&T considered in their evaluation process,” Synacor CEO Himesh Bhise said in a statement. Synacor has scheduled a call for Thursday morning to discuss the deal in more detail.

 Synacor shares were up $1.69 (119.86%), to $3.10 each in after-hours trading Wednesday. 

Synacor said it has struck an expanded multiyear pact with  Texas-based Grande Communications that factors in a next-gen portal, Synacor’s Cloud ID TV Everywhere authentication systems, and the vendors multiscreen search and discovery metadata platform.

Financial terms were not announced, but Grande customers in markets such as Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas, Midland, Odessa, San Antonio, San Marcos and Waco, will get a newly-redesigned user interface via the Web and access to other components that are baked into the deal.

Synacor, which recently put up $24.5 million to buy email and messaging specialist Zimbra, also works with Mediacom Communications, BendBroadband (now part of TDS Telecom), Google Fiber, CenturyLink, Cable One, Charter Communications , Suddenlink Communications, WideOpenWest, Surewest Communications, Verizon Communications, and Sling TV, among others.

“Like the Texans we serve, we're proud of our independent, 'can-do' attitude that has enabled us to serve over 140,000 customers in communities big and small across Texas,” said Peter Drozdoff, vice president of marketing at Grande, in a statement.  “We are committed to providing superior customer service and as part of our ongoing evolution, we are proud to offer Synacor’s innovative solutions to give our customers the latest technological advancements available to access to their favorite content from any device of their choosing.”

“We’re delighted to extend and expand our longstanding partnership with Grande Communications,” added George Chamoun, president, sales & marketing, service providers, at Synacor. “Grande puts the utmost importance on serving their customers. Together, our teams are delivering on the promise of superior digital services, choice and flexibility by ensuring Grande subscribers have easy login experiences and easy access to all their favorite content, no matter the device.”

Synacor said it has struck an expanded multiyear deal with Windstream that includes the development of a next-gen customer portal and a search and discovery metadata platform for the telco’s multiscreen TV service. 

Financial terms were not disclosed, but the coming Web portal, for Windstream’s residential high-speed Internet customers, will feature a new UI and a more intuitive search and discovery platform, they said. 

“Windstream is in the business of connecting communities, and today’s digital experiences facilitate building both personal and business relationships,” Sarah Day, interim-president of consumer and small business for Windstream, which recently raised its video game by launching an IPTV service in Lincoln, Neb., that tangles with incumbent cable operator Time Warner Cable. “We’re excited to offer our customers a richer online experience powered by Synacor’s innovative solutions, accessing their latest portal technology, and enabling our customers to search, discover and view their favorite content from any device of their choosing.”

“Windstream’s expansion of our longstanding relationship is an endorsement of our newest products and the compelling experiences we help deliver to Windstream subscribers,” added Synacor CEO Himesh Bhise. 

Synacor also announced that Horry Telephone Cooperative (HTC) has picked the vendor email provider, and the launch of a native mobile iOS app for short-form video, news and links to operator customer-care features. The new app is a companion to the company’s white-label portal platform. 

The company also announced the addition of two execs -- Mike Primiani, as head of portal products, and Hardys Eggum, who will head up Synacor’s IT and technical operations.  Primiani most recently served as SVP of consumer products at Mindspark Interactive Network, a subsidiary of IAC, leading up tis advertising, gaming and shopping businesses.  Hardys was VP of media technology architecture at HBO, and is also late of Motorola.

Synacor made the string of announcements in concert with its latest financial results. The company, which specializes in customized Web portals and TV Everywhere authentication systems, posted Q2 revenues of $24.7 million, up 2% from the year-ago quarter. Search and ad revenue rose 3% to $19 million, ad revenue jumped 57% to $11.7 million, while subscriber based revenue was flat, at $5.7 million. 

Synacor also posted a net loss of $1.1 million (4 cents per share0, narrowed from a loss of $1.9 million (7 cents per share) in the year-ago quarter. It ended the quarter with $27.1 million in cash and cash equivalents, up from $26.8 million. 

It’s expecting Q3 revenues of $23.0 million to $24.0 million, and full-year 2015 revenues of $97.0 million to $102.0 million.