Softel Group Divests Aston Broadcast Video Graphics Business To Focus on iTV and Subtitling

3rd August 2009

The Softel Group announced today that it is selling its video graphics systems company Aston Broadcast, Limited for an undisclosed fee to real time graphics specialist Brainstorm Multimedia, SL.

PANGBOURNE, Reading, August 03 2009 - The Softel Group announced today that it is selling its video graphics systems company Aston Broadcast, Limited for an undisclosed fee to real time graphics specialist Brainstorm
Multimedia, SL.

This is the latest of a number of major changes initiated by Sam Pemberton since he took over as CEO of the Softel Group in July 2007. As part of a comprehensive re-structure of the company, Pemberton is leading a fundamental strategic shift, re-focusing the Softel Group on its core competencies around ancillary data solutions.

“We were approached by a number of potential purchasers,” says Pemberton. “But we felt Brainstorm was by far the best choice for our customers going forward. Aston Broadcast has a long standing relationship with Brainstorm and they are intimately familiar with the product, and crucially Brainstorm has a history of providing exceptional service to their customers and delivering pioneering solutions.” 

 “We are very proud to have provided blue-chip broadcasters and premier signage companies with the Aston 7 system over the past several years and it is clear that ‘A7’ has proven to be a sophisticated, yet intuitive and robust solution for broadcast and display graphics.” Pemberton says. “We know that the nuances of the graphics market require true focus, and we are delighted that Brainstorm will add their in-depth market know-how to the Aston offering.”

Pemberton pointed out that the broadcast industry is going through exciting technical and business shifts at the moment and that the Softel Group is working with broadcasters to ensure that new business models and ecosystems can cope with the challenges of ancillary data throughout the transition to multi-format, multi-platform delivery.

“As the industry adapts to a decrease in traditional linear advertising, iTV applications such as interactive advertisements (iADs) are becoming increasingly important as they allow broadcasters to pocket critical incremental revenues and differentiate their brands, he says. “Moreover, modern subtitling systems open a wider audience for programming through language translation and by allowing hearing impaired viewers to engage with content.”

The Softel Group has more than 25 years of experience in providing ancillary data — such as interactive TV (iTV), opt cuing/ad insertion, subtitling & captioning — solutions across the world to leading broadcasters and service providers. The divestment of Aston Broadcast will allow the Softel Group to deliver additional strategic focus to this quickly expanding market. The firm is launching a range of new and overhauled products to cater to major trends in the industry such as the moves toward automated and tapeless environments.

“Brainstorm is very proud to acquire such a prestigious brand in the world of video graphics” says Ricardo Montesa, CEO of Brainstorm Multimedia. “Aston’s products are known in the market to be technically excellent as well as extremely user friendly. The Aston 7, which is already powered by Brainstorm’s powerful graphics engine eStudio, is an excellent addition to Brainstorm’s product range, providing us with a sophisticated solution for the character generation requirements of our current and future clients. We are very pleased
that Aston Broadcast staff will join the Brainstorm Multimedia team to deliver a seamless transition for the incumbent customer base. We look forward to continuing and accelerating the roll-out of the Aston 7 and to continuing the development of the product so that it becomes a seamless part of the Brainstorm product range.”

Aston 7 graphics kick-off new season of GAA Gaelic Football on Ireland’s TV3

17th June 2009

Pangbourne, Berkshire, June, 2009

TV3, Ireland’s leading non-state owned broadcaster, launched a new season of GAA Gaelic football with a fresh new look designed by MODEVISION. Driven by Aston 7 Edit and TX units, supplied by outside broadcast specialists TVM, the graphics added a dynamic new face to this popular sport.

Aston 7 impressed TV3 with its performance and cutting edge graphics capabilities, enhancing the viewing experience for their audience.

Cheltenham’s Gold Cup polished up by Aston graphics

17th June 2009

Pangbourne, Berkshire, June, 2009

For the third year running, Aston have provided the cutting edge graphics for the prestigious Cheltenham Gold Cup horse racing on Channel 4.

Reknowned specialists David Connaughton, of DC2 Media, and David Phelan, of Modevision, designed the graphics and operated the Aston units live at the event, as part of the outside broadcast facilities, driving key on screen information such as leader boards and ‘now/next’ displays.

The Aston 7’s automated data feed features were populated with data pools created by David Crawley of Piranha. These data pools can take live updates from external sources and be used to automatically update, modify and
trigger graphics within the Aston system.

Aston 7 comes from a long line of ‘Character Generators’, building on a rich heritage with true 3D graphics, flexible data input for live graphics and an easy to use interface.

Aston serves up the graphics again for BBC Wimbledon coverage

22nd June 2009

Pangbourne, Berkshire, June, 2009

Once again graphics specialists MOOV will be using the Aston 7 system to generate the on-screen graphics used during the BBC coverage of the 2009 Wimbledon Tennis Championship.

MOOV will use Aston’s cutting edge 3D graphics to enhance viewers experience of what is bound to be thrilling fortnight of top class tennis. With its combination of performance, easy to use interface and automated data feeds to update on-screen graphics, Aston is the perfect partner for Wimbledon.