Blackbird Regulatory News (BIRD)

30 July 2020

Blackbird plc

(the "Company")

Sky News Arabia chooses Blackbird for remote and collaborative cloud video editing and publishing

Abu Dhabi and London - Blackbird plc (AIM: BIRD), developer and seller of the market-leading cloud video editing platform, Blackbird, has been chosen by Sky News Arabia for remote and collaborative cloud video editing and publishing of digital news content.

Sky News Arabia is a 24-hour Arabic news channel broadcast across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). With a free-to-air TV channel, digital and audio platforms, Sky News Arabia delivers analysis of both news from the Middle East and North Africa region and international news. The channel is broadcast to more than 50 million households in the MENA region.

Sky News Arabia will use Blackbird to drive major video production efficiencies across a number of key workflows. Sky News Arabia's multi-site production teams in Abu Dhabi, UAE and other locations will be able to collaboratively and remotely edit and publish news content live to social platforms including YouTube for its 1.25 million subscribers to view.

Production staff will utilise Blackbird's market-leading suite of professional video editing tools such as multi video and audio tracks, graphic effects, colour correction, transitions and voice over to enrich content. Editorial approval will be a key feature of the workflow, ensuring content quality and accuracy. Blackbird will also be used by Sky News Arabia to repurpose the network's output through the editing and publishing of file-based video content.

Sky News Arabia Director of Technology, Suresh Kumar, said: "Sky News Arabia operates one of the most progressive newsrooms in the Middle East and Blackbird will empower our multi-site production teams to work collaboratively in the cloud with a rich suite of video editing and publishing tools. The adoption of this platform supports our drive to continuously use technology and innovation to enhance our screens and digital platforms."

Blackbird plc's CEO, Ian McDonough, said: "We are delighted to begin a relationship with one of the world's most respected news brands and a market leader in the Middle East and North Africa region. As Sky News Arabia is a multi-site operation with a product of the highest quality, Blackbird is the perfect choice. The power and sophistication of the Blackbird editing suite combined with the simple and elegant scalability of our architecture means Sky News Arabia has a world class solution that can also be expanded quickly and cost effectively when required."

Blackbird drives awareness, reach and monetization for brands in the sports, esports news, and entertainment sectors. Customers include IMG, Deltatre, Peloton, A+E Networks, Eleven Sports, Riot Games, NHL, the U.S Department of State and 50 local US news stations with TownNews.

Contacts:

About Blackbird plc

Blackbird plc operates in the fast-growing SaaS and cloud video market, and has created the world's most advanced suite of cloud-native computing applications for video, all underpinned by its lightning-fast codec. Blackbird plc's patented technology allows for frame accurate navigation, playback, viewing and editing in the cloud. Blackbird underpins multiple applications, which are used by rights holders, broadcasters, sports and news video specialists, esports, live events and content owners, post-production houses, other mass market digital video channels and corporations.

Since it is cloud-native, Blackbird removes the need for costly, high end workstations and can be used from almost anywhere on almost any device. It also allows full visibility on multi-location digital content, improves time to market for live content such as video clips and highlights for social media distribution, and ultimately results in much more effective monetisation.

Blackbird® is a registered trademark of Blackbird plc.

Websiteswww.blackbird.video

Social media

www.linkedin.com/company/blackbird-cloudwww.twitter.com/blackbirdcloudwww.facebook.com/blackbirdplc

About Sky News Arabia:

Sky News Arabia is a leading pan-Arab news organization broadcasting 24/7 to households across the Arabic-speaking world. With a free-to-air TV channel, audio platforms and online platforms, it is the home of breaking news, business, lifestyle, arts, culture and sports coverage.

Committed to delivering outstanding analysis of the regional and international news agenda since 2012, Sky News Arabia has become a trusted and respected news outlet appealing to people of all ages, nationalities and backgrounds. Alongside its core news coverage, the channel has built a strong audience for its business coverage, daily sports analysis and current affairs.

Sky News Arabia recently announced a fresh programming line-up with new presenters, cutting-edge broadcast technology and a digital-first approach to content creation. This was complemented by new virtual news studios using the latest in virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology that have been introduced for the first time in the region, giving Sky News Arabia the most progressive newsroom in the Middle East and North Africa.

Sky News Arabia has a network of bureaus across MENA, Europe and the US, ensuring viewers are up-to-date with all the news and the stories behind the news as it unfolds.

www.skynewsarabia.com

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