Super Bowl Sunday wasn’t just the most watched television program in U.S. history with 111.3 million viewers, but the first time in history that it was live streamed – finally. This move further validates that broadcasters are concerned about the cannibalization of their business models through digital consumption … and they should be.

While NBC certainly made a valiant effort to make the online experience unique and valuable, there are quite a few areas for improvement. Since CBS has the rights to next year’s big game, I hope they are taking notes. My two cents?

• Consumers are mobile, so live streaming to tablets and smartphones is a requirement regardless of carrier.

• Recognize that many people are only watching to see the infamous Super Bowl ads, and as such, they must be integrated into the online experience, just like on TV.

• Another major draw for non-football fans and fans alike is the halftime show. There is no reason the halftime show shouldn’t be live streamed, too.

• Get international broadcast rights! This is a no brainer especially when you consider the NFL’s plans to go global.

While NBC certainly has a lot to be proud of, with 2.1 million online viewers, CBS has an opportunity to easily triple the amount of online viewers next year. The question remains though, will the NFL and CBS rise to the challenge? Until next year’s kickoff …

Christos M. Cotsakos, Ph.D.
Founding Chairman, CEO and President

And just like that we’re in the New Year!

At EndPlay we’re especially excited at what 2012 will bring, and we’re convinced this year will provide new opportunities for those who – like EndPlay – are tackling the challenges of Big Data and Quantum Content.

EndPlay’s pipeline is jam-packed with exciting announcements that will change our industry — and today we’d like to acknowledge several foundational changes that will strengthen our efforts to make 2012 our best year yet.

Firstly, we have added a new key member to our team — Matthew Barkoff as our new Senior Director of Sales. As mentioned in our official announcement last week, we have a big vision for EndPlay, and smart, savvy team members are an integral part to our success — Matthew is not only a proven team leader, but also a great fit with our corporate culture.

In addition, Jeffry Dyer will be transitioning out of his role as VP of Sales and Client Services to head up our new National Account Management Program as the Vice President of National Accounts.

Matthew and Jeff and the rest of our world-class sales team — Arun Shrestha, Senior Director of Client Services; Gregory Lorenz, Director of Professional Services; Tom Damico, Director of Sales; and Adam Burke, Inside Sales Representative — will continue our commitment to excellence in our effort to help you turn your content volume into increased levels of value to your audience.

We hope you are as excited as we are about these additions — EndPlay is poised now more than ever to deliver on the extraordinary promise of Quantum Content.

Christos M. Cotsakos, Ph.D.
Founding Chairman, CEO and President

Late last month, I led a keynote conversation at the Gilbane Boston conference about my theory on data chaos, and the current age we live in – what I'd like to call the Age of Quantum Content.  Although Gilbane is over, the conversation surrounding Quantum Content is certainly not, and I plan to address this topic throughout the coming months.

In a humorously meta example of Quantum Content, a great deal of content is being produced on the subject of data overload — which merely serves to reinforce this topic.  In other words, now we're being burdened with content about content overload.

One particularly appealing piece on CMSWire from Ahava Leibtag, a Web content strategist and writer, points to the familiar claim that "we all want content that is relevant to us and we want to find a way to sort through the garbage and access valuable content."  Truer words have never been spoken.

As we find ourselves vigorously treading amid a roiling sea of data, it is difficult for us to realize that the irony – what obfuscates our vision, data chaos – is in actuality the potential for massive opportunity.

So, in the spirit of data chaos and an act of self-perpetuation that will add mere kilobytes to this ocean of data, I cast this post out as a challenge to braver minds to embrace the era of Quantum Content and do what we do best — innovate.

EndPlay will do its part in the battle to tame the content beast we all have created.

And to join us in the fight to liberate ourselves from data chaos, and turn volume into value, check out more about the theory of Quantum Content on our site.  Have a happy 2012, you data junkies and content producers!

Christos M. Cotsakos, Ph.D.
Founding Chairman, CEO and President

The holidays are quickly approaching which means everything from the airlines to postal services will be experiencing a surge of activity. While I've had my fair share of business travel over the years, the holidays are a time that I truly recognize the vast number of individuals on the go. It's amazing how connected we all can be while we're not only waiting for a flight to board, but even en-route. We crave experiencing things as they happen, in real time – and with the proliferation of connected devices, it's actually possible.

At EndPlay, we're committed to staying ahead of the curve and enabling our customers to deliver a quality experience to their audiences. On the note of experiencing everything and anything as it happens, we know it's valuable to develop a live streaming solution for our customers. Despite the advent of DVRs and other tools to consume any kind of content at a later point, there is still a demand for tuning into news, sports, entertainment and other programs along with the rest of the world, in real-time. With that in mind, we have worked hard to develop an innovative solution to enable live streaming content delivery to desktops, tablets and smartphones – that is intelligent enough to recognize and tailor content specifically to each individual device.

Last week, we announced that we're now delivering our live streaming solution for Fisher Communications. Fisher reaches 3.5 percent of American television households, operating 18 television stations, including network affiliates for the Pacific Northwest. Fisher knows local broadcast – it's no surprise they produce more than 125 websites to cater to specific segments across local and hyper-local markets. Zooming into Fisher's mobile audience, Fisher is now able to deliver simulcast as well as unique content to its mobile and desktop audiences. EndPlay will also collaborate with Fisher to deploy pre-roll and in-stream mid-roll advertising and other monetization opportunities within live-streamed video.  It is this synergy with our clients what lies at the core of EndPlay's commitment to innovation.

Scripps Television Group also offers live mobile viewing experiences to their audiences across nine distinct markets, through EndPlay's live streaming solution.

So, in looking ahead to the holidays and New Year and thinking about how audiences everywhere will be watching the ball drop at midnight – whether you're catching the live action from a television, iPad or Android smartphone, we're entering 2012 with the option to tune in from any locale, via any device. At EndPlay, we're excited to continue our commitment to innovation and be a part of making that possible.

Christos M. Cotsakos, Ph.D.
Founding Chairman, CEO and President

As the largest WCM event of its kind, Gilbane Boston was a startling success and brought together great thinkers from all corners of our industry. Now that I've had a chance to digest all of the conversations, sessions and activity at the event, I wanted to share a recap of EndPlay's experience and what we discussed about our rapidly changing industry.

The thought that continues to stick with me was the idea that the 'S' in CMS should stand for strategy and not solution – something pointed out early on in the conference and repeated in a panel entitled "What is the Proper Scope of a CMS?" Technology will always be a large part of the equation, but shifting our mindsets to better understand how to approach WCM strategically is imperative in today's world.

As I noted in an earlier blog post, I had the privilege of delivering the event's opening keynote, where I presented on the Age of Quantum Content. I feel strongly about the importance of turning the massive volume of data and content that's been generated by media outlets, brands, organizations and consumers into value – something that is truly relevant, despite this era of "data chaos." But as we experience information overload like never before, there exists a massive opportunity. Quantum Content is all about getting the right message, to the right person, at the right time, on the right device. It's about understanding the content and the context in which it has been shared. It's about looking at the data from multiple points of view. I look forward to continue discussing Quantum Content and what it means for the WCM industry, as well as other industries as well. You can find more information on Quantum Content is available here.

It was truly exciting to hear connections to the initial topics discussed throughout the event, especially in the additional keynotes. Georgy Cohen presented on the Value of Stories for Business, which pointed out the necessity for brands to distinguish their goods and services in a crowded marketplace through great stories. Her understanding of "potent content" was a fitting perspective to dive into the rest of the Gilbane Conference. 

Amongst the several sessions that occurred throughout the two days in Boston, our very own Chief Technology Officer, Phillip Hyun, and Chief Product Officer, Dan Strauss, presented on panels. Phil's participation in the track entitled "Is HTML5 the Future - If so, When?" hit on the merits of HTML5 and whether it is too early to adopt HTML5 as a development standard. Phil talked about how HTML5 will be the quickest way of getting to market while also reminding us that, "like any other Web standard, HTML5 will eventually figure out the most efficient way to bring content to any device.

Dan's track on Content Technology was a well-received discussion of the confluence of Marketing and IT. The session focused on how to have a successful partnership between Marketing and IT, especially for large-scale Web initiatives. Check out more details in this CMSWire's recap.  Given the challenges that both departments face, I anticipate this topic will be revisited more and more in the coming months.

I was quite impressed with the enthusiasm for Gilbane via the social Web. Let's not forget that every person in the U.S. is exposed to over 3,000 messages a day – and that might have been intensified by the activity surrounding #GilbaneBoston. What a tremendous way to have a lens into sessions, conversations and of course, booth shout outs! We brought some of our favorite office SWAG to the event and clearly we're not the only ones that have fun with the EndPlay "finger rockets":

@GilbaneBoston | I think my favorite booth swag this year was the @EndPlay missiles #suckerforprojectiles

Outside of entertaining visitors to our booth with EndPlay merchandise, it was great to dig into industry themes and share product demonstrations with those that dropped by between sessions. More photos of EndPlay's presence at Gilbane can be viewed in our photo album on Facebook.

It was great seeing many of you at the event and I look forward to not only keeping in touch but continuing many of the important discussions coming out of Gilbane as we enter 2012.

Until next year,

Christos M. Cotsakos, Ph.D.
Founding Chairman, CEO and President