News

CBC/Radio-Canada news now playing on ScreenScape digital signage

Canada's public broadcaster licenses English and French news feeds to ScreenScape's digital signage network.

January 20, 2015

Canada's public broadcaster, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp., and ScreenScape Networks Inc. have entered into a content provider agreement that makes digital news feeds provided by CBC/Radio-Canada available to ScreenScape customers on a premium, "pay-per-use" basis.

ScreenScape makes software that helps businesses connect and control screens over the Internet. Brand marketers and retail networks use ScreenScape to publish digital signage content on screens inside their stores. Other kinds of organizations, such as health clinics, university campuses and professional service providers use it to inform and entertain.

The agreement will see ScreenScape offer two tiers of CBC/Radio-Canada programming.

A standard package will supply video feeds of popular categories, such as top news, sports, and arts and entertainment.

The comprehensive package will include these categories along with specialized options such as business, technology and health news, as well as local content from across Canada. Both packages will include French and English content.

ScreenScape customers can choose individual categories and run the CBC/Radio-Canada content alongside their own branded messages and ads in a customized playlist.

"ScreenScape makes it easier for businesses of all sizes to deliver high-quality digital signage. It is a good fit with CBC/Radio-Canada: Our fast-breaking news coverage is recognized as being best-of-class, and is renowned worldwide," said Bob Kerr, national director of CBC/Radio-Canada's distribution division, in the announcement. "CBC/Radio-Canada has been a leader in digital signage since its inception in Canada, and demand for our signage product continues to grow. Our agreement with ScreenScape allows us to make our News content available to digital signage clients of all sizes in a way that is scalable and efficient."

The launch of the premium CBC/Radio-Canada content on the ScreenScape network will be focused on news video in both of Canada's official languages. Future enhancements will include dedicated video feeds with onscreen closed captioning, and integration of CBC/Radio-Canada text news headlines.

"By bundling CBC/Radio-Canada premium content with our easy-to-use content management tools, we are able to offer our customers a range of compelling new programming options," ScreenScape CEO Mark Hemphill said. "This is content CBC/Radio-Canada is well known for, and simply great at producing. The feeds are fully managed and served up in the order of minutes, which helps our customers keep their programming fresh and full of relevant content."

This agreement to incorporate the premium news feeds of CBC/Radio-Canada in the ScreenScape network follows close on the heels of the fall 2014 launch of ScreenScape Connect. Connect is ScreenScape's new plug-and-play device and content management software that turns any TV into a connected digital sign and is available with no upfront cost on an extended subscription. The device plugs into the HDMI port of the TV and connects via Wi-Fi to the Internet. ScreenScape customers manage their signage playlists over the Internet using their account at ScreenScape.com.