Zeam strives to be streaming hub for local TV broadcasters

Syncbak, a streaming and ad-tech company that works with CBS and hundreds of local US broadcasters, has introduced "Zeam," a free, ad-supported service that aims to serve as a streaming hub for a wide range of local content, including live and on-demand sports and news.

Zeam succeeds a similar, proof-of-concept offering from Syncbak called VUit that launched in 2020. The Marion Sun in Iowa was the first to report that Zeam was nearing its launch and had engaged with actor and musician John Stamos on the effort. VUit users will be transitioning to Zeam over the coming weeks.

Slated to launch early next week as a "master connector" between stations, advertisers and viewers, Zeam's primary investors are Syncbak founder and CEO Jack Perry, Gray Television, and Paramount Global, with additional backing from the National Association of Broadcasters, Morgan Murphy Media and Apollo/Cox board member Brian Brady.

Syncbak founder and CEO and Zeam backer Jack Perry. (Source: Syncbak)

About 300 stations and 30 groups are on board for Zeam's debut, including Gray, CBS, News Press & Gazette, Hearst and Morgan Murphy. Zeam estimates it will be starting off with station representation that covers nearly 80% of DMAs (designated market areas). Zeam pays broadcasters to join its platform, the company confirmed.

Zeam initially will be available on several streaming platforms, including iOS, Android, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and web browsers.

Super Bowl ad tilt

Zeam is also kicking off an "eight-figure" national advertising campaign that will span TV, digital, billboards and other outlets, and will include spots starring Stamos that will play during Super Bowl LVIII on February 11 in about 100 US markets. The spots will be customized with local callouts. Zeam's new campaign was developed by Known, an agency that works with brands such as Paramount, TikTok, Netflix and Grubhub.

Tied in, Zeam has unleashed Zeam360, a van containing a mobile production studio that's currently on a "barnstorming tour" to promote Zeam to broadcasters around the country. Zeam360 is also streaming out a 24/7 channel of its travels on the web.

Zeam's van, currently heading toward Odessa, Texas, will be in Las Vegas for the Super Bowl to collaborate with broadcasters, including Fox affiliate KVVU. It will then head out for more visits with local broadcasters.

"Stations need to lean in and own it and control their own destiny in the OTT [over-the-top] space, and that's what Zeam is all about," Perry said.

Syncbak will also be serving as the streaming backbone for CBS's stream of Super Bowl LVIII by collecting more than 200 live local feeds, pulling them into the cloud and handing them off to various streaming outlets, including Paramount+ and Hulu.

'We're going to own local'

Zeam will build on Syncbak's earlier work providing content ingest and ad-tech for nearly 900 US TV stations, including live local content for distribution on Paramount+, Hulu and FuboTV as well as for the NFL and platforms such as Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku.

Zeam emerged as it became clear that broadcasters wanted to provide viewers with content over streaming platforms that goes "beyond broadcast," and that they could generate more ad revenues from an expanded slate of content that could be delivered over-the-top, Perry said.

"We're going to own local," he said.

Zeam will lean on Syncbak's baseline platform and AdSync technology, which has generated about 5 billion ad impressions. Zeam will also provide a pair of new tools: Mediamogul, which helps broadcaster partners more easily ingest their local content; and ZeamUp, a platform that enables broadcasters to collect user-generated content.

Zeam's ad play aims to pair broadcaster content with local advertising, which typically carries a premium.

"We're enabling out-of-market programming with in-market ads, which is a very big deal. That local advertiser is having trouble following the viewers wherever they go," Perry said. "Local [TV] is never going away. They serve the public trust. But somebody needs to do the heavy lifting to make it easier for them [the broadcasters] to go wherever their viewers go, and I see that as my role."

For now, that effort will focus on streaming over the Internet. Perry said he's given some thought about how Zeam could be distributed via ATSC 3.0, the new IP-based broadcast signaling standard, but no specific plans around it have been determined.