HERNDON, Va. -- The National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC) today announced a strategic investment in Avail Media, a Reston, Virginia-based industry leader in providing managed content aggregation services for the deployment of Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). As part of the same transaction, Avail Media has completed a merger with TVN Entertainment, the world’s largest video-on-demand (VOD) company. The NRTC investment enables access to all the best programming available from Hollywood, network providers, and independent producers, as well as ensures members a stake in a robust, next-generation IPTV transport platform.

“Our Telco members have made significant investments in their communities by deploying broadband through DSL and fiber,” said NRTC President and Chief Executive Officer Bob Phillips. “This investment confirms our belief in IPTV and our commitment to help our rural Telco members succeed,” said Phillips. “We continue to invest in their future success by helping make IPTV programming and next-generation video services a source of revenue growth for our members, and delivering enhanced video services for their customers,” he said. The investment will make NRTC a major shareholder in the combined company and the Cooperative will acquire a seat on their board of directors.

“Our combined platform provides comprehensive distribution capabilities for today’s content and is poised to deliver the future of digital media services,” said Ramu Potarazu, CEO of the newly combined company. “Whether it is delivering video to the television screen today, or to the PC and mobile device tomorrow, we share a common goal of helping deliver the emerging new services that consumers want. Our partnership with NRTC means that rural America will be among the first to benefit from these new services,” explained Potarazu.

“New interactive services and video over broadband are coming quickly,” said NRTC CEO Phillips. “The Avail and TVN vision of personalized, on-demand video consumption, emerging video technologies, like over-the-top-video, combined with the extensive NRTC programming line-up, will put our members in the position to create an unrivaled entertainment experience for their customers,” said Phillips.

National Rural Telecommunications Cooperative (NRTC)