Applicaster Teams with Television Academy® to Revolutionize Video Distribution Model for Emmy® Voters

Applicaster built a streaming video app platform for all Emmy voters, changing how members view nominated entertainment content

NEW YORK, NY  OCTOBER  15, 2020 - Applicaster, the global technology company simplifying the creation, delivery and management of OTT video applications, is proud to announce it built and delivered the viewing technology platform used by voters for the 72nd Emmy^® Awards.

The new Television Academy Viewing Platform was developed using Applicaster’s SaaS app management platform, Zapp, and provided the Academy’s 22,000 Emmy voters with a seamless digital viewing experience for two rounds of voting – for this year’s Emmy-eligible content, and then Emmy-nominated content. In 2019, the Television Academy tapped Applicaster to build the complex app that would allow its voting members to view nearly 2,000 hours of video content on 6 OTT platforms.

In helping the Academy revolutionize their distribution model, Applicaster’s Zapp platform was leveraged as a base to speed app releases to market. That allowed  for the scaling of the custom features created by the Applicaster Growth Team to connect their custom tech stack including a tailor-made Ostmodern Skylark CMS and AWS Cognito custom user management system. 

In addition, Applicaster’s Zapp platform enabled:

• The scaling of a custom tech stack across 6 distinct mobile & TV platforms in 10 months
• The high volume viewing requirements for Emmy voters - with some members watching approximately 1,000 programs on a single screen during the competition phase prior to first-round voting
• The configurable UI tools were used to make this year’s key art and Emmy Awards branding shine, and presented the necessary information related to both the competition-related metadata and standard program metadata from the Emmy content feeds

“The Television Academy Viewing Platform was an amazing and rewarding project for the Applicaster team to work on,” said Applicaster CEO and Cofounder Jonathan Laor. “And while it was incredibly complex, it demonstrates just how our  Zapp platform can greatly simplify even the most diverse projects. We are proud to have played such an integral role in this year’s Emmy Awards.” 

The Zapp platform is a revolutionary, new toolset that shrinks time-to-market, reduces development and maintenance costs, and increases post-launch agility.