Vubiquity, Inc. is a Burbank, California-based provider of content monetization, distribution and processing technology used by entertainment and media companies. The company ensures its client's video content is properly formatted, licensed and tracked when shown on different media outlets, such as streaming services. In January 2018, it was announced that the company was being acquired by Chesterfield, Missouri-based business software providerAmdocs.
History
Launch as TVN Entertainment Corporation
The company started in the early 1990s as TVN Entertainment Corporation, a distributor of pay-per-view movies via C-band satellite aimed primarily at rural households. The pay-per-view movies were offered via 10 channels, which TVN branded as "theaters," akin to a movie theater. Investors in TVN Entertainment's launch included Paramount Pictures and MCA, Inc., which provided titles for TVN to distribute via its pay-per-view channels. At the time of its launch, customers paid a one-time fee of $19.99 to "hook in" to TVN's programming via a special adapter that plugged in to a conventional C-band satellite receiver. Movies were offered to customers for $3.99 each. In 1994, TVN signed a deal with the National Football League to offer some regular season games on eight of its 10 pay-per-view channels each Sunday. At the time, the games were produced by NBC and Fox on a regional basis for local broadcast affiliates; the NFL's deal with TVN was one of the earliest coast-to-coast distribution deals via satellite and was a precursor to DirecTV's NFL Sunday Ticket. In the late 1990s, TVN saw a decline in its consumer pay-per-view products as upstarts Dish Network, PrimeStar and DirecTV began offering DBS television service. TVN shifted its business model to offering pay-per-view and other on-demand services to cable companies. One such cable company, Adelphia, acquired a minority stake in TVN and tapped the service for its video on-demand offering.
Merger with Avail Media and subsequent re-brand to Vubiquity
In 2009, Avail Media and TVN merged to create Avail-TVN. In May 2010, the company announced that it would add support for 3D television to its roster of services. The company’s 3D on-demand offering works with operators' existing infrastructure and will work with existing set-top boxes after minor software updates. In September 2010, Avail-TVN was listed as part of the Inc. 500/5000. The company ranked number 1833 overall, and number 24 among media companies. In November 2012, Avail-TVN placed 6th on Deloitte’s Technology Fast 500 and earned the top spot among media and entertainment companies. The company earned its place in the top 10 with 38,479 percent growth from 2007 to 2011. In May 2012, Avail-TVN announced that it had raised $100 million of financing, led by the Carlyle Group, to fund global expansion and domestic service development, and had acquired UK-based On Demand Group, which continued to operate under its own name. In March 2013, Avail-TVN and On Demand Group re-branded as a single entity, Vubiquity. In January 2018, Chesterfield, Missouri-based business software provider Amdocs announced it was acquiring Vubiquity, for $224 million.
