Linius Whizzard selected by IMG Replay to revolutionize utilization of the world’s leading sports archive

Highlights:

Linius Whizzard will be embedded within the IMG Replay service, virtualizing the entire archive of nearly 50,000 hours. Production companies, advertising agencies, broadcasters, film makers, and other content licensees from around the world will use Whizzard to search, create automated clip reels and license content from within the IMG Replay archives. The agreement is for an initial 2-year term and includes a fixed setup fee and monthly license subscription. IMG Replay represents the fourth new client signed by Linius in the past five months and the largest contract to date. IMG Replay exclusively manages and commercialises the video archives for some of the world’s leading sporting organisations including the Premier League, World Rugby, The Championships (Wimbledon), The R&A, The International Skating Union (ISU) and Professional Golf Association of America (PGAA).

MELBOURNE, Australia, April 27, 2023 /PRNewswire/ — Linius Technologies Limited (ASX: LNU) (Linius or Company) – the only cloud-based solution that unlocks the value of video archives with immersive, deeply personalized viewer experiences via its Linius Video Services (LVS) platform – is pleased to announce a new agreement to provide its sports solution, Whizzard, to IMG’s digital archive platform, IMG Replay. 

The Linius Whizzard product will be deployed as a core feature within the IMG Replay service, virtualizing the entire IMG Replay archive to make it more searchable and usable. IMG Replay customers, who include production companies, advertising agencies, broadcasters, news agencies, and content creators, will use Whizzard to search the vast archive to source specific fixtures, teams, individuals, and events to curate, produce, and license video content. IMG Replay (www.IMGReplay.com) manages an exclusive sports and entertainment archive, consisting of nearly 50,000 hours of premium content on behalf of leading rights holders such as Premier League, World Rugby, PGAA, The Championships, Wimbledon, The R&A, Miss Universe, Giro D’Italia and many more.

Linius Chief Executive Officer (CEO), James Brennan, said “We are delighted to be selected by IMG to enhance their IMG Replay service. This is a significant validation of the power of our Linius Video Services (LVS) platform and the value unlocked by our Whizzard product for one of the world’s largest sports and media companies. Whizzard is driving accelerated commercial momentum, with Linius adding four new clients in the last five months, leading to record billings in Q2 FY2023 that is expected to double in Q3.”

“Through IMG Replay, Whizzard will be used by some of the premier sporting organisations in the world. IMG Replay and their associated sporting organisations have long recognised the value of these archives. Whizzard makes it possible to unlock that value today and by virtualizing the entire archive, IMG and their clients will have the ability to enable multiple innovative use cases for this content.”

Vice President, IMG Replay at IMG Media, Tom Barnes said “Whizzard will hopefully enable IMG Replay users to create their bespoke automated individual highlights much more quickly and effectively. We believe Linius Whizzard will enable great efficiencies for our clients, generate significant new revenues and open new markets for IMG Replay and this content.”

The agreement is for an initial 2-year term and includes a fixed setup fee and a monthly license subscription. The agreement is otherwise generally on terms and conditions customary for an engagement of this nature, including as to confidentiality, protection of intellectual property, security requirements and data protection, privacy, and service levels.

This engagement is significant for the Company as it provides substantive validation of Linius’ technology and business model by one of the global leaders in the media and entertainment industry, and the application of the technology across a highly valuable and diverse set of premium sports and entertainment content. Moreover, the momentum in adoption of the Whizzard sports platform in recent months, with four new sports companies signing on with Linius, demonstrates an increasing awareness of its unique capability and application for sports companies.  

This announcement has been authorised for release to ASX by the Linius Board of Directors.

About Linius Technologies Limited:

Linius’ purpose is to unlock the value of the world’s video, creating immersive, deeply personalized viewing experiences. For the first time, we make it possible to find, curate, and utilize the valuable moments across vast libraries of video, enabling viewers to create an infinite amount of personalised video compilations on-the-fly, providing the most relevant content to each viewer.

Our patented Video Virtualisation Engine™ (VVE) turns big, bulky video files into lightweight, searchable data that is enriched with AI and ML, making it easy and efficient for users to find and share what matters to them. Creators and owners of video can drive greater viewing, and monetisation of their video assets.

For more on Linius Technologies, visit www.linius.com

For further information, please contact: James Brennan, CEO, +61 (0)3 8672 7186 or [email protected]

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About IMG

IMG is a global leader in sports, fashion, events and media. The company manages some of the world’s greatest athletes and fashion icons; owns and operates hundreds of live events annually; and is a leading independent producer and distributor of sports and entertainment media. IMG also specializes in licensing, sports training and league development. IMG is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company.