ANT hires industry heavyweight to push next-gen applications for digital TV

25 February 2008

ANT, the supplier of software solutions and services to the digital TV industry, has appointed Richard Baker as executive VP sales and marketing to drive demand for its next-generation TV applications in 2008. In addition to targeting operators who want to deliver TV across a range of consumer devices from gaming platforms to the TV set, ANT is also engaging with advertisers to advise them on the opportunities enabled through the convergence of the internet, TV, social media and advertising.

Baker was previously at RealNetworks where he was General Manager of Technology Products and Services across EMEA. He lead the EMEA Sales, Marketing and Operations teams, and was responsible for increasing licensed software sales to mobile carriers, broadband operators and enterprise customers. Prior to this, he was Head of Cable & Wireless’ Voice Portfolio, and General Manager & Sales Vice President at Nortel Networks.

Baker, comments: “ANT is in the unique position to be able to shape the consumers’ viewing experience. As technology has converged, the way people watch TV has changed dramatically. Not only are we looking at content from multiple sources – terrestrial, digital and the internet – but we’re also able to view programming on a variety of devices and can record and store video to be watched whenever we want. As a result, the consumer needs more help than ever in navigating all the different types of content. Meanwhile, advertisers need to consider new models for targeting niche audiences. ANT can help broadcasters and advertisers bridge the gap between these two worlds.”

Simon Woodward, CEO ANT plc, said, "This appointment is of strategic importance to ANT enabling us to draw upon Richard’s extensive experience to drive growth for our next generation applications for digital TV. We have an exciting year ahead for us as we continue to push the boundaries of what is possible in the medium of TV, bringing together the worlds of community, the internet, TV programming alongside targeted advertising and sponsorship opportunities.”

About ANT Software Limited

ANT (www.antplc.com) is the leading provider of client software solutions and services to the digital media industry. It develops open-standards-based client software and applications to enable operators to exploit digital media across a broad range of consumer devices.

ANT enables media driven organisations to quickly create and roll-out innovative and successful applications and TV services on any consumer device, enabling operators to attract new subscribers, reduce churn and increase average revenue per user. ANT’s software has been extensively deployed by customers throughout the world including Scientific Atlanta a Cisco Company, Chunghwa Telecom, Foxconn, France Telecom, Humax, LG/Nortel, Philips, Sagem, Samsung, SaskTel, Telecom Italia and Thomson.

ANT plc's shares are listed on AIM, a London Stock Exchange regulated market, under the ticker ANTP (Reuters: ANTP.L, Bloomberg: ANTP.LN).

Trademarks

ANT, the ANT logo, Galio, Fresco and PurePlay are all trademarks or registered trademarks of ANT Software Limited. All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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