Interlude Becomes Eko

NEW YORK, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Interlude, a media and technology company pioneering a new medium in which stories told in live action video are shaped by viewers as they unfold, announced plans today to become Eko, unifying the creation, delivery, distribution and monetization of interactive video entertainment. The change is effective immediately.

Eko's technology platform is comprised of a web-based authoring tool, proprietary player, and detailed analytics systems, which provide the basis to create, deliver, and gain insights from ad-sponsored serialized shows made in the company's signature interactive medium.  Eko's innovation is significant in that it delivers multipath experiences in a smart, bandwidth-efficient way that works consistently across multiple platforms (mobile, tablet, PC, TV, VR), and allows video to seamlessly adapt to any kind of digital input – enabling stories to be shaped by clicks, swipes, sensor input, geo-location, purchase history and more.  For these innovations, the company has been awarded 7 patents.

Eko provides access for independent creators and clients to its authoring tools via Eko Studio. Eko Studio fosters a growing community of independent creators who are actively working in Eko's medium to tell distinctive stories. This community includes talented individuals, known creators such as Elite Daily, Virgin Produced and Adaptive Studios, and major media companies such as CBS, MGM, Sony Pictures Entertainment, and Warner Music Group.

Eko introduced the consumer service, HelloEko.com, which provides consumers with a home fororiginal serialized shows produced in the company's interactive medium. Consumers can view shows and subscribe to the service for free. What's unique about the Eko audience is that members are leaning-in, highly-engaged, and glued to the experiences with engagement rates over 70% and retention times of 200% - 300%.  Eko shows are widely distributed to audiences on HelloEko.com, affiliate partners, social networks, content platforms, and very soon VR.

Eko integrates native video ads called 'Sparks' into the experiences, and monetizes these ads on a cost-per-engagement model based on viewers' actions within the content. This model guarantees brand ads are 100% viewable and confirms audience interactions are not subject to fraud or non-human traffic.

"There's an entire generation who are as much creators as they are consumers," said Yoni Bloch, CEO of Eko. "They're creators because they shape their stories through social media, through their relationships with their friends, and with the world. And content has not caught up with them... until now. Eko allows them to shape their stories, to be in control of the characters, the plot, the outcomes—to use their imagination, to collaborate. Eko stories represent a new medium geared toward a generation whose choices matter."

Interlude has had a long and storied history in its collaborations with brands to make exciting and unique experiences that engage consumers. Eko will continue this work with its brand partnerships division, which offers, along with the strategic use of Eko's technology platform, soup to nuts services to conceptualize, develop, produce, and implement branded content and paid campaigns for the dissemination of distinct interactive brand entertainment and interactive video advertising experiences.  

ABOUT EKO

Eko is a media and technology company pioneering a new medium in which stories told in live action video are shaped by viewers as they unfold. The company provides the leading technology platform for the creation and delivery of interactive entertainment and partners with media companies, independent creators and top brands to create experiences for highly-engaged, digitally native audiences. The company's serialized shows are distributed through HelloEko.com, affiliate partners, and social networks; available on desktop, mobile and connected devices. Eko Studio, which includes the company's authoring tools, is also home to a large and growing community of creators who are crafting their own interactive experiences with Eko's medium. Eko provides top-quality entertainment and also offers unique opportunities for brands under the direction of the company's award-winning brand partnerships division. Eko investors include Innovation Endeavors, Intel Capital, Marker, MGM, NEA, Samsung, Sequoia Capital, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Warner Music Group, and WPP. The company is based in New York with offices in Tel Aviv and Los Angeles.

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/interlude-becomes-eko-300379248.html

SOURCE Eko

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