STREAM Digital, Scotland’s premier video platform company, has made two senior appointments as it targets expansion into the lucrative English football market.
George Porter has joined the Livingston-based company as director of sales, while Billy Bryson steps up to the new position of head of football operations.
From its base in West Lothian, Stream Digital delivers streaming services to thousands of football fans across the globe thanks to partnerships with 11 out of the 12 Scottish Premiership clubs, including Celtic, Aberdeen and Hibernian. It also provides tailor-made solutions for a further seven clubs outwith the top flight, including Heart of Midlothian and Dundee.
Mr Porter brings a wealth of industry experience to the business, having previously worked on major sales contracts with blue chip companies for Food Options, a leading food service distributor in Scotland.
His remit will focus on winning business in England, while Mr Bryson’s new role sees him take charge of the day-to-day management and delivery of the live streams, as well as the development of the next phase of the Videobloc CMS platform, which handles everything from video delivery to anti-piracy via serverless technology.
Managing director Paul Aniello says the appointments are a key part of the company’s growth plans, with breaking into the English market a priority for 2021.
“We have built up close working relationships with our clients in Scotland and hope to continue these into the future while building new partnerships,” he said.
“I’m delighted to have made these two important appointments. These are exciting times for the company and both George and Billy will help us drive the business forward with their expertise.
“Our reputation in Scotland has been forged on our ability to deliver a reliable and secure product and the next natural step for us is to now look at doing something similar in England.
“With George and Billy in these roles, we are in an ideal position to embark on another period of growth. I have known the two of them for some time, their track records speak for themselves and I’m confident about what they will bring to the business.
“Their experience will be important as we continue the Stream Digital journey.”
As the No. 1 video platform business in Scotland, Stream Digital live streams more than 100 football matches globally each month, a service which has provided a lifeline to Scottish clubs during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The crisis presented a new challenge for football, with no fans allowed inside stadia, but it also offered an opportunity for the company to further develop its offerings.
Aware of the nightmare scenario facing Scottish clubs, Stream Digital took the initiative and provided home match video coverage to clients’ season ticket holders, as well as developing a Pay Per View system for would-be walk-up supporters and away fans.
“We looked at how we could best help the clubs during these extremely difficult times and the service to season ticket holders was what we decided to do,” said Mr Aniello.
“That actually helped us work on and improve our product. In the process we firmly underlined our position as the best video platform company in Scotland and we’re now ready to focus on the next stage of our development in England.”
Stream Digital also offers an end-to-end video system, anti-piracy systems, VPN blocking, anti-tamper software and on-screen ID of users.
