Video Podcast: Axonista’s Claire McHugh on Televisionation

Axonista’s very own Claire McHugh recently joined Televisionation’s Tracy Swedlow to discuss how Axonista is powering interactive video apps for Sinclair Broadcast, Waterbear and QVC amongst many others. (Link to video at bottom of page.)

Over the course of a wide-ranging 30 minute interview, Claire got a chance to talk about how Axonista helped Oxfam Ireland “pivot to digital” with Fashion Relief TV. She also gave a sneak preview of a new version of Ediflo coming in September aimed specifically at smaller media companies. Axonista is incredibly grateful to have been able to work with some truly inspirational organizations in recent times. During this interview, Claire got a chance to talk in depth about the stories behind those projects.

Exploring the advanced television industry in the COVID era

Televisionation is a new video/audio podcast from InteractiveTV Today (ITVT). Founded in 1998 by Tracy Swedlow, InteractiveTV Today is the most widely read and trusted source for news and analysis of the interactive/multi-platform television space. Televisionation, which was first launched on March 30th at the early stages of the lockdown, explores how the advanced television industry is overcoming the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

To date, there have been over 50 episodes of the show with prominent figures in the advanced television industry. Previous guests have included; Rose Adkins Hulse, CEO of ScreenHits TV. Gerrit Niemeijer, CTO of Ampersand (formerly NCC Media), a data-driven TV ad sales and technology company, co-owned by Comcast, Charter and Cox. Yvette Kanouff, winner of the Television Academy’s 2020 Lifetime Achievement Emmy for her work in television technology at Time Warner’s Full Service Network, SeaChange, Cablevision and Cisco. Rob Gabel, Co-Founder and CEO of social-video measurement and analytics company, Tubular Labs. Also on the show in May were Scott Ehrlich and Rob Weisbord of Sinclair Broadcast Group, an organisation that Axonista works with.

Covered in this episode

For anyone interested in OTT, interactive video, shoppable video and the art of the pivot, this interview is definitely worth checking out. Topics covered in the interview include:

  • A generous endorsement for Rerun – Rerun is a weekly newsletter that’s curated and published by the team at Axonista. Sent out every Friday, Rerun is a great way to keep up with the changing world of digital storytelling, interactive media and the future of TV.
  • Fashion Relief TV – Claire tells how Axonista helped Oxfam Ireland and Fashion Relief overcome the disappointment of having their cornerstone fashion event cancelled because of COVID. Fashion Relief is an amazing non-profit organisation that raises vital funds for those in need. Claire shares the story of how Fashion Relief transitioned from a physical event to virtual one while staying true to its brand.
  • Ohio 24/7 – Claire discusses Axonista’s recent work on Sinclair’s Ohio 24/7 streaming news app with Tracey, an Ohio native. We hear how Axonista first got in touch and what interactive video means for local news networks.
  • Waterbear and environmental activism – Claire shares how Axonista has partnered with Dutch factual content producers ‘Off The Fence’ on an interactive video-on-demand platform “dedicated to our future on this planet”. The idea is that the content streamed on WaterBear will encourage users to take action on local and global science, education and environmental initiatives, with WaterBear connecting viewers to NGOs.
  • And all the latest news from Axonista!

Check out the interview in full below!