Linius appoints former Netflix, Sky execs to advisory board

Linius Technologies, an Australian company specialising in personalised video tech, has appointed Netflix’s former director of content acquisition, Simon Gallagher, to its advisory board.

Simon Gallagher

Gallagher is one of three new high-profile board appointments. Joining him is: former Sky UK head of operations, David Butorac; and Newstag co-founder and a former member of the Swedish parliament, Camilla Dahlin-Andersson.

Linius said that its advisory board’s mission is to refine the company’s aggressive growth strategy and accelerate its commercialisation, adding that board members are retained on “minimal fees” and performance-based compensation.

Gallagher has 20-years of experience working for global entertainment brands and has previously held positions as director of content acquisition at Netflix, director of strategy and business development for Hulu, and vice president of IMG Media.

Butorac’s 35-year career includes experience working as CEO of pay TV platform OSN, managing director of WIN Corporation, president of platforms of the Star TV Network, and as head of operations for Sky UK.

Dahlin-Andersson has served on several boards for large institutions and she co-founded, and is the chairperson of, social-impact news platform, Newstag.

“Demand for subscription streaming services is only increasing. Linius enables that experience to be completely personalised for the first time,” said Gallagher. “Content rights holders, creators and service providers of any kind – from news, to sports and entertainment – can now monetise video in ways they’ve only dreamed of.”

Butorac said: “Linius offers TV broadcasters something they’ve always wanted – the ability to analyse, understand and target viewers at a one-to-one level with content and promotions.”

Linius has developed a patented Video Virtualization Engine that is designed to reveal the data within digital video files and enable “hyper-personalized video experiences”.

The technology allows video data to be searched and programmatically reassembled, and the company is targeting six core markets: news and media; sports broadcasters and rights holders; education; corporate communications; security and defence; and sports betting.

Clients can use the Linius offering to deliver video streams based on individual preferences or viewing habits. The technology can also offer granular audience analytics and deliver hyper-targeted ads.