NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - November 16, 2010) - MegaPhone Labs, the market leader in phone-to-screen interaction across multiple platforms, appointed Mark Yackanich as Chief Executive Officer. This appointment ushers in the company's expanded focus on interactive programming and social television as it ventures beyond its traditional digital signage deployments. With Yackanich as CEO, MegaPhone Labs aims to revolutionize the television programming industry with its scalable, phone-based input platform, customizable Flash-based applications and new approach to delivering interactive and social content to homes.
With more than a decade of experience ranging from IBM to NBC, Yackanich brings to MegaPhone Labs a unique perspective on the development of and the challenges facing advanced advertising and social television. Previous to joining MegaPhone Labs, he was Vice President and Head of Corporate Strategy for NBC Local Media and prior to that, Head of Business Operations for the launch of Hulu.
On Thursday, November 18, Yackanich will provide additional details on MegaPhone Labs' new television-based interactive product and its live television deployments, at the TV of Tomorrow show in New York City.
"Mark has a unique combination of experience defining, building and managing innovative video, mobile and technology platforms in television and on the web," said Jury Hahn, Founder of MegaPhone Labs. "That is a rare thing, and our business sits at the center of all of those markets."
Co-Founder and CTO, Dan Albritton adds, "Mark is a natural fit for this role at this point in our development. He was the one the pointed us toward the television industry and thus far, the market opportunity is impressive."
At NBC, Yackanich was instrumental in the launch of NBC Local Media's city site network, mobile platform, digital subchannel strategy and general distribution and growth strategy across all Local Media platforms. He has also advised and led development of critical video and wireless product initiatives at the nation's largest cable operators and telecommunications companies.
"For the past several years, the MegaPhone Labs team focused on developing a scalable, phone-based gaming platform for use in stadiums and other outdoor spaces. With this strategy they met with great success," explained Yackanich. "Today, our platform is deployed in 50 stadiums in North America, supporting NFL, NHL and NBA events, and in cinemas. This experience allowed us to develop an extremely compelling answer to the challenges the broadcast and cable industries are wrestling with when it comes building increased scalability for interactive television."
To experience MegaPhone Labs' content, visit http://www.megaphonelabs.com.
ABOUT MEGAPHONE LABS
MegaPhone Labs enables real-time interaction between audiences and screens using phone calls, mobile web-sites and mobile applications. MegaPhone games are being played by thousands of simultaneous players in stadiums, cinemas, and now on live TV using their flagship product, DialPlayTV. MegaPhone Labs was originally developed by Jury Hahn and Chris Kairalla, and founded as a business in the fall of 2007 by Jury Hahn and Dan Albritton.
Contact Information:
MEDIA AND ANALYST CONTACT:
Tracey Sheehy
Breakaway Communications for MegaPhone Labs
212 616 6003