Blackbird (LSE:BIRD) — Investor Presentation

0:01 Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the BLACKBIRD PLC Investor Presentation. Throughout this recorded presentation, investors will be in listen only mode. Questions are encouraged. They can be submitted at any time via the Q and A tab that's just situated on the right hand corner of your screen. Please just simply type in your questions and press send. The company may not be in a position to answer every question it receives during the meeting itself. However, the company will review all the questions submitted today and publish responses where it is appropriate to do so.

0:30 Before we begin, I would like to submit the following poll. And as usual, if you could give that your kind attention, I'm sure the company would be most grateful. And I'd now like to hand you over to CEO, Ian McDonough. Good morning, sir. Good morning. Thank you much very much, Jay. And good morning, everyone that's joined. Thank you very much for joining on a on an early morning, frosty morning. The reason we've called this this more, like, more impromptu meeting kind of mid mid reporting cycles is because we have some very exciting news, which I'm sure you have read about, and we wanted to put a bit more context and color to it so that you understand understand the significance for us. So we are we're really excited about this, and I I think, you know, I hope you you guys are too. It really really changes the game for us in many ways. So it is it is related, of course, to the fact that we announced our yesterday, the day before, actually, EVS announced the launch of their new product, which has been designed with Blackbird in collaboration with Blackbird and using core Blackbird technology.

1:29 We talked about it yesterday in quite a lot of press interviews, and I really wanted to to to to give you guys the the the full color of what it means in terms of us strategically going forward. So first of all, let's talk a little bit about EVS. And we talked about a global broadcast company back in 09/02/2021, a broadcast manufacturing company. Now EVS really are the gold standard Rolls Royce of this live production industry. They are they are pretty much the world over, really well known, renowned for for this this technology. I mean, one thing I'd say is if you haven't already, you know, just go and have a look at UBS' client base to understand the prestigious sports news networks that are on their roster. I mean, it really is the the the the best of the best.

2:19 They deliver content to billions of viewers every day, whether it's live content of sports, live content of news, live content of entertainment. All over the world, they are they are they're delivering content continuously, and this is really puts us at the at the table with the with the big boys. They're headquartered in in in Liege in in Belgium, and I've been over there quite a number of times to to spend time with them in the last twelve months or so. And our teams work extremely closely with the with the the software development engineers at EBS. They have offices in North America all across EMEA, and they they operate in more than a 100 countries globally.

2:57 They're traded on the European the EuroNext Brussels exchange. They have currently have a market cap of around €310,000,000. They're forecasted to to bring in around a €150,000,000, I think, of of revenues this year. And interestingly, they are this year's winner of the environmental sustainability award from the IBM. Actually, just behind me here is the 2021 IBM Environmental Sustainability Award won, of course, by BLACKBIRD. So our our buddies are very, very closely aligned with EVS. And and, of course, one of the major benefits that EVS' customers will get from having a powered by Blackbird editing suite within their PAM is, of course, the environmental benefits and carbon reduction benefits.

3:46 And they've just, of course, announced that the the the launch of the IPD via create piece of of kit, which will be will be deeply embedded within the production act asset management tool suite. That's that's that PAM that they refer to, which has been unveiled in New York. And quite safely say that it's been a resounding success of our launch, and we have had an awful lot of feedback and inquiries from from some of the major names in in the industry.

4:17 Now I'm gonna let Steve just remind you of how the deal is structured. Thanks, Ian. Good morning, everyone. So we announced back in September 2021 our first technology licensing deal. Obviously, now announcing that partner to be EVS. The deal is worth a minimum of €2,000,000 over the the five year term. It comprises of a development fee, which, you know, will all be recognized by you know, in this year's numbers as well as the the piece that we recognized last year. Plus now that we're going into sales mode through AVS, we will have, you know, a share of revenues from license fees from the number of users, the editor users for IPD via create, the number of channel feeds that go in there, and a maintenance and support fee.

5:12 Every year, our license fees are underpinned by minimum annual guarantees. We've already stated that this year that that figure is a 180,000, and it rises to €340,000 in 2026. All of that, obviously, with together with the development fee, forms the minimum value of €2,000,000. This is a classic OEM partner for us or whatever, you know, where we are leveraging, you know, their sales team. So as Ian mentioned, the the size and scale of EVS previously, their sales teams will be selling this, and, you know, we are effectively receiving a royalty on the back of the sales that they make. Great. Thanks, Steve. So the significance for BLACKBIRD.

5:58 Well, this is this is the largest deal for the company to date as as as I as I've stated earlier. I think what's really important, though, this is this is this is industry wide recognition for the benefits of the of the of the patented technology that our esteemed colleague, Steven Streeter, his team have built over the years. This is this is the industry waking up to realize that the that the Blackbird methodology, the Blackbird way of of creating content and publishing content is more efficient, is a better is a better mousetrap, and is a better way to to to to harness the the the value of not just the cloud, but also on premise. So one of the key things, actually, I should bring to your attention is that in this deal, most of EVS' customers are still on prem. They're still on premise, and they're still in in CapEx hardware cycles.

6:53 These CapEx hardware cycles are ten year cycles. Now what what EVS have managed to to gain through this this licensing agreement is the the pathway to have a cloud ready system. So when EBS' customers or I should say, if EBS' customers decide to move to the cloud and and the general move is that people are moving to the cloud, but the broadcast industry doesn't move quickly, then they have a cloud ready solution. So this really shows the versatility of BLACKBIRD. So the where they've taken the the the the core codecs and video libraries that surround those codecs, this this software to begin with is gonna be in in private networks, in in in in private clouds behind firewalls on prem. So really interesting that we've got a we've got a a big demonstration here of the fact that Blackbird is is a better mousetrap on prem, and it will move to the cloud.

7:50 So this is a obviously, with with EBS' leverage in the industry, their reputation in the industry, their resources, and their their sales teams, Steve just checked with it out, their offices in 11 countries around the world, this is a huge opportunity for us to have deep penetration in the sports and news production industry. I mean, I think the other thing to to to to really kind of highlight here is that this isn't a this isn't a game of of pontoon, though, where people are making quick moves and and jumping, you know you know, saying twist tickle twist. This is a game of a long term game of chess. And what EVS have done here is they have made a very long ten ten year plus chess move to to not only have the opportunity to upsell to their to their base that would have been sold by traditional NLEs.

8:37 They've also got the opportunity to gain market share because this is unique. This this this solution that EVS has within the the production asset management tool is unique. It doesn't it doesn't exist in the in in the big competitors that that you all know, the the Ross's or the Grass Valley's or the Deluxe. They don't have this solution. So so there is a big opportunity here for for EVS with the with the powered by Blackbird solution to gain market share. Obviously, brand recognition is huge for us. This is a this is a a massive platform for us to talk about. We are talking about it continually right now that we're we're incredibly proud of this of of this this this tie up. And I say this is a long, long term tie up. Really, really excited from that point of view. And, of course, there's there's upside potential, not just from the from the fact that that we're gonna have EVS upselling to their base, and their base is is is is hundreds of customers, but also that they're gonna be able to gain market share, as I mentioned before before.

9:37 There is a rollout going on at at present. I know that I'm gonna get asked the the identity of that of that customer. I can't tell you. I'm not allowed to tell you. I'd love to tell you, but I can't. But much much of or a lot of the deal that that Steve referred to in terms of the the minimum guarantee is underpinned by that one customer. So, you know, there's there's lots of potential here for upside as as the as the product gains traction and is rolled out further. Now I also wanted to call this meeting this morning because I've been getting a lot of emails and and questions directly through through others through other means about, about Newsflow. And I really want just to to to to remind, everybody of the strategic direction that Blackbird is is on and that is has been fairly consistent, but I just wanted to kind of just just just remind you guys of it. So it's really three things. And you remember my three balls that I I generally show? Well, I'm not showing the three balls this time. I'm just putting it as bullet points, but it's the same thing.

10:40 We're really focusing on on strategic deals of for global scale. These are the direct deals. These are the infrastructure deals that you always see on the smaller the smaller circle on the left. They do come around less frequently because the the the the the the just have higher bars to jump over. We have more hoops to jump through to get those deals, but we're in conversations with some of the largest companies in the industry. We're also going to be on this deal, and the second bullet point here really highlights, I think, the the the potential of of this leveraging and scale partners. This is a this is a massive boost for for the company in terms of its its credibility, in terms of its awareness. And I think that, you know, we we see the opportunity to to to leverage through the biggest partners in the industry to to make BlackBird a standard for the way that content is created and published in in in the market.

11:37 Just to remind you, there are no exclusivities on this deal. There are no restrictions on this deal. We can talk to virtually everybody there is, whether it's competitor of EBS or whether it's other parts of media supply chain. And, again, a a quick reminder that we raised money in in December 2021 to to work on a a glass to glass product, a self-service model, high avail high availability SaaS solution of our own. So not only will we engine be the engine for for the for these companies in the market, we also want to address a wider market with a with a self-service model where we see there is there is opportunity to do so. So just a, you know, quick reminder, this the the the deal is uncapped.

12:23 As as as EVS is successful, then Blackbird will be successful. So it's really in our interest to to to get behind them on this. They deal in in long term cycles. Blackburn is gonna be around certainly within within these these companies for a very long time. They are they are ten year cycles, ten year CapEx cycles. Of course, that work that may well change gradually as the as the broadcast industry moves more to an OpEx model in the cloud. But, again, Blackbaud is gonna be there because of where we're at cloud ready solution.

12:55 We're really at the table with the big boys here. We're gonna we're getting an awful lot of of visibility through through being, strategically aligned, strategically bonded to a to a to a major player, the Rolls Royce with a fantastic reputation as EVS. And I would just, again, you know, for for your own amusement and excitement, have a look at their customer base because what what you see in their customer base will really be where you'll see Blackbird deeply embedded within within their their their technology stacks. We're we're gonna be there, and we're gonna be a a significant part of how that global sports, that global news content is being created. So I hope that answers a lot of the questions we might get, but please feel free to to submit some questions, and I'm I'm I I can answer what I can answer.

13:43 Ian, that's great. And Steven, Steven as well, thank you very much indeed for your presentation this morning. Ladies and gentlemen, please do continue to submit your questions just by using the q and a tab that's situated on the top right hand corner of your screen. But just while the team take a few moments review those questions that were submitted already, I would like to remind you that a recording of this presentation along with a copy of the slides and the published q and a can be accessed via your investor dashboard. Ian, Steven, Steve, we did receive a number of pre submitted questions ahead of today's event. And as you can see there in the q and a tab, we've also received a number of questions throughout your presentation this morning as well. So firstly, thank you to everyone on the call for taking the time to submit their questions. And, Ian, perhaps I could hand back to you just to run through the q and a tab to respond to those questions where it's appropriate to do so, and then I'll pick up from you at the end. Thank you.

14:32 Thanks, Jake. Of course. Okay. So I'll I'll be question master here, and and I'll I'll decide whether they go to Steve or Steven as we go through. So first one will be for me. Why has the board of directors stopped communicating with shareholders? I mean, we haven't. We we we communicate when there's when there's news, and and the news is is really much more strategic as I as I trust you can see from the nature of this this this particular deal. And when we have news around these strategic deals, we'll definitely be informing you. So second question, there was talk of a second powered by Blackbird hot on the heels of the first. Is that still the case? As I mentioned to you in the in the in the the presentation, we're in talks with some of the major players in the industry.

15:20 The proof of the pudding the proof in the pudding is has has been made here with the launch of this product. And so when we have firm news on a second powered by BLACKBIRD model, we will certainly announce that. But we are we are in discussions, with with a number of players. Congratulations on achieving the partnership with EVS. Thank you very much. Please explain how this achievement in full view of the marketplace will assist BLACKBIRD to gain greater market penetration. I hope I've covered that in the in in in the in the the short presentation that I did, but, you know, really, we are we're an integral part of a platform that will be rolled out to a very significant part of the of the industry.

16:08 So I don't know how much more emphasis to put on that, but if you think about it in a way, the EVS deal, the the the the power by BLACKBIRD deal with EVS, it's like a long term annuity. We we're going to be enjoying you know, should should the product be successful, of course, I've got got a got a you know, there's always some risk to that, of course. But, you know, as I explained, this is a this is a a product that's been

16:34 accepted by one of the major players in in in the in the media industry. Again, can't say who it is, but believe me, you'll know their name, which is a great first step. And as it gets accepted as being the the the standard in the industry that this integrated model is is the way things will be done, then we will we will gain that market penetration. The the fact that we can also talk to other players freely about the solution that we've got, I think, is is gonna add to that too.

17:05 We understand that EVS is currently rolling out to a big US broadcaster. What proportion of EVS' 500 customers do you expect will want to use Blackbird, and what effect would this have on the guaranteed minimum annual revenue under the partnership? It's a great question. And, correct. It is rolling out to a big US broadcaster. We can't say the name of it. There is there is a significant number of editors within that company, and so, you know, a good portion of the MG is covered within that one customer. If you ask me about penetration within the the the the the base, you know, that's not something I can I can I can take a flying forecast out right now, but I would say that I think this I think this product will be very popular?

17:53 You know, just actually, one thing I didn't talk about was the benefits of the actual product. I think I've talked about it with in the well, EBS talked about it in the in the press release. I mean, this is revolutionary in terms of how much time and speed and cost, you know, benefits will come from this. It's if you think about live sports and how how every millisecond counts in terms of getting getting value from from the content, This revolutionizes how that's done. This is this is a technique now where they can edit while capturing. So as soon as that content's coming in, they're gonna be editing the the the the the content and turning around to go to all the other broadcast areas, whether it's social or whether it's OTT, VOD, back to the broadcast channels, whatever whatever whatever it it be, they could turn that around really quickly. Every second counts, and every second has value in in the half life of a of a sports or news content.

18:49 So we think it will be extremely popular. There's also, of course, the carbon benefits and the and the cost benefits that come with the fact you don't have to download all this content, upload it to another system, work on that system, and reupload it to the to the to the original system. You know? You can imagine how how this is gonna revolutionize the the workflow. Okay. Next question. Please provide some clarity over work in progress currently being carried out at BLACKBIRD, where do you expect this to lead in terms of new business? So I gave a bit of a hint on the last slide there that that we are we are indeed working, on on a number of areas. I think the the the the most exciting area that we're working on is is in our, the the platform that we would like to to look at launching in 2023, which is our own self-service high availability, Blackbird, SaaS model. So, look out for that, but it's, it's too early to give detail on that at this stage. Steven, though, I think that it will be nice maybe you wanna give a bit of color on Blackbird 10.

19:50 Oops. Yes. I can talk about Blackbird 10. So I've been looking at this for a while as many of you will know, but we haven't really had demand for it in our traditional market for offline editing because they have everything they need in BlackBed nine. Most of them don't push that anywhere near the limit of BlackBed nine. But I'm now working on BlackBed 10, and that will help power our new products as well. And one of the key benefits is that it have much higher resolution than we currently have for our proxy. And so as well as being lower data rate and much more efficient, it will also allow us to publish in our own format if we choose to do so, which hasn't been a requirement in broadcast where they always publish, you know, in in standard formats.

20:38 But for the Internet, it's a a real possibility. So we'll have about about 10 demos coming out throughout the year, and it will be included in our products. Thanks, Stuart. Great stuff. Right. Another pre submitted question. Great news regarding EVS, How how about Blackbird announcement? However, we need more like this. Are we close to signing any more deals and discussions? I I I I I'll do a job major here and refer to my earlier my earlier point that we will let you know as soon as we have have some, and, of course, we would like to have some. BLACKBIRD recently hit a share price of 40 p. Is there a price which you would consider a sale of the company? Well, yes, there are there is a there is a price I've I've I've dreamt about. I'm not gonna reveal it here, but I've always said that this this company should be a unicorn, and I won't shy away from that. I will not shy away from that. And I think this gives a massive boost to our confidence in terms of how it can do that because the industry at large is is accepting Blackbird as a as a standard, and and that is how those kind of valuations start to come about.

21:45 We'll find out the name of The US company now we know EVS, or this will this always stay secret as it happened with when Tata was not were not told to the company. Okay. I get it. Thank you, Richard. We thought we could announce it this time. We we were ready to, and then certain things happened around major sporting sporting events and and other things where where it it it it wasn't signed off in time. So I I really I although no guarantees because it's out of my control, I would think that that we you will get the the the the identity of this customer shortly, sometime, I would think, in in in the first half of the next year. But I do yeah. I I I do wish I could tell you, but it's it's just not in my control. Given the suggestions of large customer wind for the product already, do you think that the revenue generated for this customer would already exceed this year's minimum guarantee of a 180,000?

22:40 I can't really say any more than the fact it's a it's a significant part of it, but, I I I think it would be,

22:45 I can't say more than that, but that that's that's as far as I can go. How is Tata progressing or not?

22:51 Honestly, it's not. Tata has been, disappointing in terms of in terms of its progression. But what I would say is that the the the value that we were bringing to the Tata stack around editing in situ and editing during capture, edit while capture, is exactly the same values that we're bringing now to EVS. So what's encouraging, I think, about this is that that EVS have have have shown the industry the way this works, the way that this can scale. So Tata were not successful in in in doing that or not have not yet been successful in in doing doing that. That. But I think this is really encouraging in the sense that EVS has has has has laid out a path how it how it works. Ian, in your March 2022 video, you suggested that the rest of the year would bring more powered by BLACKBIRD deals. What happened when we can when when can we expect them?

23:43 They take a while. I won't lie. They take a while, and and we've been working with the the software engineers at EVS and the commercial teams at EVS for over a year to get this done. But what you will see here is it's it it although it takes a while to get them in, it takes an awful long time for them ever to come out again. We are we're deeply embedded now in this in this part of the the the stack. And then as I have earlier said, these are working on ten year cycles. So although we have a five year deal in place with UBS I remember our previous longest term deal was a five year deal with the with the with with the financial news organization.

24:21 These are really long term. You know, I I I, you know, fully expect that that five year deal will be extended significantly because we're deeply embedded in in in in these many company well, we'll we'll be many companies over time.

24:36 Why do you think the current share price is good value? I I think because I think that it should be a lot higher. I think we should be a unicorn. And I think that, you know, as I as I again, doing the job major thing. Apologize. But, you know, as I said earlier, we are we are becoming known. We're becoming a standard. We're becoming recognized, credible, etcetera. All that kind of stuff is is happening on a on a big scale, on a really big scale with with the with the top tier, you know, top companies in in in the industry.

25:10 Great update. Thank you, Sam. On the back of this, do you think you'll see an acceleration of interest from similar organizations? I'm not I'm not in I'm not in their in their boardrooms and and and talking to them, but I'm certainly in contact with with many of them. So, yeah, hopefully. When can we look forward to a deal with Veritone? Well, Veritone that's a good question, actually, because Veritone is is is a is a is a an aggregator of of AI. And, certainly, AI is a very, very hot subject right now right across the industry. AI, when it comes to editing, goes far, far beyond speech to text and text to speech. You know, it can be shot selection and and and and noise recognition and lot lots of lots of different areas.

25:59 So it's not just Veritone that I think that we'll be we'll be talking to in the AI area, but some of our some of our major partners that you guys know of, likes of Microsoft and others, really have best of breed, best in class AI solutions as well. And and cognitive services and and and machine learning is certainly something that we we will see

26:21 as a a feature in in anything that we're launching ourselves. So it's it's it's it's certainly a a hot topic. It's something that we're right across, and and it works in space. A number of well known highly trusted broadcast companies such as Avid, Grass Valley, Ross, and, of course, EBS have all developed media production platforms running apps and service high services hybrid cloud. Is the market shifting for into the age of production platform rather than individual apps in the cloud service provider? Our customers looking for complete end to end solutions rather than a standalone cloud editor.

27:01 You know, it's difficult to answer that as as an in as the industry as a whole. I I think the I think the idiosyncrasies I can't say that. In synchronicities of the industry are sometimes down to the individual CTOs. They will have their own flavors and their own ways of doing things. And sometimes they'll want it all from one vendor, and sometimes they'll want to have 25 vendors in the in the media supply chain. It's difficult to say, Nick, whether there's a move this way or that. What there is a move to, especially during these, you know, more troubled times economically, is to make the the media supply chain as efficient as possible. That's what every CTO is really trying to do. But they will have different ideas about how that will that, like, that can be achieved.

27:48 You know, there's it's like anything, I guess. You know, people sometimes like to have a combined system and sometimes like to have a an individual separate system. What we can just keep saying is that our system is the most efficient. Our system is the highest functionality. Our system is the highest quality. It's the fastest, etcetera. So, you know, that's that that's always important to the to the to the CTO. Which element of the technology makes you most excited?

28:21 Steve, I'm gonna refer to you on this one because I think there's so many new things, you know, that you're working on that I think you can probably cover off this one. Well, I think if you know, in a word, it's flexibility. So we've got a really solid core technology, and we've applied it in various areas. And everywhere we apply it, it works really well from a technical point of view. And now we're starting to get companies who own their markets, essentially, who are starting to use it, and we're starting to look ourselves at at much bigger audiences. So I think flexibility is the key here. Yeah. Thank you, Steven. There's another question about Tata here. I think I've answered the question about Tata. It's it's it's you know, they're still a company that we we think very highly of, and I think, hopefully, there's there's there's a there's a there's a path through to them, be able to to leverage the benefits of Blackbird. But it's it's not happening just at the moment.

29:12 Have we won any other contracts, small direct, e g Gfinity since the last announcement? Or have these dried up? Now your focus has shifted. I think the focus the focus for us really is on on on with our, you know, a sales team like we have. We have a presales team and three very highly competent sales staff senior sales staff who can who can really close big deals like this one we did with EBS. So we think it's in the in the benefit of the shareholders, and, of course, you know that the the everyone on this call is a shareholder to to relook for these long term strategic deals where once they're in, they're in, and and the the ongoing maintenance and attention is is is not so high. You know?

29:58 Once once these deals once this system is in EBS, our sales team won't really be involved. You know? So it's getting these it's getting these deals up and running and then and then reaping the benefits. That's where we really got the focus. When is codec 10 coming out? As Steven said, it's it's it's it's it's being worked on and it's you'll see demos of this through the year, Steven. Is that right? That's right. It's really waiting for the product that really needs it and that will be next year, we think. Yeah. Not not not we think. It will be next year. It will be next Could we could we update on any timetable for 2023? Is it public cloud, codec 10, the player in terms of of when 2023 is not expected? The three things that I mentioned on the on this particular slide that you're looking at, they're the three things that we're working on. So that's that's that's the that's 2023 and beyond.

30:54 EBS is a larger company, but but it only has a market cap of $3.50, as you've stated. What does this imply regarding BLACKBIRD's value? You're one small part of of of of their many offerings. Well, first of all, it's not exclusive. Thirdly secondly, it's it's a it's it's it's a gold standard, and and the way that EVS is is valued is a is a is a different way than than I would say that Silicon Valley companies are are valued. They're valued as a value stock. They they have ten year cycles. They are a CapEx company. And so their market cap reflects that. People people will buy EVS, I think, for for for income rather than for for for growth.

31:40 However, this is an incredible stage, incredible showcase for us to show how we are we are a we're we're a standard for this industry and beyond. You know, we've always talked about the media and entertainment industry as being just one possible part of the video industry, but it is the most prestigious part. So, you know, it's it's it's a it's it's it's the it's the top of the mountain. And if you're proven at the top of the mountain, then, you know, it should be should be much more amenable to to access the rest of the mountain, which is which is larger in terms of scale. With EVS, the codec sorry. With EVS, is the codec only being used in the IPD via crate, or is it being used as wider IPD via applications? It isn't it is using the IPD via crate create in this this instance, so not across the not across the panel. It's in the editing solution.

32:34 However and I I I got asked this question by Colin actually at the AGM, so I think it's probably on here somewhere. When I was asked, is is EVS the tech licensing partner, or are are they an OEM? Well, actually, they're both, and I I I couldn't give you the name of EVS at the time, but I was correct in saying it's an OEM. So we did the winter and summer games with EVS as a as a as a partner in the in the in the integration sense rather than the deeply deeply embedded. So, you know, we are we are not used in terms of our codec and video libraries outside of via create, but we do have integrations with EVS' other tool sets like IPD and and Media Hub. €2,000,000 welcome, but not transformative in Blackbird's finances with severely depressed share price at present. We need significant new revenues in 2023.

33:30 Well, Howard, correct. We do, and and we're working on that.

33:37 Paul, given the significant US dollar income, does Blackbird hedge currencies?

33:43 Steve? No. We don't actually hedge currencies at the moment. As you can see in our annual report, you know, it's too small at this stage, but it's something that we monitor. We do have an FX trading platform, and, you know, we don't keep dollars, you know, you know, surplus dollars in dollars for too long so that we, you know, so we try to minimize our FX risk.

34:07 Okay. Interesting question from Jeff, and and it gives me the opportunity to kind of restate what I said in the presentation here. Jeff says, does EVS continue to sell and support its traditional on prem solution to its customers? Trying to get a sense of the extent in which they they're all in with the Blackbird cloud solution. Does EVS oh, so I'll answer that first of all. So we are on prem, and we're in the cloud. We're a cloud ready solution. So there is no restrictions to EVS rolling out IPD via IPD via create to their entire base, whether they're on prem or in the cloud. So that's hugely exciting, and, again, it shows the versatility and the power of the BLACKBIRD technology that it is competing on an on prem basis. So this is where they've they've they've they've taken the the the video libraries and the and the the codec that that that's, you know, the core of that. And this is in private networks behind firewalls within these big media organizations.

35:07 So they're all in. They're all in, and and and they signed up a minimum guarantee to to to show that to. Does EVS commercialize any competing cloud solutions? Competing in the sense that they are like the likes of Adobe Premiere, they if the customer wants Adobe Premiere, which as we know is is not an efficient system to put in the cloud, then EVS wouldn't stand in their way. But the it's it's it's not it's not an integral part of their their platform. We are the integral part of their platform. That is the third party vendor that they, like anyone, would would would would give the opportunity to to purchase if they wanted to. Will the creator economy products be developed to be sold b to c or b to b, direct to creators, or instead to platforms that they use? It's a little early to give you full color on this one. We are developing the plan as we speak. And once once that color becomes more more firm and we can share it, we will share it.

36:09 It's very exciting, though. Are Blackbird currently selling b to b any products in development ahead of their completion, or do you start selling them only once complete? That's a great question. A little bit of both. I mean, we sold this one before it was complete. You know, we had to go and work for for twelve months with with EBS' software development engineers to do this. So, yes, it this this was sold ahead of time. When you're selling a finished product, it's generally the other way around. They generally want to see the product before they buy it. You know, e e EVS understood that this was this was going to take some some some prep time, and we got a development fee for that. In terms of EVS' performance with with this new product, will you be updating that only on a half yearly basis, or will you be able to tell the industry when they might occur?

37:05 I we will update on the half year how how that's how that takes off. We'll be we'll be the partner that has to be told by the by the by the customer here how you know, if if EVS win a major customer and they get permission from that customer to announce it, then, you know, great. And we will announce it to you. You know? But it's it's it's not gonna be it's not gonna be our gift. You know, we are we are a an embedded piece of technology here, not the not the we're not owning this customer. EBS owns this customer. What what is the major resistance from signing up for new partners given time, speed, benefits of the product? The industry is not a not it it's it's it's a game of chess. You know? They they they will take their time and deliberate and cogitate over over decisions.

37:51 There are huge advantages. Sometimes the, you know, the delay is because we're not in a we're not at the right time of that ten year cycle as I talked about earlier. And and, you know, sometimes it's awareness, sometimes it's credibility. That's why this is such a major deal for us because it's both awareness and credibility. But, you know, we're we're we're we're still the challenger brand. Although, you know, we are multi award winning, and we've got a high profile, and we're winning these big deals like we're talking about today. But we haven't been in the market as long as Avid. We haven't been in the market as long as Adobe or, in fact, EVS or Grass Valley or the others. I mean, we're we're still a an upstart. And I know that you say that the company's around for twenty years. Well, the company, in terms of in terms of of of Blackbird, has is is only been around in just a a few years.

38:40 I recently got told by a major player in the industry that I thought it was it was a very interesting move that I made in 2018 to to rebrand the company and rebrand the the the platform because everyone suddenly thought this is a this is a start up, but this is incredibly reliable, incredibly slick, incredibly powerful start up. So I think that did it it did well for us. But in terms of in terms of our brand reputation, it's still it's still pretty new. Okay. You talked about targeting the independent creator market. How do you expect to be able to gain market share in already saturated market where many many of these independent customers are fearful of change? Well, not to give too much detail about this because as I said, we're still working on the plan, and once the color comes through, we'll we will give it to you. But we see a market gap.

39:30 We we, you know, we like we do in our our media and entertainment industry, we see a market gap where it's not being fulfilled by by by by current offerings out there, and and that's why we are excited about it. Can you speak of the new deal with the financial news organization and whether there was a material expansion? There has been an expansion within that that that organization, and we continue to talk to them. They continue to to to to to enjoy the software. I can't say too much more than it than that. We're gonna have to wait for the for the for the full year results in that one. Can you update any further on the partnerships with, like, Evertz, MediaKind, and TVU? In the in the sense that well, e Evertz is quite is quite nascent, but media kind and TV are a little more advanced.

40:21 And and I think they're they're in good shape. I think this again, this this this credibility boost that we've got from this announcement over the last couple of days really helps that. They're they're active they're active partnerships that we want to to give more energy to. Are the directors currently unable to buy shares? I I I I can't say that because that would that would negate the whole point of the fact that we can't buy shares. Okay. I'm not gonna say anything on that one. We'll just get ourselves in trouble. Steven Streeter, you're still my hero, Grant. I I would this wouldn't be a presentation without that kind of comment. He's still my hero too, and I think everyone in the company. Steve, do wanna answer that one, Steven? Well, thanks very much. I appreciate that.

41:11 Okay. Why do feel more football clubs are not using BIRD given everything being said about sports, social media, speech to market? I think it's about route to markets, David. We we really wanna get to a point where, like this camp like this this this deal today, we want to to to to to hit sectors and hit them hit them big. So, yeah, I think it's it's it's probably about about how much attention and and and and, you know, meetings we can have with individual football clubs, but we wanna wanna try and attack market sectors. I would think, actually, through this very deal that many football clubs will indeed be using BIRD. Will Blackbird receive revenue from all EVS mediaception signature customers given that IPD via create is now part of that solution regardless of whether they're IPD via or not? So to to clarify, this is this is a revenue share of IPD via create revenue, and therefore, that is a part of the mediaception signature platform.

42:17 It is something that is it it is if if they want an editing suite from from EVS, then that we will get revenue share. If they want an editing suite, inefficient as it is, from another traditional NLE, then and they don't choose the the vehicle rates, then we wouldn't get a revenue share. K. That's clear, Dash. Can you mention the house broker or consensus forecasts for turnover PBT and EPS for Steve, is this a question for you? Yeah. We don't currently give out some, you know, full costs and everything. Obviously, we continually monitor that, and you'll be the first to hear when when things change. Ken, no comment as to the previous email sorry, the previous question. Sorry about that.

43:05 Nick b, does this development with EVS help make the Blackbird 10 player with its extra features become established in distribution of does this total of e EVS help make the Blackbird 10 player with extra features become established in the distribution of sports on best content? Wonder if there's a positive connection here. Steven, do wanna pick that one up? Well, the technology is capable of that, but the product decisions are made by EVS. So you'll have to ask them how they want to use the product. I will just say that as, obviously, as a strategic technology for EBS, they do have access to the upgrades we do to the core technology, and they specifically insisted on that. So they will have access to BIRD PAT 10 when it comes out. Yeah.

43:52 Richard, when will the player become more available? The player is certainly something that that that will become evident in 2023 as part of the as part of the the the new iteration of BlackBerry that we're working on, Richard. Colin, it's a little hard to get a sense of what proportion of EBS products that this represents. Would it nice to have an add on, or would it be nice to have an add on or or or, like, do something central to its core offering central to its core offering? Colin, I don't think even EBS know this yet. So it's a bit difficult for me to to get details on this call. However, it's got huge advantages, performance and cost and time advantages within it. So that's what their sales team will be will be leveraging with within the conversations they will have with their hundreds of customers over the next next years, not just next year, but in the next years. So it's difficult for me to give a number to that because I I'm pretty sure that if I asked EVS directly, they wouldn't know yet. It's it's it's a it's a it's a it's it's a wait and see, and and hope that it gets immediate traction.

44:55 Again, the fact that a, yeah, a gold standard US broadcaster has has taken it right out off the shelf and is rolling it out right now is a is a very good sign. Is there an imminent likelihood of another big announcement in the near future? Thank you, Richard. Nice try. I can't tell you any more details than I've already told you earlier, but certainly we would certainly like that. Philip, superb open presentation. Thank you all very much. Philip, it's a pleasure. Thank you for the comment. Chris, our earnings for the year on target so far apologies. This is I answered earlier. It was late to the meeting. We will announce the full year numbers when we announce them, Chris, which will be at at the usual times of of year next next year.

45:43 Good. I hope that has answered everyone's questions or any more. Please let us know. It's been a pleasure to talk to you this morning. And I I I you know, we don't go silent. We we we just wait for the for the for the meeting news to tell you. So that's what it that's the the explanation behind that. Jake, back over to you. Ian, Steve, Steven, thank you very much indeed for being so generous of your time then addressing all of those questions that came in from investors this morning. And, of course, if there are any further questions that do come through, we'll make these available to you immediately after the presentation has ended for you to review then add any additional responses, of course, where it's appropriate to do so. Ian, perhaps before redirecting those on the call to provide you their feedback, which I know is particularly important to yourself and the company, if I could please just ask you for a few closing comments to wrap up with, that'd be great.

46:30 Yeah. I think I think just to just to close off that this is a different this is an inflection point for us in terms of scale. It's an inflection point for us in terms of prestige and our own reputation and credibility in the market. We're at the table with the big boys. We're in a long term deal here where the most prestigious names in in in the industry are likely to be penetrated by BLACKBIRD PLC, and I think that's that that that's a that's a really exciting time for for me as a shareholder, for the directors as shareholders, I hope for for you guys as shareholders. Thank you very much. Ian, that's great. And Steve and Steven as well, thank you once again for updating investors this morning. Could I please ask investors not to close this session as you'll now be automatically redirected for the opportunity to provide your feedback in order that the management team can better understand your views and expectations?

47:20 It's going to take a few moments to complete, but I'm sure it'll be greatly valued by the company. On behalf of the management team of BLACKBIRD PLC, we would like to thank you for attending today's presentation. That now concludes today's session. So good morning to you all.