5 Things You Might Not Know About the Hego Family

Did you Know?

• Hego was founded by two close friends, Mucki Heyman and Göran Otterström, inside a garage in Härnösand, Sweden.

• Hego began as a sports timing company in 1969 and has been in business 40 years, providing full end-to-end delivery capability for the creation and enhancement of live production content.

• Hego is headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, with offices in Norway, Denmark, Finland, Czech and Slovak Republics, UK and the US.

• Hego delivers unique broadcast enhancements in over 5,000 live sports productions each year.

• In 2005, Hego was a co-founder/creator of the acclaimed TRACAB player tracking system which combines the best in image tracking and virtual graphics technology.

For more information, please visit www.hegogroup.com.  

Chyron to Acquire Hego Group

 

The Combined Company will Create a New Driving Force in the Fields of TV Graphics, Data Visualization and Production Services for Live TV, News and Sports Production

MELVILLE, N.Y. — March 11, 2013 — Chyron Corporation (NASDAQ: CHYR), a leading provider of Graphics as a Service for on-air and digital video applications, today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Hego AB and its subsidiaries (collectively, “Hego Group”), a leading provider of powerful graphics and data visualization solutions for TV and sports. Hego Group is a privately-held company with its headquarters in Stockholm, Sweden, and has operations in Norway, Finland, Czech Republic, UK and USA. The combined company will be rebranded as ChyronHego.

The transaction will take the form of a stock transaction whereby Chyron will issue a number of shares of Chyron common stock which will represent 40% of its aggregate shares of common stock outstanding, including certain outstanding options, after the closing, in exchange for all of Hego’s outstanding capital stock. Upon the achievement of certain revenue milestones during 2013, 2014 and/or 2015, Hego’s shareholders will also be entitled to receive additional shares of Chyron common stock such that the total number of shares of Chyron common stock issued in the transaction is equal to 50% of the aggregate shares of Chyron common stock outstanding, including certain outstanding options, after the closing.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including the approval by Chyron’s shareholders, and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2013. Chyron’s board of directors unanimously approved the transaction and Chyron shareholders representing 40% of Chyron’s outstanding common stock have committed to vote in favor of the transaction. At the closing of the transaction, Johan Apel, chairman and CEO of Hego Group, will be elected to Chyron’s board of directors and will be appointed president and COO of ChyronHego. Michael Wellesley-Wesley, president and CEO of Chyron, will remain as ChyronHego CEO. Hego’s shareholders will also be entitled to appoint one other member to Chyron’s board of directors. Morpheus Capital Advisors acted as exclusive financial advisor and provided a fairness opinion to Chyron’s board of directors that the transaction was fair to Chyron and its shareholders from a financial point of view as of the date of this press release.

“The merger of Chyron and Hego brings together two pioneering companies to create a global leader in broadcast graphics creation, playout, and real-time data visualization. This is a truly transformative transaction for Chyron,” said Michael Wellesley-Wesley. “By combining the teams and resources of Chyron and Hego, we will deliver to our customers a highly diverse and compelling broadcast graphics capability.”

The Chyron and Hego product lines are complementary with very little overlap. Hego’s solutions predominantly address the needs of live sports production with product categories such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Product Placement, Telestration, and Production Services offerings based around their proprietary Image and Player Tracking solutions. For its part, Chyron has recently been more focused on graphics solutions for live and near-live news production workflows. Upon consummation of the transaction, it is anticipated that ChyronHego would vault to second place in terms of global market share.

Mr. Wellesley-Wesley also added, “Hego is a well-managed, fast growing, profitable company with state-of-the-art products. ChyronHego will be focused on near- and long-term value creation for its shareholders, and we believe its comprehensive and competitive product portfolio will quickly make it a market leader in our industry.”

“With this merger, we are looking forward to integrating Hego and Chyron solutions and working together to innovate new products and services,” stated Johan Apel, chairman and CEO of Hego Group. “Our objective is to develop powerful, easy-to-use solutions for sports, news and live TV. Hego has grown quickly over the last few years but this merger takes us to a whole new level, especially in North and South America where our offerings have been generating significant interest. We’re excited about this combined company and I believe that our customers are the real beneficiaries.”

Conference Call and Webcast: Hego Transaction, Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2012 Financial Results:

Chyron Corporation management will host a conference call on Monday, March 11, 2013, at 10:00 AM eastern time, to review the Hego transaction and the fourth quarter and full year 2012 results. Participants using the telephone should dial 877-556-5248 (U.S. and Canada) or 720-545-0029 (International), and enter conference code 20581174. Web participants are encouraged to go to http://investor.chyron.com or www.earnings.com. A replay will be available shortly after the call on http://investor.chyron.com, click on Events & Presentations.

About Chyron

Chyron (NASDQ: CHYR) is a leading provider of Graphics as a Service for on-air and digital video applications including newsrooms, studios, sports broadcasting facilities, and corporate video environments. An Emmy® Award-winning company whose products have defined the world of digital and broadcast graphics, Chyron’s graphics solutions include the Axis World Graphics online content creation software and order management system, on-air graphics systems, clip servers, channel branding, and graphics asset management solutions, all of which may be incorporated into the company’s BlueNet™ end-to-end graphics workflow. More information about Chyron products and services is available on the company websites: http://www.chyron.com and http://www.axisgraphics.tv. The company’s investor relations information is at www.chyron.com, click on “Investors”.

About Hego Group

Founded in 1969, Hego has spent over four decades helping broadcasters and the sports industry offer audiences a more engaging live entertainment experience. Hego has a reputation for being at the forefront of enhancing the presentation of live data and video through its innovative technology in real-time graphics, virtual graphics, touch and telestration, as well as its revolutionary 3D player tracking system. These capabilities are delivered either as products or as full production services.  For more information about the company and its offerings please see www.hegogroup.com.

 

Special Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management’s current expectations and are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the consummation of a merger transaction with Hego; our ability to combine Chyron and Hego product offerings and sales and marketing activities; current and future economic conditions that may adversely affect our business and customers; our revenues and profitability may fluctuate from period to period and therefore may fail to meet expectations, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations; our ability to maintain adequate levels of working capital; our ability to successfully maintain the level of operating costs; our ability to obtain financing for our future needs should there be a need; our ability to incentivize and retain our current senior management team and continue to attract and retain qualified scientific, technical and business personnel; our ability to expand our Axis online graphics creation solution or to develop other new products and services; our ability to generate sales and profits from our Axis online graphics services, workflow and asset management solutions; rapid technological changes and new technologies that could render certain of our products and services to be obsolete; competitors with significantly greater financial resources; new product and service introductions by competitors; challenges associated with expansion into new markets; and, other factors discussed under the heading “Risk Factors” contained in Item 1A in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012, which has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as any updates to those risk factors filed from time to time. All information in this press release is as of the date of the release and we undertake no duty to update this information unless required by law.

Important additional information will be filed with the SEC and distributed to shareholders of Chyron

Chyron intends to file with the SEC and mail to its shareholders a Proxy Statement on Schedule 14A pursuant to Section 14(a) of the Exchange Act in connection with the proposed transaction described in this document. The Proxy Statement will contain important information about Chyron, Hego, the proposed transaction, and other related matters. Chyron’s investors and security holders are urged to read this document carefully when it is available.

Chyron’s investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the Proxy Statement and other documents to be filed with the SEC by Chyron regarding the transaction through the web site maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov.

Chyron and its directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies in respect of the transactions contemplated by the purchase agreement. Information regarding Chyron’s directors and executive officers is contained in Chyron’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2012 and its most recent proxy statement dated April 6, 2012, which are filed with the SEC. Chyron’s proxy statement dated April 6, 2012 also contains information regarding the beneficial ownership of Chyron’s stock by Chyron’s directors and executive officers. A complete description of any interests of Chyron’s directors and executive officers in the transactions contemplated by the purchase agreement will be provided in the Proxy Statement.

Contact:

Chyron Investor Relations

Tel: (631) 845-2000, press 7

Email: IRelations@chyron.com

SOURCE Chyron

Register now for your free pass to NAB

Visit Us at @BVExpo Next Week

Stop by and visit us at Stand D14 and see the following Chyron products on display.

ChyronIP Graphics Streaming Over IP
This year at BVE 2013, Chyron will demonstrate ChyronIP, a real-time HD/SD 2D and 3D character and graphics generator specifically designed for the NewTek TriCaster™, an all-in-one, integrated live production system that offers the power of a live network studio. ChyronIP is a compact, lightweight system that provides producers with up to two HD or SD full-motion channels of Chyron graphics that stream directly into the TriCaster over a network connection.

Ideal for sports, news, entertainment, and any other live production, ChyronIP allows TriCaster users to employ the same high-impact graphics typically seen in premier sports and entertainment broadcasts. Because graphics data is delivered via a network connection, broadcasters can take advantage of ChyronIP for TriCaster without tying up any of the needed camera inputs that are critical to live production. ChyronIP allows users to leverage Chyron’s award-winning Lyric^® PRO graphics application to create live, full-motion Chyron broadcast graphics, 3D animations, and transitions.

Channel Box² Branding and Promo System
Chyron also will showcase its newly enhanced Channel Box². Channel Box² is a channel branding system that features 2D/3D design with a complete data acquisition toolset for all branding applications. Built on Chyron’s Lyric^® technology, Channel Box² allows users to access any data — RSS feeds, traffic, financial, weather, elections, tickers, promos, snipes, social media, and more — and publish it on-air anywhere, anytime.

New Channel Box² software (v.4.7) includes a powerful, advanced point-and-click data tool that allows users to acquire data from many sources quickly and easily. Also included in this software release is the Channel Box² sports data feed interface, which allows for the easy display of live TV sports data feeds from Daktronics, Whiteway, OES, and Fairplay scoring systems.

ENGAGE Second-Screen and Social TV Gateway
Also on display at BVE 2013 is ENGAGE, Chyron’s second-screen and social TV gateway. ENGAGE gives broadcasters the ability to add viewer interaction — such as votes, polls, and tweet battles — easily into their live news and sports programming, along with rich call-to-action graphics and infographics. It integrates with popular second-screen and social data partners, eliminating the need for custom integration while maintaining routine production workflows. ENGAGE provides producers with easy-to-use tools that allow for the instant creation of interactions that can dynamically boost audience engagement.

SHOUT™ Social Media Editor
SHOUT™, a stand-alone software application that enables broadcasters to bring social media commentary into their live broadcasts quickly and easily, will be demonstrated at BVE 2013. SHOUT gives one or more users the ability to monitor, select, adjust, and route social media conversations to broadcast graphics systems either for on-air playback or for storage as data files for later use. Multiple instances of SHOUT running across a facility can be used simultaneously by different staff members to view content and moderate the same playback list. Users can add, remove, and authenticate multiple social media accounts from sources like Twitter™, Facebook, RSS, and Mass Relevance.

 

Waterman Broadcasting Uses Chyron Channel Box2 to Overhaul Look and Feel of 24-Hour News Channel

MELVILLE, N.Y. — Jan. 31, 2013 — Chyron today announced that Waterman Broadcasting, operator of WBBH in Fort Myers, Fla., has used the Channel Box² branding and promo system to revamp the look of its 24/7 news channel. By enabling a seamless upgrade of the WBBH news product’s display of information and the channel’s overall look, the Channel Box² has supported the broadcaster in its continued market leadership in news and weather.

“The system’s flexibility, reliability, and ease of operation made the Channel Box² a natural choice for control of our 24/7 news subchannel,” said Bob Hannon, director of production at Waterman Broadcasting. “The Channel Box² not only requires less time and attention than other solutions, but also allows for aggressive selling and scheduling of revenue-producing programming and spots.”

The Channel Box² channel branding system features 2D/3D design with a complete data acquisition toolset for all branding applications. Built on Chyron’s Lyric® technology, Channel Box² allows users to access any data — RSS feeds, traffic, financial, weather, elections, tickers, promos, snipes, social media and more — and publish it on-air anywhere, anytime. The latest Channel Box² software includes a powerful, advanced point-and-click data tool that allows users to acquire data from many sources quickly and easily. The Channel Box sports data feed interface allows for the easy display of live TV sports data feeds from most major scoring systems.

Installed in the WBBH tech core along with a KVM station that facilitates operator use, the Channel Box² provides background graphics, weather information including current conditions and five-day forecasts, information from the local and national news crawls, and two DVE displays, one featuring the broadcaster’s live radar and the other providing news updates and other segments. The Chyron system supports instant updating of information, automatic switching to backup paths for information, instant routing of video sources, and remote automation control of program content and format.

“The Channel Box² system offers broadcasters an ideal solution for bringing richer branding and graphical elements into their live productions,” said Lou Garvin, senior product manager at Chyron. “As users at WBBH have demonstrated, the system allows broadcasters to revitalize their live programming with fresh graphics content and to enhance news and weather reporting with a variety of engaging and dynamic data-driven graphics.”

More information about Channel Box² and other Chyron products is available at http://www.chyron.com.

Chyron is on the move

Chyron is coming to a city near you! Come out and see us at the following events.

Live Video Workflow Seminar featuring NewTek, JVC, & Chyron
Varto Technologies
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (EST)
East Rutherford, NJ
Register Today

NewTek Factory Event – New Angles on Live Production
EAR Professional Audio Video
2641 East McDowell Rd.
Phoenix, AZ 85008
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
10 am-4 pm by Appointment Only (demos will last approximately 45 minutes)
Schedule Your Demo Now

NewTek Utah TriCaster Users Group
Weber State University
Studio 76 (basement of Stewart Library)
3848 Harrison Blvd. (at 38th St.)
Ogden, UT 84408
Thursday, January 31, 2013, 6-8 p.m.
Save Your Seat Now

Texas Legends NBA D-League Team Leverages ChyronIP to Bring Industry-Leading Graphics Capability to New Mobile Unit

MELVILLE, N.Y. — Jan. 29, 2013 — Chyron today announced that the Texas Legends, an NBA D-League team based in Frisco, Texas, has built the ChyronIP real-time HD/SD 2D and 3D character and graphics generator into a new best-of-breed mobile production trailer powered by NewTek equipment. Loaded with the features and functions offered by Chyron’s Lyric® PRO software, ChyronIP brings Chyron’s acclaimed full-motion, data-driven 3D graphics to the NewTek TriCaster live production system. As a result, Texas Legends’ basketball telecasts boast the same high-impact graphics typical of the world’s premier live sports broadcasts.

“ChyronIP gives us more robust capabilities and added flexibility in the overall graphics presentation of Legends’ broadcasts, ultimately resulting in more graphics and an enhanced on-air presence,” said Bill Boyce, president of the Texas Legends. “The seamless integration of ChyronIP with our NewTek TriCaster system allows us to leverage the consistency of Chyron’s Lyric software to match larger-scale broadcasts in the creation, storage, and playout of graphic content. The credibility we gain with such graphics adds significantly to our ability to generate greater revenues from Legends’ telecasts.”

The Texas Legends’ trailer was custom-designed by North Texas Trailers and Vantedge Sports Media. It features an internal green screen studio and a game-day studio with 200-square-foot fold-out stages, and a broadcaster desk that can be utilized inside or outside the studio. This unique studio allows users to emulate a TV broadcast studio or create an outdoor studio environment.

The mobile unit is powered by NewTek equipment including TriCaster and 3Play (replay) machines, as well as NewTek’s virtual studio software. Within this environment, the ChyronIP delivers key and fill signals via the TriCaster network interface, which gives producers two full HD or SD live full-motion channels of Chyron graphics without tying up any of the TriCaster’s video inputs. The Texas Legends added a second channel to the ChyronIP system to support streaming graphics.

Winner of the STAR Award (Superior Technology Award Recipient) at IBC2012, ChyronIP for TriCaster is a self-contained system that boasts a compact lightweight chassis. Users can simply plug it in and get to work. Those companies or production teams already working with Chyron graphics systems can employ ChyronIP to bring existing Chyron graphics into their productions.

“ChyronIP makes it easy for broadcasters working with NewTek TriCaster systems to incorporate dynamic animated elements and information-rich graphics into live productions,” said Kathy Power, senior vice president of worldwide sales at Chyron. “This powerful product pairing offers TriCaster users— from the largest media companies to local and regional sports production teams — a flexible graphics solution at an unprecedented price point.”

Don’t Miss Chyron at BES

Think Blue Highlights of 2012

From Thinking Blue around the globe at major industry events, to launching innovative products, to major client installations worldwide, to receiving key accolades from top industry publications — and everything in between — Chyron has had an exciting year and is pleased to share with you some of the highlights along the way.

January: Raycom is Thinking Blue! Dave Folsom, Raycom Media’s VP and CTO, is featured in Broadcast Engineering discussing the adoption of the Chyron BlueNet workflow across 31 of their news-producing stations.

February: Broadcasters everywhere bring social media commentary into their live broadcasts for the first time with SHOUT, our new easy-to-use social media editor debuted by TNT and TBS for the SAG Awards Coverage.

March: March product madness is in effect! Introducing the all-new MediaMaker, a turnkey graphics rendering solution for file-based workflows; ENGAGE, a second screen and social TV platform; and Shotbox for Lyric, an app that brings intuitive live graphics playout control to the iPad®

April: The Chyron booth is buzzing at yet another successful NAB show! Chyron ENGAGE is all the rage and earns a TV Technology STAR (Superior Technology Award Recipient) Award.

May: Great new graphics for the win! Chyron Creative Services and Phase 3 Productions — a TV, film, and multimedia production company based in Kingston, Jamaica — team up in overhauling TV broadcasts for the country’s Red Stripe Premier League (RSPL).

June: Roll out the red carpet! UK-based graphics company and a longtime Chyron client, MOOV Ltd, brings graphics fit for a queen to air using Chyron HyperX³ on-air graphics systems for the Diamond Jubilee honoring Queen Elizabeth.

July: Olympic fever is in the air! Chyron is chosen to provide 10 HyperX³·¹ on-air graphics playout systems to NBC Olympics during its production of the 2012 London Olympic Games, July 27-August 12, 2012.

August: Welcome HyperXLP, the newest member of the HyperX family. Ideal for live news, sports, and OB productions, HyperXLP is a dual-channel-capable broadcast graphics platform that sets a new standard for performance in a compact 1-RU design.

September: Chyron shines brightly (along with the sun for a change!) at IBC2012. Making its debut and winninga TV Technology Europe STAR (Superior Technology Award Recipient) Award, the all-new ChyronIP graphics system for NewTek’s TriCaster is a big hit!

October: ChyronIP travels abroad! Dubai-based MediaCast — a premier distributor of professional audio/video solutions ranging from broadcast, live-to-post, and on demand — signs on as the newest ChyronIP distributor in the Middle East.

November: Chyron’s own, Todd Martin, participates in a panel discussion titled, “Entertainment in the CLOUD,”at the Cloud Computing West business strategy summit in Santa Monica, CA on Nov. 8.

December: Chyron SHOUT just got a whole lot louder! Introducing SHOUT 2.5, the latest version of our easy-to-use social media editor, now boasting the ability to display images within social media messages and much more. Click here to find out how to get your free 30-day trial.

Tips N Tricks – Channel Box Weather Feed

 

Included in the Channel Box toolset is a weather feed applet that allows you to gather weather information from any location around the world. Follow these simple instructions to set up a weather feed feature for use in your Channel Box graphics.