• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, March 2, 2009

Digital video platform provider Grab Networks is expected to relaunch its production suite, Agility 2G, on Tuesday.

"Simply put, we're an operating system that connects videos with viewers," said Bill Holding, president of Grab Networks' Anystream division, which serves media companies with software to produce, manage and monetize video. "Agility is the engine room behind getting videos out to various platforms."

Geared for video pre-processing, encoding, delivery and data reporting, the suite has been redesigned to accommodate more diverse client demands. The previous Agility platform helped NBC Universal encode some 2,600 hours of programming to over 16 on-demand destinations during the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games. But it wasn't easy, according to Holding.

"People don't understand that it takes hours and hours and hours to get video onto the Web," he said. "Production alone isn't the sexiest thing, but if it's not improved, it holds up the whole economics of online video."

Agility 2G, therefore, has been redesigned to streamline the production process, and support new challenges, like high-definition video, and real-time delivery. Officially formed last October, Grab Networks was born out of the merger between encoding technology company Anystream and content network Voxant.

For publishers and advertisers, Grab Networks now offers a library of ad-friendly licensed content, coupled with a broad syndication platform.

Grab now claims some two million licensed assets from over 400 news, entertainment, and sports content partners, combined with a network of 40,000-plus affiliates worldwide.

Other clients include Hearst-Argyle TV, HSN, BT, Red Bee Media, NFL Films, Speed Channel, Scripps, Showtime, Rainbow, Sony Pictures, and Accuweather.

In addition, the new platform aims to accommodate publishers with more modest video production volumes to deploy a reduced scale version, and to make their content available in a range of online channels. New pricing and packaging options are also available.