Founded with the purpose of delivering technology solutions for underserved broadcast and media markets, Tightrope Media Systems has notched up its quarter century emphasising solutions for digital signage and community media services.
The company first introduced video bulletin board and media retrieval software products in 1997. Within a few years, back when many PEG stations still relied on VHS tape, Tightrope established AxisCS (later rebranded as Cablecast) to manage emerging scheduling and automation functions that would help stations operate with greater efficiency. The company soon developed Carousel Digital Signage as a collaborative software tool for the K-12 education market. By the time digital signage began growing in popularity in the mid-2000s – due in part to the availability of affordable flat-panel displays.
Tightrope now comprises two dedicated divisions, Carousel Digital Signage and Cablecast Community Media. Carousel offers a cloud enterprise digital signage software platform with a dedicated Creative Services team, while Cablecast offers video delivery solutions for a variety of markets. That includes its core scheduling and playback solutions for PEG (public, educational, and government) channels, and growing cross-platform solutions for municipalities, schools, and businesses with self-managed streaming services.
Looking at the anniversary, JJ Parker, who cofounded Tightrope and continues to serve as CEO, credits the company’s longevity to its team values of compassion, clarity and continual improvement.
“Our mission has always been to help these stations, which usually have limited resources, serve their communities and become more sustainable and viable for the long run. Now that digital signage is a relatively mainstream product, Carousel has evolved to meet the needs of the modern market while staying true to our founding principles,” he remarked.
“It's a lot of work to keep a tech company going and innovating for 25 years. When it comes down to it, having the right people in the company that are willing to think outside the box, take risks, and trust each other is what makes it all work. It is about creating a safe environment for teamwork to happen and collaborating to create products that make a positive impact on our customers.
“The days of 3/4-inch and VHS playback are a distant memory but Cablecast has stayed true to its mission of evolving with its customers,” added Steve Israelsky, president of Cablecast Community Media. “Our current platform combines video servers with device control, live streaming, closed captioning, video-on-demand and delivering content to mobile apps and OTT. We have added exceptional functionality over time and with minimal impact on workloads.”
Tightrope now comprises two dedicated divisions, Carousel Digital Signage and Cablecast Community Media. Carousel offers a cloud enterprise digital signage software platform with a dedicated Creative Services team, while Cablecast offers video delivery solutions for a variety of markets. That includes its core scheduling and playback solutions for PEG (public, educational, and government) channels, and growing cross-platform solutions for municipalities, schools, and businesses with self-managed streaming services.
Looking at the anniversary, JJ Parker, who cofounded Tightrope and continues to serve as CEO, credits the company’s longevity to its team values of compassion, clarity and continual improvement.
“Our mission has always been to help these stations, which usually have limited resources, serve their communities and become more sustainable and viable for the long run. Now that digital signage is a relatively mainstream product, Carousel has evolved to meet the needs of the modern market while staying true to our founding principles,” he remarked.
“It's a lot of work to keep a tech company going and innovating for 25 years. When it comes down to it, having the right people in the company that are willing to think outside the box, take risks, and trust each other is what makes it all work. It is about creating a safe environment for teamwork to happen and collaborating to create products that make a positive impact on our customers.
“The days of 3/4-inch and VHS playback are a distant memory but Cablecast has stayed true to its mission of evolving with its customers,” added Steve Israelsky, president of Cablecast Community Media. “Our current platform combines video servers with device control, live streaming, closed captioning, video-on-demand and delivering content to mobile apps and OTT. We have added exceptional functionality over time and with minimal impact on workloads.”
