Court TV has inked a deal with the artificial intelligence company Veritone to store and monetize its extensive library of archival legal content.
The channel, founded in 1991, boasts comprehensive coverage of many of the most historically significant trials in U.S. history.
Using Veritone’s “Digital Media Hub,” Court TV’s content will now be easily accessible to affiliate network stations, media professionals, partners and legal institutions.
“The interest and demand right now for, frankly, sensational legal cases is at an all time high, and Court TV is absolute leader there,” Veritone’s CEO Ryan Steelberg tells Deadline. “I think this is going to be a big win for them, and we’re honored to be a part of it as their technical partner.”
Veritone will also license Court TV’s content to filmmakers, documentarians and podcasters, in an effort to “capitalize on new revenue opportunities by offering its unique content to an even broader audience,” the company says.
This marks a continued effort by Veritone to tread into the film and television industry, after the company struck an agreement with top talent firm Creative Artists Agency to store clients’ digital assets. Through the deal, the company created what it coined the “CAAVault” — a synthetic media vault that will store all intellectual property related to all CAA talent’s name, image and likeness. This includes digital scans and voice recordings.
“We felt that we are shouldn’t be viewed as an adversary, as an AI company, but we should be viewed as a partner,” Steelberg said, adding the CAA deal was a “good decision” as it puts both parties on the cutting edge of a “transformation” in the entertainment industry.
Perhaps in a sign of the times, even the unions are eyeing deals with AI companies. SAG-AFTRA has announced several this year, which allow members to work with these companies to license their own digital replicas under terms the union has deemed appropriate.
Steelberg says the continued dealmaking with AI companies in Hollywood will require “education for all parties,” as many are still wary about the technology’s place in the industry.
“As we saw with CGI and some of the earlier computer graphics technologies, the industry grew significantly from that period of time,” he said. “Aare there areas that are going to be disproportionately impacted? Sure. Can we all predict exactly how the industry is going to change in terms of the labor side? Not necessarily, but I think if we work together, we should all expect a larger ecosystem here over the next few decades.”