KCRG-TV9 owner invests in local company

Gray Television, the owner of KCRG-TV9 in Cedar Rapids, has made a $3 million equity investment in a Cedar Rapids technology company.

Syncbak, 1715 First Ave. SE, replicates over-the-air broadcasts for delivery over the Internet. The company's other investors include CBS, the National Association of Broadcasters and the Consumer Technology Association (formerly the Consumer Electronics Association).

Atlanta-based Gray was the first major television station group to deploy the Syncbak over-the-top system across all of its stations in 2013. With the investment, Jason Effinger, Gray chief digital and technology officer, has joined Syncbak's board of directors.

'Gray's forward-thinking approach was instrumental in helping us create a solution that is as simple to deploy in New York as it is in Glendive, Mont.,' said Jack Perry, founder and CEO of Syncbak, in a news release. 'We are honored to have Gray, a clear market leader and innovator, as an investor in our company.'

Gray owns and operates television stations and leading digital assets in markets throughout the United States. With the completion of pending acquisitions and divestments, the company will own and/or operate television stations reaching 94 percent of the nation's television households.

Syncbak previously had raised $15.35 million of funding in three rounds, according to CrunchBase of San Francisco, which tracks investments in technology companies.

Syncbak's technology is deployed in more than 180 television stations across 150 markets, representing 51 broadcast groups and all major networks, including CBS, ABC, FOX, NBC and The CW.

Perry launched Syncbak in 2009 with a dozen investors. He was previously CEO of TitanTV, which recently emerged from corporate ownership to become an independently-owned technology company with its headquarters in Cedar Rapids.