Venture-backed Digitalsmiths is teaming up with Time Warner Cable, the second largest player in that industry, to help cable TV viewers find shows they want to watch more easily than surfing through hundreds of channels.

In a deal announced at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas on Thursday, the Durham-based company announced deals with Time Warner and startup i.TV.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

Based on its proprietary means of analyzing digital data, Digitalsmiths can help users find entertainment based on their moods as well as themes, time periods, subjects and settings. The company also offers search capability based:

  • Personalized search
  • Personalized recommendations
  • Personalized browsing
  • Social popularity

“We are committed to providing our subscribers new and improved ways to discover content, and our partnership with Digitalsmiths will help us create better experiences for our customers,” said Mike Angus, senior vice president and general manager, video at Time Warner Cable.

“Seamless Discovery” technology from Digitalsmiths will be used as a “TV Everywhere” platform.

“Time Warner Cable and i.TV will leverage Digitalsmiths Seamless Discovery to roll out TV Everywhere discovery experiences that are personalized to the individual, unlike the combined household recommendations offered by other providers,” says DigitalSmith’s Marketing Manager Caitlin Hourigan. ”This allows mom and dad to view different sets of recommendations based on their unique viewing behavior and preferences, helping them find movies, TV shows and live events they’ll enjoy but might not have been aware of.”

Digitalsmiths notes that nearly 70 percent of pay-TV subscribers “frequently have trouble finding something to watch” despite multiple channels. 

“Service providers are looking for solutions that assist them in driving subscriber engagement and creating new ways for consumers to discover video,” said Digitalsmiths CEO Ben Weinberger in a statement announcing the deal. “Digitalsmiths unleashes the power of search and recommendations through a uniquely-personalized experience that benefits both subscriber engagement while providing cross selling and upselling opportunities for featured content.”

Time Warner will enable use of Digitalsmith’s search capabilities across multiple devices, not just cable boxes.