broadcast technology trends and insights 2015
How to rapidly launch new channels and services and reduce your overall operational cost
Michel Beke
SVP Product Strategy , MediaGeniX
How would you go about rapidly launching new channels and services , without multiplying your operational cost ? A telling case in point is that of an international media network that made a clean sweep . It did away with its legacy systems and the inherent complexity , and rebuilt its broadcast architecture from scratch with the scheduling system as the central driver .
When the project was initiated , operations were spread over 25 different broadcast environments all over the world . Growth ambitions were restricted by the fact that operations were complex and costly , with six different playout systems for 10 channels . The global media network knew that every time it adds a new channel or service , it would just multiply its operational cost . All the information had to be stored into multiple systems that did not interact , which was the legacy of mergers and acquisitions .
CHALLENGE The network needed a futureproof environment that could adapt to the changing business
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and technology and enables it to roll out new channels and services in a cost-effective way , and in a matter of weeks or even days .
OBJECTIVES The objectives were clear . Firstly , the company needed to centralise their operations and share content , whether that content is delivered on linear channels , on-demand or online . Let ’ s say you have an animated series that has the potential to attract viewers in many countries . The basic content would always be the same , but you would want to broadcast it in many languages and with countless repeats . Imagine delivering this content with 10 different systems
Diagram showing the entire workflow of the broadcast management software WHATS ’ On , which allows for easy launching of new channels or set-up of additional , cost-effective on-demand services , while optimising workflow and infrastructure . in , say , 10 countries . Without content sharing , that means keying in the same information 100 times .
The network was also looking to install a non-sequential workflow , where people can proceed with their job as and when the information and materials become available . Systems would provide an overview of the workflow and everybody would know what they are responsible and accountable for .
In the old days , a great number of decisions had to be made in the playout environment . But if the material is not present , what do we broadcast instead ? What graphics do we position where ? The information was either on a local Excel file or in somebody ’ s head . That is not a scalable business . To grow , you need control . So they wanted to push responsibilities and decisions upstream from the operational to the strategic level , such as the channel managers and the owners of the brand , so that these people could define the look and feel of their channel .
From a technical point of view , the dream was to have a ‘ simple ’ set-up with off-the-shelf products that were adapted to their specific workflows and business needs , but not too many systems . Standardisation was very important to them , because ‘ special ’ versions are expensive to change and adapt to future needs .
They also wanted playout to be a hands-off operation , sufficing with one playout technician for 50-100 channels .
Another priority was tight integration . That is how you achieve efficiency — making sure that all the systems work together and all information need only be keyed in once and can then be maintained for all the systems .
LEARNINGS So what can we learn from this project ? Start from scratch . This way you can make decisions based on your business plan and not on the history of systems inherited from the past . Stick to the base product , only adapting it to the business model to ensure flexible running . Work from back to front . Start downstream , with playout , playlist preparation , content preparation , rights management decisions . And whenever you think a particular decision can be made upstream , implement the upstream process , introduce new departments to the system and set up the flow accordingly . Be business-driven . Business decisions should not be made at an operational level . It is the brand managers who define the target audience , the way to address that audience . Do not let exceptions dictate the rules . Do all the normal operations as automatically as possible . And if there are exceptions , do them manually . Is it worth spending 100 days of development for something that happens once or twice a year ? Be open to supplier input .
RESULTS The result of the new architecture with the new software solution was nothing less than spectacular . The future-proof end-to-end channel management system enabled the customer to launch 50 additional channels after two years , in 18 different languages , efficiently dealing with complex multilingual feeds . Even with the launch of all these channels , it managed to reduce the operational cost by 60 %.
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