The Integrated Media Enterprise:

A Framework for the Future Media Enterprise Straker Coniglio, Sr. Market Solutions Manager for Broadcast, Avid

Challenges for today’s workflow

Acquisition, post production and distribution have all seen a large amount of technical advancements in recent years. But for many the underlying workflow from idea creation to end-user consumption has remained similar since the early days of television. Content is shot, edited and then a master is sent for transmission. This was fine when revenue sources from advertising supported this, but nowadays the commercial landscape is changing and we need to make sure we can be smarter to fully exploit our assets and work in a joined up way. Adapting to new ways to manage our workflow using an Integrated Media Enterprise framework or IME provides an opportunity to address these issues.

The Integrated Media Enterprise (IME) framework can be summed up in a few key phrases. Firstly it provides a modular and open approach as well as ensuring total visibility of media assets and their value, allowing these assets to be easily repurposed and monetised. Secondly it integrates all of the ingest, production, archive and distribution operations of the enterprise through standards based web services, maximising efficiency and collaboration. It sounds simple, but why are these changes necessary?

Changes in workflow and media

Today, the idea creation process begins with multiple distribution opportunities in mind, not just traditional linear TV. A concept for content creation is no longer limited to the realm of professional producers, dramatically expanding the range of participants in content creation. Workflow has evolved from a linear process of hand-offs to a collaborative process that happens in parallel. Re-purposing for multiple outlets has moved from an afterthought to something central to the production. Processes such as version control and media relationship tracking are now centralised. This presents additional coordination challenges when different pieces of multi-platform content must be tightly integrated properties to provide consumers with a rich media experience.

As the workflow has changed, so have the media formats. Production pipelines that used to be designed around a single media format must now handle a proliferation of formats as well as manage the relationships between them. These can range from professional quality HD film cameras to consumer grade 2 Mega-pixel mobile phone cameras.

24

Customer Apps

Management Rights

Content Creation

Distribution Archive Collaboration

Changes in distribution

Additional distribution channels represent additional revenue as well as additional complexity and cost. Preparing material for distribution on multiple platforms including broadcast, mobile, web, social media, Blu-ray disc and IP requires specialist tools and operators for each platform. This represents a significant financial challenge. Moreover, the monetisation opportunity of each of these different delivery methods varies as audiences splinter and time is divided between platforms. Advertising revenue alone is not enough to support all of these distribution outlets, thus a massive reorientation of the broadcast enterprise is necessary.

The Integrated Media Enterprise What is it?

The Integrated Media Enterprise is a business and technology framework supported by distributed workflows and open web services. Some of its central characteristics include: • Integrated media operations from acquisition and post-production to archive and distribution, enabling collaboration across the extended enterprise and driving operational efficiency and transparency.

• Complete visibility into the organisation’s media assets and the assigned value of that media through an open media catalogue.

• Modular open architecture that allows the enterprise to respond quickly to new opportunities

The framework has a number of central elements: The Integrated Media Enterprise

Media Catalog

Rich Media

• An Open Media Catalogue. This is the central repository of all metadata

• A Rich Media Repository. This is the repository of the assets themselves.

• Common Media Exchange requiring engines for rapid media exchange using common protocols within or across platform components.

• Integrated Tools. These provide the means by which users engage to perform tasks such as ingest management, logging, cataloging,

DIGITAL OPPORTUNITIES