feature automation & asset management
complexity. To truly add value, a business management system should be able to handle scheduling functions that are unique to VoD, such as asset packaging. In this instance, the broadcaster has the opportunity to package a series of titles together - for example, a package of movies featuring a certain award-winning actor - and make them available as a single, searchable offer.
The system should enable easy scheduling for content discovery eg scheduling a promotion for another movie that will be available the following month for a viewer that is watching a certain title. Also, the system should provide scheduling tools for offer management, enabling the scheduler to make a specific title available in as many programme classifications and packages as possible. For instance, a single VoD movie is made available on multiple menus such as ‘new releases’, ‘classics’, ‘children’s titles’, or ‘genre’ (eg fantasy) - and can be offered individually and/or as part of a ‘best movies from the director’ bundle.
Integrated inventory management
As shown in figure 1, a robust broadcast management system provides maximum flexibility by creating inventory collections called ‘sales products’ that reflect the characteristics of each platform and media type. In a nutshell, the sales product concept is a mechanism that focuses on the sales opportunity for one or more blocks of programming regardless of how it will be scheduled. Rates and viewing predictions are applied and aggregated to sales products which can be sold consistently with a common
aggregated view for measurement and unified billing.
As media companies re-engineer their operations to pursue new opportunities springing from the growth of ‘broader- casting’ and TV everywhere, they are recognising the
importance of cross-platform management systems that can grow and shift with changing business requirements.
In many ways, the sales product is even more effective for VoD than for linear television, due to the differences in methods for estimating audiences. Unlike linear TV, which bases audience estimates on statistical group samples provided by research systems like Nielsen, a VoD offering can be forecast much more precisely based on actual numbers of viewers who have downloaded a particular title in the past.
The inventory management system should provide the flexibility for broadcasters to offer combined campaigns that distribute programming across different platforms with different rates based on audience, spot rates or other metrics - but all managed within a single campaign with the convenience of a single invoice to the advertising customer. Also, the system should provide the flexibility to overlay secondary events in the schedule, such as sponsorships, product placements, and logos, together with spots.
Figure 2 describes a sample ad campaign that might be built around a programming grid for a live event that will include linear as well as non- linear elements. Within the sales product layer of the business management system, the traffic manager is able to define not only the type of ads for each service (eg commercial spots for linear as well as pre- and post-rolls for VoD, website banners, and in-stream ads on mobile devices), but also metrics for determining audience reach targets (eg 6.5 rating target for linear, five million clicks on the website, or 10,000 downloads on the VoD or mobile services).
Figure 2, describing a sample ad campaign that might be built around a programming grid for a live event that will include linear as well as non-linear elements. Within the sales product layer of the business management system, the traffic manager is able to define not only the type of ads for each service (eg commercial spots for linear as well as pre- and post-rolls for VoD, website banners, and in-stream ads on mobile devices), but also metrics for determining audience reach targets (eg 6.5 rating target for linear, five million clicks on the website, or 10,000 downloads on the VoD or mobile services).
Case study
One broadcaster has totally embraced the concept of integrated broadcast business management, allowing it to not only provide its customers with digital broadcasts but also advanced interactive television services. Recently, this satellite operator launched a new mobile delivery service for Apple iPhone and iPad users using Pilat Media’s IBMS:OnDemand, a multi-platform non-linear add-on module for Pilat’s integrated broadcast management system (IBMS). Customers can use their iPhones or iPads to schedule programmes for recording on their home DVRs, watch content streamed directly to the mobile devices, and recommend specific programmes to their friends via an interface with Facebook. IBMS and IBMS:OnDemand integrate with the satellite operator’s NDS solutions and Harmonic WFS (workflow system) to manage scheduling and distribution of VoD content within the operation’s non- linear delivery infrastructure. IBMS manages content acquisition, rights, scheduling, and ingest flow for each of the satellite operator’s non- linear platforms - enabling the broadcaster to create different business rules for each platform and handle specific features and needs. The IBMS:OnDemand module controls content ingest and creates playlists for the broadcaster’s content delivery network provider and mobile application provider. The system’s ability to create rich metadata associations for non-linear content makes it easy to mix and match titles at multiple hierarchical levels to enable delivery of compelling VoD packages and Internet services.
In summary
As media companies re-engineer their operations to pursue new opportunities springing from the growth of ‘broader-casting’ and TV everywhere, they are recognising the importance of cross-platform management systems that can grow and shift with changing business requirements. An effective business management system delivers results that are truly transformational - turning a broadcast organisation into a nimble, integrated operation that can not only adapt to unexpected programming changes, but also easily evolve its business model to keep pace with emerging media trends.
28 l ibe l january/february 2011 l
www.ibeweb.com
Continued from Page 26.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44