Taking a hard look at operations
Mar 9, 2009 8:49 AM, By Michael Grotticelli
Harris OSI-Traffic application makes data exchange and workflow more efficient while supporting multichannel broadcasts in HD and SD.
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There’s an old business adage that when times get tough, the smartest businesses spend money to shore up their infrastructure and examine what they are doing right or wrong in delivering goods to the marketplace.
That also appears to be the case in the broadcast industry, where large media companies have been looking hard at how they can make their technology and resources more productive. In addition to staff reductions and centralized operations, they’re doing this by investing in software-based administration platforms that help identify, allocate and execute projects in a way that makes the most financial sense.
In previous years media companies like ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC and the larger independent station groups would have hired their own IT professionals to write special code and develop custom applications that help figure out the best way to move content around a facility (or group of facilities) and schedule staff to make their operations more productive. This has become prohibitively expensive for almost everyone these days.
Instead, media organizations are turning to vendors that market a variety of sophisticated business management applications to handle the multifaceted job of “asset allocation” and resource management. The software programs accomplish this through various machine control methods and task-driven process analysis, as well as by leveraging metadata that describes how the media has been recorded, when it can be used, and who has access to it. This last part extends to consumer use and protects copyrighted material from unwanted use. It also helps broadcasters and content distributors verify when programs and commercial spots aired — thereby generating the most revenue.
Online access
Virtually all of these applications can be accessed via a Web browser from any desktop or laptop, anywhere in the world. This results in a powerful way for operations managers to keep a close watch on how a company is functioning and where cost efficiencies can be realized. They also enable users to quickly and cost-effectively launch new services, when they make sense, which can lead to new revenue streams.
The Discovery Channel is in the process of digitizing archived content stored on 1.3 million videotapes. This is a massive undertaking that requires large amounts of automation, file organization and sophisticated software applications working in sync with dozens of transcoders. The goal is clear. Once the content is digitized, it can be easily accessed and repurposed. Using metadata managed by a series of applications from TransMedia Dynamics called Mediaflex, the network can easily organize the physical media and its related digital files, while making the essence of those files available to editors and producers who use them for future projects.
“In these challenging times, media companies are looking hard at their businesses and trying to find new ways to save cost while still getting the job done that they need to,” said Tony Taylor, chairman/CEO of TransMedia Dynamics. “We’re finding that our business solutions are more important to the company’s bottom line than some of the new hardware technology these companies are deploying right now.”
Focus on what broadcasters do best
Pilat Media is another supplier of software solutions for managing media businesses. Many large corporations are using its Integrated Broadcast Management System (IBMS) and MediaPro software platforms to help improve business performance by streamlining the handling of programming, advertising sales and overall media operations.
The CBS Network, for example, is using the solution at its master control facility in New York City, according to John Larrabee, vice president of North American sales for Pilat. He said that the network saved millions of dollars by choosing Pilat’s products instead of writing its own code.
“I think that at the end of the day broadcasters realize that they are not in the software writing business and that they need to stay focused on their core business of content creation and delivery,” said Larrabee. “Networks can’t afford to waste time and money when all they really want to do is make their operations more efficient.”
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