Broadcast Management Systems: Moving Just in Time Further up the line

InBroadcast

BMS solutions are powering dynamic changes and individualised delivery to different audiences

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Broadcasting is shifting from a ‘create one distribute to many’ to a narrowcasting model in which multiple variations of content are created for distribution to different groups, platforms and ultimately individuals. The Broadcast Management System (BMS) is an essential component in this evolution required to streamline and automate workflows. Content is being delivered directly to the consumer as OTT, on social media, or in packages sold to third-party platforms. Pop-up channels are created for specific audiences and events.

This shift impacts every area of the media business – the nature and structure of IP rights, the scheduling of media and how advertising packages are put together and sold. However, the change has not been a ‘big bang’ and while BMS vendors are increasingly implementing digital first solutions, traditional linear television still represents the largest revenue source for many of their customers.

“The key to supporting our customers through this change has been to provide them with a suite of applications and solutions that can handle both broadcast and narrowcast, non-linear and linear in a single application,” says Sina Billhardt, product manager, Arvato Systems. “This is combined with automation in workflows to mitigate extra workload from the additional variations and an approach to delivering software and solutions that anticipate and can accommodate future shifts and opportunities without knowing the detail of what they might be.”

According to Geert Van Droogenbroeck, marketing manager for MediaGenix, the changes make it essential for operators to recommend content based on usage. “Algorithms are written to track viewing preferences and content is personalised based on this information. Metadata becomes all important in creating sufficient relevant tags to define preference in ever greater detail. AI is being used to process large amounts of data in a meaningful way on a unique user level.”

He adds, “The more sophisticated this becomes, the more personal the service will be as the UI will be different for each user. Added complexity comes when a service needs to take into account both what a user is watching in a linear / catch up environment and an on-demand environment.”

Another challenge is that the content has to adapt to the destination communication devices, not just technically, but also from an editorial point of view. Facebook’s long form story format needs to be different viewed on web site or a connected TV.  “The changes have a huge impact on content itself,” says Droogenbroeck. “Traditional players have become more creative in how they package content for a target group. They split content into smaller parts that fit social and on-demand media, repackage seasons into different themes or add bonus content for the true fan.

“Media companies need to be able to slice and dice content for use on different platforms,” he says. “They need to manage rights for new versions of content that are assembled from many existing content parts. They will also want to present existing content in new and different ways, and group titles into collections for selling, planning or re-packaging. This requires a flexible content-centric system and quick editorial decisions that rely on a powerful management of media and material workflows and of complex rights and underlying rights and royalties.”

The BMS should therefore assist producers, curators and schedulers in managing this complexity and make it simple to connect the right audience to the right content version.

“Unfortunately, the total revenues of the market remain flat or show only a limited growth and broadcasters have to survive with lower incomes per channel,” points out Michal Stehlik, director - product development, Provys. “This leads to an increased pressure on the automation of all processes associated with each individual distribution channel.”

Provys believe that this automation process is possible only when it is built on a strong foundation of content and rights libraries, regardless of the type and coverage of the channel. The key to success, it asserts, is finding the right content to offer, efficiently utilising all available rights and using information to support further content procurement or production.

“This is why we think BMS is a key system for transformation from a linear channel broadcaster to a content centric, multichannel operator,” says Stehlik. “We guarantee that Provys is the right solution to support this transformation.”

Just In Time assembly

In general, it is more efficient to package the channel for delivery at the end of the broadcast technology chain – a strategy which supports efficient reuse of content. The time when commercial breaks were compiled onto a single tape, subtitles burnt into the picture and audio tracks recorded together with the picture, are over. Today, playout automation assembles all the necessary pieces ‘just in time’ (JIT) with graphics rendered during playout and no need to use post production resources.

“It is now possible to introduce changes just a few minutes before transmission and produce multiple feeds with different branding from a single media,” says Stehlik. “From the BMS system perspective, we first define the rules and then schedule individual elements as separate objects. We expect that more and more broadcasters will discover the beauty and power of the information kept in our system which enables an enhanced, individualised experience for viewers of the future.”

In many ways, scheduling applications used in broadcast environments have been applying a just-in-time methodology for a while. Placeholders are commonly used for content that is not yet available while workorders, analogous to those used in manufacturing production processes, are sent to Media Asset Management systems to ingest/create/produce the media.

“The key to making this work is tight integration between the MAM and BMS systems and an understanding in the workings of both,” says Billhardt. “This is not common in the industry as few vendors offer solutions in both areas and on the user side, solutions are often specified and implemented by different departments. It’s an area where Arvato Systems offers a unique and valuable perspective.”

Looking a little way into the future, there’s work in progress to extend the Interoperable Mastering Format (IMF) specification for advertising. According to Billhardt this has potential to move the JIT assembly process even closer to the consumer and presents some really significant opportunities to further push the boundaries on ad sales.

Stream Circle, maker of the eponymous TV automation platform, also anticipates that the future lies in network streaming to narrow groups of viewers “provided that we know their exact profiles,” says CEO Josef Vasica.

Stream Circle works with raw content and, using its own graphics engine, “is able to assemble the final stream at the very last moment in the light of the latest available information,” says Vasica.
“Our system functions on the basis of a generic programme definition which is then enhanced by secondary events, graphics, ads, self-promos, etc. strictly on a JIT principle.

“IBC2018 can expect to see our latest multi-layered playout functions with all the latest and greatest features of IP-based television,” he adds.

Live sports programmes are at the forefront of just-in-time content assembly, as small segments are created from the live event and used quickly.  Catch-up and on-demand follow the linear programme with ever shorter delay. A soccer match can be available on-demand in a matter of minutes after a game has ended.

ProConsultant Informatique (PCI), which refers to its BMS (called LOUISE) as a Business Management Solution, says the BMS must be integrated with Business Process Management (BPM) tools to manage the workflow’s operations and tasks and to bring significant operational efficiency to media customers.

“Non-linear platforms are going to be more and more specialised, addressed to precise targeted individuals or groups, based on their characteristics, with multiple variations of content,” says PCI’s Laurence Thill.

“In this framework, LOUISE is providing integrated functionalities to manage these different variations and to personalise the specific content addressed to the individuals and/or groups of final viewers. Media companies using LOUISE will be able easily combine all of this information in order to precisely adjust and feed, non-linear platforms with the appropriate content addressed to viewers.”

Cleary, all of this must be done in compliance with the rights and rules associated with each content. Since the rise of non-linear platforms has significantly changed the rights management needs for broadcasters, PCI will introduce at IBC2018, a fully integrated module within LOUISE, which enables users to manage the sale and/or re-sale of rights to third parties.

International media groups are centralising their content in a global content management system so that it is ready to be shared by channels and platforms across the globe. As the media asset management in MediaGenix’ WHATS’ON pilots all video, audio and subtitle flows, the content is ready to be shared by all channels in whichever region, platform, version or language the content is needed.

Swiss public broadcaster RTS can, for instance, automatically create clips for fast publication online.  WHATS’ON users open the frame-accurate player from their WHATS’ON screen and set markers segmenting the content.  This facilitates its distribution on any platform while tracking the various rights on every individual segment of the content. The system informs users about rights problems and the additional costs for clearing the content.

At IBC2018, Mediagenix promises to deliver on a new concept of content itself – one that “breaks down the barriers between interstitials and products, episodes and programmes, but also between media and nonmedia content, such as derived products, apps, books, entertainment events.”

This will apparently make it even easier in What’s On to split content up, assemble new content with constituent parts, schedule additional content, present it in alternate ways, and group titles into collections for selling, planning or repackaging.

“The whole exploitation lifecycle will be managed in an integrated way. With ‘Flights’ you will not need more than one scheduling action for multiple publication windows on multiple services and platforms,” he says. “Ultra-dynamic publication with one click of the mouse.”

For IBC, Arvato is focusing on “programmatic advertising” and bringing the best of online and digital advertising to traditional TV. “With linear still providing strong revenues for broadcasters and brand safety for their advertisers, by combining big data on audience insights with smart, automated placement optimisation, our customers are able to offer advertisers accurate targeting and reduce waste by controlling reach and frequency on linear channels for the first time,” explains Billhardt. “Alongside metadata-driven automated scheduling, we’ll also be demonstrating how the placement optimisation algorithms in our S4AdOpt application can now also be applied to promos, increasing viewer numbers and providing further revenue opportunities for our customers.”