The need for accuracy in broadcast

What does accuracy mean? We commonly define accuracy as the quality or state of being exact or precise. But how does it relate to broadcast? This year, a lot of our solutions being presented at NAB are accuracy related. Therefore, we thought it’d be interesting to highlight the need for accuracy in broadcasting and what we mean by it.

Provide the right content

We know that the value of content is one fundamental principle for those in the industry. When we speak about the urgent need to provide more engaging content to viewers, we all understand what means the value of these assets.

Take, for example, the incredibly large amounts of money spent on television deals, especially in sports. In the early 2000s, Premier League broadcasting rights amounted to around £1 billion; now they’ve more than doubled, totaling around £5 billion.
All rights bidders, including social media and networking companies such as Twitter and Facebook, are fighting for content that they know will appeal to audiences.
It means that broadcasters and content owners are all looking for – and fighting over – original and exclusive programmes to attract and retain audiences.

But for this you need quality content in the first place. Several factors come into play like the video format and the resolution, as well as metadata among others.
Ensuring the quality of the content, from receiving it to delivering it is a key objective for Globecast. We understand the demands of our customers to rapidly access their content, at the lower rates, and to be able to deliver it anywhere and anytime.
GCXN, which is our offering to distribute content via the public internet, will be one of the solutions presented at NAB. Secure and flexible, GCXN allows content owners to access to their content and send it to another platform anywhere in the world, at a considerably lower cost.

Provide the right content to the right market

Anywhere, anytime. As mentioned earlier, content owners want to make their content available globally.
But to do that, the content will very likely need to be edited to meet specific compliance criteria. Different countries have different sets of norms and codes. You need to ensure that your content respects these cultural specificities before delivering it abroad. Our creative services are dedicated to making sure this happens.

Content programming is also an important point to mention, and this is where our playout services come in. With cloud playout, we help broadcasters reach new international markets by managing their content and schedules and helping them to rapidly launch new channels. You can accurately test a new channel in new countries over a defined period and then just shut it down without having to deal with traditional financial limitations. In other words, we help our customers create value with far less CAPEX when reaching new markets.

At the same time, getting your content to the right markets can be difficult for a single channel. So with our CAAD solution (Content Acquisition Aggregation and Delivery), we help broadcasters reach countries, regions or partners that are relevant so you can target a market without wasted effort.

Provide the right content to the right markets on the right platforms

Today, we’ve all heard about the shift to non-linear. We discussed in a previous article if traditional TV was dead and we came to the conclusion that TV was profitable and still offered significant revenue opportunities.

TV might not be dead, but viewing habits have certainly changed. Viewers access video on multiple devices, which means content strategies that allow content to be accessed on those devices must be considered. You can broadcast a real-time, live video on your channel, share some of it on social media to engage audiences, but also make it available on your OTT platforms.

There is no doubt that OTT services are growing fast. According to Digiday UK, “OTT revenues will reach half of pay-TV revenue by 2022”.
On the other hand, it’s true that more video content is now available on social media platforms. In the US for instance, Facebook recently signed a deal with Major League Baseball, providing the social network with exclusive rights to broadcast the seasons’ games.
We can all see the numerous opportunities for content monetization strategies across different platforms.

Globecast liveSpotter, our live-to-VOD packaged content service, reflects the massive interest in publishing video across social media platforms. Our tool allows broadcasters to rapidly create short-form video content from a live feed and then instantly share it on social media. We understand the need for our customers to grow digital audiences and increase engagement, but also to develop new monetization models.

In this continuously evolving landscape, broadcasters must understand where their audiences are and how they want to access content. At Globecast, we’re continually meeting customer demands and assisting them in developing new revenue models.
Come see us at NAB this year to discuss how we help our customers answer their needs and the wants of their clients with accuracy.