MISTV – The latest developments in managing rights and royalties

MISTV – The latest developments in managing rights and royalties

Libor Adamek, CEO, MISTV

As the broadcasting business becomes more and more focused on efficiency – as is the case in all industries – changes in the administration of rights and royalties are not fundamental in their nature but are generally motivated by economic effectiveness. For a number of years, broadcasters have focused on maintaining as small an inventory of purchased rights as possible; currently there is increasing focus on this to further drive economic efficiency. However, this minimalization still has to provide the necessary flexibility to enable changes in broadcast planning so that broadcasters can react to competitors in order to achieve the best, or desired, position in the market by using the inventory in the most effective way. In the case of commercial broadcasters, they also have to secure the flexibility to respond to the market situation with the aim of maximizing their revenue.

This is important to both broadcasters and content distributors. As the broadcasting business becomes more and more global and a corporate business, the number of rights purchases made internationally – when one deal is done for multiple countries – is growing dramatically. In parallel to this evolution is significant diversification of broadcasting towards specific audiences represented by many new thematic channels in addition to the traditional ones for the general audience. This trend echoes the boom of non-linear (VOD) platforms for content distribution. All these changes and developments of the broadcast industry result in much more detailed and exactly-specified license costs and all other expenses related to rights acquisition and their use, as well as license conditions’ definition and evidence.

The most visible changes in the field of rights purchases and their administration are flexible conversion and compensational runs. These provide broadcasters with a wide range of possibilities on how to minimize costs and further improve content scheduling effectiveness of thematic channels with quite a small audience when compared to the general audience, but quite well targeted from the content as well as from the commercial point of view. The compensational runs allow multiple runs on the thematic channels instead of just one as is the case for general audience ones. Conversion runs are even more flexible, allowing back and forth changes in the number of runs on the basis of conversion ratios, which are generally based on the average shares of particular channels. As I see it, this is a quite fair and logical solution from the rights pricing point of view, but I also know that it may become quite challenging from the administration and evidence point of view: this is the result of the fluidity of conversion and compensational runs. Based on my experience and feedback from our users, I am glad to say that we have managed to handle this challenging matter in MISTV® MIRA quite well to our clients’ satisfaction.

This also goes hand in hand with the fact that the subsequent resale of rights acquired by one broadcaster is a becoming daily occurrence rather than a rare situation. I believe that this is caused by the changes of approach on both sides. The distributors are doing their best to sell as much of their content as possible using the most lucrative titles they have. These are therefore sold almost exclusively in various large packages which include rights for other content the distributors have in their portfolio, but which would be quite hard to sell on their own. It is not because it would be expensive, but generally because there are huge amounts of similar kinds of content from the broadcaster’s point of view. As the broadcasters are trying to minimize their expenses for content rights, this is one of the ways to achieve this task to mutual satisfaction.

Broadcasters are nowadays also focusing on optimization and in certain cases minimization of the payments for royalties as they can represent a non-negligible part of their costs. This is happening not only in respect to the different approach to linear and non-linear broadcasting, or let’s say content distribution, but also in respect to the thematic channels versus the traditional ones for the general audience. This can mean usage of different clip versions with respect to the music actually used in a movie or series for broadcasting compared to the original.

Our solution MISTV® MIRA is a modern broadcast management system based on latest and best workflow practices, and fully supports and covers needs and workflows related to the challenges covered in this article.

Matrix Solutions – The future of advertising sales: adapting to change and building success

Matrix Solutions – The future of advertising sales: adapting to change and building success

Mark Gorman, CEO, Matrix Solutions

Current trends in television advertising spend

Global television advertising revenue is expected to reach $132.4 billion in 2023, according to Statista. While this is down slightly from 2022, it still represents a significant investment by advertisers.

One of the key trends in television advertising spend is the shift to connected TV (CTV). CTV ad spending is expected to reach $26 billion in 2023, and will grow to be 50% the size of linear TV ad spending by the end of 2024.

Another trend is the rise of advanced TV advertising. Advanced TV advertising uses data and technology to target viewers more precisely and measure the effectiveness of ad campaigns more accurately. Advanced TV ad spending is expected to reach $29.59 billion in 2023, which is an increase of 22.3% from 2022.

 

The need for greater efficiency in advertising sales teams

The shift to CTV and advanced TV advertising is creating new challenges for advertising sales teams. These teams need to be able to sell and manage a wider range of ad products across a more complex ecosystem. They also need to be able to measure the results of their campaigns more accurately.

This is where Matrix Solutions can help. Matrix provides a centralised platform for managing all aspects of the advertising sales process, from planning and forecasting to order management and reporting. This solution, named Monarch, is meticulously designed to address the intricate needs of modern media advertising, embracing diverse channels such as linear, digital, addressable, programmatic, FAST, and more.

Monarch is a robust revenue management engine offering native workflows, reports, and dashboards that furnish a comprehensive view of historical, current, and future data. Its business analysis capabilities are instrumental in driving the monetization of the entire product portfolio.

Monarch’s primary strength lies in its proprietary master data management (MDM) cleansing workflow. This innovative feature efficiently aggregates, cleanses, and normalizes all revenue data, ensuring that organizations can attain a holistic and accurate view of advertiser or agency spending, even when dealing with disparate data sources.

Key Monarch Reports:

  1. New Business Continuation – identifies churn and growth trends with new business accounts. Utilizes intelligent logic to categorize accounts, aiding in understanding the lifetime value of a client.
  2. Sales Coverage Analysis – a strategic tool for sales teams to assess spending allocations of accounts, providing insights by market or channel – enabling more targeted sales efforts.
  3. Sales Productivity – allows leadership to evaluate sales members’ activity levels, correlating activities with successful deal closures, optimizing performance.
  4. Account Growth – Leveraging analytics, industry inputs, and economic trends to identify accounts requiring acquisition, growth or retention strategies. A proactive approach to managing the client base.

In addition to its core capabilities and in-depth analytics, Monarch delivers exceptional value across various dimensions of media ad-inventory sales and management.

  • Account/Agency Management – facilitates comprehensive account management from Holding Company through Brand relationships.
  • Account Operations – Addresses the entire spectrum from cost of client acquisition to pitch-to-pay tracking, retention, and growth analysis.
  • Revenue Management – Provides cross-platform, unified portfolio revenue management for a cohesive approach.
  • Native Media Reports, Dashboards and Alerts – Delivers intuitive and native reports, dashboards and alerts for informed decision making.

Given the shift to CTV and advanced TV advertising, Monarch stands as a game-changer in the realm of media ad-inventory sales and management. Its comprehensive suite of tools, coupled with advanced analytics and reporting capabilities, empowers organizations to navigate the complexities of the modern advertising landscape, driving monetization, profitability, and sustainable growth. Monarch is not just a tool; it’s a strategic ally in the pursuit of advertising revenue growth.

Mark Gorman is the CEO of Matrix Solutions, a leading provider of ad sales technology. He is a recognised expert in the field of sales technology and one of the founders of the Media Ad Sales Summit. He is a passionate advocate for the use of technology to improve sales performance and has been instrumental in developing and marketing a number of innovative sales solutions. Mr. Gorman is a regular speaker at industry conferences and events and has been featured in many leading industry publications, including, Cynopsis, CIO, and Nexttv.

LTN – Harnessing IP technology to drive greater monetization potential

LTN – Harnessing IP technology to drive greater monetization potential

Michal Miskin-Amir, EVP, Development

Despite macro-economic challenges, media companies across the value chain are under pressure to juggle technology experimentation with new business models and source revenue streams.

For media leaders to adapt quickly to evolving consumer habits, emerging viewing models, and new digital platforms, they need the technological flexibility to launch fresh services, reach new platforms, and grow their audiences.

Although it may all seem daunting, every challenge has a solution, and in this case, IP-based technology is holding the key and enabling media companies to deliver high-value content to their audiences. Striking now will be pivotal to long-term business success.

Taking control of your media destiny with the right tech provider
IP technology has seen a rapid rise in recent years, and it is showing no signs of slowing down.

Powering a diverse and robust ecosystem of proprietary media solutions requires investment and integration with the existing tech infrastructure. However, with the right tech partner, media companies can enjoy the benefits of continuous innovation, keeping quality and reliability at the forefront without the tech headaches.

A partner-driven approach can help solve big-picture challenges and deliver real business outcomes. The right partner will have a core philosophy to push the boundaries and support business needs. Media companies will be able to leverage the power of IP to unlock new revenue streams.

How flexible IP technology helps navigate the complexity

Today, major organizations harness IP every day for global transmission of high-value full-time channels and live events.  IP-based transmission is now more than just an effective and logical alternative to legacy satellite and fiber models. It’s also a transformational step to unlocking greater customization and content versioning opportunities.

With a scalable and flexible multicast IP transport network at the heart of any business strategy, media companies will benefit from a seamless delivery of multiple channel derivatives and tailored versions of content. These content versions can then be distributed to OTT, FAST, and other digital platforms, enabling content owners to reach new audiences and grow critical revenue streams. As the industry becomes more digital, transitioning to IP will be key to tapping into such monetization opportunities.

At the same time, IP and cloud-based innovation are breaking the boundaries by supporting the versioning and regionalization of valuable live sports content at scale. Delivering media customization at scale and managing increased complexity requires flexible, interoperable technology. An intelligent IP network enables seamless connectivity in and out of public cloud or data center environments as required — supporting any distribution model and individual requirements.

Navigating the dynamic future of television isn’t about building and selling shiny walled garden technologies — it’s about unifying siloed workflows and driving efficiencies for media leaders to focus on creativity.

Shaping the future of television today

As new trends emerge and industry commentators speculate on the evolving future of television, innovation should never be driven by technology for technology’s sake. New disruptive technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) are powerful tools to help drive operational efficiencies, unlock new media customization potential, and support the advancement of workflows.

But, there needs to be a great focus on the importance of trust and accountability. Content owners need to know that their service providers handle valuable media properties with dedication, professionalism, and best-in-class technology. Through proactive monitoring, advanced tooling, and troubleshooting, their issues can be dealt with before they become an observable problem.

As our industry accelerates into the new world of digital media, content customization remains the pivotal technology challenge – and business opportunity – facing major broadcasters, rights holders, and streaming organizations. IP-based transmission is the essential foundational layer to enabling fine-grain media customization at a global scale. With unique proprietary technology and deep market expertise, the right technology partner will be key to this success.

 

 

Limecraft – AI Subtitling at SVT in Sweden

Limecraft – AI Subtitling at SVT in Sweden

Key take-aways

  • SVT has committed to a digital-first strategy, with 95% of content being subtitled.
  • Circa 1200 named users.
  • 7500 items per month adding up to 500 hours of short-form content.
  • 5000 hours of manual work saved per month.
  • Limecraft seamlessly integrated into the Avid production environment.

The Customer
SVT (Sveriges Television AB) is Sweden’s national public TV broadcaster, serving Sweden’s population of just over 10.6M with a mix of news and entertainment programming. SVT is funded via a public service tax on personal income that is set by Sweden’s national parliament, and the broadcaster therefore has a very strong public service remit that goes beyond profitability. SVT has a long history of adopting new technologies and SVT Play – the broadcaster’s digital video offering launched in 2006 – is the third most watched digital platform in the country after YouTube and Netflix.

 The Challenge

SVT has always been keenly aware of the need to improve the accessibility and reach of its content for people with hearing/sight impairment or those unable to use audio, and the broadcaster previously committed to providing subtitles or captions for 95% of its content. As an additional benefit, subtitles also help with search engine optimization, making content easier to find. This commitment brought a very particular set of challenges, however. SVT has traditionally generated around 500 pieces of content a month, and an increasing amount of SVT’s online content is short-form which is more fast-paced and fragmented than longer-form. Unfortunately, however, the subtitling process was often very manual and time-consuming, but still required a fast turnaround.

With journalists and short-form creators increasingly having to take responsibility for subtitling, it became clear that SVT needed to find a better way to balance its accessibility commitments with workflow efficiency and costs.

Genelec – Sustainability: we’re all in this together

Genelec – Sustainability: we’re all in this together

Howard Jones, Communications Director, Genelec

With the current climate crisis acting as a daily reminder of the scale of the problems facing us globally, it’s essential that we as an industry all commit to being part of the solution by putting sustainability at the very heart of our business. At Genelec we don’t see this as a regulatory hurdle to overcome or an opportunity to try and ‘greenwash’ a corporate image to make ourselves look better, but something that is crucial for the broadcast sector to survive and thrive.

Our own journey to sustainability began with our founder Ilpo Martikainen long before he launched the company in 1978 with Topi Partanen, and here I’ll share some of our own experiences at Genelec which I hope you’ll find interesting and relevant.

Ilpo had grown up on a farm in his native Finland, and he saw first-hand how the country’s huge timber industry constantly replenished its forests to ensure that the business was sustainable. Ilpo himself became actively involved in tree planting programs each year and his understanding of running a company in a holistic, sustainable way became embedded in his thinking.

Ilpo Martikainen tree-planting

With that in mind, we later entered a previously unwritten part of the company’s philosophy and heritage directly into our strategy, namely that environmental issues are just as important as sound quality and profitability.

Environmental management

We’d encourage everyone to implement a detailed Quality and Environmental Policy and consider signing up to the ISO14001 certification for environmental management. Created through the wisdom and experience of experts the world over, each ISO standard creates a formula for the best ways of making a product, managing a process, delivering a service or supplying materials.

ISO 14001 creates the framework that allows you to set up an effective environmental management system. This gives both you and your customers the confidence of knowing that your company’s environmental impact is being continually measured, managed and improved. Monitoring your greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) using the Greenhouse Gas Protocol provides a standardized way of calculating and measuring these, dividing them into three ‘scopes’ that include your company’s own ‘direct’ emissions plus those ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ activities such as energy purchases and transportation of goods.

Sustainable businesses should give priority to preventing or minimizing the creation of waste and use of energy. If waste is generated, try and re-use it or use it for secondary purposes such as energy production. The least desirable option is to produce non-recyclable waste, and this is something that should be avoided if at all possible. Why not set yourself a target for the proportion of waste that you recycle?

Ultimately, committing to both internal and external audits is essential to establishing where you are on your sustainability journey, where you need to be – and most importantly, how to get there.

 

Technology and supply chains

If you’re a manufacturer, how you design your technology and source your materials is crucial to sustainable development. Make it a priority to analyze the environmental impact of each of your products and investigate ways to improve the power efficiency, modularity and packaging design.

If you build long lifecycles into your technology and commit to long term technical and spare part support, you’ll be creating products that can last for decades. And while global supply chains can be incredibly complex, by effective communication and engagement with your suppliers you can evaluate their capabilities in managing environmental and social issues, their communication practices and their financial stability. By auditing your suppliers and creating a supplier Code of Conduct you can develop better sustainability and responsible business practices.

An old legacy S30 model being serviced

People and society

A company’s sustainability credentials are also very much dependent on its place in society and how it treats its employees. At Genelec, we believe that the people within our organization are our biggest asset. They make us versatile, create a huge diversification of skills and creativity, and promote innovation. So consider important metrics such as the age distribution, gender balance and length of service of your employees – what does that tell you about your organization?

Do you encourage continued learning and professional development within your company? At Genelec, for our factory employees specifically we provide the opportunity to rotate jobs. This is invaluable for providing a wider employee experience, adding variety and interest, helping to develop new skills – and ensuring that each employee is matched with a fulfilling and enjoyable role.

Finally, as a company, how strong are your links with the local community? Could you do more to foster connections with local organizations, educational establishments and charities, in order to give back more to the people around you?

In conclusion, there are no quick fixes – and the road to sustainable business is one that requires commitment, constant analysis and a real desire for improvement. But at Genelec we see this not as a choice, but an imperative for the future of our industry.

www.genelec.com/sustainability

Chyron – The streaming shake-up: what’s next for media companies and tech vendors

Chyron – The streaming shake-up: what’s next for media companies and tech vendors

Alain Polgar, Senior Vice President of Sales EMEA & APAC, Chyron

The rise of the mega streamer has brought the broadcast media industry into a period of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. The acronym VUCA first described the complex and challenging geopolitical situation in 1987 following the Cold War, and now aptly defines the current media landscape. It’s an environment characterized by volatility in that challenges are unexpected and sometimes incomprehensible; by uncertainty in that change may happen, or not; by complexity in that it is influenced by numerous variables; and by ambiguity in that causal relationships can be difficult or impossible to define.

The emergence of the mega streamer

Since the VUCA concept was conceived, the broadcast media industry has evolved, moving through a series of disruptions into a new era. Early on, the digitization of production and distribution over cable, satellite and then terrestrial infrastructure technically enabled the multiplication of TV channels funded by a combination of ad sales, carriage fees from cable and satellite operators and, outside the U.S., significantly, through public/tax money.

Structurally, the market was divided between a few global American media groups, such as Fox, Disney and Warner, and domestic players in every country. The global media groups produced content, largely recouping production costs and then further monetizing it throughout the world. Media groups then maximized revenue across multiple distribution channels and platforms: cinemas, home entertainment, pay-TV and free to air. Licensing content to cinemas, as well as selling DVDs and Blu-ray Discs through retailers and thematic channels through operators, these groups were fundamentally B2B organizations. (Even ad-funded free-to-air channels had only a “statistical” relationship with audiences.)

In recent years this model has experienced vulnerabilities, exacerbated by the pandemic. Online services began capturing an increasing share of ad revenues, with increasingly vertically integrated mega streamers such as Amazon, Disney or WBD capturing the majority of viewing time and subscription spend. Between mid-2021 and mid-2023, according to Nielsen, the share of U.S. TV screen time captured by streamers jumped from 26% to 37.7%. By mid-2022, it was clear that subscription-only business models offered little hope of growth or profitability. Thus began the launch of ad-funded services that now successfully capture a further share of ad revenue. In response, virtually every media company has pivoted to become a direct-to-consumer/B2C or B2B2C organization while trying to maintain their profitable historical business.

According to the European Audiovisual Observatory, with only 11% in 2020, the cumulative revenue of streaming (S-VOD and T-VOD) in the extended European Union is still relatively small compared to other revenue sources such as TV advertising (24%), pay TV (32%) or public funding (25%). Its rapid yearly double-digit growth is impacting the balance with, according to Ampere, 45% of internet users watching little to no linear TV compared to 22% just two years ago.

This reinforces the asymmetric competition between these significantly larger and diversified groups. Disney’s market cap is about 25 times larger than that of RTL Group and Amazon’s 257 times! They do not rely solely on their media business, and at least until recently, they have had no short-term profitability targets in uncertain times.

Disruption at the structural level

Globally, the most visible impact of volatility is that, but for Disney, all major Hollywood studios founded in the 1920s (20th Century Fox, Universal, Columbia, Paramount, Warner, MGM) have been acquired within the past 10 years (since Netflix entered the market), typically by non-pure media companies (Comcast, Sony, AT&T, Amazon). According to data compiled by the Media Leader from public earnings reports, the cumulative 2020-2022 losses of D2C streaming services (Disney, NBCU/Comcast, Paramount, WBD) amounts to $18.32 billion. In recent months, mega streamers have been working to restore profitability through painful restructuring in a time of high interest rates. Meanwhile, more traditional European media companies like ProSiebenSat.1, RTL Group, TF1 or ITV remain profitable even if their ad revenue is under attack.

The impact on TV groups has been significant shareholder shifts. In Europe RTL Group is progressively divesting its assets in markets where it is not leading. Since 2019 RTL Nederland, Belgium and Croatia have been sold, and the French M6 is still on sale after its failed merger with TF1. Inversely, Vivendi-owned Canal+ is on the offensive and has entered the international growth competition. After the acquisition of M7 with its 3 million subscribers and a significant stake increase in Multichoice in Africa, Canal+ has overtaken OCS from Orange in France and SPI and more recently invested in Viaplay and PCCW. In the U.S., ongoing consolidation has brought groups like Gray, Nexstar, Sinclair, Scripps and Tegna to hundreds of markets through affiliate stations. Disney’s $8.6 billion acquisition of the remaining Comcast stake in Hulu, triggering rumors on the future of ABC, ESPN, or Star, is the ultimate evidence of these changes.

Even production companies that benefited most from demand for original exclusive content now feel the pressure and are adapting. Vivendi-controlled Banijay has become a production giant after its acquisition of Endemol Shine Group, which includes Brainpool and Zodiak. The investment company KKR, with its combined investment in Mediawan and Leonine, has created a European major similar to another Vivendi subsidiary: Studio Canal. This restores some balance in the licensing power game and increases pressure on the broader ecosystem — particularly those production service providers and technology vendors that increasingly depend on fewer and fewer very large customers.

The VUCA concept also applies to content that is produced live, such as sports or other events that viewers want to watch in real time. Live content offers a degree of certainty: fans will always tune in to see their favorite team, and communities always want to be informed of important events. The more than $4 billion yearly investment by mega streamers like Amazon (NFL, Ligue 1), Apple (MLS, MLB) or DAZN (Serie A, La Liga) in sports licensing rights indicates that the industry perceives real value in live sports content. However, volatility arises in a constantly shifting sports rights holder landscape. The recent demise of RSN (regional sports networks) in North America merits study, and additional variables include a somewhat blurred-line between athlete and influencer, which affects viewership and sponsorship, along with ever-evolving technologies that enable production of live content by anyone from anywhere.

How tech vendors can respond

As the IABM’s “Adapt or Die”-themed annual conference suggested, vendors can serve as valuable partners to media companies in addressing the challenges and opportunity associated with uncertain times. This means, among other things, helping customers streamline their production workflows to minimize production time and staff requirements when talent is scarce, mitigating technology deployment risks through close collaboration that yields interoperable solutions, and proposing creative, agile business models.

Even if the transformations are faster and more brutal in VUCA times than in the past, technology vendors and media companies always find new, increasingly collaborative ways to overcome them in a mutually profitable way. Turbulence presents risk, but also opportunity. The greatest opportunities for media companies and the technology vendors may be found through a truly collaborative approach, not just vendors selling features or media companies requesting specific functionalities. Bringing the best development talent, the best UI/UX design and the highest level