TeraVolt TVXRAY – BaM Award winner, Consume

TeraVolt TVXRAY – BaM Award winner, Consume

TeraVolt is a solution provider for digital media products and consulting from Hamburg, Germany. Since 2006, the company specializes in developing outstanding new TV experiences and product lighthouses with our clients. TeraVolt offer products and individual solutions, from market-specific consulting and the conception of electrifying product visions to the technical implementation and operation of their offerings. In September 2023, TeraVolt became part of the Qvest Group. With the exclusive combination of TeraVolt’s specific expertise and comprehensive production know-how, Qvest offers its customers added value that is unique in the media and broadcasting industry and beyond.

The AI-based SaaS product – TVXRAY – already has and will further disrupt live sports broadcast.

Benefits of TVXRAY:

For consumers: 

  • Each user chooses what is relevant to them: live-data, real-time highlights, competition(s) and match(es), incidents.
  • All on the 1st screen
  • On any device
  • Deeper understanding of the competitions with live data and explanations
  • Catch-up Mode

For rights owners/ broadcasters/ TV platforms:

  • USP beyond the broadcasting rights
  • Lean and cost-efficient integration into existing video platform (SDK)
  • Best leverage of all live sports on platform
  • AI-based auto-clips according to viewers’ preferences. More content than any editor could produce.
  • Address viewing habits of young fans without repelling the traditional viewers
  • No 2nd screen anymore: Reduces churn on live TV
  • Creates higher engagement/ longer viewing time/ more consumption
  • Creates more loyalty
  • Increases monetization and upsell-options

 

Description of TVXRAY:

Problem:

A linear feed doesn’t take advantage of the possibilities of new technologies and doesn’t meet the requirements of all sports fans. Especially Gen-Z expects short-form, multi-source and engaging content they can interact with. So far, sports fans have consumed statistics and other information they require, on 2nd screen solutions distracting fans.

 

Innovation:

Therefore, we developed our vision into TVXRAY to “revolutionize” and personalize the way fans can watch sports and adding value to rights owners, broadcasters and TV platforms. The idea is based on three pillars: orientation, de-linearization, and personalization.

Orientation:

  • All data of a matchday at the fingertips. The EPG shows all matches and competitions, whilst the timeline shows the structure of the game (halftime, thirds, quarters, innings etc.)

De-linearization:

  • Important scenes upon touching the remote control or the screen. Immediately go to the concurrent game or competition and get an overview there. Core highlights from the timeline or play-by-play. All run through our patented AI-algorithm.

Personalization:

  • Auto-clips from any live sports create a personalized mixed feed: Each viewer can freely determine incidents from other games, competitions, or sports. TVXRAY provides video alerts with live clips over any chosen main match.

Proven Track Record:

Selection of clients within TVXRAY:

 

Data Insights: 

Live Sports Data:

4.3 (= ca. 26%) clicks on average (per session by consumers)

More than 100 clicks in peak (per session by consumers)

89% of consumers like the feature “Match Stats”

77% of consumers like the feature “Line-Ups”

65% of consumers like the feature “Live-Table”

 

Video Catch-Up and Switch:

12.3 clicks per session per viewer (=74%) engage with our video features

69% of consumers watch from Auto-Clips

88% of consumers think the Interactive Timeline is “brilliant.”

 

TAG Content Matching Technology – BaM Award winner, Support

TAG Content Matching Technology – BaM Award winner, Support

 

IP, OTT delivery, and remote working environments have become an integral part of media companies’ workflows, adding significant complexity to production and distribution paths and challenging media and entertainment companies’ capabilities to deliver high-quality content. Solutions to simplify workflow insights, including visualization, while maintaining high quality are necessary factors in the race to remain competitive. TAG Content Matching technology provides a vital capability in the toolsets users require for more transparent workflows, allowing them to get to the root cause of problems faster and troubleshoot more efficiently, even in the most complex, elaborate scenarios.

TAG Content Matching technology is a unique process that detects similar content across two different streams to ensure correct and uninterrupted delivery to the intended destination. This is done by creating a unique fingerprint for each video frame and audio envelope and matching them across the entire media distribution path against a user-defined reference point.  Content Matching can identify and correlate audio and video uniqueness accurately regardless of the resolution, bitrate, or framerate, thus enabling a match between any two or more points in the workflow. Even after the content has been processed and manipulated, the TAG solution will still be able to identify the match and confirm that the content is identical, correct, and behaves as expected.

Based on a sophisticated real-time frame-to-frame correlation engine, the user will be notified when the first content inconsistency occurs, and combined with TAG’s rich probing and monitoring, operators can easily identify and resolve the source of the errors.  With a reference point and one or more monitoring points, comparisons are easily made, and issues are quickly detected. In addition, Content Matching allows users to get to the root cause of problems faster and troubleshoot more efficiently. The technology dramatically reduces workflow complexity and eyes-on-glass and enables media companies to deliver quality content with fewer resources and more confidence.

The ability to identify, match and correlate content to content anywhere in the workflow empowers users to measure a wide variety of parameters, opening the door to varied and numerous potential uses. TAG’s Content Matching enables, but is not limited to, the following highly requested media workflow applications:

  • Frame-accurate latency measurement between any two or more points in the
    workflow in real-time
  • Validate video routing and audio channel alignment across feeds
  • Confirm ad insertion to SCTE messages with frame accuracy to assure and protect revenue
  • Measure audio-to-video drift at any point in the workflow to identify lip-sync issues

 

Studio Network Solutions EVO Cloud: BaM Award Winner, Store

Studio Network Solutions EVO Cloud: BaM Award Winner, Store

Studio Network Solutions (SNS) is a leading media technology company in the broadcast and post-production industry. Best known for their high-performance EVO shared storage solution, SNS has turned heads with the launch of EVO Cloud, a fully cloud-hosted solution for media production teams that is setting a new standard for remote and cloud-based creative workflows.

Earning multiple awards this year—including the Cloud Computing & Storage Product of the Year Award at NAB Show and the Store Award at the IABM BaM Awards® at IBC—EVO Cloud isn’t just stealing the spotlight; it’s rewriting the script for cloud-based workflows and amplifying creativity beyond the limits of physical space.

Here are some reasons why EVO Cloud stands out in the cloud-covered sky of media production.

What makes EVO Cloud different?

Purpose-built for remote post-production teams, EVO Cloud pairs the video-first focus of EVO shared storage with secure cloud technology so creative teams can work from anywhere. It is the only cloud storage platform that bears the EVO brand trusted by media teams around the world. And it comes with the multi-award-winning EVO Suite of software tools included for unlimited users.

The truth is: there are countless cloud storage providers out there, but traditional cloud storage services aren’t built for video production workflows. They typically require at least three to four additional product integrations just to get a useful workflow. And managing all those platforms and integrations can be a struggle for creative production teams. After all, what good is cloud storage if it’s too hard to find the media your team has uploaded, or you have to pay an arm and a leg in worrisome egress fees just to use your media in your projects?

EVO Cloud is fundamentally different, bringing both storage and workflow to the cloud—exclusively for video content creation teams. It does all of this with no egress fees, no per-seat user license fees, and no on-premise storage hardware required.

Workflow from anywhere

EVO Cloud is a secure, private cloud instance with all of the workflow tools creative teams need to create amazing content, faster, from anywhere.

It comes with the award-winning EVO Suite, which includes a powerful and easy-to-use media asset manager (MAM), so everyone on your production team can search, tag, comment, preview, and collaborate on media and projects from anywhere in the world. The MAM is seamlessly integrated with Adobe Premiere Pro, Final Cut Pro, and DaVinci Resolve, so editors can find and import media directly into their timeline, without ever leaving their editing application.

Remote editing workflows can be a lot faster with proxy files. EVO’s automatic transcoding turns your high-resolution source media into lightweight proxy files, which you can download locally for offline editorial, or attach directly in your editing application to edit-in-place in the cloud.

And EVO Cloud plays well with others, too. You can schedule replication and automation jobs to back up media and projects from EVO Cloud to other cloud storage systems like Amazon S3, Dropbox, Wasabi, and Azure for a seamless, multi-cloud workflow.

All of these tools come included for unlimited users with EVO Cloud to accelerate global collaboration for creative teams. It’s a disruptive solution that brings the best of workflow, storage, and cloud technology together in a single solution. That’s what makes EVO Cloud stand above the rest.

Newsbridge MXT-1 – BaM Award winner, Manage

Newsbridge MXT-1 – BaM Award winner, Manage

MXT-1 is a patented, multimodal and generative AI indexing technology by Newsbridge that uses natural language models to generate human-like descriptions of video content. Capable of indexing more than 500 hours of video per minute, MXT-1 is a game changer for organizations working with media and sports audiovisual content. Leveraging the next-gen technology, users can index vast amounts of content in record time, and search through large video collections easily and efficiently, enabling them to quickly start enhancing, sharing, and monetizing their media assets.

MXT-1 offers a unique, multimodal approach to AI indexing. Combining computer vision and speech processing with natural language models, and leveraging AI transformers, the technology is specifically trained on hundreds of thousands of hours of media, entertainment, and sports content. MXT-1 detects people, logos, context, actions, landmarks, and text, and transcribes, translates, and summarizes audio to text. It then merges these data sources to produce a human-like, objective description. While traditional AI providers in the market are only capable of generating keywords and speech-to-text content, MXT-1 uses natural language to link everything together and describe a scene, resulting in more accurate descriptions and faster, more affordable AI indexing.

What’s particularly innovative is MXT-1’s ability to describe video scenes just like a human would. These unique features and capabilities also set MXT-1 apart from its competitors:

  • Automated Media Summaries – MXT-1 generates extensive descriptions of media assets. With this feature, users gain a comprehensive understanding of video content without needing to watch the footage in its entirety.
  • Media Summaries in Multiple Languages – Scene descriptions and media summaries can be viewed in English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Portuguese, Japanese, and Arabic — with more languages to come. Most other generative AI technologies only support English.
  • Multilanguage Descriptions and Speedy Multilingual Transcription – When a media asset features multiple spoken languages, they can be automatically detected and transcribed using MXT-1. These enhanced capabilities complement MXT-1’s existing robust transcription and neural translation features, available in over 130 languages.
  • Facial Recognition and Custom Thesaurus – MXT-1 automatically identifies and tags public figures, sports people, presenters, and can be trained to recognize anyone else relevant to an organization.
  • Landmark Detection – Locating video clips of historic structures, monuments, cityscapes, and landscapes is lightning fast with MXT-1. The technology even specifically detects aerial shots.
  • Logo and Pattern Identification – MXT-1 detects specific logos and on-screen graphics to help users better sort content, frame narratives and even boost relationships with sponsors and partners.
  • Approval Workflows – Users can review, modify and verify the MXT-1 AI-generated output.
  • Highlight Identification – Media loggers and catalogers can spotlight the most engaging or exciting moments in a video that has been analyzed by MXT-1.
  • Energy Efficiency – MXT-1 is seven times more cost-efficient than mono or unimodal AI systems. Newsbridge achieved this breakthrough by maximizing the use of CPUs over the more power-hungry GPUs, coupled with a smart frame sampling technology.

Newsbridge is used worldwide by TV channels, press agencies, production houses, journalists, editors, archivists, and sports rights holders to boost their production workflow and media ROI.

NEP Group 5G MT-UHD MiniTx – BaM Award winner, Connect

NEP Group 5G MT-UHD MiniTx  – BaM Award winner, Connect

In the world of live broadcast, the ability to reliably stream high-definition video with low-latency over public and private cellular networks is critical – especially with the increasing adoption of 4K video and demand for remote and wireless production workflows. While traditional wireless video transmission solutions rely on Wi-Fi or bonded cellular data connectivity, which can be slow and prone to interference, NEP’s 5G MT-UHD (MiniTx) takes advantage of 5G new radio (NR) access technology to provide fast and reliable connectivity, even in areas with high network congestion.

The MiniTx is the world’s smallest 5G-enabled, low-latency, UHD wireless video transmitter. Its size allows it to be discreetly installed in tight spaces, mounted directly on a camera, or worn on-body more easily, facilitating new and interesting camera angles that would have been impossible with other wireless transmission solutions.

While the 5G MT-UHD is incredibly compact, it does not require productions to sacrifice video quality. This means that video captured with the MiniTx can fit seamlessly into any production–with the ability to handle HDR, up to 4K resolution, and a variety of transmission modes.

Along with 5G NR coverage, high-quality video encoding, integrated camera control, and low-latency, the 5G MT-UHD MiniTx can support a single UHD video feed or up to four independent HD video feeds up to 1080p59. This provides the ability to capture and transmit multiple videos simultaneously.

The 5G MT-UHD is a result of NEP’s dedication to innovation and pushes the industry forward to bring our clients the highest standard possible. Key features of the MiniTx include:

  • Ultra-compact Size (92×58×32 mm) – Makes it incredibly portable and easy to deploy in a wide variety of scenarios.
  • Various Transmission Modes – Supports RTP, Call, Listen, and RdV; providing flexibility across multiple applications.
  • Worldwide 5G NR Coverage via FR1 Bands – Provides better coverage and faster speeds in areas with 5G coverage.
  • Integrated GNSS Receiver and Wi-Fi – Provides additional capabilities for location tracking and wireless connectivity for control and updates.
  • Low Latency – Supports real-time transmission of video and audio, which plays a vital role in live event broadcasting applications.
  • Support of Video Formats Up to 2160p59 – Supports high-quality video formats up to 4K resolution at a high frame rate.
  • HEVC and AVC encoding at 10-bit 4:2:2 – Allows for efficient compression of high-quality video with low bandwidth usage.
  • HDR Capability – Provides a wider range of colors and brightness levels for more realistic and immersive video experiences.

The 5G MT-UHD will increase its competitive edge as upcoming software updates promise enhanced features and performance optimizations:

  • OEM Camera Control and in-Car CAN Bus Support – Integration with existing camera systems and in-car communication networks.
  • Integrated 9-Axis Inertial Sensor – Improved capabilities for motion sensing.
  • Worldwide 5G NR Coverage via FR2 Bands – Increased operable frequency bands.

In a world where there is demand for new angles, higher quality, faster speeds, and more content, the MiniTx is an invaluable tool for any production. Learn more or inquire about using the 5G MT-UHD on your next production at www.bsintl.com.

 

 

Nanocosmos – 2023 IBC BaM Award winner, Project, collaboration, event or other innovation

Nanocosmos – 2023 IBC BaM Award winner, Project, collaboration, event or other innovation

nanoStream Cloud: Revolutionizing Live Streaming Use Cases with Real-Time Technology

For 25 years innovators at nanocosmos have been pushing the boundaries of audio/video technology to connect and engage. Product and services provided have reached a significant milestone: on grounds laid in 1998, various innovations have been carefully layered to a Cloud Solution that enables connection and interaction with large audiences based on real-time. Especially with the spike in virtually broadcasted events it has become apparent that, next to the adaptability and reach, the following feature stands out: delivery of interactive experience anywhere in the world without giving up high quality.

Evolved Technology: Based on a carefully built infrastructure and global delivery network (CDN), nanoStream Cloud represents 25 years of innovation and the capacity to to enable interaction worldwide including from remote areas. The patented player’s adaptive capabilities automatically adjust to available bandwidth and provide viewers with a seamless streaming experience on any device. This capability to maintain high-quality playout, regardless of network conditions or audience size, sets nanoStream Cloud apart as a frontrunner in the broadcast industry providing a much-needed solution for interactive applications such as conferences and live auctions.

Empowering Global Interactions: The versatility of nanoStream Cloud was put to the test during the livestreamed Future Investment Initiative in 2022, a large-scale event designed as an interactive hybrid experience spanning multiple days, rooms, and languages. The forum for government / public affair purposes was to discuss economic topics with a large audience, leading experts, worldwide via real-time live streaming. While regular events can be streamed successfully with a 30-60 second delay, this event was laid out as an interactive hybrid event to take place over several days, with simultaneous interactive presentations in up to 4-10 rooms and simultaneous translations. Live stream was made available with approx. 10,000 physical attendees and around 15,000 virtual attendees with access from all over the world. The combination of number of attendees, easy yet secure access, stable stream with ultra-low latency were accomplished. 

Catalyzing Business Success: To serve the growing trend for high-quality streaming of live auctions, Live Wegner chose nanoStream Cloud in 2023 to run an auction of Galerie Kornfeld, one of Europe’s most important auction houses for 10h nonstop. Perfect sound and picture despite ultra-low latency were advantages that stood out to Roland Wegner. A broad range of requirements were met: Speed of streaming with minimal latency to provide seamless, high-quality interaction with viewers, high quality playout, a dynamic presentation via multiple camera perspectives, stream accessible directly via browser. 

nanoStream Cloud’s performance solidified its reputation as an indispensable tool for seamless and high-quality live interactions. The versatility in catering to diverse broadcasting needs highlights the adaptability and relevance of it in the dynamic landscape of the broadcast industry. nanocosmos has demonstrated unparalleled innovation in the live streaming landscape by enabling global interactions and an unwavering commitment to delivering cutting-edge broadcast solutions.

SUPPORTING Links: YouTube Tutorial, Press Release Wegner Live, Case Study Future Investment Forum

 

MainStreaming – 2023 IBC BaM Award winner, Publish

MainStreaming – 2023 IBC BaM Award winner, Publish

MainStreaming is a Carbon Neutral Intelligent Media Delivery Company, providing sustainable video delivery technology for broadcasting, streaming, and the media and entertainment industries via our Edge Video Delivery Network services.

We’ve contributed to achieving UN COP28 targets and Paris Agreement climate principles by mitigating greenhouse gas emissions. Our Carbon Neutral Intelligent Media Delivery Platform reached net-zero thanks to our innovative energy-efficient network architecture. Our Edge Network services are Carbon Neutral, and we offset our company’s remaining environmental footprint by contributing to UN projects.

Our threefold strategic practices demonstrate our perseverance to fostering a greener world and more thoughtful use of environmental resources:

First, our innovative Edge Video Delivery Network has been developed from scratch with sustainability at its core.

We’ve adopted a new approach by using a single-layer Edge caching architecture with a one-hop network, combined with the adoption of hardware selected for optimal performance, resulting in up to 50% reduction in energy consumption compared to traditional CDN models. Not only does this improve energy efficiency, but by removing system layers, it also improves Viewer QoE.

To deliver broadcast-grade QoE our platform pinpoints viewers’ locations and connects them to the optimal Edge through continuous analysis of the load of Edges and Networks. Our Intelligent Software design assures the quality of delivery through Real-Time Analytics, Smart Algorithms, and Big Data Analysis. Our Edge services and interconnected network within ISP premises are designed from the ground up to be closer to end-users. Our collaboration with Intel has ensured that MainStreaming’s latest server generation has reduced power consumption both at peak usage and when idle.

Second, MainStreaming’s contributions to UN SDGs offset projects, in addition to the development of sustainable video technology, have led to MainStreaming’s declaration as the first Carbon Neutral Certified Intelligent Media Delivery Company by German Climate Partner. We offset 415,000 kg of our CO2 by supporting two projects: “Clean drinking water in Manica Sofala and Tete Mozambique” and “Wind energy in Northeast Brazil”, which can be tracked via Climate ID.

Third, MainStreaming is a founding member of the Greening of Streaming Initiative; we help bring the industry together to create joined-up thinking around end-to-end energy efficiency in the technical supply chain.

Research conducted by Omdia, Informa Tech* shows that the media and entertainment industry will generate 1 trillion dollars in revenue in 2024, with 70% coming from video. Given that the streaming media industry is responsible for 3-4% of the global carbon footprint, as indicated in the research paper “Streaming Media’s Environmental Impact” * published on ResearchGate, we have played our part to prioritize the implementation of environmentally responsible practices throughout our operations.

Amid the increase in streaming capacity in response to growing OTT video content consumption by consumers, OTT service providers’ll start seeking newer full-suite video delivery solutions to improve the viewing QoE for their audience and reduce the cost and energy of video streaming. Sustainability in streaming is no longer just a goal; it is a reality with MainStreaming!

Stream for a sustainable future with MainStreaming today!

1. Resource: Research conducted by Omdia, Informa Tech*: Maria Rua, Senior Research Director at Omdia during her Digital TV Group (DTG) speech presentation.
2. Resource: Research paper “Streaming Media’s Environmental Impact” * published on ResearchGate: ResearchGate publication

 

Ateliere – Using custom scripts for media workflows? you need to think again

Ateliere – Using custom scripts for media workflows? you need to think again

Dan Goman, CEO, Ateliere Creative Technologies

The media industry has undergone a tectonic shift in its operations, driven by the rapid evolution of digital technology and an increasing slew of viewing platforms. To address the evolving need to serve more audiences across more devices, media companies have increasingly relied on custom scripts to shoehorn highly complex packaging and distribution requirements into platforms that weren’t originally designed for such purposes.

There is a smarter, more efficient approach to ensuring your media operations pivot quickly with your audiences’ demands: no-code/low code media supply chain platforms. These offer a compelling alternative to traditional custom scripting, delivering improved productivity, agility, and scalability in content management and distribution.

The era of custom scripts: a look back

Custom scripts became prevalent in media workflows during the early 1990s when the industry started digitizing its operations. With the proliferation of the internet and the consequent need for automated content management, the use of scripts gained momentum. Throughout the 2000s, custom scripts played a vital role in automating workflows, enabling efficient and precise control over media assets. However, maintaining and updating these custom scripts posed significant challenges because of their complexity and the technical expertise required.

The industry adoption of cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions in the late 2010s marked a turning point, as the industry began shifting away from intricate custom scripts towards more accessible, no-code/low-code platforms.

Still, custom scripts have historically played an important role in addressing business issues, such as:

  • Automating repetitive tasks in media workflows, like content ingest, transcoding, quality control, and distribution, significantly reducing human errors and improving operational efficiency.
  • Custom scripts have been deployed to integrate disparate media systems and applications, providing a seamless flow of data across different stages of the media supply chain while improving overall coordination and productivity.
  • Scripts have been used to handle complex media metadata, simplifying the process of content indexing, searching, and retrieval. This made it easier to manage and track vast volumes of media assets.
  • They made it possible to implement advanced features specific to a company’s needs, such as custom algorithms for media processing or analysis, giving them a competitive edge.
  • Custom scripts facilitated regulatory compliance by automating the generation and management of required reports and documentation, ensuring adherence to industry-specific laws and standards.

Whereas custom scripts answered multiple business requirements in the past, they often came with a range of issues that outweighed the outcomes in the long term.

The business risks of custom scripts

If you have deployed custom scripts any time in your business trajectory, you’ll be too aware of the hazards they present once deployed.

  • Potential for errors: as custom scripts are developed and maintained by humans, there is a risk of introducing errors or bugs that may cause system failures or data loss.
  • Maintenance costs: custom scripts require ongoing maintenance to keep up with changes in technology, upgrades, media formats, cybersecurity and business needs. This is extremely costly and time-consuming, often requiring endless hours of expensive professional services from your technology vendors.
  • Lack of scalability: as media workflows become increasingly complex and data volumes grow, custom scripts struggle to keep up with demands, leading to delays and inefficiencies.
  • Long deployment times: custom scripts take time to develop and test, delaying the implementation of new workflows or features that may be critical for business success.
  • Difficult to document: because of their constantly changing nature, custom scripts are inherently terribly documented by habit or lack of process. In almost every instance and every company, scripts don’t have documentation making it problematic to handover and sustain through staff changes.
  • Dependency on productized professional services: building and maintaining custom scripts requires specialized knowledge and skill, making it difficult to shift responsibilities among team members or hire new personnel. This is why many companies that use custom scripts have to rely on productized professional services to manage them.

The dawn of no-code/low-code platform solutions

No-code/low-code platform solutions bring a modern approach to addressing the complexity of modern media workflows. They provide a user-friendly, templated method for media operators, managers, and QC teams to easily configure and customize their media supply chain, eliminating the lengthy design, coding, testing, and implementation processes of custom-coded solutions.

These modern solutions come with pre-built modules and templates that can be quickly configured to fit a company’s needs, resulting in faster deployment times. Modules are maintained and updated by the platform provider as part of its regular update cycles, eliminating the need for users to run ongoing maintenance, thus reducing overall costs.

No-code/low-code platforms are highly scalable, as they’re designed to handle large volumes of data and complex workflows, making them a more suitable option as media operations grow. They typically provide a user-friendly interface that can be accessed by users with the necessary permissions, streamlining collaboration among team members.

Finally, low-code/no-code platforms reduce your business’ dependency on productized professional services, as they require minimal coding knowledge. This makes it easier to onboard new team members or shift responsibilities among existing ones.

Overall, low-code/no-code solutions are an efficient, reliable, and scalable alternative to managing your media business with custom scripts.

Migration to no-code/low-code platforms: a business imperative

For businesses in the media industry, migrating to no-code/low-code platforms is increasingly becoming a necessity. With the constant pressure to reduce time-to-market and prove immediate return-on-investment (ROI), media companies can eliminate lengthy development cycles and pivot quickly as the business needs thanks to no-code/low-code platforms. Their benefits include:

  • Reduced Total Cost of Ownership (TCO): they provide pre-built package templates and turnkey functionality, designed to adapt to emerging technologies and quickly onboard new delivery partners.
  • Simplified maintenance and operation: package templates are componentized, allowing for easy modification and adjustment of delivery profiles, reducing reliance on professional services and the associated maintenance costs.
  • Ease of use: the no-code/low-code approach empowers users to select preset configurations and build business logic without programming or scripting knowledge, enabling quick response to changing demands and maintaining competitiveness.
  • Operational efficiency: with faster deployment times, lower maintenance costs, and increased scalability, no-code/low code platforms can help media companies achieve higher levels of operational efficiency.

Time to flip the script

The shift from custom scripts to no-code/low-code platform solutions is a testament to the evolution of technology and the changing needs of the media industry. With the rapid pace of digital transformation and the increasing complexity of media workflows, embracing modern no-code/low-code platforms can be the differentiator to boost your business into new opportunities.

These platforms deliver expedited ROI, reduced TCO, simplified maintenance, and enhanced operational efficiency.

The future of media workflow management lies in the continued rise of no-code/low-code platforms and how they’re shaping the media industry today. It’s time for your media organization to take advantage of the simplicity and efficiency of these solutions.

 

AMAGI – Top 3 FAST monetization strategies to drive revenue

AMAGI – Top 3 FAST monetization strategies to drive revenue

Nissim Dokey, Director of Product Management at Amagi’s Monetize Business Unit

 The holiday season is almost here – and with its arrival comes a surge in TV viewership. It’s when brands look to reach consumers in the most effective and innovative ways possible. The possibilities of realizing better ROIs increase as content owners can enhance their reach and revenue with a higher inflow of ads. Streaming, the most popular TV viewing option during the holidays, offers advertisers and content owners a unified sweet spot to meet the bottom lines faster and deliver an exceptional experience to viewers.

FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming TV), enabling lean-back viewing, offers unique ad experience advantages over AVOD (Advertising Video on Demand), which is lean-forward. Whether it is easy content discovery or offering more ad opportunities, FAST provides better monetization avenues for content owners.

Here’s how content owners can elevate their monetization strategy on FAST.

  1. Showing the right ad to the right audience in the right format

 Gone are the days when the blanket approach to showing the same ad to a large audience worked. With 92% of US households reachable through CTV advertising, delivering personalized ads at the right time to the right person while meeting your bottom line seems logical. Here’s how to achieve it.

a. Hyper-personalization and contextual advertising

The first step to delivering personalized ads is to identify the target audience and group them into meaningful cohorts based on demographics, age, behaviors, location, interests and more. With personalization involving carefully delivering relevant ads without seeming to intrude on the viewer’s privacy, the addressability of CTV provides a great opportunity.

Contextual advertising helps deliver contextually relevant ads to an audience already engrossed in the content. This enhances the engagement rate as the ads are now relatable. 86% of viewers also do holiday shopping while watching TV when relevant ads are served, which reinforces the importance of contextual advertising. Content and context metadata play a pivotal role in delivering this experience.

b. Showing the right instream linear ads

 The next step after building your target audience is delivering the ads without latency. These ads can be placed before (pre-roll), during (mid-roll), or after (post-roll) the streaming content and can be of varying lengths. With IAB’s guidelines in place, packaging the ad pod (a group of ads strategically placed in an ad break) so viewers stay engaged is critical. A few factors to consider – ad duration (6/15/30 seconds), ad load of 5–8 minutes per hour and ad positioning.

During the holiday season, 95% of consumers watch holiday-themed content, and 97% watch with family and friends. This co-viewing experience offers increased opportunities for engaging with multiple viewers simultaneously, and hence, nailing it becomes crucial.

  • Pod building refers to grouping multiple ads into one ad break to maximize monetization.
  • Content localization customizes ads according to regional preferences, such as displaying ads for the nearest bakeshops to place orders for Christmas.
  • Per-user playlist (PUP) creates personalized ad experiences at scale. PUP allows users to view customized ad playlists based on their viewing habits and metrics, such as demographics, location, interests and more.

c. Incrementally reaching your audience through in-content ads

Advertising redundancy is often bothersome for viewers – repeatedly encountering the same advertisement across various platforms and devices can result in ad fatigue. As a content owner, in-content ads offer you an incremental opportunity to best reach your audience non-intrusively — without increasing the pod length or disrupting the overall viewing experience. Graphics overlays, L-bands, picture-in-picture, dynamic brand insertion and interactive ads are popular in-content ad formats.

2. Pumping up your ad-sourcing strategy

 With a target audience and ad delivery solution in place, how do you ensure the right advertisers approach you and that your inventory generates optimal ROI? Programmatic advertising enables the automatic buying and selling of ads.

Making programmatic a part of your strategy

 Amagi ADS PLUS, Amagi’s advertising marketplace, connects premium CTV content owners with global programmatic and direct buyers and enables the filling of most of the ad inventory.

With ADS PLUS, you can:

1. Reach buyers at scale: Get in touch with leading advertisers leveraging Amagi’s integrations and relationships. Get access to a huge breadth of demand including:

  • Open marketplace buyers
  • Amagi’s custom private marketplace packages
  • Programmatic guaranteed connections
  • Audience extension spending from Amagi content partners

2. Maximize the value of every minute: Advanced contextual targeting and new ad formats help drive performance and enhance CPMs.

3. Realize profitability on your terms: Get transparent reporting and hands-on operations support to maximize opportunity for your business.

3 Optimizing your yield effectively

 Ad yield optimization involves tracking and analyzing advertising efforts and calibrating them to ensure optimal ROI. FAST channels can face challenges in generating higher render rates (the % of ad impressions served out of the total number of ads received from ad servers) and win rates (number of bids sent vs. won) for advertisers.

Why?

  1. Viewers tend to drop off during longer ad breaks, leading to no conversion of ads for the entire pod, resulting in lower render rates.
  2. FAST channels leveraging several programmatic partners may call them all at once for every pod, resulting in low win rates for many partners or low render rates if more ads are sent than the pod time available.

 A solid monetization strategy decides whether you meet the expectations of your viewers and advertisers. With multiple moving parts, partnering with the right technology provider helps deliver a last-mile, flawless experience to those viewers and advertisers and expected ROIs to your organization.

Nissim Dokey is the Director of Product Management at Amagi’s Monetize Business Unit. He oversees product strategy and execution across Amagi’s flagship THUNDERSTORM suite of products. Nissim brings over 10 years of B2B/SaaS product management experience with 5+ years in CTV/Video ads.