Using the cloud to augment pop-up channels and disaster recovery services gives broadcasters the opportunity to test the water
By Gareth Wills, senior playout product manager, Imagine Communications
he traditional broadcaster had a fixed number of channels, which had to be filled with content 24/7 – whether there was an audience or not. But
Maybe you want regional services in a national election. While broadcasters are looking to stream more of their content to consumers and new markets, digital-first providers want to achieve seamless, broadcast-quality output with a homogenised look. Cloud playout is the solution. It would not be economic to have traditional hardware for 20 channels which are only going to be used for a few days at a time. But playout in the cloud is infinitely extensible. You simply spool up the software instances you need, then close them down when the demand goes away. The key to success is that it should be simple, fast and effective to spool up these channels at the point you need them. The Imagine approach uses a fully software-based playout platform, which can be implemented on dedicated COTS hardware, in a corporate data centre or in the public cloud. A simple API will set the channel up with the right capabilities and delivery paths. The common software platform means that operators work in the same way, with exactly the same confidence,
VIDEO AT FEEDMAGAZINE.TV/LATEST-ISSUE
consumers today have very different expectations, demanding what they want, when they want it. If you are a content provider, you invest in the intellectual property rights for what your market is in – sports, movies, documentaries, music. It’s very much in your best interest to maximise the revenue opportunities for that content. So, is it time to rethink the concept of a channel, or at least the idea that channel capacity is fixed? Put simply, when you have a glut of content that your audience craves, it makes sense to increase your channel output. Say you have the rights to a tennis tournament. At the beginning, there may be 15 or 20 courts in action. Add a curated feed and maybe a comment service, and you could offer 20 channels or more. By the end of the tournament, only the main court is in action, so most channels could be shut down. The same applies to a major music festival with multiple stages, or if you have the rights to other content that can be exploited in innovative ways.
WATCH THIS The above video features Joe Ashba, senior solutions architect at Imagine Communications
Once the content is in the cloud, it is ready to be used in multiple applications: disaster recovery is an obvious example. Maintaining two identical playout centres is expensive. Even if you keep primary playout of your principal channels in- house, it makes sense to put disaster recovery in the cloud. This is real. We have delivered systems for major content providers. To quote one example, US giant Sinclair Broadcast Group uses cloud disaster recovery for its regional sports networks. And on its Tennis Channel, it adds multiple pop-up channels for major tournaments. There continues to be a confluence, where digital-first streamers want the channel feel of broadcasters, and broadcasters want the agility of digital- firsts. Cloud playout gives each the route to gain the maximum value from their investment in content, while delivering the best experience to their audiences. For more information, visit the website: myimagine.tech/3b9Rtpa
wherever that particular software instance happens to be running.
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