We outline four ways that Telstra Broadcast Services helps its customers monetise content, including the recently announced Telstra Dynamic Connect – a next-gen platform that broadens how and where broadcasters can work Money moves
W hile it’s not the sole production costs often serving as a barrier to entry, creators want to ensure they’re at least breaking even. Put more simply, “All customers want to monetise their content,” states Mark Strachan, chief product officer at Telstra Broadcast Services (TBS). Because there isn’t a one-size-fits- all approach, “We’ve come up with a number of managed services that enable our customers to monetise their content in the ways they want,” Strachan says. Fully flexible The first of these monetisation solutions is TBS’ Media Production Platform. Released in 2022, the platform addresses consumer demands for cloud-based workflows and ad-hoc payment plans. reason for broadcasting content, monetisation is a key consideration in distribution. With high “Our customers said they want a system where they can play out their content, whether it be a file or live, and there would be the ability to localise it,” begins Strachan. “For instance, if we’re getting coverage of French football in Australia, we can put Australian graphics on it, have alternative commentary, ad insertions into streams and so on. They want to pay when they use it, and when they’re not using it, they can walk away,” he adds. “Our Media Production Platform does exactly that,” Strachan promises. “The Platform offers a range of capabilities so users can
do playout, remote production, asset management, standards conversion – it creates a lot of flexibility; like a Swiss Army Knife,” he concludes. Virtual advertising techniques also boast flexibility, as they allow broadcasters to replace physical advertisements with digital overlays in real time. Hockey fans have been experiencing this (knowingly or not) for some time now, as the NHL was the first – and largest – TBS virtual advertising customer. “Virtual advertising arose because customers wanted to go further,” Strachan suggests. “Anything that’s static at the stadium, we can replace virtually. One advertiser – say Coca Cola, for example – displayed all around the stadium could be replaced with Pepsi in the broadcast feed,” he explains. “In some cases, you can do up to 32 alternate broadcasts,” giving sport broadcasters ‘an enormous ability’ to further monetise their streams. Special delivery TBS is unique in that it harnesses 5G, satellite, fibre and the internet to deliver broadcasts to a global customer base. While satellite and fibre are known for their reliability, they’re also known for their expense. “This is where our Internet Delivery Network (IDN) comes in,” says Strachan. “Yes, it does use public internet,” he admits, “but it also links with our other media networks, which circumnavigate the globe. “The last thing you want in a final of a footy or baseball game is for your main feed to cut out,” Strachan
continues. “IDN, in our experience, performs exceptionally well. When your production costs need to come down, the IDN is perfect.” Using tennis as an example, “the broadcaster will usually show the main courts, but it’s too expensive to broadcast every single court. So why not put one camera in each court and then use the IDN?” Strachan asks. It increases reach and – because it’s low in cost – opens doors to additional revenue streams. Rather than relying only on the internet, why not capitalise on all distribution methods too? This was the thinking when developing Telstra Dynamic Connect. The managed services platform will allow customers across Australia – and eventually, around the world – to overcome traditional access restraints and deliver broadcast- quality content from any venue where Telstra Dynamic Connect’s industrial edge compute units are installed on-site. This in turn unlocks new monetisation opportunities, through sponsorships, virtual advertising, ad insertion and the like. In good hands What ties all of the above together? “We sell each of these as a managed service, not install-and-walk-away,” says Strachan. “This gives customers peace of mind that their services are safe. You focus on the content – let us focus on how to monetise it.”
telstra.com.au/business- enterprise/industries/telstra- broadcast-services
Powered by FlippingBook