Thriving in today's multi-screen world
Given the rate at which the words Over The Top (OTT) and Free Ad-supported Streaming Television (FAST) are replacing ‘cable TV’, broadcasters need to diversify their presence. Gone are the days when viewers didn’t have a choice and needed to stick to broadcaster-driven TV schedules. Today, they have a wide range of entertainment sources and screens. If cable TV doesn’t seem satisfactory, they can switch to watching a FAST channel in a matter of a few clicks on their smart TVs or even mobile devices.
Audiences are now spoilt for choice, so broadcasters need to build a dynamic presence in the OTT world instead of solely focusing on cable TV. Keeping up with the changing tides of viewers’ needs, broadcasters must strike the perfect balance in their TV and OTT presence. If you are a traditional broadcaster looking for the right reasons to diversify your presence, read on.
Break free from legacy workflows
If you are still using legacy workflows, we urge you to move beyond them and switch to media workflows in the cloud. Legacy technology comes with significant disadvantages that may cost you much more than you realize. Here are a few:
No agility or scalability
Legacy workflows are obsolete when you need to up or downscale. They don’t come with the pay-as-you-use option, where you can pay for resources only when you use them. This drawback makes legacy workflows pretty bad for your pocket.
Poor viewing experiences
As a broadcaster, one of your primary goals is to offer impeccable viewing experiences for your customers. Given the smartphone penetration globally, many viewers want the freedom and flexibility to consume their favorite content anytime, anywhere. Legacy workflows often do not provide this flexibility, thus affecting the overall viewing experience. The point-to-point infrastructure based on the Serial Digital Interface (SDI) restricts the ability to introduce new channels, deliver high-resolution videos, and offer agile value-added services, amongst other requirements.
Speed, gone for a toss
One of the most critical needs of today’s broadcasting is to spin up new channels on the go. Due to multiple limitations, legacy workflows make quick channel creation sound like a far-fetched dream. Moreover, scaling with an SDI-based system requires significant costs and effort. Conversely, transitioning to an IP-based setup presents more adaptable opportunities for expansion.
These are just a few of the issues you can face with legacy workflows. Do they still sound like a good idea for your business? We don’t think so. Now is the time to look at unified broadcast cloud services and how they can do wonders for your revenue.
Unified media workflows in the cloud: a business game changer
If you want to address the limitations of outdated legacy workflows and rethink how you do business, unified cloud workflows are the key. Want to know the best part about revamping workflows and moving to the cloud? It lets you make the most of your content by empowering you to repurpose content libraries.
You can apply automation that quickly converts a piece of content into various formats to repurpose and monetize it on multiple channels. This further paves the way for the launch of on-demand services and personalized ad-supported linear channels, which would have been impractical within a conventional TV network framework. Leveraging cloud-based, integrated workflows provides the flexibility to swiftly adapt content to suit customer preferences, optimizing the viewing experience and enhancing viewership metrics.
Another key area where cloud workflows bring advantages to broadcasters is content distribution, enabling channel distribution through multiple delivery platforms with ease without the need for satellite or fiber.
The recent pandemic taught us a loud and clear message in broadcasting: to rethink traditional, on-premises workflows and embrace mobility and flexibility by moving to the cloud. You should consider it now if you haven’t yet made the move.
Let’s explore reasons that make broadcast cloud services a clear choice.
Say hello to the power of the cloud!
Improved remote production
The post-production process has become a breeze with cloud workflows. Earlier, it involved cumbersome content transfers, resulting in a rigid and unnecessarily prolonged workflow. However, robust cloud-based unified workflows let you upload the master content to the cloud, send lower-resolution versions for post-production, make necessary edits, and seamlessly push the final changes back to the cloud in a batch process.
All-encompassing monitoring
You no longer need to stay in a particular location while creating a channel. This flexibility allows you to manage these operations from anywhere in the world. Traditional network operation centers focused more on linear and broadcast monitoring, often leaving digital monitoring in the shadows. However, as the significance of digital platforms has grown and monitoring has become more crucial (and accessible), the scope of monitoring within the operations center now extends to encompass the digital realm.
Better accessibility
With cloud-based workflows, you can pay for the exact resources you consume. This flexibility allows you to tailor your monthly payments and resource usage to your requirements. As a result, you can adjust your operations quickly when needed. Additionally, cloud playout offers a distinct advantage by allowing you to create and dismantle pop-up channels for special events effortlessly.
Efficient regional deliveries
If there’s one word to describe regional deliveries in a traditional setup, it is “cumbersome”. For starters, you first need to find a data center near the area you want to broadcast to, ship and install the required equipment, conduct tests, and broadcast your content. However, cloud broadcasting streamlines this process. By leveraging your technology partner's established Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), you can seamlessly and effectively stream content to any desired location, eliminating the complexities and ensuring efficient and smooth delivery.
Increased staffing agility
What is the most expensive aspect of broadcast operations? The workforce. Broadcasters require manpower to handle various processes, including monitoring, management, and review. However, this is significantly transformed with the adoption of cloud-based, unified workflows. Media workflows in the cloud enable remote production, so you don’t need to be concerned about the physical location of your staff.
By utilizing the right cloud solution that intuitively integrates all the necessary tools, you can prioritize finding team members that can simultaneously take on a range of tasks. Given the diverse jobs required for different deliveries at different times, you can dynamically allocate staff within the same day to accommodate the most critical tasks as they arise. Furthermore, to maximize revenues, it is essential to deliver to multiple platforms. With the power of cloud workflows, you can offer personalized ad spots leading to better ad revenue.
Ultimately, this newfound flexibility allows you to have more freedom in selecting staff members and deploying them in the most efficient manner possible.
Ready to cloud?
Moving your media workflows to the cloud is all advantages. Apart from simplifying your workflows and making them more efficient, you can save big bucks. So what are you waiting for?
Unlock up to 50% cost savings with the cloud and Amagi CLOUDPORT!
Reach out to find out more at cloudandme@amagi.com.
