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On Tuesday, December 14th, Bitcentral’s Chief Operating Officer, Sam Peterson, joined leading executives from The Fox Corporation, Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Tegna to explore a wide range of the industry’s most pressing challenges and exciting technological opportunities.

Moderated by TVNewsCheck’s Contributing Editor Glen Dickson, “The Cloud & the Future of News Production” panel explored the potential of the cloud for news organizations. During this session, some of the industry’s leading technologists shared the steps they’re taking to move more news operations into the cloud or a cloud hybrid environment.

“We are all about giving our customers the ability to work from wherever they are. We do this by giving ubiquitous access to their content, databases/stores of metadata, and production applications from any location, on whatever platform, desktop or mobile. The cloud is a key component of providing this flexibility,” said Sam Peterson as he sat alongside some of the broadcast industry’s leading technologists.

Although the cloud is not a recent phenomenon, its full potential has not been recognized until now. For a media operator, you never know what the day will bring and the crucial element in managing uncertainty is ensuring your operations are flexible enough to adjust to any circumstance. The cloud brings a new level of flexibility in how stories are created and delivered – empowering storytellers to focus on what they do best.

When asked what applications Bitcentral customers have been taking to the cloud, Sam replied: “Content contribution and distribution were some of the first applications. Transcoding and confirming and other operations where dynamic scale is called for are also widely deployed. We see the most movement today in production applications, whether editing or live production. Playout is another interesting area, particularly for ad-hoc, disaster recovery, or other infrequent use cases.”

Here’s a guide to the flexible broadcast systems that Bitcentral offers:

Core News

An elegant and efficient way to handle news production which is optimized to the vital tasks that keep mission-critical newsroom operations running smoothly. It is trusted by over 450 channels across North America and over 1,000 media operations worldwide.

Central Control

Industry-leading on-premise playout and automation solution that seamlessly executes all the processes converging into playout. Automated ingest routines, streamlined verification/validation processes, and intuitive segmenting procedures makes Central Control one of the most advanced and reliable solutions for linear broadcast playout.

Veset Nimbus

A self-service, cloud playout solution for broadcasters and broadcast service providers. Nimbus is designed to rapidly launch event-driven popup channels, disaster recovery channels, and 24/7 channels with lower up-front costs.

FUEL

Our next-generation video and distribution platform for digital publishers and streaming providers. FUEL provides ultra-efficient dynamic automation to manage and publish large volumes of content to web, mobile, streaming applications, social, live & clip syndication, and FAST channel environments, which decreases manual time, effort & cost.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us to find out more. Contact us here.

Sales: 949.253.9000
sales@bitcentral.com

In broadcasting, channel playout involves all the software, equipment, and processes used to send content to an audience via network distribution channels. In other words, the playout system “plays” the source media and sends it “out” to an external system.

A playout system can be as simple as a DVD player or as complex as a managed channel origination center. Regardless, playout is generally the last chance to make content decisions before video distribution.

Playout is often referred to as master control. While there are both linear and nonlinear playout solutions, we’re going to focus on linear playout and how it works for this article. We’ll also discuss various aspects of broadcast playout solutions and how your media company can move forward with them.

What Is Linear Playout Broadcasting?

Think of linear playout as a regularly scheduled television channel. Everything happens sequentially on a straight line of events. Usually, the broadcast feed is meticulously timed out and planned ahead of time with the integration of a traffic and billing system.

The result is a viewing experience that’s optimized for the audience at specified times of the day. Executing linear playouts is time-consuming and labor-intensive.

What Is a Playout Solution?

Every type of media requires a playout solution. This can take the form of an on-premise or a cloud-based solution, both of which work similarly. This is where you’ll verify, validate, trim, store, manage, and schedule your assets for delivery to viewers.

The playout solution then automates linear content for viewer consumption. In the form of video, audio, graphics, and associated metadata, content is inputed to the playout system and then output, which creates the broadcast. Content in the form of video, audio, graphics, and associated metadata, are input to the playout system then output. Additionally, a linear playout solution also integrates with the traffic and billing system.

Benefits of Central Control and Nimbus Playout Solutions

Whether cloud-based or on-premise, broadcast playout solutions like Central Control and Nimbus can play live and pre-recorded audio, video, graphics, and captions. By choosing Central Control or Nimbus you get:

• Faster ingest routines: Make large-scale ingesting easy with QC functionality. It’s even possible to automatically ingest from a wide array of sources, including FTP, AWS S3, and Wasabi.
• Efficient scheduled playlists: Make your schedule less stressful with the freedom to establish a playlist weeks before broadcast. The flexibility of importing from both sources and formats like BXF, XML, and CSV gives you the ability to work the way you want while still making it easy to make last-minute alterations.
• Powerful media asset management: Stop wasting time trying to sift and sort through endless files of media. With Nimbus and Central Control’s search and filtering tools, it’s easy to find and organize what you need when you need it.
• Stable playout solutions: Add redundancy and disaster recovery channels to help ensure your playout is stable even when faced with problems like unforeseen network and equipment issues.

Who Is a Master Control Operator?

A master control operator is responsible for monitoring the accuracy and quality of the on-air product. Sometimes this person’s called the “playout operator.”

The master control operator helps with a lot of the preparation behind a broadcast. A few of their responsibilities include preparing, validating, and verifying incoming content and managing the traffic list.

For some companies, a master control operator is also responsible for making rough cuts and edits, recording and editing quick turnaround pieces, digitizing live events, assembling segments in correct sequences for playout, and managing edited video content. Master control operators are also responsible for ensuring all content meets a certain quality standard and complies with government regulations when applicable.

Because master control operators are the primary operator of playout solutions, they are responsible for resolving any technical issues that come up in their normal operations. It’s expected that they can solve both software and hardware issues to ensure normal operations.

What Is IP Playout?

Playouts were limited to terrestrial broadcasts in the past, but there has been a shift to IP delivery. Call-letter TV stations are starting to use IP playout solutions to deliver their linear playout. IP playout is when content is delivered through internet protocol. Using IP playout can simplify your operations and get your product out faster. It also allows you to easily scale and expand your brand to different channels and markets.

IP playout works in two ways: internet protocol television (IPTV) and connected TV (CTV) solutions.

IPTV

IPTV delivers media through a managed network, making it more secure than streaming content over the public internet. The audio or video plays from a single source, which can be shared across multiple devices within the network.

CTV

CTV delivers audio and video content as individual products. Each user has to establish their own connection to the server. This is why services like Netflix impose restrictions on how many people can stream at the same time.

How Does This Relate to Bitcentral Technology?

Bitcentral Technology offers cloud-based and on-premise playout solutions for media companies and production crews. We’ve been doing this for over 20 years, and we know what playout in broadcasting is all about.

We help organizations create, manage, and distribute their stories more efficiently. Bitcentral provides a wide range of playout solutions that maximize productivity, increase accuracy, and fit within your budget. Learn more about Bitcentral Broadcast Playout Software.

FAST channels are streaming services that allow users to enjoy content for free. Usually, these services mimic a traditional linear TV experience, but they can also leverage some VOD content. In a FAST service, everything is supported by ad revenue (instead of a subscription-based model like Netflix or a hybrid model like Hulu’s subscription-and-ad-supported tier).

Consumer demand for FAST channels is rising. FAST services like Tubi and Pluto TV account for tens of millions of hours streamed each month. For content distributors, this opens up another opportunity to connect with audiences.

What Does FAST Stand for in Streaming?

FAST stands for free ad-supported streaming TV. Ad support allows content distributors to give out their content for free.

FAST channels don’t require any additional subscriptions or service bundles to enjoy. Like other streaming services, FAST channels broadcast directly to the consumer. All they need is an internet connection, and they’re ready to go.

Here are some notable examples of FAST channels:

• Tubi
• Pluto TV
• XUMO
• Vudu
• IMDb TV
• Peacock (free tier)
• The Roku Channel

All these services have programming that users would normally pay for through a traditional TV service. You’ll find free content like older TV shows and movies, music videos, news stations, and sports channels, although some of these channels offer newer content as well.

What Is the Difference Between FAST and AVOD?

AVOD stands for ad-based video on demand. It’s very similar to FAST in that they’re both completely free to the end-user. And as their names imply, both services make their money through ad revenue.

So what’s the difference between AVOD and FAST?

AVOD is an on-demand service that lets you pick and choose what content you want to watch. FAST is primarily a linear television experience.

The most famous example of an AVOD platform would be YouTube. Creators put up their content, which gets monetized through ads.

Some streaming platforms incorporate both FAST and AVOD content into their service.

Take Pluto TV, for example. It has over 200 linear television channels playing continuously at any time. But it also has a large catalog of on-demand movies and TV shows to choose from.

Many other free television services take this approach. They give users the option to pick exactly what they want to watch or surf channels and accidentally stumble on their new favorite show.

Why Content Distributors Should Care About FAST Channels

Despite the rise of paid VOD services like Netflix, Hulu, and Disney+, traditional linear television still has a place in people’s homes.

Some FAST channel services are reaching over 50 million active users. This is a huge opportunity for content distributors.

1. Reach New Audiences

FAST channel distribution can expand your reach to new audiences. Many of the services do the heavy lifting for you, bringing audiences to your channel. This is a great alternative to other AVOD platforms, where you have to do the work to bring in an audience.

2. Get Discovered by Niche Viewers

In addition to the more mainstream channels, FAST services also allow for more niche content distribution.

Your channel can be discovered more easily thanks to the channel surfing nature of these platforms. Users won’t always stay on one channel for too long and will often browse until they land on something interesting. Thanks to FAST channel switching, users can easily switch from one stream to another with very little delay.

3. Open Up a New Revenue Stream

Another great reason content distributors should care about FAST channels is the earnings potential.
Like traditional television, FAST channels can earn revenue based on the number of impressions each ad receives. In other words, the channel owner earns money based on how many people watch the ad.
When you consider that the average adult consumes nearly five and a half hours of video content each day, individual views can definitely add up.

Launching Your FAST Channel

There are so many possibilities to expand your brand, reach new audiences, and earn income with a FAST channel. But first, you’ll need a broadcast playout solution to get your content out into the world..
Interested in launching a FAST channel? Bitcentral offers broadcast and streaming solutions for content distributors. Reach out to us for help expanding your brand.