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The broadcasting industry has evolved drastically in the last few years. The move was spearheaded by the transformation from analogue to digital. The shift has created several challenges for the broadcasters. The need for a seamless platform and robust infrastructure was never stronger than it is right now. The advent of machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) has made the presence of a central repository with a contiguous channel imperative for all broadcasters. It created the room for cloud technology and the integration of media repositories with the broadcast channels. That enhanced the user experience and it provided effective cost cutting methods for the broadcasters as well.
Why are broadcasters moving towards digital cloud technology?
The new era has brought us the likes of Hulu, Amazon Prime and Netflix, where we can binge watch our favourite series, movies and live shows endlessly. The lack of a fortified central library poses a tremendous threat to the media content on the block. That brings to mind one of the recent hacks by The Dark Overlord. They held the entire fifth season of Orange is the New Black season at ransom, while they were unreleased on Netflix. That shows a sheer lack of digital security measures on the parts of some of the biggest stake holders in the broadcasting world. And it clearly points at the area that experts need to rework during the oncoming days of broadcasting technology.
This is the time for Software as a Service (SaaS) and Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) companies to take action. Most up-to-date broadcasters are opting for state of the art IaaS platforms that come with some bespoke features and benefits. One of the leading advantages of working with Media Asset Management (MAM) systems on the cloud is the ability to choose specific services you need. In short, you pay for what you exactly get. You can scale up or scale down any time you want. Broadcasters no longer have to pay a lumpsum for unused services that come with the IaaS or SaaS packages. Moreover, they get access to AI that enables them to fine-tune their media maintenance, security and user services.
How is the new on-cloud broadcasting services challenging MAM systems?
We have moved to a “born cloud” reality and that has catalyzed the MAM companies to make a move on their media (data) storage, management and delivery structures. Up until now, they did not feel the urgency to make their move since cloud storage also meant cloud distribution up until recent times. However, the new “delivered cloud” reality is causing a tremendous change in the broadcast landscape. Most content providers are no longer satisfied with the inflexible MAM systems that do not integrate or support the new-age broadcast workflows. MAM software systems need to evolve into automated utility services amicable towards customization and budgeting.
The evolution of MAM and the integration of the cloud into the industry haveensured that broadcasting does not remain as capital-intensive as it used to be. There was a time when broadcasters needed to set up specialized networks of TV channels to telecast the content. It was anything but cost-effective. That also tells us why early TV needed to be state-funded and not a single team deal. As a result, the end product was cumbersome, complex and costly. Any change needed weeks, if not months to be implemented. The pace of transition from Black-and-White TV, to colour and from SD to HD is a glaring example of the complications involved in the process.
What can you expect from today’s cloud-integrated broadcasting platforms?
The modern cloud based TV broadcastingand services pose surmounting challenges to the traditional broadcasters. They face new private broadcasters and born cloud broadcaster platforms each day. They have to compete with the likes of YouTube and Netflix to stay afloat. People no longer depend solely on BBC or CNN for their daily dose of infotainment. The consumer has finally tasted the freedom that comes with on-cloud storage and broadcasting services. The traditional MAM providers can no longer ignore the existence of the cloud. As a result, several national and international broadcasters are investing in additional equipment and resources to recruit digital media services.
Investing in in-house digital equipment is again expensive. Therefore, the new entrants are leaning towards cloud that allows flexible utilization of available technology. Using the cloud requires smaller teams as well. The other benefits of the cloud are as follows –
- Low cost of entry
- Minimized risk of new service introduction
- Less operational expenditure charges
- Access to the latest broadcast technology
- Integration with the state-of-the-art MAMs
- Easy scale up and scale down options
The broadcast cloud has become a buzz word in the last couple of years. It is possible for each broadcaster to upload their media from their production houses, edit them on the cloud, store the final files and approve it for their teams across the world. They can add meta data, change the format via transcoding and play it via the cloud.
Here is why you should be thinking about the cloud –
- Content security
- Reliable access
- Access to technology
- Working with limited resources
- Round-the-clock access
There, you have all the reasons you need to move to the cloud for broadcasting. All smart content providers and data managers should consider migrating to the crowd right about now.It is the time to embrace the changes and transform!
