5 practices preventing you from producing efficiently

Are you getting everything you can out of your production workflow? In a recent survey by Sirkin Research, 84% of broadcasters state that improving operational efficiencies is a top priority for 2023. That is such a high number it might as well be “every broadcaster you can name”. In a year where the industry is expecting financial headwinds generated by macroeconomic and global political forces, everyone is looking to improve, streamline and perfect.

There are some good news though: No broadcaster in the world scores 5/5 for efficiency. That means there are some wins to be had – maybe even quick ones. Find out how efficient your production workflows are by answering the questions below…

…Ready to find out your efficiency score?

Take our quick 5 question quiz

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{
question: “Are you still sending OB trucks to sports events?”,
paragraph: “

Cloud technology has been a game-changer for the broadcast industry. It’s revolutionized the way live production and broadcasts are delivered to audiences around the world.

Cloud doesn’t mean just remote and hybrid operation of production tools. It should also enable fast deployment and installation of the same tools – taking production prep time from weeks to days. Modern cloud deployment, especially when offered as a managed service, can further reduce ‘going cloud’ from days to minutes and save your team time and money. For example, a 2-hour cloud live sports production would cost only $87.34, including AWS computing, storage and data transfer costs (this breakdown was done using the AWS calculator, for more information on how the cost was calculated you can check our Ultimate Guide to Cloud Live Productions)

Previously, sending news trucks and OB vans to the epicentre of the story was the only way to get high quality live broadcasts. The positive disruption of IP video over public internet has remove the need to send a dedicated crew to the site of the story every time. Using cloud-based IP solutions, broadcasters can now stream content from anywhere in the world with virtually no latency, eliminating the need for expensive satellite and cable connections. In addition, remote cloud productions will decrease the budget by tens of thousands of dollars by removing the need for an OB truck hire and fuel. A great example is a recent cloud UEFA match production of BT Sports, where they only needed 8 people on-site with their cloud set-up, rather than previously requiring 25 staff to handle the traditional broadcasting of a sports game.

The rapid development of WLAN infrastructure, in parallel with the HVEC and NDI expansion, has made it possible to connect the whole world via video. We now have access to billions of sources, as each smartphone is a camera that can be brought directly into a switcher through public internet. This means that over 64% of the global population can participate in your story from anywhere. Your journalists can also take advantage and stream online or join the live TV programme with their phone. This reduces the broadcast from a multi-production crew to one journalist, while keeping the same quality and value.

“,
answers: {
Yes: ‘Yes’,
No: ‘No’
},
correctAnswer: ‘Yes’
},
{
question: “Are you manually controlling your studio devices?”,
paragraph: “

Automating any process in the production workflow will make it more efficient. Powerful tools that allow for pre-planning rundowns, controlling multiple devices (camera, lights) from one interface, editing graphics on the go – adds the capability to automate and error-reduce repetitive tasks in the gallery. These tools empower smaller teams to run complex live news productions easily. This will, not only, free-up your team to create more content or work on that streaming strategy, but also lower the cost of the gallery workflow and make it extremely efficient, reducing an average of 60% on-air errors per studio, and saving 900-man hours – equal to $30,000 annually!*

“,
answers: {
Yes: ‘Yes’,
No: ‘No’
},
correctAnswer: ‘Yes’
},
{
question: “Are you operating separate graphics production lines for separate output formats?”,
paragraph: “

The pressure to produce more content for more platforms is greater than ever. Many media companies, such as content and right owners, are trying to maximize its content return across all of them TV and online channels. Without an efficient solution to this challenge, the result is inevitably a choice between doubling up cost or sacrificing quality of output. Of these two the latter is frequently chosen, and we see broadcasters using the exact same graphics for Facebook live stream as they do on linear channels. This results in hard-to-see text, formatting ill-suited to a mobile screen, and ultimately the loss of important information for the viewer.

Employing a tool such as Adaptive Graphics will give your team the capability to design and produce smarter and faster. It allows designers to create one graphic template that is automatically adjusted to different output aspect ratios, making the graphics readable and functional on every device. It removes the need for costly double work and allows for a single operator to publish across all TV and online channels from one tool with one click. Every output will look perfect on TV, social media, and online websites, and will be managed by the same team.

“,
answers: {
Yes: ‘Yes’,
No: ‘No’
},
correctAnswer: ‘Yes’
},
{
question: “Are you reskilling your team to fit the new reality of broadcasting?”,
paragraph: ‘

Broadcasters are looking for ways to keep up with the changing media environment, where the need for expertise in networks, IP and social media management are surpassing knowledge about coaxial cable and satellite uplinks. The best way to do this and retain in-house expertise is to upskill and reskill existing employees. 13 million US workers are expected to requalify according to a McKinsey report in 2021. There is no reason to think that broadcasting is any different as new tools are being developed daily and employers are under pressure from the current economic uncertainty to reduce costs. Moreover, LinkedIn data shows that the skillset of jobs will change by 50% in the next four years, as the rapid growth of technology is now supported by artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Supporting a learning-work culture, where all your employees, from designers to operators can expand on their technical knowledge and skills, will be crucial in retaining talent and increasing productivity. An easy and effective way of doing this is having access to an online learning platform, that offers up-to-date courses with practical real-life use cases of the newest broadcast tools and certification routes for the same.

‘,
answers: {
Yes: ‘Yes’,
No: ‘No’
},
correctAnswer: ‘Yes’
},
{
question: “Are you using AI to improve speed and quality?”,
paragraph: ‘

A 2022 IABM report on AI and Machine Learning adoption in the broadcast and media industry, discovered that the highest deployment, with over 40%, of AI/ML is in content management, such as ingest, encoding, orchestration and compliance. Typically, major news and sports organizations ingest hundreds of feeds from different sources. During the World Cup in 2022, each football player had 29 individual data points. That is a huge amount of data to digest and turn into production value. This compromises the efficiency of a production, since there is more data than can be humanly processed in real-time.

However, AI may in some cases be the perfect solution to what might appear a luxury problem.. It can process enormous amount of data in a fraction of the time a manual operator would use and give the production team the required information about which data points to visualize to the audience.

The IABM reports also states that 32% of the broadcast and media companies have adopted AI/ML technology. One great example is Fox Sports who have been highly successful deploying Vizrt AI technology for Daytona 500 sports productions to track objects in real time. It has assisted in delivering hours of real-time sports broadcast graphics and visualizing multiple live data points. Also, it has been leveraged to improve keying of complex backgrounds beyond what is possible for human operators and used to increase monetization potential by easily and accurately keying more ads on the game field without the use of additional equipment or specific skills.

‘,
answers: {
Yes: ‘Yes’,
No: ‘No’
},
correctAnswer: ‘Yes’
}
];

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‘
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‘ + ‘

‘ + ‘

* based on internal calculations on real-world customer examples

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Are you still sending OB trucks to sports events?

Cloud technology has been a game-changer for the broadcast industry. It’s revolutionized the way live production and broadcasts are delivered to audiences around the world.

Cloud doesn’t mean just remote and hybrid operation of production tools. It should also enable fast deployment and installation of the same tools – taking production prep time from weeks to days. Modern cloud deployment, especially when offered as a managed service, can further reduce ‘going cloud’ from days to minutes and save your team time and money. For example, a 2-hour cloud live sports production would cost only $87.34, including AWS computing, storage and data transfer costs (this breakdown was done using the AWS calculator, for more information on how the cost was calculated you can check our Ultimate Guide to Cloud Live Productions)

Previously, sending news trucks and OB vans to the epicentre of the story was the only way to get high quality live broadcasts. The positive disruption of IP video over public internet has remove the need to send a dedicated crew to the site of the story every time. Using cloud-based IP solutions, broadcasters can now stream content from anywhere in the world with virtually no latency, eliminating the need for expensive satellite and cable connections. In addition, remote cloud productions will decrease the budget by tens of thousands of dollars by removing the need for an OB truck hire and fuel. A great example is a recent cloud UEFA match production of BT Sports, where they only needed 8 people on-site with their cloud set-up, rather than previously requiring 25 staff to handle the traditional broadcasting of a sports game.

The rapid development of WLAN infrastructure, in parallel with the HVEC and NDI expansion, has made it possible to connect the whole world via video. We now have access to billions of sources, as each smartphone is a camera that can be brought directly into a switcher through public internet. This means that over 64% of the global population can participate in your story from anywhere. Your journalists can also take advantage and stream online or join the live TV programme with their phone. This reduces the broadcast from a multi-production crew to one journalist, while keeping the same quality and value.

Are you manually controlling your studio devices?

Automating any process in the production workflow will make it more efficient. Powerful tools that allow for pre-planning rundowns, controlling multiple devices (camera, lights) from one interface, editing graphics on the go – adds the capability to automate and error-reduce repetitive tasks in the gallery. These tools empower smaller teams to run complex live news productions easily. This will, not only, free-up your team to create more content or work on that streaming strategy, but also lower the cost of the gallery workflow and make it extremely efficient, reducing an average of 60% on-air errors per studio, and saving 900-man hours – equal to $30,000 annually!*

Are you operating separate graphics production lines for separate output formats?

The pressure to produce more content for more platforms is greater than ever. Many media companies, such as content and right owners, are trying to maximize its content return across all of them TV and online channels. Without an efficient solution to this challenge, the result is inevitably a choice between doubling up cost or sacrificing quality of output. Of these two the latter is frequently chosen, and we see broadcasters using the exact same graphics for Facebook live stream as they do on linear channels. This results in hard-to-see text, formatting ill-suited to a mobile screen, and ultimately the loss of important information for the viewer.

Employing a tool such as Adaptive Graphics will give your team the capability to design and produce smarter and faster. It allows designers to create one graphic template that is automatically adjusted to different output aspect ratios, making the graphics readable and functional on every device. It removes the need for costly double work and allows for a single operator to publish across all TV and online channels from one tool with one click. Every output will look perfect on TV, social media, and online websites, and will be managed by the same team.

Are you reskilling your team to fit the new reality of broadcasting?

Broadcasters are looking for ways to keep up with the changing media environment, where the need for expertise in networks, IP and social media management are surpassing knowledge about coaxial cable and satellite uplinks. The best way to do this and retain in-house expertise is to upskill and reskill existing employees. 13 million US workers are expected to requalify according to a McKinsey report in 2021. There is no reason to think that broadcasting is any different as new tools are being developed daily and employers are under pressure from the current economic uncertainty to reduce costs. Moreover, LinkedIn data shows that the skillset of jobs will change by 50% in the next four years, as the rapid growth of technology is now supported by artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Supporting a learning-work culture, where all your employees, from designers to operators can expand on their technical knowledge and skills, will be crucial in retaining talent and increasing productivity. An easy and effective way of doing this is having access to an online learning platform, that offers up-to-date courses with practical real-life use cases of the newest broadcast tools and certification routes for the same.

Are you using AI to improve speed and quality?

A 2022 IABM report on AI and Machine Learning adoption in the broadcast and media industry, discovered that the highest deployment, with over 40%, of AI/ML is in content management, such as ingest, encoding, orchestration and compliance. Typically, major news and sports organizations ingest hundreds of feeds from different sources. During the World Cup in 2022, each football player had 29 individual data points. That is a huge amount of data to digest and turn into production value. This compromises the efficiency of a production, since there is more data than can be humanly processed in real-time.

However, AI may in some cases be the perfect solution to what might appear a luxury problem.. It can process enormous amount of data in a fraction of the time a manual operator would use and give the production team the required information about which data points to visualize to the audience.

The IABM reports also states that 32% of the broadcast and media companies have adopted AI/ML technology. One great example is Fox Sports who have been highly successful deploying Vizrt AI technology for Daytona 500 sports productions to track objects in real time. It has assisted in delivering hours of real-time sports broadcast graphics and visualizing multiple live data points. Also, it has been leveraged to improve keying of complex backgrounds beyond what is possible for human operators and used to increase monetization potential by easily and accurately keying more ads on the game field without the use of additional equipment or specific skills.