Breaking down the barriers – Giving broadcasters access to the latest technology at a lower cost

By Doron Revivi, COO of SatLink Communications

For smaller and start-up broadcasters, setting up and establishing a TV channel is an expensive operation with many factors that have to be taken into consideration. One of the biggest challenges facing these broadcasters is how they are going to financially afford the infrastructure and equipment needed so that they can effectively compete with many of the larger and more established players.  

There is a growing trend amongst these smaller broadcasters to make use of cloud-based managed services and offerings from specialist providers. The cloud, an overarching term used for services that are managed by a third party provider over the internet, is effectively lowering the financial entry barriers to smaller and start-up broadcast and content providers as well as levelling the playing field in terms of giving smaller players access to leading edge technology that would previously have been available only to large multinational broadcasters.  

Another key factor that broadcasters are increasingly considering in selecting those partners - both smaller ones as well branch offices of larger operations - is the requirement for a one-stop-shop that can provide them with all the services, ranging from content pick-up, manipulation, transcoding, storage to playout and distribution from a single provider. 

Maximising your investment and avoiding costly CAPEX outlays 

A key priority when launching a new TV channel is ensuring it has interesting, newsworthy and high quality content. But it’s not just about having the content but how you are going to manage it and distribute it to your target audience.  To begin with, there will be a checklist of all the infrastructure and software required to allow you to effectively compete with the more established players. This can seem like a daunting, and more importantly, expensive list of equipment that, more often than not, you may not utilise to full capacity at least initially.  

This is where specialist providers of end-to-end broadcast services can come into play and add real value to start-up channels, by removing many of the financial and management headaches they are faced with. The saturation of cloud solutions - made available via a ‘pay-as-you-use’ basis - now offers an appealing alternative. By accessing solutions and services via the cloud, broadcasters have a viable alternative to buying and maintaining costly in-house infrastructure allowing them full accessibility their content and applications whenever and wherever they need them.                                                                                                                                                           

Big broadcasters, with their vast resources and bigger budgets, are better able to purchase and maintain costly in-house solutions such as Traffic Management and Media Asset Management systems. However, smaller broadcasters still want access to these higher grade technologies, but without the associated issues of cost, complexity and risk. Today, smaller broadcasters can access the latest technologies without having to finance and pay for them in the traditional way. 

Growing with the Broadcaster 

One of the biggest benefits that many broadcasters are recognising today is the potential scalability that a third party managed provider can offer. Many of the smaller and start-up broadcasters and channels will not require the full functionality of all of the broadcast equipment from the outset. Therefore by working with a cloud provider you only have to pay for what you need and you don’t need to worry about managing the service as this is all included within the offering. Take for example a Traffic Management system. This type of system is a highly expensive piece of equipment, with prices ranging approximately £100,000-£200,000 alone, which is used for the effective management of all channels, yet many broadcasters don’t need the full level of functionality and options that are provided within the system.  

This is why broadcasters are now turning to companies, such as SatLink, to provide and manage these systems for them. Additional services can easily be added to their current contracts with the providers, such as the distribution of content via fibre, satellite or over IP, to every corner of the globe. As the broadcasters’ requirements grow, services such as wider distribution to new regions, transcoding of content for mobile devices, archiving content or the localisation of content, and using greater functionality on Media Asset Management (MAM) solutions, can all be done via the same provider effectively and efficiently. 

Content anywhere, anytime, from a single Provider 

As more and more broadcasters are looking to expand distribution of targeted content to unique audiences such as expat communities across the globe, the rise of the cloud model has further fuelled the image of the world getting smaller and smaller due to the lifting of geographical boundaries. Now, more than ever before, broadcasters can have the best of all worlds by using high grade technology without having to invest in the infrastructure themselves or maintain it all with a ‘one-stop-shop’ provider.