Comcast Media360 aims to help TV break free of legacy siloes
Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) has launched a centralised VOD management and distribution service for premium content providers and made this part of a new 24/7 managed service offer called Comcast Media360, which also encompasses origination and video service backend capabilities.
Comcast Media360 is designed to help media owners converge and streamline processes needed to distribute and monetise content across pay-TV, streaming services, free ad-supported TV, social media and other platforms. It is an umbrella service that encompasses three CTS products: Cloud Video Platform, Comcast MediaExpress and Comcast MediaOrigination. These can be used separately or combined according to needs.
“In recent decades, broadcast operations have become increasingly complex with silos of internal and external systems, workflows and vendors — all needed to reach today’s viewing audiences,” CTS explained. “New back-end systems were continuously bolted on to legacy systems, creating massive complexity, duplicative efforts and increased costs.
“At the same time, companies are trying to address new growth opportunities globally through syndication, bundling, ad-subsidy models, D2C, social media and AI. Comcast Media360 is designed to simplify and address these opportunities, with a 24/7 managed service backed by the proven reliability and scale of CTS.”
Bart Spriester, senior vice-president and general manager of streaming, broadcast and advertising at CTS, said many broadcasters and content owners are trapped by their legacy processes. He added: “Comcast Media360 is designed to help them finally break free from the complexity of the past. Our customers can now centralise their technical efforts, freeing them to focus on viewer engagement and profitability.”
The CTS Cloud Video Platform covers ingest, transcoding, metadata management, content protection, content recommendations, server-side advertising, commerce and subscription management, and analytics. This platform also controls the user experience and content delivery.
Comcast MediaExpress is the new VOD management and distribution service catering for broadcast and streaming networks. Content providers integrate with this solution, which then ensures their titles reach the relevant pay-TV, streaming and social platforms.
Comcast MediaOrigination provides the capabilities to acquire, prepare, create, package and deliver linear channels and streaming content across devices. This product includes media asset management, channel playout and master control.
Comcast Media360 will enable unified broadcast and streaming. CTS predicts lower costs and expanded distribution opportunities. Among other things, this managed service creates a single point of ingest for any video title and its associated files.
Maria Rua Aguete, senior research director for media and entertainment at Omdia, has also been outlining the need for this new approach. “Efforts to effectively streamline broadcast and streaming operations have been a holy grail for broadcasters and content owners for some time,” she pointed out.
“Now, however, it’s becoming an economic necessity. Media companies must adopt a consumer-first strategy that is equally effective at reaching viewers across online video and traditional TV, via social, mobile and home entertainment devices.
“Solutions like Comcast Media360 are designed to offload the technical complexity for broadcasters and content owners, so they can focus on viewer monetisation, however and wherever it is occurring.”