Blog

The Challenge of Modern Content Distribution 

Content providers face a multitude of challenges to the efficient delivery of video-on-demand (VOD) assets across platforms. And those experiences are as diverse as the audiences they serve, from traditional pay TV to countless streaming services...

Comcast Technology Solutions has recently announced Comcast Media360™, a groundbreaking new approach to media technology partnerships that achieves greater efficiency, simplicity, and scalability across the entire video delivery ecosystem. Click here to read the press announcement.  

But just what is Comcast...

With 2025 well underway, it’s the perfect time to reflect on how the media and entertainment industry measured up to our predictions from last year. The verdict? Many of our experts’ forecasts were right on the mark, while others unfolded in unexpected...

It’s easy to get caught up in the hive mentality, and it happens more than you think when purchasing cybersecurity products and services.  

Recently, the Federal Trade Commission has been launching investigations into anticompetitive practices related to the cybersecurity industry. Anti-competitive practices can...

Data, data everywhere, and not a drop of insight. The enterprise collects terabytes of data from hundreds of different, disconnected security tools. Yet, while organizations have vast amounts of data, they struggle to be data-driven.  

Internal stakeholders have their own tools to help...

It’s been three years since MVPDs accommodated the big 5G spectrum reallocation, and three years since we started helping companies to answer the question, “what would it look like to move our delivery model from orbit and down to earth?” Since then, our...

The shift from traditional advertising models to more diverse, digital-focused strategies has brought brand marketers to an interesting crossroads: the choice between centralized production, which offers streamlined efficiency and brand consistency, and decentralized production/fragmentation, a model that can deliver greater flexibility, diverse creative...

Why do monitoring and logging matter?  

Although this is a foundational question in cybersecurity and networking, National Cybersecurity Awareness Month makes this a great time to (re)visit important topics.  

Monitoring and logging are very similar to security cameras and home alarm systems. They...

Like many cybersecurity vendors, we like to keep an eye out for the publication of the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR) each year. It’s been a reliable way to track the actors, tactics and targets that have forced the need for a...

We are proud to announce that DataBee is recognized as one of only 35 companies to achieve the AWS Security Competency in Threat Detection and Response. We have worked diligently to help customers gain faster, better insights from their security data, making today...

For streaming, broadcasting, or advertising, live sports represent some of the most exciting and most complex events to manage — and some of the most lucrative, particularly when it comes to breaking into new markets.  

But when you’re only live once...

Recently, DataBee hosted a webinar focused on the Digital Operational Resilience Act (DORA), a pivotal piece of EU legislation that is set to reshape the cybersecurity landscape for financial institutions. The talk featured experts Tom Schneider, Cybersecurity GRC Professional Services Consultant at...

With a subscription video on demand (SVOD) services market expected to surpass $1.2 billion by the end of this year, it’s no wonder that entertainment and media companies are looking at the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) with increased focus. While the...

2024 has been a big “events” year for DataBee as we’ve strived to raise awareness of the new business and the DataBee Hive™ security, risk and compliance data fabric platform. We’ve participated in events across North America and EMEA including Black Hat...

If the proverb is, it takes a village to raise a child, then the corollary in the business world is that it takes a village to get compliance right. And in this analogy, compliance officers are the mayor of this village. Compliance officers...

For planning compliance with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), the PCI Security Standards Council (SSC) supplies a document that provides excellent foundational advice for both overall cybersecurity, and PCI DSS compliance. Organizations may already be aware of it, but...

During my time as a SOC analyst, triaging and correlating alerts often felt like solving a puzzle without the box or knowing if you had all the pieces.  

My days consisted of investigating alerts in an always-growing incident queue. Investigations could start with...

Organizations often adopt data tiering to reduce the amount of data that they send to their analytics tools, like Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) solutions. By diverting data to an object store or a data lake, organizations are able to manage and...

Data can come in all shapes and sizes. As the “data guy” here at DataBee® (and the “SIEM guy” in a past life), I’ve worked plenty with logs and data feeds in different formats, structures, and sizes delivered using different methods and protocols. ...

If there’s one thing that’s self-evident in this U.S. presidential election year, it’s this: political advertising moves fast.  

"For agencies representing the vast number of campaigns across state and national campaigns, it’s not just about the sheer volume, but also about the need...

It’s commonplace these days to assume we can learn everything about someone from their digital activity – after all, people share so much on social media and over digital chats. However, advanced threats are more careful on digital. To catch advanced threats, therefore...

“Knowledge is power.” Whether you attribute this to Sir Francis Bacon or Thomas Jefferson, you’ve probably heard it before. In the context of IT and security, knowing your assets, who owns them, and how they’re connected within your environment are fundamental first steps...

Financial institutions are a critical backbone of the local and geographical – and world – economy. As such the financial services industry is highly regulated and often faces new compliance mandates and requirements. Threat actors target the industry because it manages and processes...

Linear television isn’t dead, but it certainly isn’t the same as it was even five years ago. As content delivery and consumption shift toward digital platforms, content owners and distributors find themselves navigating a rapidly evolving landscape. The rise of streaming services has...

When you join an organization the size of Comcast, it’s easy for outsiders to see only “Fortune 29 Company!” or “huge enterprise!”. But tell that to the DataBee team – we’ve been in start-up land since October 2022. And it’s been an...

Noopur Davis, Comcast’s Chief Information Security Officer recently talked about bringing digital transformation to cybersecurity, where she stated, “The questions we dare to ask ourselves become more audacious each day.” In cybersecurity, this audacity is the spark that ignites innovation. By embracing bold...

Today’s security information and event management (SIEMs) platforms do more than log collection and management. They are a critical tool used by security analysts and teams to run advanced security analytics and deliver unified threat detection and search capabilities.

A SIEM’s original purpose...

The evolution of digital photography mimics the changes that many enterprise organizations face when trying to understand their cybersecurity controls and compliance posture. Since the late 1990s, technology has transformed photograph development from an analog, manual process into a digital, automated field. These...

In a great blog on bringing digital transformation to cybersecurity, Comcast CISO Noopur Davis wrote, “Data is the currency of the 21st century — it helps you examine the past, react to the present, and predict the future.” Truer words were never...

As we approach the halfway point of the decade, events of the past year underscore just how appropriate the name the “Roaring 20s” really is for the current era of media and entertainment. From dramatic advances in AI and ML technology and crumbling...

Missed our Cybersecurity Hot Takes webinar? Lucky for you, you can watch the on-demand recording now!  

We dived into cybersecurity’s burning questions with Roland Cloutier, former CISO at TikTok and ADP, Edward Asiedu, Senior Principal of Cybersecurity Solutions at DataBee, and Amy...

Enterprises have an ever-growing asset and user population. As organizations become more complex thanks to innovation in technology, it becomes increasingly difficult to track all assets in the environment. It's difficult to secure a user or device you may not be aware of....

Last week, DataBee® announced the general availability of DataBee v2.0. Alongside a new strategic technology partnership with Databricks, we released new cybersecurity and Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) 4.0 reporting capabilities.

In this blog, we’ll dive into the new security...

In today's fast-paced and data-driven world, businesses are constantly seeking ways to gain a competitive edge. One of the most valuable assets these businesses have is their data. By analyzing and deriving insights from their data, organizations can make informed decisions, manage organizational...

For as long as digital information has needed to be secured, security and risk management (SRM) leaders and governance, risk and compliance (GRC) leaders have asked: Are all of my controls working as expected? Are there any gaps in security coverage, and if...

Today, Snowflake recognized DataBee, part of Comcast Technology Solutions, as a Leader in the Governance, Risk & Compliance (GRC) Category in Snowflake’s The Next Generation of Cybersecurity Applications. As the Director of Strategic Sales and Go-to-Market Strategy, I am proud to help...

You may be surprised to know this, but the security data issues that challenge US-based security teams are issues felt ’round the world. Of course, I’m kidding: These challenges have been worked on, talked about, and written about for years and continue to...

Detectives, bounty hunters, investigative reporters, threat hunters. They all share something in common: When they’re hot on a scent, they’re going to follow it. In the world of cybersecurity, threat hunters can use artifacts left behind by a bad actor or even a...

We know ghouls and ghosts aren’t the only things keeping you up this spooky season. Bad actors are getting smarter with their attacks, using tactics and techniques that baffle even the most seasoned cyber professionals.  

Discovering — and thwarting — lateral movement can...

Since I joined Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) and the DataBee® team back in late March, I’ve been awed and challenged by how many different roles the DataBee data fabric platform is relevant to. Is it for security analysts? Threat hunters? Data scientists? GRC...

Allison Olien, Vice President and General Manager for Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS), is witnessing firsthand how the changes, challenges, and new opportunities for MVPDs and content providers are evolving the industry faster than ever. She took some time to reflect on how...

Exciting innovations are a-buzz! Today, DataBee® v1.5 is now generally available and features a host of new continuous controls monitoring (CCM) capabilities on top of the DataBee security data fabric that puts your data at the center for dynamic, detail-rich compliance metrics and...

A successful advertising campaign is more than the sum of its parts. That’s the goal, right? Campaigns need to justify themselves by delivering measurable results. That said, there are a lot of moving parts to a modern campaign, and they don’t all move...

The DataBee® team can’t help but have a little fun with the fact that Comcast is not exactly one of the first companies you think of when you think “cybersecurity”. Comcast has attended Black Hat in the past, but this is the first...

Recently, I’ve been thinking a lot about cybersecurity in the age of digital transformation. 

As enterprises have implemented digital transformation initiatives, one of the great—albeit challenging—outcomes has been data: tons and tons of data, often referred to as “big data”. Storing, managing and...

Let’s get right to the point: we’re growing fast and looking for great minds to come with us.  

In April, CTS launched DataBee® – Comcast’s innovative cloud-native security, risk and compliance data fabric platform. The original concept of DataBee was designed by Comcast’s...

Today, the Comcast Technology Solutions (CTS) cybersecurity business unit announced DataBee®, a cloud native security, risk and compliance data fabric platform. DataBee marks the first “home grown” product from this business unit and – like the other great products and platforms offered...

Comcast Technology Solutions is proud to announce that Nicole Bucala has been brought on board to lead our new Cybersecurity business unit as its Vice President and General Manager. We asked Nicole to share the reasons why, as a cybersecurity leader, she made...

The 2020’s have been a decade of big changes, but for broadcasters and MVPDs it’s already been a time of particular transformation. Last year saw the reallocation of C-band spectrum for 5G services and the subsequent migration of providers, either to a new...

In this business, thoughts about “agility,” “time-to-market,” and “personalization” are used every day, but the rapid pace of upheaval in 2020 and 2021, whether it be from pandemic or social unrest, gave advertisers real-world opportunities to test their mettle; to see if their...

It takes more than just a killer catalog or cutting-edge creative to stand out in today’s media markets. The winners are harnessing the power of emerging technologies to simplify operations, drive more value from data, and bring analytics to the forefront of decision-making...

The recently released OMB memo M-22-09 is a step toward bringing federal agencies in line with what many organizations in the private sector have been working toward for a while now – constructing a Zero Trust Architecture.

We discussed the strategic implications of this...

The President’s Office of Management and Budget (OMB) released M-22-09 last month, announcing it will require all federal agencies to move toward a Zero Trust Architecture (ZTA) by FY24.

BluVector has worked closely with large government agencies since our inception, and we’re encouraged...

Intrusion detection was first introduced to the commercial market two decades ago as SNORT and quickly became a key cybersecurity control.

Deployed behind a firewall at strategic points within the network, a Network Intrusion Detection System (NIDS) monitors traffic to and from all...

Executive Order 14028, “Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity,” signed by President Biden, shows the US federal government’s growing focus on cybersecurity.

The 2021 Executive Order requires U.S. federal government departments and agencies to focus on their cybersecurity framework and address the risks of malicious...

The 2020s are already proving to be a decade of sweeping change for MVPDs and cable operators around the U.S. The repurposing of C-band spectrum for 5G services is a plan that was accelerated last year after an agreement between the FCC and...

There is no denying that Operators — MVPDs and virtual MVPDs (vMVPDs) — are in a complex place in the video value chain. The requirement to manage rights across all content providers can be overwhelming, time consuming, and expensive. The need to streamline...

Dear Valued Customers,

When I started last January, I had hoped to meet most of you personally, but obviously this wasn’t possible. In place of in-person meetings, your sales and account teams have been connecting virtually to help you with your business needs...

It’s been a long quarter this week.

At least around our virtual office, that’s been a general consensus pretty much all year long. It’s a feeling that gets stronger as we look a back to the beginning of the year. Remember, way back...

As the calendar slips into the start of a new decade, the 2020s are poised to roar for advertisers ahead of one of the most anticipated U.S. election seasons in memory.

Need proof? Check out what the industry experts are predicting. Kantar Media...

A strong relationship between content creator and consumer is built on reliable, consistent, playback experiences. Don’t leave your customers stranded without the connection they need to the content they love. A global world demands consumers have universal access where, and when, they want...

Content providers and programmers are always on the lookout for new ways to monetize their content. Non-linear, on-demand streaming experiences may seem to dominate the conversation, but it would be completely wrong to interpret the rise of on-demand as a consumer rejection of...

Today, brands debate whether to prioritize broadcast or digital video channels in their advertising campaigns. But why choose? A blended, multichannel, strategy can increase ROI by as much as 35%, according to the Advertising Research Foundation.

However, according to a survey by...

What’s old could be new again.

From music and fashion to television and movies, culture and content have a way of coming back around and finding new audiences — especially in an age where your new favorite (and long ago canceled) show is...

Developers spend years crafting the newest games. When the next big release date comes, the last thing creators and consumers want are slow speeds and long download times.

Worldwide online gaming traffic reached 915 petabytes per month in 2016 and is expected to increase by...

How you deliver content to the user can have big implications on quality of experience. How fast, and reliably, content is delivered is often a major factor in signal interruptions, latency issues, and buffering.

In episode 5 of our series, Peter Gibson, Executive...

New features and greater interactivity add up to a richer experience for viewers – and stronger returns from your investments in content and technology. To maintain an operation that evolves with audiences, it’s important to stay centered on what experiences you want to...

2019 is proving to be another huge year for the industry, as some of the biggest entertainment brands are poised to launch new streaming and on-demand destinations of their own. Where business models used to be split up more clearly between subscriber-based approaches...

SCTE 224 – known affectionately as “Scuddy 224” – refers to an expanded Event Scheduling and Notification Interface (ESNI) standard that was launched in 2015 by the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE). Simply put, SCTE 224 was borne from the increased need...

A consistently fresh blend of live and on-demand content puts businesses on a strong path to attract viewers and keep them engaged. We’re seeing a shift in the industry where more content is being served via terrestrial delivery, while still working to preserve...

In 2017, we started off the year talking about the convergence of digital and broadcast workflows. It was inevitable: by bringing the consistent quality and process maturity of broadcast with the agility, reach, and monetization capabilities of digital, companies are creating, as...

What has a stronger impact on an audience’s perception – a great experience or a singularly awful one? In a world where every viewer is also a social media publisher in their own right, we could certainly point out the consequences of poor...

Channel origination has come a LONG way in just the last two decades. Allison Olien, Executive Director at Comcast Technology Solutions, provides a peek behind the curtains to see what video delivery used to be like, how it looks today, and where it's headed.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) is, at its core, a way to protect the long-term value of intellectual property in a content-driven economy (for those interested in the history of DRM, Vice.com’s Motherboard published a fantastic article last year on the subject). Content access...

Advertising delivery is, at its core, content delivery and share many of the same overarching delivery pain points – such as the increased costs and complexities of serving a multi-platform consumer landscape and the mounting expenses of producing top-quality video spots. Just like...

Every media asset has a specifically tailored role and goal. Even within the context of one brand, each campaign can have vastly different post-production needs or versioning requirements. For example, the needs of a national campaign with a variety of ad spots would...

Back in March, I wrote a blog with some advice for video brands looking to shore up their technology relationships in preparation for the road ahead. Along those lines, we introduced a holistic framework called Media Technology Lifecycle Management (“MTLM”) and presented it...

The competitive landscape of the video industry is barely recognizable from what was ten years ago; but the partnership landscape has undergone its own radical transformation. “Partner” implies a deeper B2B connection than a mere “vendor,” which now feels more like a purely...

It was a lot easier to get viewers excited about “tuning in” to a new program when the living room was the only place to watch it. Back then, the lack of choice made it a lot easier for consumers, too; but we...

It’s challenging to see the forest through the trees when new trees pop up to disrupt the view. New media technologies, delivery mechanisms, and business models emerge at such a frequent pace that organizations can find themselves taking focus away from their core...

Online advertising in all its forms, from banners to pop-ups to videos, generates a significant amount of revenue for both advertising agencies and media companies. Thanks to innovative technologies that are able to overcome anti-advertising tactics and better target consumers, advertising revenue continues...

Media and entertainment companies around the world deliver content to all screens that spans multiple time zones and regions. To create a more compelling viewing experience and keep viewers watching for longer, they may deliver time-delayed content across time zones and allow for...

“When consumers are paying for something or receiving video from a big-brand media company, they expect a premium high-quality experience. It has to be as good as TV, on every platform and device – and that’s our main priority in the years...

Make “me-time” more accessible to your audience, regardless of the situation.

No matter how your business sees the future, keeping pace with evolving viewing habits is critical to growing your audience. Consumers now expect the ability to curate their own viewing experiences, including...

Self-service advertising models are bringing transparency, control and efficiency to the forefront of the international market. While here in the United States, we typically opt for managed-solutions – a distinction changing fast due to the rise in self-serve digital platforms.

Running campaigns through...

We’re well into the new year. The months ahead will be filled with messages of innovation, disruption, and . . . . well, monetization. It was actually the word “monetization” here in our office that sparked talk about some of the most overused...

The sheer quantity of quality video out there makes it a fantastic time to be an advertiser or agency. So many new devices, new audiences… the possibilities are literally becoming endless. Here’s the thing though: be it live streaming, linear, on-demand, broadcast, you...

From the research that comprises our recent paper Survive and Thrive: The Changing Environment for Content Services and Video Services, one of  the surprising takeaways was that “being discovered” surpassed operational costs as the number one business challenge facing survey respondents. Along...

Are you watching more video-on-demand (VOD) programming? Of course you are. We’re living in a binge-watching economy where entire seasons of a program are delivered all at once and VOD consumption is a growing component of the average viewer’s video diet. The market...

Video standards and customer expectations are constantly evolving and new technology solutions are required to stay competitive.  There are more than a dozen platforms on which consumers watch video, each with support for varying video streaming, caption, and digital rights management (DRM) formats...

We recently partnered with Broadcasting & Cable and TV Technology to sponsor a new research paper called “Survive and Thrive: The Changing Environment for Content and Video Providers.” For this paper, the survey targeted technology managers who are responsible for the implementation of...

Did you “like” or “dislike” a video this week?

Watching video is an emotional experience. Sure, most programming is supposed to be – your favorite program, a riveting news piece, or even a lousy movie will all elicit a specific feeling, but even...

The attraction of a subscription VOD business model is a reliable revenue stream, powered by a personalized experience that evolves to remain relevant and valuable to viewers. Monetization choices are a big part of that, and have an indelible impact on the way subscribers...

Last year we kicked off 2017 by referring to it as “The Year of Converged Workflows.” And in many ways, it certainly was, with both broadcast and over-the-top (OTT) video companies learning from – and working more closely with – each...

The excitement of any major live event, like this year’s college basketball playoffs, aside from being responsible for countless hours of distracted coworkers, is a great time for our industry to witness the improvements to live streaming in action on a massive scale...

One way a CDN competes for your video delivery business is by showing you data that proves that it is faster than other CDNs.  Every CDN has a handful of industry reports, third-party tests, and/or head-to-head customer bake-offs that prove that at least...

The relationship between time-shifted viewing and advertising is shaped by the increasing power of consumer choice, and the need for processes that allow advertisers to meet customers on the customers’ timetable and device preference. For advertisers who want to reach their intended customers...

If you’re in the business of keeping eyes glued to screens, you are responsible for delivering to a lot more devices than just the living room television. That said, not every piece of content, live or otherwise, can be delivered everywhere. The rights...

Binge-watching, as an audience behavior, speaks volumes about the value of content amidst unprecedented depth of viewer choice. What does this mean for multi platform content distribution? We can choose from a huge variety of devices capable of displaying video of phenomenal quality and select...

Content delivery networks (CDNs) are well-established as a necessary component of today’s digital video delivery strategy. Closing the physical distance between the server and the end-user is a great way to protect the quality of end-user playback and security of the video files...

“Consumer mobility” isn’t just about smartphones.

One of the best things about being a consumer in today’s video market is that there’s such an abundance of great stuff to watch. As companies get smarter about improving experiences and content discovery, it’s easy to...

Anyone who invests in the stock market knows that the term “diversified portfolio” is the foundation that all of our investment strategies are built upon. By spreading risk around to multiple investments, the chance of failure is massively reduced, and success can be...

A quick search for “OTT adoption” brings up thousands of news articles in 2017 alone. But while the news might seem to skew OTT, how are audiences really watching? Below, we take a look at the broadcast and digital video trends from the...

I recently presented a paper introducing Media Technology Lifecycle Management (MTLM), but what does it really mean? Theoretically speaking, MTLM is a simple and effective approach for organizations to help keep operations on a path of continuous improvement and growth. It’s our...

Business Model Innovation In A Multi-Platform World

It’s been ten years since Google acquired YouTube, Netflix launched a new streaming video service, and Apple launched its first iPhone. Fueled by the proliferation of high-quality connected devices and constant improvements to video delivery, the...

The best way to manage big change is to eliminate concerns before they become problems. Even the most positive, well-researched changes can trigger fears, regardless of how “change-savvy” your business is. The human animal is hard-wired to meet any major upheaval with a...

It almost goes without saying that staying ahead of the current trends in media technology is imperative to success. As a 25+ year media and entertainment veteran, I’ve seen a lot of industry megatrends shape our business, but at nowhere near the speed...

The craziest annual college basketball tournament has commenced! College basketball’s premier tournament is exciting because of its unpredictability; with 68 teams competing in a single-elimination battle for glory, anything can happen. Behind the scenes, everything needs to run like clockwork in order to...

Media technology is evolving so quickly that it’s increasingly difficult to take a clear picture of your content’s performance. To complicate things further, advances that bring content to market faster often lead to innovations that change the demands of the end user. Between...

There has to be some sort of mathematical correlation between the speed of innovation within an industry, and the speed in which buzzwords lose their relevance, become distorted, or die altogether. We love buzzwords – especially with regard to complex ideas, because they...

The creative ecosystem of the advertising industry is more multichannel and global than ever. Content for both traditional and emerging platforms is an increasingly complex and challenging dynamic for advertisers and agencies to navigate. We all know managing multifaceted, global ad campaigns across...

The entertainment and media industry has been aflutter about Nielsen’s plans to launch “Live-plus-35” this fall. This would entail extending the ratings window to 35 days beyond the initial live broadcasting of a TV program. Considering that today’s TV experience involves multiple devices...

A Content Delivery Network (CDN) is essential for any company operating in the entertainment and media space, many of which use multiple CDNs. The standard definition of a CDN is relatively simple – a collection of geographically-dispersed servers that optimize delivery of all...

Transparency in advertising has been a very hot topic for the last few years, encompassing both financial and operational transparency. However, with many overlapping principals it can be difficult to understand the differences between the two, and more importantly, how they could impact...

Satellite cable delivery has been the standard for many years. However, recently content delivery via terrestrial “fiber” has started to shake up the industry. Depending on your location and goals, one or both may be the best option for your delivery. Read on...

There is little doubt about the recent dramatic shift in how content is distributed and viewers consume it. Yet, despite increased demand for streaming and OTT, pay-TV and other subscription-based services remain strong, with over 100 million pay subscribers[i] in the United...

Sporting events, political rallies, retail sales, and movie premiers can all cause highway traffic jams. These same events can also lead to significant spikes in Internet traffic. And, when spikes occur, the quality of an end-user’s streaming or download experience typically suffers. Live...

For media companies that frequently broadcast live events, such as sports games, the workflows for managing and monetizing multiple live events just got easier with the full suite of mpx services. Using mpx Live Events, you can now automate the recording process by...

The old adage if it isn’t broken, don’t fix it is sage advice in many respects. However, applying this advice to technology upgrades can limit operations, capabilities, and ultimately profit. Though the process of upgrading technology often seems costly and complicated, it frequently...

Much in the same way that premium television has moved beyond the living room in recent years, education has also undergone a similar transformation. Although teaching and learning still primarily take place in the classroom, these two essentials of education can now take...

There is a barrage of marketing messages filled with claims of “end-to-end solutions” designed to help make your business successful. In a complex content ecosystem, everyone claims to be “end-to-end,” but what does this really mean to you and your business?

Dictionary.com defines...

In a time not too long ago, monetizing content was easier. Linear content was broadcast, ratings were taken, commercials were aired, and money was made. In just a few years, monetizing content has become increasingly complex. Time-shifted viewing, video on demand (VOD), DVRs...

Using Digital Rights Management (DRM) to secure and protect content means you have some choices to make. These choices, the ones you make in packaging and encrypting your content, have a direct impact on the devices that ultimately play your content. To reach...

Pay TV providers have experienced transitional shifts, predominantly over the last five years, as consumers change how they watch their content. Internet video has redefined how consumers get content and has spurred the cord cutter and cord never segments. These groups of consumers...

mpx makes it easy to deliver your video offerings to market. From linear streaming to OTT solutions, mpx provides all the tools you need to manage, productize, promote, and monetize your content. Spinning up a new service may seem daunting at first, but...

Increasing consumer demand for streaming video, online gaming, and downloads—along with growing expectations of quality of experience (QofE)—is causing content owners and distributors to rethink their content delivery strategies. The leaders in online delivery have discovered that blending multiple CDNs will provide their...

The most critical aspect of any ad delivery vendor—besides full-service customer relations—is the capability of the network over which the ad assets flow.

There is very little a distribution partner can do for your advertising needs without a robust and reliable network to...

mpx makes it easy to manage media availability. You might recall our recent post called “Automatic Availability Windows” about automating media availability management. This post also highlighted the power of mpx’s validation rules as they apply to single or multiple availability...

A few years ago, DOCSIS 3.1 was announced at a special meeting of the Society for Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE). CableLabs officially released the specification in October 2013, putting us a little over two years since its inception. By well into 2015, you...

Everything has its season—football, weddings, awards, and if you are fortunate enough to live in the Southwest, hatch chiles. Television series are no exception to seasonality, primarily being lumped into fall and spring. Television advertising has closely followed the pattern of the seasons...

Managing media availability has become increasingly complicated and dynamic. Content exclusivity for negotiated time periods is now commonplace – it frequently moves in and out of syndication outlets, and there might also be regional content restrictions. Creating this exclusivity traditionally requires heavy manual...

Programmatic advertising on television is rapidly moving beyond the “proof of concept” stage to a viable reality.  In the first quarter of 2015, programmatic ad buys were placed during several prime time slots, including ESPN’s SportsCenter,[i] the Super Bowl[ii], and the Academy Awards[iii]. And...

Viewers are consuming Video-on-Demand (VOD) content at an increasingly rapid pace, which has created monetization opportunities for pay TV operators. However, making the most of these opportunities can present challenges. Read on to find out what C3/C7 is and how mpx can help...

We are proud to announce that our General Manager EMEA, Simon McGrath, was recently named as one of the United Kingdom’s top 50 most influential people working in Video-on-Demand (VOD) by VODProfessional. According to this “trade website for people who work in...

In the past few years, content distribution has become increasingly complicated as assets need to be prepared, managed and delivered for both broadcast and digital workflows. In order to accommodate all platforms, a single asset needs to be acquired, moved, stored, converted and...

Physical asset management is one of the most frequently overlooked aspects to producing, delivering, and distributing video ads. This is particularly the case with advertisers and agencies that have produced a high volume of ads. For those that have changed distributors, asset management...

When it made its debut in the mid 1990s, digital video technology represented an opportunity for cable system operators and other MVPDs to deliver more content to their customers without rebuilding their physical plant. Could HEVC, the H.265 digital encoding standard, represent that...

The methods of ad insertion vary depending on the channel, whether it be linear broadcast, on demand, or online. The expanded and varied reach between the channels and demographic-based advertising is beneficial to agencies and advertisers. However, having discrete and disparate platforms presents...

Statistics around HD and SD TV spot delivery reveal an interesting story and impact to agencies and advertisers. But first, let’s consider the data. At Comcast AdDelivery, the percentage of HD-only destinations has increased from 3% to 6% since the beginning of 2014...

Recent estimates put Internet usage at 3.4 billion users by 2016.* When combined with increased demand from streaming video, software downloads, 4K content delivery and application usage, the strain on a cable operator’s network can be substantial. Because Internet services are generally a...

Since 2010, “TV Everywhere” has become a technology, a process, a goal and a destination. We are all trying to get “there,” to the ubiquitous place where one file can be viewed on any device, authenticated, without buffering and monetizable through advertising. Sounds...

It doesn’t seem that long ago that creating video content and originating it were closely intertwined, with few processes standing between a TV show and its transmission via broadcast or satellite to viewers. Today, things are far from as simple or straightforward and...

As the technology and business models for ad distribution continue to evolve, there’s a growing trend toward self-service. The convenience makes sense; you can upload your assets, manage your orders and traffic, and review spots any time, from anywhere. It’s convenient for you...

Since the launch of Voice over IP (VoIP), most providers have offered MVPDs bundled voice products, meaning that they sell voice services as an attractive white label “turnkey” solution. This solution includes a voice network, telephone numbers and long distance. Providers then charge...

To sum up all the previous blog posts about today’s TV, media companies need to have the ability to improve their advertising, windowing, content discovery, and viewer relationships. Why? Because it is the new baseline in offering today’s TV. Few industries are evolving...

A study conducted last year by the CMO Council found a growing trend among marketers to ensure their technology decisions align properly with their company’s marketing strategy.  “With an increasing number of technologies being added to the marketing toolkit, marketers are beginning to...

As Light Reading’s Alan Breznick observed last month, there are a number of signs that dynamic advertising insertion (DAI) is beginning to take off.*

A review of 2014 found the number of viewable VOD ad impressions increased dramatically during each quarter last year...

All smart businesses know that they should know their customer… their likes, dislikes, habits, demographics, etc. Observing and acting upon this personal information permits them to provide better service/product offerings. The end result is a more satisfied customer, one that is likely to...

One of the challenges facing cable MSOs and other MVPDs (multichannel video programming distributors) is determining whether customer demand for 4K (Ultra HD) programming will follow the trajectory of HD or 3D TV.

Consumer electronics retailers are the most bullish on the outlook...

Since the dawn of time, TV has always been about relaxation. Viewers want to get comfortable, quickly find something good to watch, and let their mind cease and desist for a while. However, today’s TV content discovery experience isn’t always quick. Oftentimes, it...

As stressed in the last blog post about today’s TV, generating revenue is an absolute must and new technologies have provided media companies with more instruments to optimize monetization. In addition to advanced advertising, integrating video business models is another way to bring...

If you have watched any news in the past few months, you know that cybersecurity is a hot topic – and a top priority for 2015. Even before the cyber attack against Sony Entertainment and the FBI Joint Intelligence Bulletin (JIB) warning news media...

Generating revenue is a must for any successful business, and a pay TV business is no exception. In recent years, new technologies have not only spurred changing TV viewing habits – delaying consumption is a big one – they have also provided media...

A number of factors are contributing to the increased importance of a video viewer’s quality of experience (QoE) to brand loyalty.

First, a growing number of non-media brands are becoming media companies, as exemplified by initiatives such as BMW films and the GoPro...

In order to deliver today’s TV – an ‘every screen’ experience that lets viewers watch on whatever, wherever, and whenever it is most convenient – a media company needs to provide viewers with an assortment of ways to consume content.

For many years...

As TVNewsCheck recently observed, in the months leading up to the Super Bowl fans are focused on which teams will play the big game, while chatter amongst marketing and advertising professionals is centered on the TV commercials that will air during the game.*

The...

Perhaps no one can appreciate the accelerated pace of change better than independent cable systems, many of whom can trace their businesses back to the “CATV” - community antenna systems of the late 1940s and 1950s. In those days, the business model was...

Why viewers are missing out on great online videos

We live in a video world. TV, movies, PCs, tablets and even our smartphones are ever-ready to deliver great and sometimes not so great video content. In the month of November, 2014 alone, there...

Somehow, it’s already the middle of January. The holidays seem like a distant memory and work is back in full swing. Chances are you made some New Year’s resolutions like eating better, saving money or getting more organized. Most of us do this at...

Advertising delivery has changed dramatically in the last 20 years. Twenty years ago, there were no smartphones or tablets and the Internet was a new business tool. Content was delivered via fax, morning paper, evening news or word of mouth with an inevitable...