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HOW VIDEO IS TRANSFORMING PERFORMING ARTS

bsp-admin-1 on June 30, 2021

Forced by necessity and driven by creativity, performing arts organizations today are embracing a hybrid model and finding innovative ways to use video to engage existing audiences and make new ones in every corner of the globe. This transformation was already underway when the pandemic kicked it into high gear. With theatres lowering their curtains, stadiums closing their gates, and film sets shutting down indefinitely, it was critical for the entertainment industry to adapt by leveraging digital solutions.

THE SHOW MUST GO ON: COMBINING ARTS AND TECHNOLOGY

Rising to the challenges of the past year, performing arts groups all over the world had to find new ways to engage fans, monetise content, and grow audiences in response to many in-person seasons being cancelled.

With a mission to bring the power and beauty of orchestral music to more people in more places, the Sydney Symphony Orchestra has been using video to grow its audience and share performances with people who might not be able to attend the symphony in person.

During the lockdown, the SSO smoothly transitioned to video and made pre-recorded concerts and productions available on demand to audiences across the globe. Of course, for an orchestra, delivering high-quality performances with exceptional sound is critical, so they use Brightcove to deliver first-rate video experiences that capture every nuance of the music and keep their audiences coming back for more.

GOING BEHIND THE SCENES: BRINGING THE AUDIENCE EXPERIENCE CLOSER THAN EVER

Live streaming performances on a platform like Brightcove’s allows arts groups to deliver unmatched viewing experiences for virtually any size audience – and everyone gets a front-row seat from the comfort of their own home. But lovers of the performing arts have insatiable appetites for cultural content, and video provides them with immersive experiences that can take them backstage, let them peek into rehearsals, or participate in a Q&A session with a favorite artist.

In response, video has become an integral part of many arts and entertainment organizations as they seek to offer both in-person and digital experiences.

For example, the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra recently launched MSO.LIVE, their digital platform to deliver accessible, affordable, world-class digital experiences to all audiences, to support their 2021 season. Offering 24-hour entertainment, both live and pre-recorded, MSO.LIVE delivers premium content as an alternative to traditional, in-person orchestral experiences.

The orchestra has been able to attract new audiences from around the world with the MSO.LIVE platform, and they are continually enhancing their video content by releasing new performances each month and partnering with other world-class orchestras.

THE VENUE GOT A LOT BIGGER: ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE

While 2020 made it urgent to pivot to new digital video experiences in response to the pandemic and its impact, many arts and entertainment organisations are now embracing these experiences as a long-term growth strategy.

Video has literally opened up a new world of opportunity for these organisations to attract and engage new fans. No longer limited by their physical location or geographic borders, their performances and associated content can now be viewed virtually anywhere by anyone and at any time.

As the world opens up once again and in-person performances return, the focus will shift to how video can be used to enhance and supplement these performances as well as how it can be used to create unique and enhanced experiences for a deeply engaged digital audience. Arts organisations can look forward to a hybrid future built on the twin pillars of in-person and video.

And artists and fans can anticipate more of the connections that make performances and everything that surrounds them so powerful and meaningful.

THE FUTURE OF E-COMMERCE AND RETAIL LIVE STREAMING

bsp-admin-1 on May 25, 2021

It’s been a challenging year for retailers, and one in which the acceleration of digital initiatives has never been quicker. One of the strongest things that has come out of 2020 is the adaptability of the retail sector and their ability to pivot and deliver online solutions to bridge the physical gap with their customers.

Retailers and brands have adapted their business models to leverage Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) and focused on e-commerce as a way to drive revenue, maintain a competitive advantage, and reach and engage customers in the absence of traditional retail channels. While this was partly borne out of necessity due to the pandemic, there is now a more permanent shift to how consumers will purchase in the future.

The convergence of live streaming and e-commerce has been largely driven out of China and is also gaining strong traction in the US with research projecting live streaming in both markets to be worth billions. With live streaming, geographical location is no longer a barrier to access, helping to bridge the gap between social, entertainment and commerce through a sensory, real-time experience between the shopper and the seller.

What is interesting, however, is that brands are emerging as the stalwarts of live streaming. And while they may be ‘testing the waters’ so to speak, global brands like KitKat are experimenting with live streaming as an avenue to drive mindshare, build loyalty and deliver experiences for customers that will ultimately drive sales. Established global brands, such as Nike and Adidas, have recognised the merit of D2C and are now focused on generating at least 50 percent of their revenue directly engaging their customers.

This sharp shift towards embracing all things digital has created a new omnichannel experience for consumers – one that is personalised, seamless and experiential across both online and offline touchpoints. From a customer’s point of view, this means increased convenience that allows them to shop whenever, wherever, on any device, creating an incredibly seamless experience from the first click to the last.

For retailers, this means increased exposure and reach, which allows them to:

  • Target new audiences and create unique interactions
  • Increase engagement, drive conversion and cultivate loyalty
  • Provide brands with key insights into their customers through the use of data and analytics

With video, retailers are able to establish a richer connection directly with their target audience.

Retailers must continue to understand the behaviours of consumers both in-store and beyond to attract new prospects while retaining loyal customers. In order to do this, brands must be agile to adapt and innovate, leveraging relevant technologies and solutions, such as video, to support them in this endeavour.

Over the past year, there has been significant growth in the use of video at all levels of the customer journey to create an immersive customer experience.

PRE-PURCHASE

  • At this stage, video is predominantly used for search and discovery via social media, websites or email newsletters, giving customers the ability to visually research and uncover features and benefits in a more contextual way.
  • Livestreaming is also gaining popularity as a way to ‘virtually’ launch a product or create a showcase event to engage prospective and current audiences.

ONLINE PURCHASE

  • Video can be used to showcase related products or solutions or recommendations to drive increased cart size.
  • For example, a fashion brand may show a video of a model wearing an outfit so customers can get a visualisation of the ‘look’ and fit, helping them imagine themselves wearing that outfit, followed by a ‘get the look’ video in-cart to drive additional sales.
  • Brands can also use interactive shoppable videos that come with a CTA or click to cart conversion to deliver a more seamless experience.
  • ‘Shoppable TV’ is also expected to emerge as another potential channel, as the lines become more blurred between entertainment experiences and ways to reach consumers.

IN-STORE PURCHASE

  • In a physical storefront, retailers will want their video content to be interactive. This could mean having QR codes or apps that demonstrate key product features and benefits, customer testimonials or reviews, or how-to-use demos.
  • Through this form of visual storytelling, buyers have the opportunity to ‘test out’ the products in different settings. For example, a furniture store can use video to help customers visualise what a chair would look like in a virtual lounge room, giving them a visual context to help them make an informed decision.
  • Separately, video is also a great way to build staff knowledge, leveraging video to train and upskill staff on products or services.

POST-PURCHASE

  • At this stage, it is about supporting your customer with relevant information on the product or service that they have purchased.
  • In this instance, unboxing tutorials and how-to videos that educate your customers on how to get started are ideal.
  • Brands are increasingly using video for advocacy – using user-generated video content for testimonials, or to showcase a product or solution in action.

As we see more retailers looking to differentiate and use new and unique ways to engage and interact with consumers via the channel of their preference, video analytics is one of the most useful tools for measurement.

This goes beyond the traditional impressions and clicks and dives into actual audience behaviour. Robust video analytics provides retailers:

  • A comprehensive method to measure ROVI (return on video investment)
  • Viewer engagement data, including who is viewing content, how it is being viewed (devices, browsers, operating systems), how long it is being viewed, and where viewers are coming from
  • The right information to develop audience insights, target specific audiences with curated content that is personalised for them, and help form future video strategies and business decisions

Using an end-to-end online video platform like Brightcove also allows retailers to easily integrate with e-commerce platforms such as Adobe Magento Commerce and Salesforce Commerce Cloud B2C.

The digital habits consumers developed during the pandemic lockdown will continue to persist. If you’re a retail business, we’d love the chance to help you adopt and unlock the power of video across your online and offline channels to create a robust omnichannel experience for your customers. Get in touch with us here.

This content was originally featured in “Livestream and E-Commerce: A Total Breakdown with Greg Armshaw from Brightcove,” by Power Retail.

CLOSING THE GAP: HOW BRIGHTCOVE DELIVERS VIDEO INTO CHINA

bsp-admin-1 on May 24, 2021

It is common knowledge that broad access to the e-commerce market is a key component of a comprehensive e-commerce strategy. To support our customers in reaching their key audience, Brightcove is excited to introduce the ability to deliver video into China through a partnership with global e-commerce giant Alibaba. As the first video provider to offer this capability, our customers are able to reach a vast new market and significantly grow their e-commerce opportunity.

The past year has only heightened the importance of a strategic approach to e-commerce which includes the use of video, expansion to all markets and leverage social for awareness. In fact, global e-commerce sales in 2020 jumped 27.6% compared to the previous year, reaching $4.280 trillion – far ahead of eMarketer’s mid-pandemic assessment of 16.5% growth.

Now that we’re almost halfway through 2021, brands with merely adequate e-commerce experiences have to offer more: experiences that are captivating, engaging, and that increase cart conversions like never before. But where do you begin? With these 3 steps:

1. USE MORE VIDEO

Video connects with customers way more than still pictures or text on a page. With video they can see how clothing moves when someone wears it…or how to install an appliance…or the meals they can cook with the spices they’re buying. Video brings products to vibrant life and entices people to buy – why else would so many social media influencers turn to video first to sell their products? Video is versatile, too: no matter where a prospect is on her customer journey, there’s a type of video that will move her closer to a purchase. You can share video across social channels to expand your audience and attract new customers, add videos to product pages to encourage viewers to add it to their cart, and create areas where customers can learn more about a product or watch testimonials and reviews from actual users. Video is the thread that can weave your brand, your tone, and your mission throughout the sales process.

2. EXPAND INTO CHINA

As we noted above, e-commerce saw significant growth globally in 2020 – but China made history, and it doesn’t look to be slowing down any time soon. Recent studies have shown that China accounts for over 50% of global e-commerce transactions. Think about that: more than half of all e-commerce sales around the world occur in China. It goes without saying that brands need to ensure that their e-commerce experiences are as engaging in mainland China as they are in the rest of the world, but this has been a challenge due to Chinese regulations…until now. Brands looking for a partner to reach this vast and enthusiastic market can turn to Brightcove. Our solution allows you to easily create a single video strategy and workflow that works around the world, including China. And it’s all backed by the reliability, scalability, and security of the Brightcove platform to bring you the extraordinary growth opportunities the Chinese market offers.

3. BUILD AWARENESS ON SOCIAL

Though the fate of social commerce is still up in the air, social media continues to shine (and grow) when it comes to product discovery, education, and consideration. Instead of focusing on social commerce experiences, brands should use social media for top-of-funnel brand awareness and demand generation. We all know at least someone who found a brand on social media and made a purchase – I, for example, bought my wedding flowers on Instagram – but it’s an ever-evolving channel, with new platforms being introduced (hello, TikTok!) and viewer trends constantly shifting. Our favorite tip from marketing gurus is to learn from the experts: categories like fashion and beauty have already been successful at driving conversions on social media, especially with limited-edition product launches with a short path to purchase. Can other categories build on their success? That remains to be seen.

With these three tips, every marketer can benefit from the e-commerce explosion – but remember, it all starts with the most powerful way to connect with customers: video.

VIDEO IN THE ENTERPRISE: DEBUNKING 3 MYTHS OF A ‘NEW NORMAL’

bsp-admin-1 on May 20, 2021

As someone who was in the video technology space a few years before the world went on lockdown, I feel like I understand it pretty well. For example, I know basic stuff like the difference between a meeting solution and a streaming platform. I also know more complicated ‘techie’ things like what video ingest entails, and how video security and video encryption are two very different concepts. And of course I know the “Touch Up My Appearance” slider is quite literally the best feature ever added to a video conferencing application. At least for me, anyway.

There is no doubt the massive changes in video use due to office virtualizations, reductions in business travel and virtual event participation are significant, and it would be difficult for anyone to deny that. For enterprises across the globe it’s both culture-changing and transformational, and it may have even permanently modified the economy as we know it. But it’s not the ‘new normal’ as so many have claimed.

MYTH #1: OFFICE VIRTUALIZATIONS AND REMOTE WORK ARE RECENT CHALLENGES

This past year truly represented the pinnacle when it came to marketing around video solutions. On one hand we had technology companies treating the pandemic like The Gold Rush, claiming their platforms could address ‘emerging’ workplace issues like remote collaboration, distributed employee engagement and video burnout. And on the other hand, we had the largest organizations in the world scrambling to buy and implement every video technology they could get their hands on. It was the perfect storm of chaos and confusion, even for those who understood exactly what was happening.

In April, to help cut through the madness, Inc.com published an article titled No Office, No Problem: 125 Companies Proving That Virtual Companies Can Thrive. But some of you may be surprised to know the article in question was actually published in April of 2015 . . . over six years ago. The point is, office virtualization and remote work are not new challenges being faced by enterprises. The video technology required to virtualize nearly all forms of corporate communication has existed for the better part of two decades. But up until the year 2020 many companies simply hadn’t bothered to adopt much if any of it.

MYTH #2: THE PANDEMIC FORCED ENTERPRISES TO RE-EVALUATE BUSINESS TRAVEL

Since business travel was invented, companies have allowed staff to rent cars, book train passes or jump on planes whenever they sensed a customer was unhappy, or a prospect was speaking with a competitor. But if there’s one thing last year taught all of us as a business community, it’s that a physical presence is not always mandatory to re-engage with a customer or close a deal. Unless of course you are a CFO, in which case you have suspected this for a very long time.

You see, CFOs already knew that spending $2,000 on a last-minute plane ticket to send a support rep to a customer site was bad for cash flow. They were also painfully aware that paying $50,000 in T&E annually per Sales Rep made for some really uncomfortable conversations during the annual audit. Corporate travel has been broken for a long time, and the pandemic did not force organizations to re-evaluate it. The pandemic simply gave organizations the proof they needed to move some of their travel investment to video-based technologies that help employees accomplish the same goals—at a significantly lower cost to the organization.

MYTH #3: NO ONE WAS REALLY RUNNING VIRTUAL EVENTS UNTIL 2020

A few weeks back I was reading a round table-style interview with a group of high profile marketing executives. In that article, one participant made the comment that rising momentum in people attending virtual educational conferences and seminars was something “no one could have anticipated.” As a marketer I would normally agree with this statement wholeheartedly . . . aside from the fact that I was invited to participate in my first virtual conference nearly 15 years ago.

The conference in question claimed to offer attendee networking, virtual trade show booths, sponsor interactivity and even virtual prospecting. My company participated, and admittedly it was mostly a terrible experience at the time. But the idea of being able to participate in an event at low cost and time commitment–without having to put eight people on a plane or invest in yet another 30 x 30 booth display—was spot-on. And the potential in the emerging world of virtual event technology should have been clear to anyone who was paying close enough attention.

WRAPPING IT UP

What we are experiencing today with the use of video in organizations is not a “new normal” as so many have claimed and continue to claim. What enterprises and brands are experiencing is the acceleration of a normal that was already headed our way. And whether or not we saw this normal coming, it’s time for enterprises and brands to start investing in proven, comprehensive video platform solutions that support remote work, the minimization of business travel, and self-service execution of virtual events.

MONETIZING A GLOBAL FAN BASE WITH OTT TECHNOLOGY

bsp-admin-1 on May 11, 2021

Launching a global over-the-top (OTT) streaming service can be daunting. There’s so much to consider: content rights, languages, currencies, payment gateways, and more.

Brightcove recently sat down with a panel of experts to uncover the things you should think about if you’re planning an OTT service of your own:

  • Paolo Cuttorelli, VP APAC, Middle East and Africa at Evergent. Evergent provides an integrated revenue and user management application used by many of the world’s leading communication and media companies.

  • Moustapha Bekheet, VP and Managing Director at WatchiT!. Launched in 2019, WatchiT! is the first SVOD in the Arab world, reaching a global audience of 400 million people from its Egyptian headquarters.

  • Becca Paoletti, Co-Founder and CEO of CakeWorks. New York City-based video agency CakeWorks helps content creators, media companies, publishers, and startups around the world with challenges like how to monetize effectively.

Here are some of the insights they shared:

PRICING AND MONETIZATION

  • Study the market and launch with exclusive or niche content. When you’re faced with the challenge of trying to launch a subscription-based service in a traditionally free-to-air market, focus on offering viewers content they can’t get anywhere else. If viewers are going to pay for content, exclusivity equals value.

  • Know your audience – and your competition. Get to know your potential audience inside out: Who are they? What are they watching? What are their interests? What platforms are they on today, and how much are they spending? In the US, people are already paying for four to five streaming platforms. Understand the difference between content viewers will pay a premium for versus content that is available for free on platforms like YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok.

  • Start lower and offer multiple options. If your technology allows it, offer tiered pricing with a low entry-level option. Then be as flexible as your platform permits. For example, if you have higher-value content, monetize it through a transactional or premium subscription package.

  • Reduce or remove free trials. A lot of services, like Disney+, Netflix, Curiosity Stream, and just recently, HBOMax, are doing away with them. If you really want to offer a free trial, though, limit it to seven days or less. Some of the discounts and packages our panelists had the most success with were based on periods of six months or a year. That way, you know you have a viewer who’s interested in your content and who’s willing to commit, and you’re not dealing with marketing to them throughout the duration of a free trial.

  • Preview content. Free episodes are a smart alternative to free trials. Someone can watch one episode of a series, and if they like it, they can subscribe for the rest.

GOING GLOBAL

  • Make the entire experience as easy as possible. Going global introduces so many potential hurdles into the viewing experience, from whether content is available in a particular region to the currencies and payment options your platform will accept. From a customer’s perspective, there’s nothing worse than going through the entire process of finding a show they want to watch and getting ready to pay, only to find at the last moment that the content isn’t available in their region, or they can’t use the credit card they were intending to pay with. You want to make things as easy as possible for them, so put any critical information that may impact their ability to enjoy your content at the beginning of the process, not at the end.

  • When they’re ready to pay, meet customers on their terms. Payment methods vary greatly from region to region. In Asia, for example, customers expect to be able to pay for a streaming service with a bank transfer. In developing economies, digital wallets are popular, and in some places, you can piggyback on the relationship a consumer has with their cell phone carrier. You should strive to meet customers on their own terms and give them the opportunity to pay in whichever way works for them.

BUILDING A SUCCESSFUL SERVICE

  • Keep costs in balance. Understand your costs for content, marketing, and technology, and make sure they’re in balance. You don’t want to have the best platform with every bell and whistle without enough marketing or content to take advantage it. So if you’re starting small and you have a small content budget, go small. Put a basic platform together with some baseline marketing strategies that leverage what you can do on social with little to no money.

  • Understand churn to reduce it. Once you have a customer, it’s vital to keep them. Gain a deep understanding of what they expect, then exceed their expectations. Knowing exactly why viewers leave is the first step in getting them to stay.

  • Encourage gifting. If someone really loves your content and believes it’s a good value, they’re going to be willing to buy it to give to someone else as a gift. So give them that opportunity. Sharing your service with others is the ultimate endorsement of your content and your pricing. Let your most passionate viewers be ambassadors for your brand.

And remember, if you’re looking to launch an OTT streaming service, we can help.

Brightcove Beacon features an advanced monetization module powered by Evergent that allows your viewers to easily make payments in their local currency and with their preferred payment method – just what you need when your potential audience is the world.

SIMPLIFYING LARGE SCALE CONCERT TICKETING AND LIVE STREAMING

bsp-admin-1 on May 5, 2021

Just last month, Ricardo Arjona’s “Hecho a la Antigua” show became the most watched live stream concert in the history of Latin America. More than 150,000 fans across 80 countries purchased tickets for this virtual concert, setting a new record for Arjona.

Vye was created to connect artists to virtual audiences through live stream concerts, and for the “Hecho a la Antigua” show, we partnered with Brightcove and InPlayer to confidently handle the scale we were anticipating for this performance.

Brightcove handled the live streaming, and InPlayer managed the authentication, payments, analytics and support. Both teams worked together to ensure fans could seamlessly log in and enjoy a reliable, broadcast-quality live stream while also protecting the artist’s content and revenue.

The absolute necessity of a reliable technology stack for live stream events is always important, and that’s further realized when things go wrong, which is exactly what the live events industry saw shortly after the Arjona event.

Another major Latin artist experienced technical difficulties on another video streaming platform, and ultimately ended up refunding fans and rescheduling a free performance to make up for the mishap. Unfortunate situations like this further highlight why it’s imperative to work with video technology leaders that have a history of successfully streaming large-scale events and are trusted partners throughout the process — before, during and even after a show.

At vye, we always place our artists and fans at the center of our services. We understand the cost and work that goes into a well-produced event, and we do everything we can to ensure the best experience possible for our artists and their fans.

Together, with Brightcove and InPlayer, artists can feel confident that their live stream concert will go exactly to plan, every time.

Even after the pandemic is behind us, musicians will continue to live stream shows. Live streaming has proven to be a prime opportunity for artists to play in front of a seemingly limitless crowd, around the world, and generate revenue.

As vye continues to redefine the events experience worldwide, we aim to build trust and long-term partnerships with artists everywhere to thrive in this new era of live entertainment. And with strong technology partners behind us, fans can expect a reliable, broadcast-quality live stream experience, every time.

CREATING DELIVERY RULES IN BRIGHTCOVE VIDEO CLOUD

bsp-admin-1 on May 3, 2021

In 2017 Brightcove launched Dynamic Delivery and began generating our manifests and video “just in time” at the point a player requests them, allowing us to repackage content to multiple different formats and support the widest range of devices possible.

Since then, we’ve increasingly been hearing from customers that they want to take advantage of this flexibility themselves and control at a fine-grained level which CDN their content is delivered over, what quality of video renditions should be available and even what order the different quality renditions should be presented in inside the video manifest. This lead to the creation of our Delivery Rules feature, which is now generally available as part of our API.

In this post, we’ll look at how to use this API to solve one of the most common use-cases we see – limiting the maximum quality of video being served to certain devices.

GETTING SET UP

To get started we first need a video to test with, which we’ve ingested as normal via Video Cloud.

Looking under the covers at the HLS manifest that’s being delivered to that player, we can see it contains a number of the following lines, representing rendition manifests of different resolutions – in this case 480×270, 640×360, 960×540 and 1280×720 (below):

#EXT-X-STREAM-INF:PROGRAM-ID=0,BANDWIDTH=2205500,CODECS="mp4a.40.2,avc1.4d001f",RESOLUTION=1280x720,AUDIO="audio-2",CLOSED-CAPTIONS=NONE
https://manifest.prod.boltdns.net/manifest/v1/hls/v4/aes128/5270290572001/aa7059e5-586b-4caa-ae6f-5533f223a569/a557b391-f20e-4727-9185-459411a63029/10s/rendition.m3u8

If 960×540 is the maximum resolution we want to deliver to our hypothetical device, then we should see the 1280×720 rendition disappear once our rule has been applied.

CREATING OUR RULE

Delivery Rules are made up of Conditions (when a rule should be invoked) and Actions (how the rule should affect the content).

Since we know that we want the rule to limit the maximum video rendition quality, let’s go ahead and create the Action first with the following HTTP request:

POST /accounts/{accountID}/actions
  Content-Type: application/json
  Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

and the request body set to:

{
  "properties": {
    "max_video_resolution": "960x540"
  }
}

This will create the new Action and return us something that looks like:

{
  "id": "88b13752-3469-4e46-b4aa-49cd4f1685a6",
  "properties": {
    "max_video_resolution": "960x540"
  }
}

MANUALLY INVOKING ACTIONS

Before we dive into conditionally applying our Action, we can manually invoke it and check it does what we want by adding its ID as a parameter to our Playback API request:

https://edge.api.brightcove.com/playback/v1/accounts/5270290572001/videos/6230434222001?config_id=88b13752-3469-4e46-b4aa-49cd4f1685a6

This will now return us the same HLS manifest as before, but with the 1280×720 rendition removed!

As well as being useful for testing, manually invoking rules in this way is a powerful technique for customers that leverage the Brightcove SDKs to build their own apps, allowing them to invoke different rules per-device, per-app or even per-user, just by passing in different Action IDs.

A common usage we see is for our customers to apply an Action to serve a basic type of content to anonymous users, while anyone who signs up has a manual Action applied to serve them richer (higher-quality video and audio, modern codecs such as HEVC, premium CDN provider) content.

CONDITIONALLY INVOKING ACTIONS

For customers that don’t want or need the granularity of manually invoking Actions, we provide a set of pre-canned Conditions to control under what circumstances the Brightcove manifest generation services should apply rules. These will apply to all requests and so are a great way of targetting certain groups of users, regardless of what type of device they’re viewing your videos on.

The full set of Conditions offered can be found in the API reference here.

For this tutorial, let’s imagine we know that users in the UK have been struggling with buffering high resolutions because of country-wide network capacity issues and so we want to strip out the higher resolution rendition until these are resolved.

PUT /accounts/{accountID}/conditions
  Content-Type: application/json
  Authorization: Bearer {access_token}

This API call takes an array of Conditions but for now we’re just creating one, by including the following body with our request:

[
  {
    "name": "Cut off high-quality renditions for the UK",
    "if": {
      "request_country": [
        "GB"
      ]
    },
    "then": [
      "88b13752-3469-4e46-b4aa-49cd4f1685a6"
    ]
  }
]

Now, if we make our standard Playback API request from within the UK (notice no config_id parameter attached this time) then we’ll see the high-quality rendition stripped out!

WHAT’S NEXT?

Hopefully this has given you a taste of the power and flexibility of Delivery Rules. The full lists of supported Conditions and Actions can be found here and if there are any others that you’d like us to add in the future, then please reach out to Customer Support or your account rep and let us know!

If you’re keen to read more about how our customers are using Delivery Rules then take a look at how Seven West Media Optimises Video Content Delivery With Brightcove’s Delivery Rules.

HOW TVNZ USED BRIGHTCOVE TO BOOST AD VIEWABILITY REPORTING

bsp-admin-1 on May 2, 2021

LAUNCHING OPEN MEASUREMENT SUPPORT AND BOOSTING AD VIEWABILITY REPORTING

Verification is vital for brands to establish the true return on investment from advertising campaigns. Traditionally, ad viewability is tracked using technology limited to desktop environments, offering limited access to measurement data on other endpoints.

As the media landscape rapidly changes, advertisers are increasingly looking for solutions to measure viewability and validity, specifically where ads are being placed and who is viewing them.

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TVNZ, New Zealand’s state-owned, commercially funded broadcaster, is all about sharing the moments that matter – whether it’s breaking news, following adventures, sharing stories, or putting smiles on faces. Each day, TVNZ reaches more than 2 million New Zealanders through channels TVNZ 1, 2, DUKE and online platform, TVNZ OnDemand. Leading news site 1news.co.nz and socially-driven online news brand Re: connect Kiwis to the important issues throughout the day, however they choose to engage.

Supported by Brightcove’s SSAI technology, TVNZ became the first broadcaster certified by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) for Open Measurement support in the APAC region, with the ability to measure viewability and invalid traffic with third-party verification on TVNZ OnDemand mobile apps.

“With our audiences increasingly using mobile devices to view content, we sought to address the need to report on this segment with integrity. Brightcove SSAI makes it easy for us to deliver ad-supported video to all devices – including mobile – without having to build and maintain integrations for every device to report against KPIs,” says Jodi O’Donnell, Commercial Director at TVNZ. “TVNZ OnDemand provides a bot-free, geofenced, brand-safe, and full-screen viewing environment that our users and advertisers trust, thereby with Open Measurement support, we’re able to better verify this.”

Brightcove technology exposes the verification data in the ad response so it can be passed to the new Open Measurement Software Development Kit (SDK). This makes ad metrics more visible and accessible to advertisers, increasing the value of inventory and boosting CPMs. By enabling better report viewability metrics, Brightcove not only simplifies the analysis of ad performance, but boosts the viewing experience for the audiences the ads are intended for.

Brightcove also solves for other challenges many broadcasters face today, such as preventing ad blockers from detecting ads, eliminating buffering, and preserving revenue while boosting audiences’ viewing experience by serving ads as one continuous stream.

As analytics become increasingly important and drive business decisions, broadcasters need to invest in Open Measurement to measure viewability and ensure they are getting the whole picture.

Our work with TVNZ marks a first for Brightcove SSAI, and we look forward to helping other broadcasters streamline their advertising operations.

HOW VIDEO IS KEEPING SPORTS FANS AND TEAMS CONNECTED 24/7

bsp-admin-1 on April 29, 2021

As the pandemic brought a sudden and dramatic change to the sports world last spring, one thing that remained was the loyalty of fans who still craved the action and connection to their favorite teams and players. Video broadened its role in filling that void, uniting teams and fans like never before with experiences that could often rival the plays on the field or in an arena.

In a recent Brandweek Sports Marketing Summit, I talked with Stephanie Paterik, Executive Editor of Adweek, about what we’re seeing at the fascinating intersection of sports and video.

The trends and examples in our conversation coalesced around three themes.

CREATIVITY WITH SHOULDER CONTENT

Leading teams, leagues, broadcasters, and publishers find new and unique ways to tap into the power of video to stay connected with their audiences.

  • The LPGA streamed virtual World Golf Tour (WGT) matches with some of its leading players, engaging fans with a new level of access that included some friendly trash talk.
  • Manchester City, in the English Premier League, offered their “Cityzens” online lessons and training for kids when matches weren’t being played and video diaries of their players helping in the community. They also made their City+ OTT service free for during the pandemic, with archived games available for rewatching.
  • The Golden State Warriors created Dubs Draft Room, delivering a video-heavy second screen experience for fans (and revenue for the club, as it was sponsored by Chase).
  • One Fighting Championship, a mixed martial arts leader in Asia, created and streamed their version of The Apprentice reality show competition featuring athletes, celebrities and corporate sponsors.

DELIVERING UNIQUE FAN EXPERIENCES

While nothing compares to the sights and sounds of a live event, video opens up a whole new world that lets passionate fans experience the game in their own way.

  • Fans may get the opportunity to isolate certain players or moments from a game or leverage interactive layers and scrolling timelines.
  • For fans into stats and metrics, teams can assemble video archives that track players’ careers and records, often scaling content creation with AI-based solutions
  • Some teams or leagues have their own editors assemble thematic clip packages for fans, creating editorial around them with articles, commentary and social engagement. GolfTV’s “2000s Week” and “Power Week” were themes designed to get fans through the initial pause in the action last spring.
  • “Watch with” functionality enables fans using services like BT Sport to co-view games from different locations with their video experiences in sync – sometimes privately amongst friends and sometimes in different public forums featuring special sport celebrity guest participation.

EMBRACING EACH SPORT’S PERSONALITY

What does your sport have that no other sport offers? By focusing on a unique trait or aspect, leaders create ownable, differentiated video experiences that fans will enjoy:

  • The England and Wales Cricket Board developed the interactive video experience “Out, Not Out,” letting online fans play the role of online umpire reviewing and ruling on video clips.
  • Polls, quizzes and virtual chats focused on specific trends, rules or historical moments of a sport engage fans during the season and off-season.
  • For hardcore golf fans, the infinite “shelf space” of the internet lets the PGA Tour stream every shot from every player in certain tournaments. This investment adds up to tens of thousands of individual video moments and greater engagement and monetization opportunities.
  • Relatedly, with golf and tennis tournaments featuring players from multiple countries, rights holders now enable loyal fans to cue-up performances from hometown favorites even when they are not atop the leaderboard or on Centre Court.

A WINNING FUTURE

Even as in-person events slowly resume, the innovation across the sports landscape over the past year has produced video experiences which will persist.

Fans will continue to demand a rich, engaging viewing environment for their favorite team or sport, but while errors or fouls are part of the games they watch, they will not abide the same in terms of skipping, lagging, or poor-quality video.

This is why sports organizations across the globe count on Brightcove to deliver a quality, broadcast-grade viewing experience that is highly scalable, highly redundant and global. For us, the game is never a game.