HOW STUFF MOVED BEYOND TRADITIONAL JOURNALISM

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 9, 2024

THE NEED

Stuff needed a trusted partner to create a brand new video platform offering storytelling across multiple genres and audiences.

THE ANSWER

Brightcove video, with its 24/7 reliability, technical expertise, industry reputation, and OTT solution, made this happen quickly, easily, and with no added development costs

THE RESULTS

3 MILLION+ views per month

27 genres

78 channels

Thousands of videos featuring news, entertainment, lifestyle documentaries, music, sports, business, and much more

As the way we consume news and information changes, publishers must also adapt to connect with audiences in new ways. Reaching beyond its traditional journalism platform, Stuff has created created a bold new streaming service called Play Stuff. Powered by Brightcove®, this experience delivers local and international video content across news, sports, entertainment, and lifestyle programming, with material originating from Reuters, Press Association, Nine, ABC, The Guardian, The Telegraph, Bravo New Zealand, Al Jazeera, Sky Vision, Rugby Pass, NZ On Screen, and many more.

PUBLISHERS INNOVATE WITH VIDEO

Like many in the publishing industry, Stuff set out to increase its video footprint, deliver more storytelling with video, and meet the demands for new OTT (over the top) experiences. This gave rise to Play Stuff, which features a mix of short- and long-form programming focused on news, sports, entertainment, lifestyle, and documentaries. Play Stuff quickly became New Zealand’s new home for entertaining, informative, and compelling video. “The idea was to create a rounded product that goes beyond the traditional news space and into the world of entertainment and beyond,” said Paddy Buckley, Head of Video Products and Strategy at Stuff. “Play Stuff represents a huge opportunity for us to rethink the way we tell our stories and look at new opportunities with video.”

27 GENRES...78 CHANNELS...THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF VIDEOS

Being able to lean on an organisation like Brightcove was essential for us. They have a robustness in their systems that we need. And we need to ensure that there is a high level of responsiveness to any problems that we encounter. We really need to trust our partner being able to deliver 24/7.

CAROL HIRSCHFELD

HEAD OF VIDEO/AUDIO AND CONTENT PARTNERSHIPS, STUFF

Music? Māori? How about health or history? Maybe a documentary, short film, or home improvement channel. With so many genres and channels, Play Stuff doesn’t leave anyone or anything out of the mix. It’s made possible by a powerful and comprehensive OTT experience powered by Accedo. This joint solution enables Play Stuff to rapidly deploy high quality live and on-demand video across platforms with no added development costs. “Video is becoming more prolific with recent stats suggesting it will make up more than 82% of all consumer internet traffic by 2022,” said Chris McNair, Regional Director, Australia and New Zealand, Accedo. “Consumers are increasingly choosing to watch videos for information and entertainment. With this service, Stuff is tapping into that trend and delivering its content in a new and engaging way that will appeal to a larger audience.”

SERIOUSLY RELIABLE

With such a strong legacy in journalism and a mission focused on maintaining a vibrant, diverse functioning democracy in New Zealand, the addition of Play Stuff was a decision that was not taken lightly. The trust of the audience and the integrity of the organization must not face any risk. That led to the choice of Brightcove video. “When we offer new video programming for the first time to our audience, we need to know that it is going to be utterly reliable,” said Carol Hirschfeld, Head of Video/Audio and Content Partnerships at Stuff. “We must continue to build that trust which we have shown through the editorial side and show that we can do it at a technical level. And that’s really one of the key reasons why we chose Brightcove to be our partner.”

HOW SEVEN WEST MEDIA (SWM) PUT VIEWERS IN CONTROL

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 7, 2024

As one of Australia’s leading integrated media companies, Seven West Media (SWM) offers top quality, story-driven content to millions of consumers across the country. Whether it’s in the form of broadcast programming, magazines, newspapers, or digital media, SWM operates from the standpoint of creating engagement and value from powerful storytelling.

SWM decided to pivot its business strategy and become a total video enterprise, putting consumers in control of the viewing experience. In order to do that successfully, the company identified two major goals: (1) incrementally monetize all of its live stream content, and (2) measure each asset independently. Says Clive Dickens, Chief Digital Officer for SWM: “If we could incrementally monetize and independently measure, then we’d be able to take our total video experience to all devices, better known as TV Everywhere.”

What makes us different is that still today, we’re incrementally monetizing…live streaming with addressable live TV using server side ad insertion technology, and also independently measuring it…

CLIVE DICKENS

CHIEF DIGITAL OFFICER, SEVEN WEST MEDIA

Seven West Media launched its TV Everywhere strategy with Australia’s first-ever, 24/7 live stream television operation, giving viewers live access to big events like the Wimbledon Championships. From there, SWM built a network using the power of Brightcove technology, most notably its transcoding and encoding features, ensuring its consumers can access content anytime, anywhere. The company implemented Brightcove’s server side ad insertion (SSAI) solution to mitigate ad blockers, optimize ad delivery, and boost monetization. Further maximizing the advantages of the Brightcove platform, SWM then launched its own OTT streaming service, 7plus, blending the excitement of live stream content with catch-up programming via on-demand video, allowing consumers to decide how and when they want to enjoy SWM media. With the Brightcove platform, SWM was able to quickly power the service and send to market, all in a cost-effective, efficient manner.  Within twelve weeks following the launch, the service had already recorded nearly three million unique visitors per month.

Standout events fueled a year of stunning growth for SWM in 2018. The Summer of 7Tennis campaign reached 50% of the Australian population through its duration, as 3.3 million viewers tuned in simultaneously at the peak of the Australian Open men’s final. The Winter Olympics reached even more Australians, with 16 million viewers tuning in throughout the event, logging  27.4 million social video views. Finally, the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games racked up a total of 189 million live streaming minutes at final count. Throughout the year, their service handled these extreme traffic loads without viewability issues, thanks to the robust capabilities of the Brightcove platform.

HOW ROGERS MEDIA LEADS CANADA’S MEDIA MARKET

bc_campaign_editor_4 on December 7, 2024

FREE, TARGETED CONTENT DELIVERED ACROSS MULTIPLE PLATFORMS BOOSTS VIEWERSHIP AND REVENUE

For over a century, technology advances have driven changes in user behavior, forcing publishers and broadcasters to evolve their businesses. This trend has accelerated in the past few years as streaming services, social video and other alternatives to traditional media outlets have surged in popularity. To stay relevant—and profitable—in this new environment, conventional broadcasters are continuously looking for new models to grow and monetize their audiences.

One company that is successfully evolving is Rogers Media, a leading Canadian media company. Under the Rogers Media umbrella are over one hundred brands delivering news, sports, and lifestyle entertainment to over 13 million digital visitors. Known for its long history of innovation, Rogers Media is putting digital video at the center of its new business model.

FREE, HIGHLY-TAILORED VIDEO PROGRAMMING DRIVES AUDIENCE GROWTH

Rogers Media content includes a wide variety of national, local, and regional current season programs addressing topics ranging from politics to health to arts, as well as US-acquired primetime shows. The company also owns rights to air professional and amateur sporting events, showcasing teams Canadians care about most. Through this type of focused programming, Rogers Media ensures there’s something for everyone.

One of the main differentiators for Rogers Media’s local City™ brand is offering primetime shows for free. “We’re the only major broadcast channel that puts in-season shows out for free,” says Kasra Zokaei, Director of Digital Product Development at Rogers. “Our content is ad-supported, whereas most other platforms are subscription-based and feature only past season content. Our viewers aren’t limited to past season catch-up.”

There’s a very important connection between sports fans who follow multiple sports at different times of the day, and the availability of various content—video, traditional stories, scores, data—all on digital devices.

DALE FALLON

DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AT ROGERS

The instant gratification of up-to-date programming for those who don’t have a cable subscription is helping Rogers Media attract new viewers. This is supported by the company’s decision to not require authentication to access Rogers Media’s videos, which allows viewers to catch up on current season shows with zero hassle. This convenience has helped make City a major destination for primetime shows in Canada.

VIDEO VIA APPS DRAW MOBILE-SAVVY AUDIENCES

Rogers Media’s live and custom programming is accessible through multiple digital platforms—desktop, mobile, tablet and connected devices. As part of its strategy to reach audiences everywhere, Rogers Media pairs brand channels with a free app, allowing viewers to consume video content on-demand while on the go. This way, Rogers Media maintains their current viewership and gains new audiences. “We’ve been a pioneer in terms of our hybrid approach. In addition to making some content available at no charge to consumers and without authentication, we also offer a special tier of subscription access to our linear channels,” says Zokaei. “As our linear audience is very tech-savvy and quick to adopt our digital products, there’s a lot of uptake on mobile, so we really strive to give them the best mobile experience when it comes to consuming video.”

SPORTSNET REIGNS: MULTI-PLATFORM STRATEGY DRIVES REVENUE AND AUDIENCE GROWTH

Sportsnet is a prime example of Rogers’ success delivering content on a variety of platforms and through multiple business models. As the country’s number one sports brand, Sportsnet® delivers 24×7 access to regional and national coverage, in-depth analysis, and live events for a variety of professional leagues, including NHL, MLB, NBA, Curling and WWE—perfect for the all-around sports fan. Viewers can access this content free with advertising on the Sportsnet website or the Sportsnet app. In addition, Rogers Media also offers fans a subscription-based OTT product—Sportsnet NOW—for those who want live streaming of six Sportsnet linear channels, anytime, anywhere on a variety of different devices. The first mainstream sports TV channel in North America to be offered directly to consumers, Sportsnet NOW is available on desktop, through the Sportsnet App on mobile devices, Apple TV, and other connected TV platforms including Xbox.

“The Sportsnet mobile app is key to our success; it is heavily focused on distributing video. Our demographic is very mobile savvy, so we extend the brand to all major mobile devices,” says Dale Fallon, Director of Digital Product Management.

The Sportsnet App has helped Sportsnet grow a substantial audience and has become a revenue driver within the Rogers Media sports portfolio. Available on iOS and Android, the Sportsnet app won top prize for Best Mobile Utilities at the nextMEDIA Digi Awards and Best Apple Watch app at the Apple Best of Awards. The app has become a fan favorite, and is a regular fixture in the top downloaded sports mobile apps.

“There’s a very important connection between sports fans who follow multiple sports at different times of the day, and the availability of various content—video, traditional stories, scores, data—all on digital devices,” Fallon explains. “With our portfolio of products, we have all bases covered.”

BRIGHTCOVE PLATFORM PROVIDES EASY TRANSITION TO DIGITAL VIDEO SUCCESS

Rogers Media’s aim is simple: distribute video wherever people are consuming it. Using Brightcove’s technology, Rogers Media is able deliver on that goal.

Fallon explains: “In general, we’ve found Brightcove’s product plans and roadmaps align nicely with our needs, whether it’s SSAI, Brightcove Social, mobile SDKs, or integration with different ad servers. Brightcove is really a partner to us. There is a strong fit between the needs of our business and what Brightcove recognizes as trends in the media industry and priorities for media companies.”

Zokaei praises Brightcove’s Video Cloud solution for its high-functioning adaptability and superior technology.

“Brightcove has the fastest player on the market, and that’s very important for our audiences who want fast, uninterrupted viewing. We also have a lot of flexibility in how we customize and modify our players based on our brands. Each of our brands has its own unique needs, so customization is key.”

Overall, the collaboration between Rogers Media and Brightcove has delivered strong results. In expanding localized video content to digital platforms, Rogers Media has found a way to reframe its value potential for advertisers.

INNOVATION CONTINUES FOR ROGERS MEDIA

With Brightcove handling the heavy lifting on the technical side, Rogers Media is able to focus its efforts on finding innovative ways to expand. The company hopes to incorporate new discoverability methods to introduce viewers to alternative content. It’s also exploring digital live-feed capabilities for those who want to consume content in real time.

To increase monetization opportunities, Rogers Media plans to use Brightcove’s SSAI tools, which mitigate the impact of ad blockers and deliver an improved TV-like viewing experience across multiple platforms. The company has implemented Brightcove Social for its major brands, allowing streamlined publishing and aggregated performance data across both social networks and owned and operated sites.

In the end, Rogers Media doesn’t want to just grow as a company. It wants to continue building brands that offer relevant, reliable content to its audience where they want it. Zokaei explains: “We want to make it easy for our audience to get to the content they care about by bringing that content to the platforms they want to consume it on.”

“We are leveraging our content to turn viewers into local superfans. We want to win our viewers’ time so they’ll continue watching our channels, using our digital products, and interacting with our brands,” concludes Fallon.

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