Red Bee Media has been Network 10’s trusted captioning partner for over two decades, delivering high-quality live and pre-recorded captioning. In 2022, this partnership was extended as Red Bee’s new artificial intelligence workflows launched Network 10 on a pathway to automation.

As a leading Australian broadcaster, Network 10 must comply with the Broadcasting Services Standard 2023 relating to the provision of captioning for deaf and hearing-impaired viewers. This means continuous, high-quality captioning on their live and pre-recorded programming.

As a commercial broadcaster, Network 10 also has a duty to ensure that these obligations are met in the most cost-effective way. They were keen to explore AI technologies for the savings it could bring to captioning, but wanted reassurance that quality would not be compromised.

"At Network 10, we take our captioning obligations extremely seriously. We knew the application of AI technologies could deliver upsides for the business, and were keen to explore its potential benefits, but it would be a non-starter if it impacted the quality of the existing service. Red Bee’s approach has allowed us to benefit from the efficiencies of AI, with no impact on service delivery. The results have been outstanding, delivering savings across the platforms while maintaining the exceptional service delivery standards we come to expect from Red Bee Media.”

Dean Wadsworth SVP Technology & Operations, Network 10

The Result

In the 12 months from the new solutions going live, Network 10 has benefited from –

  • A 21% fall in the per-hour cost of captioning.
  • Over half of all captioning volumes are created using automation.
  • 50% reduction in the number of service-affecting incidents.
  • 99%+ live accuracy, including automated solutions, based on NER quality assessment.

"Combining operational expertise with technical innovation is our USP. We work with our customers to enable solutions so our customers benefit from the latest technologies available, without the cost and risk of migrating to unproven systems and providers. Our relationship with Network 10, built on service excellence and trust, has allowed us to introduce AI workflows where maximum benefits can be realised right now. We look forward to expanding this in the future. ”

Richard Tomlinson Head of Operations & Customer Success APAC, Red Bee Media

The Solution

Red Bee’s suite of AI-enhanced workflows delivers maximum efficiencies. After selecting the best-fit speech-to-text vendor in the market, Red Bee optimised accuracy with content-specific curation, creating a service tailored to Network 10’s programs. This curation is constantly updated by our experienced captioning team, ensuring accuracy is maintained, and is used in both pre-recorded and live captioning workflows.

Pre-Recorded Content

  • Network 10 uploads content directly to Red Bee’s secure Cloud platform.
  • The content is analysed and a caption file is automatically produced.
  • Workflow 1 – where requested, the caption file is delivered directly to Playout for transmission.
  • Workflow 2 – alternatively, the caption file can be delivered to an experienced Red Bee captioner for additional QC before transmission.

In line with our philosophy around AI, Network 10 decides which workflow is appropriate on a case-by-case basis.

Our automated pipeline is integrated with our existing infrastructure, ensuring file formats are correct and captions are delivered every time with no impact on viewer experience.

Live Content

  • Red Bee’s fully automated Arc platform (Automatic Realtime Captioning) offers the best accuracy for live captioning.
  • Network 10 currently uses Arc to caption 10 Late News, A-Leagues football matches and, Sunday Hoops NBL basketball games.
  • It was also used in the US Presidential Debate.
  • Arc can be activated manually at short notice, meaning Network 10 can deploy it for breaking news.

Arc offers significant savings compared to traditional methodologies and is integrated into Red Bee’s existing captioning infrastructure, meaning no additional hardware was required at Network 10, and the presentation of captions remained consistent.

"When we talk about a pathway to automation, it’s all about providing customers with the option to embrace new, AI workflows when they feel it is right for them. Working in partnership, we have been able to showcase our full range of AI workflows and allow Network 10 to select those which provide real-world savings right now, with the promise of more from the full range of services in the future. The results have been remarkable and show the value Red Bee’s long-term AI strategy brings to our customers.”

Tom Wootton Head of Access Services, Red Bee Media

About Red Bee

Red Bee Media is the leading global media services partner for innovation and growth. We enable some of the world’s most recognised media brands, broadcasters and content owners to instantly connect with audiences anywhere at any time. Every day, millions of people across the globe discover, enjoy and engage with content prepared, managed, broadcast and streamed by Red Bee Media. Headquartered in London, with more than 2,000 media experts in Europe and Asia Pacific, Red Bee Media provides innovative solutions across the entire content delivery chain, including Playout, Streaming, Distribution, MCR, Media Management, Access, Content and Post-Production services.

BORN IN BROADCAST. LIVE FOR MEDIA. 

 

For press enquiries, please contact:
Gabija Jonsson
Head of Communications, Red Bee Media
gabija.jonsson@redbeemedia.com