Supply What do you do when you are faced with a challenge of collecting large amounts of data? Especially when the data you need relates to TV viewing – a dynamic landscape at the best of times, with vast amounts of information available from an array of different sources. What if your challenge is further complicated by the need to analyse lots of historical data?
Analytics companies working with broadcasters and content owners to analyse viewer behaviour rely on the metadata they work with to be highly accurate, consistent, and up to date. It certainly helps if you can get it all from one source, neatly organised, accurate, consistent and delivered fast.
In a recent example, we were to meet an analytics customer’s requirements for data for more than 100 channels within a few days. Not only was the team able to complete requirements gathering, set up a sample and then a regular delivery of data, we also delivered historical data for the channels in question going back more than 10 years!
How did we do it? Our customer’s requirements were, on the surface, simple: they needed schedule data for 100 plus channels, enriched to an agreed standard, with appropriate flags and – what was one of the most crucial parts – consistent, unique IDs. Our experience in metadata delivery goes back more than 20 years and our metadata store contains data about schedules and programmes broadcast on TV not just in the UK and the different European markets, but also in the US and Canada. We could therefore provide information very quickly about:
- The consistency of programme, season and series IDs for easy identification of originations and repeats
- Programme titles
- Programme genres
- Delivery in the required local language
- Near-real-time delivery service also ensures that our clients receive updates as soon as they have been made by broadcasters
- Images
- Other rich metadata such as biographies, links to social media and more
