Web Content For CPB Interconnect Grant

Transcription

1 Web Content For CPB Interconnect Grant Project Overview The six PBS stations of Tennessee worked jointly to build an interconnect system that would increase the value of public broadcasting, and in the long run increase funding and cut costs to the stations. The goals of this project included: 1. create Tennessee Channel, via development of statewide interconnection network, 2. seek to expand statewide live coverage of Tennessee legislature to state, 3. provide platform for programming sharing and; 4. build awareness of Public Broadcasting for state and local key stakeholders via Tennessee My Source campaign in conjunction with national My Source campaign. We anticipated that all stations would conduct testing on the interconnect system within six months from the start of installation. However, this took longer than planned to get all stations connected. This was in part to the high standards that AT & T committed to, ensuring the best possible system. The interconnect system was designed to reduce program sharing costs, increase local programming content. But even in our early stages we sought out the House and Senate representatives to solicit support and discuss the possibility of becoming the statewide coverage for House and Senate meetings. We received positive feedback and the promise of funding that would help offset the costs of running the interconnect system annually. TN Channel Technical Assessment When we began investigating a fiber interconnection to transmit live video between stations, we found that we were much closer to the cutting edge than we imagined. Conversations with experts followed a familiar pattern. Video experts told us we would need hundreds of megabits of bandwidth to transmit live video reliably. Bandwidth experts began the conversation by saying that our goals would be simple to achieve, but came to each subsequent conversation saying that we needed more bandwidth than we thought, and that they could not guarantee error free video transmission over IP. We were very fortunate that we were able to consult with and learn from Twin Cities Public Television because they had blazed this trail already, which let us know we were not seeking to do the impossible. The TN Interconnection was technically made possible by AT&T taking over responsibility for the NetTN statewide fiber connection. AT&T was able to drop the price for all users of the statewide backbone precipitously. The new price put the cost of 10 Mb and 20 Mb fiber connections to stations into the affordable range of less than $2000 per month. Prior to AT&T s involvement, the cost for bandwidth even through the state of Tennessee would have been more than twice that amount. The entrance of AT&T into the mix accelerated our progress on a number of fronts, and it still took them about a year to work out the technical kinks on their end. Nashville Public Television started working with AT&T network engineers and NetTN staff in October 2008 to figure out how we could create a

2 virtual public network(vpn) between TN PBS stations that would allow video over IP as well as normal IP data, prioritized for video. Consulting with engineers at Twin Cities Public Television, where they had implemented a similar network, we established that SD video needed to be encoded and decoded as H.264 for greatest efficiency and quality. It was determined that the minimum bandwidth required at each station would be 10 Mb. Each station purchased a Tandberg RX1290 MPEG 4 SD Receiver (decoder) to receive the video feeds. All but WTCI Chattanooga also purchased a Tandberg EN8030 MPEG 4 SD Encoder to be able to feed programs to other stations. The EN8030 was chosen because it would allow stations to upgrade to HD at a later time, should the need arise. To date, no station has performed this upgrade. After months of configuration and testing, AT&T announced in September 2009 that they were confident that they could create a VPN to meet the needs of the TN PBS stations. Over the next few months, each station signed up for the NetTN service. Most stations chose 10 Mb connections; Nashville chose a 20 Mb connection because NPT would be the feed station for most TN Channel programming, and thought it best to have enough headroom to do simultaneous feeds and records. WKNO Memphis also signed up for 20 Mb because they wanted to also use the NetTN connection as their main Internet connection for their new building. As soon as the encoders and receivers were installed in two stations, testing began. It took AT&T until January to configure the network for multicasting, which allowed one station to feed all other stations simultaneously instead of a one to one feed. Nashville Public Television worked with AT&T engineers to tweak the network and the firewalls to overcome minor glitches after that major hurdle was cleared. WKNO Memphis worked with AT&T engineers to resolve issues that arose from using the NetTN connection for both a VPN and general Internet traffic. One immediate problem to resolve was encoders and decoders either arriving with the incorrect configuration settings or spontaneously losing their settings and reverting to an unworkable state. Issues around correct IP settings for both the NetTN LAN and stations internal networks were also vexing, requiring a great amount of back and forth with AT&T and NetTN technical staff. Audio sync was a particularly stubborn problem to resolve, until it was settled by setting the audio delay in each encoder to the absolute maximum amount allowed by the hardware and software. One unexpected issue that was discovered just before the TN Channel launch was a full five second delay between the feeding station and when the program would arrive at the receiving station. It was discovered that this was a function of the encode/decode process, not of the VPN. Some delay from send to receive site was expected, but no one expected such a long delay. Twin Cities Public Television said they were not aware of such a long delay on their network. Over time, we have discovered minor anomalies in the network, usually traceable to an incorrect encoder or decoder setting that, until that event, was not an issue. These are some of the mysteries that remain on an otherwise completely functional network. We continue to work with NetTN staff, AT&T and Heartland Video (vendors for the encoder/decoders) to resolve these issues when they arise. Engineers and Traffic staff at all stations worked together to establish best operating procedures for the TN Channel, feeds, requests and live programs. All stations technical staff report being very happy with the quality of the video being fed to stations. Earlier this year, NPT started feeding widescreen SD

3 versions via the network of their HD programs that are broadcast on TN PBS stations main channels. Where TN PBS stations previously were upconverting the SD 4:3 NETA feed of these programs, they can now upconvert the widescreen MPEG 4 version, which is higher quality. In addition, this allows them to broadcast the most current episode instead of being one week behind. Technical work on implementing a program file transfer over the TN Interconnect began in the summer of Nashville Public TV installed an FTP server, soon followed by WCTE Cookeville. These servers are available to any station on the network to upload or download a program file. The main issue to resolve regarding programs as files is the question of codec. Stations are divided on air servers and what files they can import. Memphis has a Grass Valley K2 server, Nashville, Martin and Chattanooga have Omneons, Cookeville and Knoxville have Harris Nexio. Some stations edit programs on Avids, others edit on Final Cut Pro, which limit what files that station can easily import and export. Until PBS settles on a media exchange format and stations all have transcoders installed, TN PBS stations will have to settle on one format to work with for exchanges. To date, TN PBS stations have had the greatest success with Sony XDCam HD, which is easily imported and exported from Final Cut Pro and can be played as exported by Omneon and GVG K2. Harris claims that they can play XDCam natively, and after encoding the XDCam files to be hinted for streaming, Knoxville reported successfully importing XDCam to their Nexio. Cookeville continues to have problems playing XDCam, which Harris suggests may be a result of an incorrect commissioning of the server. We continue working with Harris engineers to figure out why Cookeville s server cannot support the Sony XDCam files that other servers do support. We re also continuing tests to ensure that whatever format we settle on preserves closed caption data. The statewide interconnection has greatly benefited all the TN PBS stations. The TN Channel would have been prohibitively expensive to create without this interconnection. We re all saving money by being able to share programs via a feed rather than dubbing and shipping tape after tape each week. Live statewide programs no longer require expensive satellite time and a downlink at each station; if a program feed can be sent to one station, all stations can receive it. The quality of the feed is excellent, and all stations feel good about using programming fed via the Interconnect on their main HD channel even though the feed is SD only at this point. While the technical obstacles to overcome at the beginning of this project seemed overwhelming at times, overall this project has been well worth the investment of time and money. Communications Plan A thorough communications plan was developed by each of the stations with the purpose of increasing awareness of the interconnect network and subsequently the creation of the Tennessee Channel that included recognition of CPB. These plans are sensitive to better understanding, and meeting, the Tennessee Channel viewer s expectations. Creating an awareness campaign was imperative to the long term success of the Tennessee Channel. This communications plan included: o My Source campaign spots o print ads

4 o testimonials o billboards o monthly guide marketing o press releases o Cross promotion of the Tennessee Channel on our HD channels. o Web page for Tennessee Channel Because each station knows their market and viewer needs the best they were encouraged to create their own communications plans. The following is representative of the joint efforts. Target Audience Demographics: Due to the wide range of programming available on the TN Channel, the target market is very similar to the standard Tennessee Public Television demographics, which are: Men and women who are 35 and older, skews slightly to 45 and up Average income of $44,000 and up Psycho graphically they: o Are similar in the way they relate to the world they are: explorers, adventurous, are eager to learn more about the world and more about themselves o Are in a stage in their lives when they are experiencing new found freedom and feeling a powerful urge to explore new territory Schedule Programming Model Station programming mangers met to make plans for the launch of the Tennessee Channel in December 2009, addressing issues of air time, scheduling, content, delivery and information exchange. The strategy is to select shows that represent the culture, history and people of Tennessee or would have local interest for the residents of Tennessee. From that meeting it was determined that: The Tennessee Channel is a block of programming produced in or related to Tennessee that airs on all Tennessee public television stations. That all stations would air one common time each week and air the same block of programming. Programmers were encouraged to bring a list of programs that they had available that would be appropriate to share with all of the other stations. One station would fill all breaks so that each station can air the block of programming seamlessly without the need for inserting their own cut ins. Interstitial material will consist of long form fill material and Tennessee Channel branded promotional campaigns. The first and last element of each block will be a short form piece designed so that it can be cut into at any moment. This is to accommodate the delay experienced with the fiber interconnection. Logs will be provided so that individual stations can insert their own branding elements in the breaks. This is not necessary, but is optional. Likewise, stations will be responsible for inserting their own bugs at the local level. The block of programs will come down at the agreed upon time. Because there is a lag time through the interconnection that would need to be taken into consideration both at NPT and at the receiving stations. One station would provide a log to all of the stations as well as ProTrac entry information for all of the programs being used. Stations will be responsible for manually

5 entering the information into ProTrac themselves at the local level. Shows would repeat many times, so this was expected to be a relatively small burden. The statewide interconnection would be used to distribute programs between stations when the Tennessee Channel is not being fed. Logo / Brand A branding mark (logo) for print and on air use was created and distributed to all stations by Nashville Public Television. On Air Cross Promotions: Promotions for the new Tennessee Channel included production of a several on air spots (one at :20 and one at :30), cross promoting the Tennessee Channel. The Tennessee Channel promotional spot was sent to each of the stations over the interconnect system to be branded locally and has been aired frequently. Plans are to continue to air these spots furthering the Tennessee Channel marketing efforts. Target for first month: 75 spot placements My Source Promotions for Tennessee Channel: Ten My Source spots for Tennessee Channel were created to air on Tennessee Channel and main channel. TN Channel air time schedule: One spot per 4 hour block of the TN Channel Main channel air time schedule: One spot per week during primetime and 1 spot on Sundays between 2 and 6 p.m. Monthly Guides Every station ran information announcing the Tennessee Channel in their monthly guides. They also placed ads within the guides for several months, or in most cases this became on going marketing. This included program line ups and tune in messages. Print Ads Print ads were created by each of the stations, in addition to joint ads that were shared. These were placed in area newspapers, using in kind and paid media. They were also placed within our monthly guides. One station purchased billboards. All were placed during the same time frame promoting the Tennessee Channel collectively, covering any overlap markets jointly. Online East station integrated and utilized the Tennessee Channel web site that was set up. We had hoped that each station would target at least two separate access links and post the press release. In reality the stations exceeded our plan by using the Tennessee Channel logo, program information and scheduling throughout their sites, often on the main page. Testimonial Recruitment

6 Each station undertook this marketing effort differently. Some stations sought out elected officials. Others included comments they solicited from the web, member communications and advisory councils. These quotes were used in branding / marketing efforts. Press Releases We created a press release that was made available to all the other stations in a format where they could add their own representative s quotes, airtimes and boilerplate. They were also led online to the logos. Measurement Plan: As part of the communications plan a qualitative and quantitative assessment tool for measuring the success of the Tennessee Channel will be created. This will include viewer feedback and elected official comments. Some measurement tools included: Online Survey asking respondents if they are aware of the TN Channel and if so, what changes, suggestions, advice, etc. they may have. Advisory Committee was asked to discuss the programming; we also asked them to discuss it with their friends, family and colleagues, and report the results back to us hopefully, offering more suggestions and feedback as to the general awareness and success of the TN Channel. Member Surveys sent electronic surveys to our members asking them if they are aware of the TN Channel and what suggestions, if any, they may have. What we learned. One key to success was constant communications between stations. By sharing creative content we were able to cut staff time and costs. The larger stations with full marketing departments took the lead in creative services, while the smaller stations made other contributions. That viewers really enjoy the special local programming block which would not have been possible if we were not sharing content / programming. With the support of CPB this endeavor was truly a positive outcome for all the stations and ultimately for our viewers.