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

Consistent IDs are used for all broadcasts of the same programme as well as for multilingual versions of the same asset.

We supplied data samples before the full service started which gave the customer the confidence that they were going to get what they needed.

Analysing the TV landscape, especially the changing habits of viewers, is a challenging task which Red Bee Media can make a lot simpler. Our expertise in metadata, using consistent and unique IDs mean that the News at Six on BBC One can never be confused with a similar news programme on another channel, or that each episode of Game of Thrones is always identified as the same programme, whether it is shown in the UK, Germany, France or the US. And with our long history and widespread coverage of schedule and content data across Europe and the US, we are uniquely positioned to work with analytics companies across the world.

To get a sample of our data today, contact a member of the RBM Content Discovery team:  https://www.redbeemedia.com/about-us/contact-us/

Written by Joanna Davies, Strategic Product Manager