ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion Taps IBM

26 Aug 2008

ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion, the ProSiebenSat.1 Group's technical service provider, and IBM are setting up the media group's central tapeless archive in terms of an agreement worth four million euro. The new agreement extends the ten year, 200 million euro IT services agreement signed with IBM in April 2008.

The new contract is for IBM to design and implement the new tapeless archive, the ProSiebenSat.1 "materialpool," to store all of ProSiebenSat.1 Group's moving image material as digital files.

The tapeless archive will allow the media group's program content to be easily and simultaneously available for use on different platforms. In addition to classic television, new distribution channels such as video on demand, IPTV or cellphone TV will benefit from the file-based materialpool. Storage duplication will be avoided as content will no longer be copied for different distribution channels but retrievable from the same file. IBM will manage total integration into the Group's applications landscape. For instance, there will be an automatic data interchange with the ProSiebenSat.1 transmission planning and rights management systems. Different image formats and resolutions are supported, including high definition.

"We are progressively replacing tapes with files. In the future, employees at our various subsidiaries and locations will be able to access and process the same material simultaneously. Technical quality control will then be largely automated," said Dr. Martin Emele, General Manager, ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion. "IBM is helping us to make our work process faster and cheaper."

"Broadcasters require dramatically more cost-effective and efficient ways to capture and store digital content, repurpose that content and make it electronically available for both traditional and new distribution outlets," said Dr. Niko Waesche, IBM Relationship Manager for ProSiebenSat.1. "The materialpool that will be set up in Unterföhring is one of the most modern tapeless television production systems in Europe with a very high level of flexibility."

The tapeless archive is to be built from spring next year. It will be expandable and take into account ProSiebenSat.1 Group cross-location and international cooperation requirements. Adaptable interfaces to other systems will ensure flexibility and future safety. Along with a multi-channel playout, the materialpool will be the second pillar of the new tapeless playout center that ProSiebenSat.1 Produktion will open in early 2009 at the company's Unterföhring, Munich, headquarters.

IBM is working with its broadcast technology partner VizRT to connect the VizRT Ardome media asset management system with other ProSiebenSat.1 Group systems. This will enable new and effective production processes to be put into effect in playout and content management. Using the IBM Media Hub architecture and IBM ADMIRA essence management, processes can be managed flexibly by means of modern workflow management.