Understanding the Competition: CBS News and Keshet TV
By supporting a wide range of add-on data such as viewer approval ratings, as-run logs, closed-caption text, and media “fingerprint analysis,” the Observer helps broadcasters gain insight into their competitors’ programming. Operators can leverage the multichannel display with synchronized viewer approval ratings to better understand the popularity of their content. They can import as-run log and electronic program guide (EPG) information to easily access monitored content. And, with the Observer’s Content Matching module, they can easily identify airings of specific ads on competitor’s stations.
CBS News in New York City uses the Observer to monitor the broadcasts of its local and national news competitors. “The Observer enables CBS News to look at what our competitors are doing at any given moment, a major benefit for us,” said Frank Governale, vice president of operations at CBS News. “As events go on the air, we can actually see who broke the story first, right down to the second. We needed a system that would allow us to quickly search on-air events for content and also provide for multiple-user access within the station. The Observer meets all of these needs.”
At Keshet TV in Israel, the Observer provides side-by-side recording of Keshet broadcasts together with those of its largest competitor, Channel 10. “From a single, unified interface on our desktop PCs, we are able to see viewer approval ratings in synch with the real-time video for both channels, which gives us a quick comparison of our own audience behavior and viewing patterns as well as those of Channel 10,” said Dorit Lenz, head of IT for Keshet-TV. “The system gives our research department valuable data with which to develop scheduling and shape programming.”
Back
Follow us on: