TVU Launches Cloud-Based Playout Solution

A new cloud-based playout solution makes it possible for broadcasters to schedule programming from a web browser on a laptop.

Using the new tool, programming can be delivered to a traditional television channel, an over the top (OTT) channel or directly to social media. Because it is cloud-based, the vendor says, it is a secure solution that will allow broadcasters to launch new channels with a minimum of expense and no additional hardware.

One large media company is expected to launch new channels with the tool at the beginning of November. The tool itself is the next generation of the one in use for the last year by LiveNOW from Fox.

TVU Networks CEO Paul Shen says TVU Channel is essentially virtualized microservices that allow a broadcaster to easily schedule live and video on demand programming from a web browser without worries about latency.

Latency is not an issue as the playout is from the cloud directly to the destination, including the primary station, he says. The tool itself is also constantly evolving due to user requests, he says.

“The industry is moving so fast, that as soon as they put a channel up, they want new features” because viewer behavior is changing and they wish to fulfill market needs, Shen says. “They need a system that can evolve with them in real time. This is the first time someone can have such a system that can evolve with them.”

New features can also be added while the channel is up and running, he says.

“The customer can fly in an airplane while we are building it for him,” he says.

Shen says one reason a cloud-native offering like TVU Channel might appeal to broadcasters is due to its inherent security proposition.

“Cloud services have become more secure than on-premises,” he says. “Our API is open, and we have all the security needed.”

Given the recent hacking of Sinclair Broadcast Group, the idea of having a safe place to run a channel appeals to broadcasters, he says. “We have seen a number of customers begin to use this for emergency recovery for the television station.”

TVU Channel is designed so that one person can run the whole station, he says.

Typically, launching a new channel costs a lot of money in terms of people and hardware. Regular channel operations can require 10 or more people to run, Shen says, but with TVU Channel, “the operation is so easy one person can run multiple channels.”

And it’s “very cheap,” he says. “This costs less than $2,000 a month to run.”

TVU Channel is available on a pay-as-you-go model or as a monthly subscription. Channels can be spun up and taken down as needed.

Cost savings is only part of the equation. TVU Channel supports SCTE ad insertion, including as-run logs, and interfaces with ad scheduling platforms like Wide Orbit and BFX.

A large North America-based media company is launching somewhere between 15 and 25 new channels using TVU Channel on Nov. 1, “depending on how fast they can deploy,” Shen says.

TVU Channel was developed over the course of a few months, and the company continues to add capabilities even while channels are up and running, he says.

“We are releasing versions on a daily basis,” Shen says. “It continues evolving.”

At the same time, Shen says, TVU Networks is itself evolving.

“We’re not only about transmission and production but working to help optimize the entire media supply chain,” Shen says.