DG, Discover Take Infomercial Distribution Digital

DG, a provider of content management and distribution solutions for the advertising, entertainment and broadcast industries, and Discovery Communications, have created what the two call “the industry’s first completely digital distribution system that will deliver long-form infomercial (28:30) programs to Discovery on a daily basis with never before achieved efficiency.”

Through the combined strengths of Treehouse Media, DG’s direct response distribution entity and Pathfire, its long-form content distribution platform, DG will deliver up to 12 direct response infomercials to Discovery daily. The files are delivered in a digital format compatible with the leading play-to-air/automation solutions, enabling content to be forwarded to the network at a rate DG says is much faster than today’s typical 24-hour window.

With traditional tape-based distribution, the shipping process alone would take at least a full day and the tape would require a time consuming ingest and queuing process upon receipt. The tapeless workflow also allows Discovery to significantly minimize its use of tapes, which are both costly and harmful to the environment.

“We’re excited to be partnering with DG to modernize a critical part of the content distribution process for our industry,” said Discovery’s Marc Gatto, VP, media technology production and operations. “The new system introduces significant cost and operational efficiencies while decreasing turn-around time for users and introducing a much-needed environmentally-friendly solution for Discovery.”

For Discovery, the digital direct response platform will deliver both HD and SD files that are fully-customized with specific calls to action and contact details attached to each program.