Exclusives

The winter edition of the “M&E Journal,” published by the Media & Entertainment Services Alliance (MESA) and geared toward senior media and entertainment executives who oversee their companies’ digital futures, is now available online.

The 96-page publication features insights from two dozen MESA members, from Birlasoft to Wasabi, with the issue’s main focus centered on the tools, processes and technologies transforming the media and entertainment industry today and in the future.

Along with the cover section — “Intelligent Hollywood” — the publication examines the latest Smart Content advances in the industry, from big data, to AI, to advanced advertising. Here’s what leaders from Cinelytic, Prime Focus Technologies, Sofftek, Verizon Media and Videocites had to say:

• Tobias Queisser, co-founder and CEO of Cinelytic, looks at how studios can leverage state-of-the-art machine learning, data and cloud technologies today to improve content evaluation precision and workflow productivity, using platforms that maximize content success, by combining best practices from finance, science, tech and entertainment.

• Muralidhar Sridhar, VP of AI and ML for Prime Focus Technologies, shares how modern entertainment and sports problems can be solved with AI-led solutions, thanks to platforms that automate strategic operations, including cataloging of library content, instant sports highlights creation, content segmentation, thumbnail identification and more, all in order to drive major business benefits.

• David Reitman, SVP, and Philip Paisnel, VP, client partner, for Softtek, examine the data challenges M&E leaders face today, specifically having meaningful predictive analytic models that help them get smarter about their audiences and allow them to leverage contextualized
content. Leaders also face challenges around using business operation data to make informed business decisions and boost organizational efficiency.

• Jesse Michelsen, ad proxy technical lead for Verizon Media, explains how data can be collected during the server-side ad insertion process for OTT streams and used to optimize quality of service and improve viewer retention. Data is often hard to capture for OTT advertising, undermining what could be one of the greatest advantages of video streaming to advertisers – namely improved data about viewers’ experience.

• James Maysonet, head of business development for Videocites, asks: Can you actually measure the true performance of your online ad, including all social engagement? This is one of the most challenging questions for any marketer to answer due to the lack of capability, but the era of machine learning driven software with the ability to track and measure your video ads’ reach has come.

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 6, look for stories from the winter edition of the “M&E Journal” every week in the “M&E Daily” newsletter.