The Proven Cloud Tv Roadmap Maximise Reach and Revenue with a Complete Cloud- Based Solution That Works on Any Device with Any Business Model

THE PROVEN CLOUD TV ROADMAP MAXIMISE REACH AND REVENUE WITH A COMPLETE CLOUD- BASED SOLUTION THAT WORKS ON ANY DEVICE WITH ANY BUSINESS MODEL

IN CONTRAST TO THE PATCHWORK DELIVERY OF THE PAST, COMCAST TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS’ CLOUD TV IS A COMPLETE SERVICE THAT CAN BE DELIVERED FROM THE CLOUD. REDUCES DOUBLING-UP To date, technology has required broadcasters to run their linear and digital EFFORTS businesses as two separate units, with all of the duplications and overhead that goes with it. By converging broadcast and OTT systems, broadcasters can significantly reduce the doubling-up of efforts to drive savings and increase operational efficiencies. For example, metadata and content can be DECREASES generated once and adapted for the delivery medium, rather than needing OPERATIONAL two separate paths and two separate editorial flows — a separation that EXPENSES increases the chance of operational errors and expenses.

In addition, consumers now expect access to content in any place at any INCREASES time, and to be able to curate their own entertainment experiences. They EFFICIENCIES demand the ability to consume content in the same way and with the same features regardless of viewing device. These consumer expectations are driving digital transformation to a world where the delivery medium (internet, satellite, cable, etc.) is irrelevant. UNIFIES USER EXPERIENCES This digital transformation provides revenue benefits as well. The Cloud TV solution is software defined to run in the cloud. This allows broadcasters to launch unified user experiences across all devices, putting an end to consumer confusion. Our commerce platform is focused on video businesses, providing entitlements, and enabling business model differentiation, such as blending advertising and commerce monetisation that’s out of reach of general-purpose e-commerce platforms. We can do this reliably and at scale, proven by the fact that we deliver more than 3.5 billion streams every month. Comcast Technology Solutions is a trusted partner that has already successfully navigated this digital transformation. We are your peer in the market — we understand what you are trying to build and can help you capitalise on this accelerating digital transformation. HOW IT WORKS: We combine a suite of modular, integrated business services and an extensive partner network. Ongoing business and technical consultancy help our partners extract maximum value from their investment.

SOLUTION — BROADCASTER

LIVE VOD CONTENT CONTENT METADATA

LIVE VOD THIRDPARTY PLATFORM MULTICDN SYNDICATION WORKFLOWS WORKFLOWS PLATFORMS BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE DISTRIBUTION COMCAST ONLINE VIDEO PLATFORM PARTNER

SYNDICATION LIVE/VOD ADVERTISING SERVICES ORIGINS PLATFORM OPERATOR WEB MOBILE TV USER EXPERIENCE

24x7 OPERATIONS CONTENT OPERATIONS PROFESSIONAL SERVICES BUSINESS SERVICES BUSINESS CONSULTANCY PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

Fig 1: The broadcaster solution delivers managed cloud playout and catch-up TV. SOLUTION COMPONENTS: INGEST SERVICES The solution provides a full SaaS suite for ingesting, normalising, and transforming media and metadata. On-demand content and EPG data can be brought in from multiple suppliers and combined with your own scheduling and rights information. WORKFLOW SERVICES A cloud platform for on-demand content preparation and validation is provided. Mezzanine files from content providers are transcoded to output renditions appropriate for the target platforms.

Where static packaging is required, the platform supports HLS, DASH, and Microsoft Smooth Streaming adaptive bitrate (ABR) formats and digital rights management (DRM) systems, including Microsoft PlayReady, Google Widevine, and Apple Fairplay. ON-PREMISES WORKFLOWS Transcoding components can also be deployed on-premises and/or combined with integration to your own encoding platform. In this configuration, the workflow management and orchestration operations remain as SaaS services while Comcast Technology Solutions’ remote media processor (RMP) acts as a local agent to control services on the customer network.

RMP supports most of the leading transcoding and packaging products and offers an extensible plug-in architecture to allow custom extensions for new integrations. A generic command-line extension allows RMP to call out to any third-party service through a standard API. ORIGIN SERVICE The origin solution is a purpose-built digital video service that bridges content preparation workflows, including transcoding, and the delivery capabilities of public and private Content Delivery Networks (CDNs):

• Intelligent storage for the authoritative version of digital video content library • Dynamic video packaging for cost-effective delivery to any device • Dynamic video encryption to protect content with state-of-the-art DRM technologies (FairPlay, Widevine, and PlayReady) • Dynamic selection and distribution over multiple CDNs • Integration with Online Video Platform content management for on-demand workflows • Integration with Online Video Platform live-to-Video on Demand (VOD) to support startover, catch-up, and archive modes CDN SELECTION The multi-CDN approach provides global reach and offers the speed, security, and reliability needed to expand to new digital and geographic frontiers.

A multi-CDN media delivery strategy ensures downloads are seamless and downtime is not a concern. If one server crashes, the next is ready to compensate and deliver content to users by caching content nearest to your destination. This improves performance and reduces errors and crashes by offloading bandwidth from the origin. The more servers there are, the better the odds the consumer will be in close enough proximity to enjoy “clean” playback, free from interruption. SERVER-SIDE AD INSERTION The Online Video Platform supports both client-side and server-side ad insertion (SSAI) through a unified approach. The Online Video Platform is also ad server-agnostic, so you can bring your favourite VAST/VMAP Ad Servers with you, with minimal effort needed to switch ad providers.

SSAI inserts ads directly into a content stream before it is delivered to the player. Also known as “ad stitching” or “dynamic ad insertion,” SSAI brings ads into the stream at the server level and then delivers a single stream to the player.

The Online Video Platform includes a dynamic manifest manipulation service which can insert targeted advertising into VOD streams.

• HLS ABR delivery • Support for alternate audio tracks and audio normalisation • Server-side beaconing • AppleTV support, custom tracking extensions, ad caching • Ad quality control tools, set minimum creative standards, blacklist/whitelist creatives, and ignore ads with insignificant quality • Fully integrated with Online Video Platform to easily turn SSAI on and off through the system DISTRIBUTION The upfront investment of an operator in set-top box hardware and consumer behaviour dictate that set-top boxes need to be supported for many years.

Where devices are receiving linear channels over IP multicast, software upgrades can be supplied to home- hubs or set-top boxes to support multicast ABR. This opens the door to simplify set-top box clients and headend equipment as they only need to support ABR and associated DRM technology, which is well understood and proven in the OTT world.

Comcast Technology Solutions’ Online Video Platform can also be configured to return URLs for multiple CDNs if required or alternatively be configured to decide which CDN is best placed to serve content for a client. CLIENT PLATFORMS AND USER EXPERIENCE Comcast Technology Solutions partners with leading front-end design and development vendors to deliver compelling user experiences across web, mobile, and connected device platforms. For browser environments, the Online Video Platform provides a full-featured HTML5 player. For other platforms, Comcast Technology Solutions can provide implementation guides and/or reference implementations to enable integration to back-office services. WEB The Online Video Platform Player service provides a hosted solution to launch unique web players based on the player development kit (PDK) that is configured for HTML5 playback across devices in a matter of minutes.

PDK builds on modern JavaScript APIs, with support for closed captions, multi-language audio, and client- and server-side ad insertion. Optimised for a less than two second load time, it automatically selects the optimal format and bitrate based on the device, browser, and operating system.

MOBILE APPLICATIONS AND CONNECTED TVS Comcast Technology Solutions provides a reference design for implementation against Online Video Platform services which has been adopted by a number of front-end development vendors.

SET-TOP BOXES Set-top box development typically divides into two workstreams:

• Launch and refresh of discrete applications on multi-tier and/or multi-tenant platforms • Adaptation of next-generation applications to run on legacy platforms and operating systems VIDEO COMMERCE Online Video Platform Video Commerce gives media managers more control over how they package, market, and monetise video content. Built to support a variety of commerce strategies, Video Commerce can be used as a complete platform or integrated with existing billing systems.

The solution maximises the value of content libraries enabling Online Video Platform customers to monetise video in every window including free, ad-supported videos, TV Everywhere-authenticated access to content, and now, both series and transactional access to VOD files and live events. ADVERTISING SERVICES Comcast Technology Solutions’ comprehensive ad management platform is built to unify media planning and buying, automated ad versioning, management, traffic, talent rights, metadata, and distribution for linear and digital destinations in a single suite.

The suite offers a full global ad distribution footprint. The convergence point of digital and linear simplifies the system landscape and leverages technology to create efficiencies.

• Workflow across all inventory views and sales models • Trafficking and ad serving or playlist scheduling • Invoicing and supplier payment handling • Data and analytics across content, operations, and monetisation AD DECISIONS Monetisation rights management (MRM), is a comprehensive advertising management platform designed to give customers complete control over advertising rights, ad serving, and reporting. Every time a user watches a video, MRM evaluates three business conditions:

• Monetisation rights decision. MRM identifies who is allowed to sell the ads every time a user hits play on a video. • Ad decision. MRM makes the optimal ad decision, taking into account what is being watched, where is it being watched, who is watching it, and all of the rules, rights, and restrictions that apply. • Reporting and accounting. MRM tracks all of the necessary components for accurate reporting and accounting: what video was watched, where was it watched, who sold the ads, how much ad revenue was generated, and what share is due to partners. AUDIENCE MANAGEMENT Audience Management introduces the concept of “who” is consuming the content, and allows for accurate audience-specific targeting, forecasting, and reporting, as well as a simplified workflow for ad operations. PROGRAMMATIC The solution offers a full stack of programmatic offerings that can automate the process of selling inventory and open it up to non-direct sold marketplaces. END-USER SERVICES The Online Video Platform provides a comprehensive set of services with flexible APIs to power frontends, apps, and portals.

• Feeds services provide the main mechanism used for frontends to navigate, browse, and search the content catalogue, EPG, or video storefronts. • Selector service can orchestrate playback/playout flows across both OTT and IPTV clients. • License services for native DRM technologies: Microsoft PlayReady, Google Widevine, and Apple Fairplay. Integrated natively to the core entitlement and rights management services. • Concurrency services to prevent fraud and piracy incurred by credential sharing. • Storefront services, orchestrating all aspects of content purchases and providing a public interface to the rich commerce engine. • UserProfile service, providing a mechanism to store and retrieve household profile information, user preferences, favourites, playlists, and ratings. CONDITIONAL ACCESS FOR DEVICES For non-IP devices (e.g., satellite), conditional access system (CAS) technologies such as Verimatrix or Nagra may be integrated via APIs exposed by the entitlement service. This will allow a harmonised back office to enforce common rights and access models across all platforms, and the Online Video Platform will always be the source of truth for entitlements. MIGRATION PATH Deliver value as quickly as possible. Prioritise faster-moving functions which uncover business dependencies and allow functions which have a longer refresh time to move at their own pace. DRIVE BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION Build on the successful pilot project at OTE to rapidly roll out a wide range of technical and business services in a small footprint. Use OTT services to iterate and validate new business models and user experiences. EXPAND THE TECHNOLOGY FOOTPRINT Consolidate common integrations into shared services. Continuously improve the design and retrofit enhancements to early adopters. UNIFY SERVICE PLATFORMS Refresh the IPTV and satellite technology base at a pace that the iteration cycle will allow. Consolidate back- office services on a single platform and decouple from the transport layer. Adopt winning design paradigms and business models from the OTT domain and transition client devices.

Broadcasters can significantly reduce the doubling-up of efforts to drive savings and increase operational efficiencies with the Cloud TV solution by converging the broadcast and OTT systems. Launch unified user experiences across all devices, putting an end to consumer confusion, reliably and at scale. ABOUT COMCAST TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS Comcast Technology Solutions offers the CTSuite, a portfolio of technology solutions that provide the industry with the technology, scale, and expertise to expand and navigate the rapidly changing media, entertainment, and connected world. We invent technology that solves industry challenges, reimagines what is possible, and transforms businesses for an ever-changing world. Built on Comcast’s know-how, proven facilities, platforms, and infrastructure, Comcast Technology Solutions offers more than 20 years of reliable real-world broadcast and digital experience. We partner with customers to redefine expectations and deliver the future to global audiences. FIND OUT MORE +1 800-824-1776 | +44 20 7280 4699 | ComcastTechnologySolutions.com [email protected]