HOLLYWOOD, Fla. — Sept. 28, 2009 — ScheduALL today announced that Virgin Media Television, a provider of innovative programming and cutting-edge broadband content, has upgraded to ScheduALL Enterprise Resource Management (ERM) software, which is being used at its Creative Village post-production facility to manage promo creation and compliance versioning for programming delivered to major digital television platforms including Virgin Media, Sky Digital, and Freeview.
As Virgin Media TV delivers content for six of its broadcast channels, LIVING, LIVING2, Bravo, Bravo2, Virgin1, and Challenge, ScheduALL's powerful business tools enable the facility to measure and monitor the use and productivity of its various resources and relate this data to project and budget targets. With its upgrade to the latest version of ScheduALL, Virgin Media TV has merged scheduling of IT resources into the ERM system, further increasing operational efficiencies.
"We run our promos department as a bookable, chargeable facility with resources broken down by cost," said Dan Marbrook, post-production manager at Virgin Media TV. "ScheduALL gives us the means to manage and track the use of those resources so that we maintain a high level of productivity and meet our contract requirements."
Virgin Media TV contracts with technology partner Red Bee Media to provide broadcast, post-production, and transmission services. In addition to simplifying booking of production resources, including edit suites and associated equipment and staff, ScheduALL attaches real-time cost data that provides a snapshot of edit costs and how they compare to the companies' contracts, delivering an accurate comparison of actual vs. plan and ROI. ScheduALL also manages the live recordings of content, typically live feeds from the U.S. and live outside broadcasts from the U.K., delivered via Red Bee.
Within ScheduALL software, Virgin Media TV uses a series of rate cards to measure how efficiently each department and producer creates each individual product. If, for instance, a producer is keeping costs down by completing more work on desktop editors than on high-end craft edit systems, the ScheduALL system reflects this efficiency. Further, by associating bookings to projects, ScheduALL enables the grouping of work orders so that managers can see what any single project costs. On the project level, the software thus allows management to see how well producers perform over any given month and if, for example, they're meeting targets for creating promo packages.
ScheduALL's analysis tools plus real-time data also gives Virgin Media TV the information needed to make a business case for more or fewer resources, or to boost performance in specific areas of operations. As an added benefit, the ScheduALL interface is conveniently displayed on a video screen at the facility's entrance and provides a current run-down of the day's bookings for post-production staff.
"ScheduALL is an intuitive, reliable system for booking resources and capturing the information we need to understand the compliance and promo editing costs for each of our broadcast channels," said Dan Marbrook. "ScheduALL is a valuable business tool for us, providing reliable operation, backed by excellent support."
More information about ScheduALL and its robust solutions is available online at www.scheduall.com.
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About Virgin Media Television
Virgin Media Television (VMtv) has seven wholly-owned channels, some of the strongest entertainment brands in UK multichannel television: LIVING, LIVING2, Bravo, Bravo 2, Challenge, Challenge Jackpot, and Virgin1. The portfolio spans pay and free-to-air television — reaching over 24 million adult viewers each month — and has a growing presence on broadband, mobile, and on-demand platforms. VMtv is also BBC Worldwide's 50% partner in the UKTV portfolio of ten channels.
VMtv is part of Virgin Media, the innovative and pioneering UK entertainment and communications business. Virgin Media offers consumers everything they need from one company — the UK's only quad-play of TV, broadband, phone, and mobile, plus the most advanced TV on demand service — all delivered through its unique fiber-optic cable network. Virgin Media is the largest Virgin company in the world and has almost 10 million customers.
About ScheduALL
ScheduALL is the leading provider of enterprise resource management (ERM) software for the broadcast and media industry. With 20 years of experience and more than 1,200 worldwide clients within broadcast, satellite, and production facilities, ScheduALL is clearly recognized as the partner of choice for operational management software solutions.
ScheduALL's software offers comprehensive workflow and resource management capabilities that enable clients to optimize personnel, resources, and bandwidth utilization in a way that directly translates into increased productivity and ROI. ScheduALL's modular approach and scalable products provide a collaborative platform for users in the broadcast, production, post-production, satellite/network transmission, and newsroom environments. ScheduALL clients include ABC Australia, BBC, CBC, FOX News Network, NBC Olympics, The Associated Press, IntelSat, Turner Studios, Mediaset, RTL, Virgin Media Television and SES WORLD SKIES. More information is available at www.scheduall.com.
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