The CBC has purchased an Oasis content archiving and management system from Bitcentral, marking the company’s first sale to a non-U.S. customer.
Reportedly Canada’s largest news broadcaster, the CBC manages streams of news programming to English- and French-speaking audiences throughout the country. The new Oasis system will be integrated into the current Newstream platform, which pushes content to CBC affiliates via a satellite feed from Toronto.
Under the new system, the affiliates will have access to a browser-based interface to search all daily and archived content from a centralized server. Newscasters will have access to more content as they prepare their newscasts, and stations will no longer need to pay satellite delivery charges.
The Oasis is built as a non-proprietary system, so affiliates won’t be forced to purchase new, vendor-specific hardware and are free to choose off-the-shelf storage systems to store downloaded content.
“Digital file-based IP delivery represents the most cost-effective way for our affiliates to access breaking news as well as archived material,” stated John Bainbridge, director of news production for CBC News, in a press release. “With Bitcentral, we can offer nearly instantaneous access to a world of content from our hub in Toronto to our most remote partners.”
