Remi Abayomi First Published on May 13, 2020
As Bill Gates famously predicted in his 1996 essay, “Content is King”. The effect of the coronavirus crisis has created a surge in viewership that truly alludes to the need for an agile, digitised bundle of the most valuable asset to broadcasters, content.
Those who have shown adaptability and creativity have driven great success out of entertaining the world (TikTok, YouTube and Instagram showing the ease at which the agility of their services can bring new content). How do television channels keep up?
With the shock of the pandemic putting new content on freeze, how can OTT and linear broadcasters hedge against the risk of potential future crises?
I am sure many of us have been clearing out our garages, sheds or lofts having been house-bound. The fear of losing years of family history to a damp garage is what drove me to digitise all my photographs and family videos. So why let a rich videotape archive decay in costly rented storage spaces? Many broadcasters, production companies and even non-media related companies still have vast libraries of old video and audio tapes sitting in storage. These assets are valuable, some of which hold significant historical importance, some of which could constitute part of the next great Netflix series… If these assets aren’t tended to soon, they will become valueless – beyond mend, despite the years of rent paid for storage. Unlike years ago, (back when I was entering the television world as a young VT operator) editing remotely is far more accessible and affordable.
Not only are video tapes slowly deteriorating and often go through lengthy cleaning / baking processes to make them playable, there is already a shortage of suitable playback machinery. Some of the video tape machines are at the end of their usable life and there is already a scarcity of spare parts. I fear that some archives may never be restored and will be lost forever.
With Covid-19, normal productions are severely restricted. Television companies are reporting that they are rapidly running out of new content as productions have been paused!
Digitally archived video tapes enable creative teams to make programmes remotely and cost-effectively. With this lack of new content in active production, there has never been a better time to digitise your video assets and realise their value.
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