Published on 08-Aug-2005
"“ The key to this project’s success was IBM’s global experience and capability of managing complex integration between IT and broadcasting.”" - Dokyun Song, SBS CEO (1999-2004)
Customer:
Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS)
Industry:
Media & Entertainment
Deployment country:
Korea - Republic of
Solution:
Virtualization, Business Performance Transformation, Enterprise Content Management, Digital Media, Optimizing IT, Transforming IT
Overview
A major broadcasting company in Korea, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) started out as a radio broadcaster and evolved into a television broadcaster in 1991. SBS has nine regional offices throughout Korea as well as five worldwide and became the first broadcaster in Korea to go fully digital from production to broadcast.
Business need:
Increase business flexibility and responsiveness; improve employee productivity; respond quickly to changing requirements
Solution:
An open, scalable system based on IBM Digital Media Center for Broadcasters; IBM WebSphere®; IBM DB2 ®; IBM eServer® xSeries® and pSeries® systems; IBM Tivoli ®.
IBM offered proven expertise in transforming other broadcasters worldwide to digital environments, and a track record for successfully implementing large-scale, complex projects.
Benefits:
Enables SBS to leverage existing investments; improves ability to manage content assets more efficiently; potential to enhance productivity and reduce costs; ability to respond quickly to customers’ needs
Case Study
 “ The key to this project’s | | |
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| Why Become an On Demand Business |
| Seoul Broadcasting System needed to completely digitize its analog processes to enable real-time workflow management and provide employees with unrestricted access to content, speeding news delivery. |
Moving toward digital broadcasting leadership
A major broadcasting company in Korea, Seoul Broadcasting System (SBS) started out as a radio broadcaster and evolved into a television broadcaster in 1991. SBS has nine regional offices throughout Korea as well as five worldwide. With current offerings that include sports, golf and public television channels, as well as three radio stations, the company’s long-term vision is to become a leader in the digital broadcasting arena.
For years, SBS had been managing its news content in a traditional analog environment comprising manual tapebased media asset management and serial work processes, which the company found increasingly inefficient, time-consuming and difficult to manage. Its analog-based infrastructure was lengthening production times while reducing response times for SBS to meet market demands for new business models. SBS also found its inflexible infrastructure poorly equipped to keep pace with constantly changing governmental regulations.
Coinciding with an upcoming move to a new building, SBS decided to seize the opportunity to transition to an entirely digital broadcasting infrastructure. The company was looking to implement an open, scalable solution enabling it to digitally perform reporting, recording, producing, editing and transmitting functions. Likewise, it wanted to ensure that all content could be stored in digital format for future use and preservation.
SBS decided to adopt an automated digital news production and archive system to gain competitive advantage in the digital broadcasting realm as well as maintain leadership in the domestic market. Furthermore, the company wanted the ability to actively seek new business or revenue models based on the technical and operational advantage of a digital system over the analog broadcasting environment.
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IBM: A successful track record in digital implementations
SBS found its solution with IBM, choosing the company for its proven track record and experience in helping other broadcasters worldwide convert to digital. Says Dokyun Song, CEO (1999 to 2004), SBS, “The key factors contributing to selecting IBM include its proven track record for successfully implementing largescale, complex projects as well as its global presence and insight.”
SBS also chose IBM technologies for the solution, including IBM DB2 and IBM Tivoli as well as IBM
-- Dokyun Song, SBS CEO (1999-2004) |
Solution deployment processes
In 2002, SBS launched the preparation phase of the project, establishing the task force team, analyzing workflow and generating an RFP. The company then contracted with IBM in March 2003, and the team began defining requirements over the next month or two. From about June until October 2003, the analysis and development phase occurred, and the test phase took place from November 2003 until January 2004. In June 2004, SBS began successfully digitally producing, broadcasting and storing all 170 minutes of its seven daily news programs.
The main contractor for the project, IBM Korea provided overall project management, utilizing the development methodology offered by IBM Global Services and working closely with SBS to ensure the project ran smoothly. IBM integrated technologies from Thomson Grass Valley, Konan Technology, C.I.S. and D2NET to create the advanced system. In addition, IBM supplied the IT infrastructure required for setting up the SBS News Digital System – a digital newsroom – for the broadcasting company, including servers, storage, network and security solutions such as:
- IBM
pSeries and xSeries servers
- IBM WebSphere Application Server
- IBM FAStT700 and LTO storage solutions
- IBM DB2 database and IBM Tivoli system management solutions for monitoring overall system performance
The SBS News Digital System is based on the IBM Digital Media Center for Broadcasters (DMC), which provides powerful storage and digital video file systems previously used with IBM’s work in supercomputing, enabling broadcasters to manage video and digital content more efficiently. Broadcast equipment, including the Ingest server, NLEditor and Playout server, are attached to the IBM General Parallel File System (GPFS) and FAStT devices to store and share all news content produced.
Based on open standards, DMC enables the integration of discrete broadcast system components into the overall IT architecture. This equips SBS with a scalable system, enabling it to leverage existing investments in specific broadcast equipment while taking advantage of significant cost and service benefits associated with IT integration.
“The key to this project’s success,” says Song, “was IBM’s global experience and capability of managing complex integration between IT and broadcasting.”
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Consolidating broadcast content
IBM Digital Media Center for Broadcasters forms the foundation of a resilient reengineering of the SBS infrastructure, providing increased responsiveness and flexibility. Using Digital Media Center technology, the SBS News Digital System is helping convert functions in news reporting, recording, producing, editing and transmitting from traditional analogand videotape-based formats to digital media. The system also enables more effective management of the entire news broadcasting process – from production to management to distribution – through the digital consolidation of broadcasting content.
With the new centralized, scalable and open system, SBS can now easily input, search, retrieve, edit and transmit footage and news content, including images, at the touch of a button – and at any time. What’s more, SBS can:
- Streamline processes for the entire news production process and system
- Tap into an enhanced infrastructure for new business models
- Leverage the advantages of more sophisticated technology and operational efficiencies to improve its competitiveness in the broadcasting market
- Reduce or eliminate costs associated with storing content on paper and tape
- Improve the quality of broadcast programming, gaining the ability to shift focus and realign workflow in real time
- Respond quickly and flexibly to changing viewer appetites
The first digital broadcaster emerges
Thanks to the new system, SBS is the first completely digital broadcaster in Korea. SBS also became one of the first broadcasters in the world to fully produce and store news digitally with the successful broadcast of the 2004 Athens Olympics in South Korea using its News Digital System based on the IBM Digital Media Center.
The solution from IBM enables SBS to reuse and repurpose media content from the digital storage system, which helps to enhance productivity, value and cost efficiency. SBS can now transition to a new business paradigm as an On Demand Business – one that responds better to the market environment, maintains a variable cost structure and focuses on the core business.
Says Song, “SBS will now be able to actively seek new business or revenue models based on its technical and operational advantage over other broadcasting stations at home and abroad as a real digital broadcasting station.” With a growing library of digital content, SBS is looking to diversify its business model and include other broadcast channels, including the Internet, satellite and cable.
SBS plans to expand its current digital news environment into other program production areas. And where does IBM fit into this scenario? Says Song, “We expect IBM to provide the blueprint for the companywide digital environment as a strategic partner.”
For more information
To learn more about IBM Digital Media solutions and services, contact your IBM representative, or visit:
ibm.com/solutions/digitalmedia
Products and services used
IBM products and services that were used in this case study.
Service:
IBM Global Business Services, GTS Integrated Technology Services
Legal Information
© Copyright IBM Corporation 2005 IBM Corporation 1133 Westchester Ave. White Plains, NY 10604 U.S.A. Produced in the United States of America 7-05 All Rights Reserved IBM, the IBM logo, ibm.com, the On Demand Business logo, the eServer logo, DB2, pSeries, Tivoli, WebSphere and xSeries are trademarks or registered trademarks of International Business Machines Corporation in the United States, other countries, or both. Other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others. Many factors contributed to the results and benefits achieved by the IBM customer described in this document. IBM does not guarantee comparable results. References in this publication to IBM products and services do not imply that IBM intends to make them available in all countries in which IBM operates.