Collaboration effort reduces costly errors and make goods by eliminating manual entry of copy instructions

Imagine Communications, a global leader in video infrastructure, advertising systems and workflow management solutions serving media networks, broadcast stations, digital media, communication service providers and enterprise markets, today announced the release of LandmarkOSI™ Traffic & Billing 8.4 – the first traffic and billing system in the industry to give broadcast television, cable and radio stations in North America the ability to receive and electronically ingest commercial instructions using the SMPTE Broadcast eXchange Format (BXF) 3.0.

Developed in partnership with leading media services provider Entertainment Communications Network (ECN), this innovative feature, used in conjunction with ECN’s services for advertising agencies, helps simplify commercial scheduling and reduce make-goods due to programming errors. Version 8.4 with BXF 3.0 is scheduled for Q2 2015 release.

ECN, which led the effort to enhance the existing SMPTE BXF standard, distributes thousands of commercial instructions and radio spots each week to broadcast media on behalf of advertising agencies. Currently, stations and networks spend an average of three to four minutes inputting commercial copy by entering the airdate, advertiser, brand, commercial code (Ad-ID or ISCI), length and other details into their traffic systems.

The integration between ECN’s service and LandmarkOSI is designed to significantly accelerate workflows between media placement and airtime. Commercial schedules are ingested using XML, eliminating the labor-intensive process of manually re-keying information received via fax and e-mail, along with the inevitable human errors with the associated data entry. By leveraging XML delivery of agency-approved commercial instructions, broadcasters can more quickly review, reconcile, revise and reach consumers – all with greater accuracy and less expense. Other meaningful efficiencies include closer-to-air ad buys, last-minute scheduling changes and immediate scheduling confirmation.

“The new automated copy feature can yield significant efficiency gains for our LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing customers, improving productivity and reducing copy input mistakes and discrepancies,” said Sarah Foss, vice president, product management, advertising management systems, Imagine Communications. “Manually typing copy instructions from e-mail or fax originals into the traffic system is now a thing of the past. LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing customers can electronically confirm and accept incoming instructions with a click of the button, and have a streamlined process for order updates.”

“Media placement has become more granular, and now more than ever both broadcasters and advertisers have a vested interest in ensuring commercials air correctly,” said Angela Tietze, president and CEO, ECN. “With this new service, ECN and Imagine Communications are changing the way commercials have been scheduled for more than 40 years.  Our combined expertise and technology, coupled with ECN’s existing integrations with media buying systems   will significantly increase scheduling accuracy and reduce errors. Bottom line:  station staff can focus on the business of media instead of the tedium of data entry. ”

The LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing system provides easy-to-use yet powerful tools for traffic, accounting and yield management, designed to deliver a competitive edge through more efficient station management. Offering the power of real-time data to maximize station inventory and increase revenue, LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing can be deployed to the public LandmarkOSI cloud or a private cloud, or hosted on-premises.

Further workflow enhancements are also planned for LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing, with the enhancement of EC2WAY to support electronic, automated make-goods between LandmarkOSI Traffic & Billing and agencies’ and advertisers’ systems. This cutting-edge eBusiness capability improves productivity by providing a complete process for multiplatform buying/selling.

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About Imagine Communications

Imagine Communications empowers the media and entertainment industry through transformative innovation. Broadcasters, networks, video service providers and enterprises around the world rely on our optimized, futureproof, multiscreen video and revenue enablement solutions every day to support their mission-critical operations. Today, nearly half of the world’s video channels traverse our products, and our software solutions drive close to a third of global ad revenue. Through continuous innovation, we are delivering the most advanced IP, cloud-enabled, software-defined network and workflow solutions in the industry. Visit www.imaginecommunications.com for more information, and follow us on Twitter @imagine_comms.

About Entertainment Communications Network
ECN is a media services company distributing thousands of commercial instructions and radio spots weekly.  The company facilitates commercial scheduling, tracking and reconciliation on behalf of major advertising agencies, networks and syndication companies in North America.  ECN’s expertise in commercial traffic operations, its proprietary media database and seamless connections to media buying systems have established ECN as the bridge between content and media for over 20 years.  www.ecnmedia.com