The ability to generate thoughts and build relationships within the stream of consciousness characterizes the human mind. We think in concepts. By filing each memory not just as a picture, but as a series of associated values, ideas and themes, it then has the ability to think' in a meaningful way; to see patterns, distinguish differences, identify commonalities, find common threads and join up memories and ideas in a way that creates meaning and fuels creativity.
These common threads' are, in essence, metadata - and have as much of a place within computing as in the human brain. They give us the ability to turn disparate data into something meaningful - to see' the content of the picture, to recognize and join up the concepts associated with a clip or file. And their application within the field of broadcast is continually growing.
Real-world metadata applications in the field of broadcast
Metadata potential is almost limitless. There's a good chance you'll already be familiar with some of the central applications. But it doesn't hurt to recap. Metadata can:
Help with technical production; allowing for video spec to be matched up when selecting clips for composition, or for dictating how they are distributed.
Speed up the search process; allowing clips to be identified by theme, visual elements, emotion' - through AI sentiment analysis, and even spoken content through AI-based speech detection.
Automate scheduling -fill slots with assets based on series, chronology, theme, subject, genre, demographic or any other metric that works for you.
Match advertising with broadcast content, creating congruence and improving ROI for advertisers.
Assist with the categorization of media assets according to rights permissions and access certificates.
Quickly filter out sensitive and adult content which is not suitable for certain audiences through sentiment and language analysis.
Make your system intuitive and accessible to third-party users who need access to your media library.
Deliver automated speech-to-text and subtitling, along with associated time codes.
Allow for you to engage in more sophisticated reporting processes; giving you strategic insight into your media asset performance, but also providing greater accountability to external stakeholders.
Major Usage Trends of metadata in the Broadcast & Media industry
A few of these areas are seeing particular interest in the broadcast market at the moment. Take for instance the broad field of rights management. For broadcasters, content exchangers and anybody managing a huge library of film and TV assets (or media in general), then metadata tags can be associated with assets relating to publication/depublication dates, geo-blocking policies, view counts and syndication. This is of vital importance for ensuring that the right content goes to the right markets, or perhaps more importantly - doesn't go to the wrong ones - thus providing an added level of security and checking, and ensuring that expensive legal mistakes aren't made.
Metadata is also helping broadcasters to make their content libraries more accessible and appealing to audiences; localizing content through the provision of languages and subtitles, or associating themes and synopsis. These latter elements don't merely allow for a user - be they industry or consumer - to assess whether a given asset is right for them, but also allow for better predictive algorithms to be used; making for more efficient workflows and/or keeping audiences happy, loyal and tuned in.
Metadata isn't only useful for the input part of the broadcast process though. It's also key to understanding how your content library as a whole has been used and compiling reports based on the overarching themes and nature of that use. What parts of your library have generated the most value? Be it financial, administrative or project management-based, the ability to gain an overview of your media performance based on its metadata properties gives you a much more sophisticated and usable business-level understanding - allowing you to make strategic decisions for the future.
VSN and metadata
The significance of metadata in the management of media has been apparent to VSN right from the beginning - and as such, we've always worked to push the boundaries of how it can be used, and how we can innovate to make it faster, more accurate, and more usable.
This means metadata isn't merely a hastily applied afterthought in our media management systems (VSN Explorer)- it's built from the core up. It's key that metadata elements are present and utilized throughout the entire workflow, and we make sure of this by integrating it into every one of our systems, but also by making sure that as content is passed through each of these systems, metadata flows alongside it. All of the metadata applications discussed above are built right into the core of our system; fully customizable user-generated metadata input, that where possible, integrates predictive or automated workflows to make the metadata categorization process smoother and more efficient.
A crucial component of this is the use of AI; a key element that sets VSN apart from many lower-level competitors. We achieve this by partnering with the best in the field - the so-called Big Three' (Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure and IBM Watson) to harness the power of the millions of inputs they receive every day.
This ability to categorize and learn is a very big deal. Traditionally, because metadata is essentially about ascribing human understanding' to a video, then the process of generating metadata was necessarily human in nature. Pity the poor person, locked away in a basement, watching thousands of hours of video, and attempting to generate as many conceptual tags as their poor, add
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
04/12/2025
SBS launches Future Frames initiative to support emerging First Nations video ed...
04/12/2025
Coronal mass ejections caused by eruptions on the surface of the sun can have fa...
04/12/2025
Gracenote Content Connect enables media ecosystem to precisely align ad campaigns and programming based on rich content signals
NEW YORK - December 4, 2025 - N...
The ability to generate thoughts and build relationships within the stream of consciousness characterizes the human mind. We think in concepts. By filing each memory not just as a picture, but as a series of associated values, ideas and themes, it then has the ability to think' in a meaningful way; to see patterns, distinguish differences, identify commonalities, find common threads and join up memories and ideas in a way that creates meaning and fuels creativity. 
