Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Part 3 of 5: Leveraging a Solid Foundation for the Next-Gen Traffic System

17/10/2019

I've always been proud to be a life-long broadcaster, with my earliest exposure going back to a part-time after school job at the local television station in my small market hometown. Little did I know then that those teenage steps toward adult responsibility would lead me to invaluable experience in work and life, working for small, mid and large market broadcast companies, with the vast majority of experience at the ABC owned station in San Francisco. Traffic, inventory management, and coming up with reporting and workflow efficiencies for my team was both my passion and my challenge back in the day. Data was seemingly held hostage by disparate computer systems, none of which seemed to talk to one another and certainly didn't roll-up to corporate, resulting in endless redundancies.

I met Eric Mathewson in 1999 when he founded WideOrbit. I was both impressed and skeptical of his grand vision of an exchange to make is easier to buy and sell media. Central to this vision was the need to have a solid foundation where the data lived: traffic, sales and billing, and let's not forget reporting! With my colleagues from broadcasting and a group of start-up software engineers we set out to change the traffic world. It was a whirlwind experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. I vividly remember the day that I met Bill Offeman (now Will Offeman), when he showed us a prototype revenue report using this very cool feature called group panel . That feature changed everything in our approach to access data for our customers and was truly revolutionary at the time. Perhaps more pedestrian now, but no doubt it remains most customers' favorite feature, no matter the task.

Now many years removed from that WideOrbit start-up experience and concentrating on US local broadcast media, I am thrilled to be focused on building from those products to accommodate both linear and digital inventory types across any sales channel, all over the world. Over these 20 years, we've branched out well beyond our local television and radio roots, solving challenges for cable and broadcast networks, satellite services and international markets. But at the core of each solution is some form of the WO Traffic system that started it all. The nuances and the idiosyncrasies of the media world make ad operations tricky - not just how we store, access and manage the petabytes of data per client, but more so knowing how each step has to be executed in the most efficient manner in order to assure the next step is executed at the same level of efficiency.

To further complicate matters, our clients require workflow efficiency across linear AND digital media types, simultaneously. The workflows are not the same, nor are they executed at the same pace and content consumption is drastically different across mediums. We've had a fully comprehensive platform for digital audio in place for years now with our WO Streaming, WO On Demand and WO Programmatic Digital Audio products. A little-known fact: WideOrbit serves over 10 billion digital ad impressions each year! Currently, we are adding to that Digital Ad Solution in order to handle digital video inventory the way WO Traffic does for linear TV inventory. Starting with our existing Digital Orders and Multicast modules within WO Traffic, we are building ad decisioning and serving functionality in order to support live streaming, time-shifted podcasting, and advanced targeting of addressable ads for OTT and ATSC3.0. It's clear that our clients' need to monetize both linear & digital inventory are a priority for WideOrbit to address.

If the next 20 years at WideOrbit are anything like the past 20, we will be solving some sizeable hurdles for the media industry with regards to taking the best of digital and marrying it with the best of linear. That's easier said than done, and consumers will always be moving targets for advertisers. But if there's anything I can say about WideOrbit during my tenure - you can be sure we won't shy away from those challenges.

Arden Adair is Director of Product Management and she has been with WideOrbit since 2000. She is a former broadcast TV traffic manager who was recruited to leverage her real-life media operations experience in shaping WideOrbit's products. Visit https://www.wideorbit.com/products/#broadcast-traffic billing to learn more about WideOrbit's flagship traffic products.

Coming up next Part 4 of 5: Our Chief Technology Officer shares his thoughts on the various system architectures that can assure WideOrbit's software is optimized for performance.

For press inquiries, contact media@wideorbit.com.
LINK: https://www.wideorbit.com/blog/20-20-vision-next-gen-traffic-system/...
See more stories from wideorbit

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

07/10/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Media Operations from Ingest to Distribution

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...

06/09/2026

Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA World Cup 2026 in Germany with Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos

June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...

13/08/2026

Tubi Media Group Partners with Gracenote to Unlock Additional Value in Content Discovery and Programmatic CTV Advertising

New Agreement Aims to Leverage Gracenote Infrastructure to Create More Relevant ...

13/08/2026

CMG Expands Local Sports Offering With Two NBA Deals

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

Olympic Broadcasting Services to receive IBC2026 Internat...

IBC today announced that its most prestigious honour, the International Honour for Excellence (IHFE), will be presented to Olympic Broadcasting Services (OBS), ...

13/08/2026

Dalet Demonstrates the Future of AI-Orchestrated Live Spo...

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced its participation in the IBC2026 Accelerator Media Innovation Pro...

13/08/2026

dzjinius to showcase new dzjinius on-set application at I...

dzjinius, the all-in-one production management platform for the media and entertainment industry, will showcase its new application, dzjinius on-set , at IBC20...

13/08/2026

BCE Demonstrates Sovereign Cloud Media Workflows powered...

Broadcasting Center Europe (BCE), a leading European provider of media services, system integration and product development, will demonstrate an end-to-end sove...

13/08/2026

Clear-Com to Showcase Communications Solutions for Broadc...

Clear-Com is returning to IBC 2026, taking place September 11-14 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. At Stand 10.D29, Clear-Com will spotlight the award-winning FreeSpe...

13/08/2026

Leader to highlight advanced Test and Measurement solutio...

Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics of Europe, will showcase its comprehensive portfolio of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement ...

13/08/2026

KRK Brings Advanced Wireless Control to Professional Monitoring With New V Series Five Studio MonitorsKRK Brings Advanced Wireless

KRK Brings Advanced Wireless Control to Professional Monitoring With New V Serie...

13/08/2026

Anthony Noack Captures Artist's Journey in Estonia with Blackmagic Design

Anthony Noack Captures Artist's Journey in Estonia with Blackmagic Design Brie Clayton August 12, 2026 0 Comments Solo filmmaker documents concept...

13/08/2026

ARRI Image Science makes its mobile debut in the HONOR Robot Phone

ARRI Image Science makes its mobile debut in the HONOR Robot Phone Brie Clayton August 12, 2026 0 Comments Hero image displays the HONOR Robot Phone, ...

13/08/2026

ASG Adds Eran Binyamin Zeitoun as Senior Technical Program Manager

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

Vinten To Feature Manual, Robotic Camera Support Offerings At IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

SMPTE Unveils IBC 2026 Plans

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

IP Showcase on the Water Announces Schedule for IBC 2026

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

Spectrum, Optimum Ink New Deals for News Carriage and Ads

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

IAB Tech Lab Updates Privacy Standards

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

13/08/2026

Suitest Highlights New AI-Powered Device Testing and Qual...

Suitest's Test Automation Platform Simplifies Video Quality Assurance, Monitoring, and Device Certification Across the OTT Ecosystem At IBC2026, Suitest, a...

13/08/2026

Cinegy showcases powerful, agile, cost-effective media so...

Cinegy GmbH, the premier provider of software-defined television technology, will have its key software solutions ready to demonstrate at SET Expo 2026 (18 20...

13/08/2026

Scripps Research establishes endowed chair honoring Peter K. Vogt, influential pioneer in cancer research

Scripps Research has established the Peter K. Vogt Endowed Chair, a new faculty ...

13/08/2026

New research offers fresh insights for how to make better vaccines

LA JOLLA, CA-A vaccine's molecular structure plays a key role in determining how the immune system responds and prepares to protect the body from future exp...

13/08/2026

Dalet Demonstrates the Future of AI-Orchestrated Live Sports Workflows at IBC2026 Accelerator Programme

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

13/08/2026

Vale MP praises Wenvoe's broadcast role and engineering expertise

Wenvoe serves over 1 million people across South Wales 13 August 2026, Winchester, UK - Vale of Glamorgan MP, Kanishka Narayan, has praised the engineering exp...

13/08/2026

Event Marks New Season with the RT Concert Orchestra

RT 's Miriam O'Callaghan welcomed a range of specially invited guests to the National Concert Hall last week for a unique event to mark a new season wit...

13/08/2026

Seattle Seahawks Become First Team to Bring Dolby OptiView with Dolby Vision to Fans

August 13 2026, 06:00 (PDT) Seattle Seahawks Become First Team to Bring Dolby O...

13/08/2026

Class Is in Session: GeForce NOW Levels Up Linux, Chromebooks and More

GeForce NOW is giving cloud gaming an extra-credit upgrade just in time for back-to-school season. The native Linux app for GeForce NOW is officially out of be...

12/08/2026

Op-Ed: The Versioning Playbook - How Rights Holders are Getting More From Live Events

Traditional live sports production has focused on creating the best possible pro...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: FOR-A to Demonstrate Production and Processing Solutions

FOR-A will showcase a range of broadcast and production products at IBC2026 (Stand 2.B53, Amsterdam RAI, September 11-14), including software-based switching, A...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: AMWA and EBU to Demo NMOS BCP-008 Multi-Vendor IP Status Reporting

The Advanced Media Workflow Association (AMWA) and EBU will host live demonstrations of NMOS BCP-008 Minimum Status Reporting at IBC2026 (September 11-14) on th...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: Dalet Launches Solution Suites for Media Production and Archive Management

Dalet has announced Dalet Solution Suites, a portfolio of cloud-native solutions...

12/08/2026

Net Insight Enables Centralized Remote Production of Blinkfestivalen 2026 for NRK

Net Insight has announced that DMC Production Norway has selected its Open Live ...

12/08/2026

Zixi Appoints Alyson Stewart as Senior Director of Sales

Zixi has appointed Alyson Stewart as Senior Director of Sales. Stewart will be responsible for direct sales and partnerships, with a focus on broadcasters, medi...

12/08/2026

LiveU Powers Host Broadcast Operations at 2026 Glasgow Games

LiveU's LU900Q intelligent production unit was deployed as part of the host broadcast operation for the Games in Glasgow (July 23-August 2, 2026). Host broa...

12/08/2026

Disney+ and ESPN Acquire Multi-Year Formula E Rights Beginning 2026/27 Season

Disney , ESPN, and Formula E have announced a multi-year deal bringing all Formula E races to Disney and ESPN in the U.S. and to Disney in most international...

12/08/2026

PSSI Launches X-LIVE Managed Service for Live Event Transmission

PSSI has launched X-LIVE, a managed service offering dedicated engineering resources and Appear encoding infrastructure for live event signal processing and tra...

12/08/2026

MoonPay X Games League Draws 18.3 Million Viewers in Inaugural Summer Season

The inaugural MoonPay X Games League Summer Season reached 18.3 million unique live viewers across three stops on ABC and ESPN, a 78.5% increase compared to the...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: BBright Adds RIST Support to IP-Gateway

BBright will showcase an expanded IP-Gateway at IBC2026, adding support for all RIST profiles to its existing support for MPEG Transport Stream over IP with SMP...

12/08/2026

IBC 2026: BBright Adds EBU OGraf Graphics Support to UHD and ST 2110 Playout Platform

BBright will demonstrate EBU OGraf animated graphics support in its software-bas...

12/08/2026

Interra Systems to Showcase QC and Monitoring Solutions at SET Expo 2026

Interra Systems will demonstrate its ORION, BATON, BATON Captions, and VEGA solutions at SET Expo 2026 (August 17-20, Distrito Anhembi, S o Paulo) at partner Li...

12/08/2026

DPA Microphones Appoints Raul Contreras as West Coast Regional Sales Manager

DPA Microphones has appointed Raul Contreras as West Coast Regional Sales Manager. In the role, Contreras will oversee sales and customer relationships througho...

12/08/2026

Save the Date: SVG LIVE! Returns to LA Nov. 10 to Spotlight Sports & Entertainment Production

Live spectacles ranging from the Super Bowl and FIFA World Cup to the Oscars and...

12/08/2026

Love, Separation, and the Cost of Comfort in How to Divorce During the War

Writer-Director Andrius Bla evi ius and crew attend the premiere of How to Divorce During the War at The Ray Theatre on January 26, 2026, in Park City, UT. (P...

12/08/2026

SSL 360 gets a major update

Enhanced DAW & plug-in control for the UC1, UF8 and UF1 The software that powers SSL's range of control surfaces has just received a major update that d...

12/08/2026

Triton Audio launch the Tilt EQ

In-line preamp features one-knob EQ In addition to their range of in-line preamps, Triton Audio recently managed to squeeze a compressor into an enclosure t...

12/08/2026

AudioRoute from Arvital Audio

Captures system audio with or without a DAW Depending on your setup, capturing system audio in a DAW can be a tedious process, so much so that Arvital Audio...

12/08/2026

2026 NATIONAL NAIDOC AWARDS TO BROADCAST ON NITV LIVE AND DIRECT FROM MPARNTWE

2026 NATIONAL NAIDOC AWARDS TO BROADCAST ON NITV LIVE AND DIRECT FROM MPARNTWE 12 August, 2026 Media releases First Nations excellence will be celebrated l...

12/08/2026

More than six million sports fans stay with SBS for Tour de France and Tour de France Femmes Avec Zwift

More than six million sports fans stay with SBS for Tour de France and Tour de F...