Planetcast launches its NexC cloud-first architecture to enable Media Companies to beat today’s ‘Complexity Challenge’

Planetcast Media Services, a leading global broadcast technology and media services provider, today announced the launch of its NexC architecture to simplify content management, distribution, and monetisation services and technologies. NexC provides a single-window, content supply chain management system, enabling users to beat the complexity challenge of today’s media and entertainment landscape. Benefits of NexC include:

  • Frictionless movement of content assets between most-used services increases efficiency and minimises cost.
  • NexC’s collaboration tools mean that global teams can work together without leaving NexC
  • The inclusion of major functionalities in one interface, including content supply chain, playout and distribution, FAST, OTT distribution, and post-production, enables Planetcast customers to effortlessly add services without complex processes or having to deal with multiple vendors.
  • NexC’s cloud-based infrastructure and content-repurposing features enable users to monetise content quickly and cost-effectively across more formats and geographies than ever before.

“Media organisations are finding it increasingly cumbersome and expensive to navigate the various stages of post-production, content delivery, and monetisation,” says Sanjay Duda, Chief Executive Officer at Planetcast. “In addition to seeking to enhance profitability, many media & entertainment companies are expanding geographically, while at the same time targeting new distribution points and functionalities, such as over-the-top (OTT), Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST), and pop-up channels. This leads to an exponential increase in the requirement for media processing and management, which we call the ‘complexity challenge’. Planetcast’s NexC unified service layer architecture meets this challenge through its flexibility and cloud-first approach, enabling customers to maximize efficiency and cost-effectiveness.”

The NexC architecture consists of the following elements, all accessed through Planetcast’s unified customer user interface (UI) and dashboard:

  • Contido content supply chain and management solution
  • Content Preparation & Localisation Services, a full suite of core technical post-production services from quality control and compliance to subtitling & dubbing, etc.
  • Scheduling, Playout and distribution through the CloudX hybrid cloud playout and Recaster digital delivery
  • Planetcast OTT, a white-labelled OTT solution for non-linear content distribution

In addition, NexC platform offers partner-integrated value-added services such as:

  • FAST Playout with partner driven Server-Side Ad-insertion, Ad-Demand Management and Platform partner management.
  • Cloud based Creative Post Production which includes the full suite of creative services such as Editing, Colour Grading, VFX, etc. on Cloud.

“Planetcast’s success has been built upon the ability to adapt to changing distribution and monetisation trends over the last two decades while successfully handling some of the world’s most valuable sports and entertainment properties,” says Venugopal Iyengar, Chief Operating Officer, Digital, at Planetcast. “Our strength lies in having organically built end-to-end distribution value chains using our in-house software development capability, mostly built with our own IP, served by a 200+ software team. We believe that the ‘complexity challenge’ is the greatest issue facing media companies today. To meet this challenge, we have designed the NexC architecture from the ground up to provide all the power and functionality media companies need, combined with the simplicity of a single sign-on collaborative user interface.”

Further, to ensure sustained value enhancement in this rapidly developing industry, NexC will offer API integration support for any Generative AI solutions that serve to enhance the workflows and functionality of the Platform.

Planetcast has developed one of the industry’s most comprehensive cloud-driven media services offerings and is trusted by many of the world’s most demanding global media companies, including Amazon Prime Video, Discovery, Disney, Indian Premier League (IPL), Star TV, Sony, Viacom, and Doordarshan, India’s premier public broadcaster. These unique solutions are right now being integrated into the NexC unified service layer architecture.

About Planetcast Media Services

Planetcast Media Services is a leading provider of services and solutions that touch a billion lives in India and Southeast Asia. Owned by Apollo Global Management, Planetcast has a 25-year heritage in broadcast and media services and employs over 1,000 professional staff. The company counts some of the world’s largest media brands as its customers, including Disney, Viacom, Sony, Amazon and Star TV.

Planetcast’s cloud-first media services enhance, organise, protect and deliver video content, enabling media companies to reduce costs and improve quality across the entire broadcast chain – from acquisition through to final distribution to the consumer. At NAB 2022, the company launched Planetcast International to support growth and address the needs of media and entertainment companies in regions outside Planetcast Media Services’ core markets in India and Southeast Asia.