Platform: Freeview
Launched: 15th April 2020
Genre: Entertainment Channel
Services: content acquisition, content compliance, graphics creation, promo production, play-out sourcing, channel launch management, scheduling, EPG delivery.
Client Profile: CCX TV
Client Objective
Existing MPB client Ideal Shopping Direct came to us with a brief to launch and run a full entertainment channel on their behalf. They wanted to put TV shopping in a new genre to attract a different audience. The catch? We only had two weeks from signing the contract to put together and launch a full channel during the first Coronovirus Lockdown. Undeterred, we mobilised our team and got stuck in.
Our Solution
On the day of signing the contract, we didn’t have a single piece of content for the channel and with just ten working days until we needed 12-hours of content a day and planned to acquire 600 hours for the first year of the channel. We had to identify the programming needed to be able to curate an interesting and entertaining schedule for twelve months and rapidly execute the content deals. Using one of our trusted consultants, Andrew Burns, we met this goal, acquiring content from Freemantle, Thames and a range of other content owners. These agreements all had to be negotiated by us and signed off by the client.
Once the deals were signed, we had to get the content delivered. Due to restrictions, many people were working from home and varying internet speeds posed problems for remote upload. We had to be really creative to ensure we had all the content on time, sometimes even resorting to clandestine meetings in car parks in central London to hand over hard drives.
When we had the content in the building we had to comply it; which means someone watching every single second of the content at least once, ensuring that it is compliant for the UK market and making minor edits in order to finalise the content for broadcast. Our in-house team created graphics, promos, TX masters and got everything uploaded for remote playout by Pace Media. All in just two weeks from contract to launch. That’s no mean feat.
A remote solution meant that the pandemic didn’t interfere with playout. We chose one of our trusted partners, PACE, for playout and they hosted at Arqiva.
CCXTV launched on Freeview on 15th April 2020 and quickly grew in popularity thanks to smart scheduling and astute content selection by the wider MPB team. Reaching monthly viewing figures of 2.4 million rapidly and sustaining that level.
Key Triumphs / Highlights
We are so proud of the Herculean effort that went into launching CCX in such a short space of time. The channel has been a huge success: within a month of broadcasting, CCX achieved audience viewing figures of over 2.4 million people a month.
What the client says
“We extensively searched the playout and channel management market and found that MPB were the only company who were equipped to take on all of the extensive services we required including sourcing content. They delivered to a very tight timeline and a successful channel was the result.”
- Jamie Martin, CEO, Ideal Shopping Direct