Choosing the Right Partners
With all webcasts, selecting the right production and distribution partners is a big component of how successful your webcast will be. Rarely can one single-handedly produce a webcast. One partner almost always needs to be involved in the process, be it for connectivity, audio/video (A/V) production, physical distribution or online marketing. Webcasting has come a long way from the early days when webcasting services were hard to come by. Today there are many partners whose sole business is to help you be successful.
Choosing the right partner can be very complicated, especially for new webcasters. Your choice is based on the services needed, location of the webcast, and of course the cost of services. This chapter discusses why you might need a partner and the issues you must consider when making your choice. This chapter covers:
• Do It Yourself vs. Outsourcing
• Distribution Partners
• Marketing Partners
Do It Yourself vs. Outsourcing
The main question to consider when deciding if you should produce a webcast yourself or outsource portions of it is simple: Do I have every resource at my disposal, including equipment and expertise, to make sure this webcast will be 100% successful? If the answer is no, then you need partners.
The majority of webcasts have many partners involved. Very few companies today have the resources to produce a webcast from production all the way to distribution. For the average webcaster, production and distribution technology is not their core business. Webcasting is simply a distribution medium leveraged to broadcast content.
This book aims to provide clear and concise details about all the elements that are involved in a webcast from a technical level. Unless you feel you have all the technology and personnel resources required to produce a webcast, not to mention the bandwidth you will need, then you’ll need partners to be successful.
Production Partners
The term production is widely used in many industries today. In the webcasting industry, production generally refers to the audio and video production, and is the core of a successful webcast.
Depending on the size, location, and complexity of one’s webcast, the number of production partners may vary. Production is critical to the success of your webcast, as even the best content in the world will not attract an audience if it is poorly produced. Choose your partners based on this set of parameters: expertise, price and professionalism.
Expertise
Webcasting expertise is important when considering a partner. When evaluating a production partner, find out what other webcasts they have done. Ask to see some on-demand examples and speak to some of their clients. This may sound like common sense yet many webcasts still fail because of poor production. Don’t take their word for it; ask to see some examples and judge for yourself.
Many times, you may be forced to work with a partner that has already been chosen. For instance, many webcasts already have a production company who is capturing the event for other purposes. In this case, having an experienced encoding team who knows how to ask for the best type of feeds and knows how to re-mix the feeds for the webcast is crucial.
Webcasting is not as hard or complicated as people make it out to be, but remember that encoding is more than simply digitizing a file.
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If your production partner will be involved with the encoding: • Do they know how to set up redundant encoders? • Have they had experience bonding ISDN lines and knowing how to force them to dial long distance? • Do they know how to re-mix the audio and switch between multiple video inputs? • Do they know how to work with the camera technicians to have the video shot in a way that works best for a webcast? • Will they advise you on what background colors and settings work best for streaming media? These questions are easy for an experienced webcasting production company to answer. If your potential partner stumbles on them, or thinks they are odd questions, you may want to consider another partner. |
Pricing
The most common question is: “How much do webcasting services cost?” We like to answer that by asking another question: “What does a new car cost?” The correct answer is: “it depends.” There is no way to answer either question unless you have more information, and in the case of a webcast, you need to know the details of the event and what resources are needed.
While the price for any product or service is always a factor, remember it is not the biggest factor. You can pay a lot for a webcast and have it fail or pay little and have it succeed. Success is based on many factors, of which pricing is only one of the components. That being said, here are some standard pricing rates and the factors that determine what these services cost.
Author’s Tip 
In some cases, up to 8–10 encoders could be required to encode an event and have sufficient redundancy built in. When using this many encoders, you also need the ability to split all the A/V feeds to all the encoders. Pricing for on-site encoding is based on location of event, length of event, formats and bit rates needed, volume of gear and number of personnel. It’s impossible to give an estimate without these details but again, it can range based on complexity from $1,000 a day to $10,000 depending on your needs.
To start with, audio and video production can be the most expensive piece of a webcast if you use multiple cameras. If your webcast requires a single camera, with one operator, producing only one feed, the cost is very affordable at about $1,000 a day—which should include the camera and operator. Naturally, this price can change if it is a last minute request, requires travel, or you need a high quality Betacam instead of a good quality digital video (DV) camera.
Events that require multiple cameras also require multiple operators, a technical producer, a director and significantly more equipment. You may also need a broadcast truck onsite and other large and expensive pieces of equipment. We’ve seen multiple camera shoots cost as little as $2,500 for two cameras and up to $50,000 or more for five or six cameras. It can get expensive quickly. To find the best price, treat it like any other service: get a number of quotes and check references. There are literally thousands of production companies and many to choose from in virtually every city.
Some A/V houses will also provide encoding services in addition to the A/V production. However, most do not see encoding as part of their core business and realize it is not something they are properly set up to do. If you have the ability to do your own encoding, it’s a small event and you’re only doing one bit rate or audio only, chances are you can handle it yourself. For events that require many different feeds to encode, at many bit rates and in multiple formats, hiring a partner that specializes in this is the smart move.
Bottom line: know as many details of the event as possible before you call around for pricing. It will save you a lot of time and allow the partner to provide you with a realistic quote.
Professionalism
Professionalism in a partner is often overlooked, but very important. We’ve both had experiences where unexpected developments can endanger a webcast, such as union issues, connectivity lines being cut, power being turned off, equipment going missing etc. In cases such as these, it’s important to have a production partner that knows how to deal with and solve these issues.
Author’s Tip
An easy way to find out if the production partner has experience is to ask them what some of the most difficult problems they have had at events have been. All experienced webcasters have horror stories of things that went wrong at webcasts that were beyond their control, but can describe how they were able to work through them to produce a successful webcast.
Sometimes people assigned to work with the webcast team get stressed out during the event and can be difficult to deal with. More often than not, they don’t know the importance of the webcast. It is times like these that you will be happy that you hired a production company that knows how to deal with these issues and doesn’t let them stop the webcast. Choosing a partner that has the professionalism and expertise to know how to deal with the unions, video production company, security, and everyone else involved at the event cannot be underestimated.
Distribution Partners
Most people choose a service provider or a content delivery network (CDN) to distribute their webcasts. Any event, large or small, regional or global, requires a network that is properly set up to receive the incoming encoded stream, distribute the stream over the Internet and report back with detailed statistics after the event. In addition, many webcasters look to partners to help promote the event and make users on the Internet aware the event is even taking place. We’ll discuss how you can do both of these successfully and give you some contacts for providers of these services (as well as an idea what it should cost) in the following sections.
Physical Distribution
Since the introduction of content delivery networks, the models by which their services are marketed, priced, and delivered have changed faster than any other aspect of this industry. Choosing the right delivery partner is still a difficult task of cutting through the marketing hype, opinions, and confusing product pitches. Outsourcing all or part of the process can leave you with more questions than answers so we intend to show you how easy it should be.
Most distribution partners don’t do a good job of explaining their service offerings. Additionally, their pricing structures can be downright confusing. Many service providers seem to think if they keep the technology confusing and make it sound more complicated than it is, then you will be willing to stay uneducated and therefore always trust what they say. What they don’t understand, because they are short-sighted, is that the more they educate the customer, by showing the value of the technology and the potential return on investment, the more the client will utilize them.
Once you have decided to engage a content delivery network to distribute your webcast there are some basics to be aware of. For starters, providers have different names for their products and services, but content delivery is pretty much the same from one provider to the next. Where they differ is the geographic reach, the formats they support, and the add-on services they may provide such as PPV or enhanced reporting.
Author’s Tip
The biggest myth when it comes to distribution is who offers the best “quality.” Many providers talk about how they offer the best delivery quality, yet from a technical perspective there are few ways to judge this objectively. No third-party organization provides unbiased, reliable data comparing providers from a level playing field. Remember that service quality is not always based on one factor, such as network speed, number of servers etcetera, but rather is usually based on a variety of factors, such as ease of use, price, scalability, and customer service.
Deciding which partner to pick should be based on knowing what you need and finding the right fit with the right partner. Some distribution partners will talk about how many servers they have, how many countries they are in and how much bandwidth they can sustain. But if you are doing a small, regional webcast, none of that is really applicable to your webcast.
Picking the right partner should be like shopping for a car. Get multiple quotes and solution pitches so you have a good understanding of the available options. Educate yourself on company backgrounds and their service offerings. Choosing the right delivery partner is pretty easy if you follow these guidelines and keep in mind the following points before signing a contract.
• Don’t Get Into The Format Wars: Don’t get so caught up in the streaming media format in which your content is distributed. That is actually the easiest part of the equation, because the solution can usually be provided by more than one streaming media format. Delivery partners have an excellent understanding of the pros and cons of each streaming media format; they can recommend the best one based on your goals. Additionally, most providers do not charge extra to distribute one type of format over another. Many times, it is economical to be able to deliver your content in multiple formats.
• It’s All About Setting Correct Expectations: Always go with a delivery partner that takes the time to educate you and listen to your needs. If they are not willing to educate you before you sign a contract, how much do you think they will educate you after they already have you locked into a deal? No matter how good a deal seems, or what you may have heard of the delivery partner, if the delivery partner doesn’t educate you, set your expectations properly and follow up on those expectations, they’re not the partner for you.
• Get First-Hand Advice: The best information about potential delivery partners is going to come from other webcasters who have outsourced their webcasting. Ask what they have liked and disliked about their delivery partner. Most delivery partners will also let you test their services, to get hands-on with their products and tools. Any delivery partner unwilling to let you test the “packaged” services—for those that do not require custom solutions—is not really interested in winning your business.
Pricing And Providers
Now that you have some idea about how to pick the right delivery partner, what do these services cost and what providers exist in the market today?
For starters, remember that getting pricing for any event without knowing the details is nearly impossible. So to make this easier, I’ll use a typical webcast as an example. Also, all delivery partners give price discounts based on signing a contract for multiple events and these can be significant.
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Providers primarily charge two ways for webcasting distribution: • RSVP Model: This model is based on the number of simultaneous streams used at any one given time. • Throughput Model: This model charges for the total amount of data delivered over their network during the course of the event. |
All events, no matter the pricing model, are generally also based on length of event, time of event, number of formats/bit rates and geographic distribution needed. Some content delivery networks charge one price to deliver the content globally, others charge based on regions. Keep in mind if you need some sort of registration page, PPV solution, authentication or call them on 2 hours notice, the pricing will be completely different.
For events where the RSVP model is used, the customer estimates how many simultaneous users one may get during the event. While this pricing model is popular, most webcasters tend to overestimate the size of their potential audience. You may pay for 1,000 simultaneous users and only get 300, in which case you paid for something you didn’t use. The going rate these days from any one of the leading six content delivery networks is about $1,500 for a two hour webcast for 1,000 simultaneous users in one format. Add more hours, additional formats, interactive features like slides and chat and the price will double.
Pricing for the throughput model varies from $3.00 to $1.00 per gigabyte, depending on volume. However, estimating total throughput is slightly complex, because it depends on estimating the size of the audience, as well as the length of time each audience member is expected to stay connected to the webcast. For a detailed example of how to estimate throughput, please see Chapter 4, Business Considerations. Your best bet like everything else we have suggested is to get multiple quotes from multiple providers.
Inside the Industry
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There are many delivery partners who are a good fit for one customer and not a fit for another. Remember that the right provider is based on what you need, when you need it, where you need it and so on; no one provider is ever a fit for every client. That being said, at the time of the writing of this book, there are five providers who handle most of the webcast traffic on the public Internet. In alphabetical order they are: • Akamai (http://www.akamai.com) • Limelight Networks (http://www.iimeiightnetworks.com) • Mirror Image (http://www.mirror-image.com) • SAVVIS (http://www.savvis.com) • VitalStream (http://www.vitaistream.com) There are others who provide the exact same quality of service for the most part but specialize in webcasting services to the consumer or smaller business market such as PlayStream (http://www.piaystream.com) Other providers specialize in providing webcasting services just to certain vertical markets like the financial industry with such providers as Thomson (http://www.thomson.com) or ON24 (http://www.on24.com). |
The providers we mention are by no means the only ones offering these services and some of them only offer distribution services in certain regions, or only support specific formats. Also, some have joined programs like Microsoft’s Windows Media Certification hosting programs that validate their services, while others have not. Again, we suggest you ask the right questions, get competitive quotes and talk to three to four providers before you decide on the right fit. It should be noted that the authors of this book have worked directly for or worked with every provider mentioned here.
Marketing Partners
Partnering with other websites to promote your event can be a great way to drive traffic to your webcast. In some instances you may not have the right to do this because the owners of the content might insist it remain on only one website. Alternatively, you might relish the exclusivity, and not want to syndicate the content out to others.
If you are looking to create some buzz and awareness for your event, some websites will help promote it if you either pay them or include them as a marketing partner. Many times you can do a barter deal whereby you place the logo of the partner on your website and in exchange they promote your event to their viewers. Other times, you may be able to swap banner ads with other sites so that everyone gets some value in promoting what they want.
Most of these deals are done for events that have a big consumer draw, but other events such as business to business (B2B) webcasts also have locations for exposure. If you have the budget, almost any site will promote your event if you pay them.
Contracts
When you’ve selected your partners don’t forget that like any other service, the contract is going to dictate what you get for your money. Make sure the contract spells out in detail what they are responsible for and a timeline of when everything will be done.
Author’s Tip
At http://www.webcastwire.com you can promote your event for free to a TV guide-Like listing of all events on the web. Some PR outlets like http://www.prnewswire.com and others will also promote webcasts that have a B2B nature.
Too many times we see contracts that say someone is going to do on-site encoding, in this city, on this day and here is what it will cost. Where is the info about when they arrive and the formats and bit rates they are providing? Who are they working with on-site at the event location? How many people are they bringing and when is their gear expected to arrive? These and many other questions should all be addressed in the quote for any webcast that requires any on-site production. If it does not give granular detail, ask for a scope of work (SOW) for the webcast. While many partners do not offer SOW’s because of the time it takes to put it all down on paper, they will provide one if you ask.
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Be certain the contract states what happens if the partner has any problems on-site. How are you compensated? What are you obliged to pay for? How are you credited for the event if it fails? If the event is outside and bad weather cancels the event, what happens? We have seen event organizers who think they don’t have to pay the webcast team because of weather. As with any business arrangement, make sure the details are worked out, and in writing. |
Conclusion
Planning for a webcast and choosing the right partners can be compared to organizing an event. Start planning as soon as you know the event may happen, start interviewing partners, figure out a budget and know all the details so you can figure out where the potential problem areas are.
Beyond these considerations, you should be aware that a good partner, one who takes the time to understand your needs, should contribute to a successful webcast. Picking the right partners is tricky because the needs of each webcaster vary, and the available solutions change every year as the technology advances. If you continue to educate yourself, ask questions, and set your expectations correctly, the process will be worth the effort.
Pulling off webcasts that require very little resources can be quite simple, but do yourself a favor and hire the professionals when you know the event requires them. It will save you a lot of frustration and in same cases, your job.