Amagi launches new content planning and scheduling software

Broadcast and streaming TV technology software-as-a-service provider Amagi has launched Amagi Planner, its new content planning and scheduling automation software that it says is designed to eliminate most of the manual efforts in linear TV scheduling.

At launch, Circle Network has become one of the first customers to use the new platform. Circle TV is a linear television and streaming channel dedicated to celebrating country music and the country lifestyle.

Amagi PLANNER works with a three-step process of creating content, putting together a programme schedule, and then exporting the playlist to Cloudport, Amagi’s cloud-based channel creation platform.

According to Amagi, the platform enables schedulers to find the right content and assign various scheduling patterns across multiple days. Content can be grouped together as a collection to build reusable blocks for quick and repetitive scheduling. Amagi Planner supports content rights management like license date validation and gives the ability to provide a frequency cap on media. Ad break scheduling rules can also be so that the need for manual scheduling of ad breaks in Cloudport is eliminated.

Amagi Planner will be available to all existing Cloudport customers as an add-on.

“Amagi Planner makes it very easy for our scheduling team to automate our day-to-day scheduling cutting down up to 80 percent of the time spent in programming.It seamlessly integrates with the Cloudport channel creation platform, making the entire process of linear channel creation, scheduling programs, and distributing content a very smooth experience. Amagi Planner provides our programming team the ability to mirror our linear broadcast network across our digital distribution,” said Ryan Imhof, manager of programming, Circle TV.

“For digital-first companies, scheduling is a complex and time-consuming task that hampers the productivity of content planning and scheduling teams. Amagi Planner offers a new way of scheduling, making it easier to launch dozens of channels with minimal programming resource and time aided by an intuitive web-based user interface. We are delighted to partner with Circle TV and deepen our engagement further.”  Circle TV uses Amagi’s cloud platform for its linear channel creation and distribution to platforms such as The Roku Channel, Xumo, VIZIO, Redbox and Samsung TV Plus,” said Srinivasan KA, co-founder, Amagi.