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Globecast brings the total Africa Cup of Nations to the world in 4K alongside VOD content creation
MUMBAI: Globecast, the global solutions provider for media, is extending its relationship with the organisers and rights holders of the Total Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, bringing the 2019 event to the world. The tournament began on June 21st with the final taking place on July 19th.
Globecast is working in partnership with the Egyptian Local Organising Committee (LOC), Lagardère Sports, managers and marketers of sports rights across Europe and Africa, and the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF). For additional on-the-ground logistics support, Globecast has partnered with local specialists KAR Technology, who have provided logistical expertise and liaison with the LOC. Globecast has also collaborated closely with Iris Media, who have provided SNGs as well as additional technical support.
Globecast has a longstanding relationship with CAF and is providing a range of services in 2019, including contribution, distribution and VOD content preparation and storage. For the first time, the opening match and the final are being broadcast in 4K, using HEVC encoding. In total there are 52 matches being held in four cities across Egypt.
At each stadium, Globecast is supplying two flyaway SNGs. The first is uplinking the main feed, plus a second feed with additional pre-match footage to build more involvement in the event. Full redundancy is provided by the second SNG. The primary feeds are received at Globecast’s Paris teleport and are then turned around for onward distribution. The backup feed is received in London.
To increase ROI and viewer engagement, VOD content is being prepared by Globecast using its Content Marketplace service, a module of its Digital Media Hub content processing suite. Signals are transcoded into multiple formats and resolutions, including full broadcast quality, clipped and metadata added. Each broadcast affiliate using the system then receives new content notifications to promote download.
Philippe Bernard, Chairman and CEO, Globecast, said, “We are really pleased to have been selected by the Egyptian LOC, extending our relationship with CAF and Lagadère Sports. This year sees particular innovation with the use of both 4K and VOD content supply, with our innovative Content Marketplace providing broadcast affiliates with new ways to extend viewer engagement. We have worked very closely with both KAR and Iris Media and their help has been invaluable. This is a major tournament that needs very high level technical and logistical expertise and between them they have provided exactly what’s required. The LOC has done a fantastic job to organise this event, with Egypt being asked to step in late in the process. What a fantastic sporting spectacle the 2019 event is.”
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Madison World to launch AI platform M BrAIn for media planning
Agency group invests about $1 million as it shifts to AI driven growth planning.
MUMBAI: If media planning once ran on spreadsheets and gut instinct, the next chapter may run on algorithms and curiosity. Madison World is preparing to roll out the first version of its proprietary artificial intelligence platform Madison M BrAIn in early April, as the independent agency group accelerates its transition toward AI driven planning and product led media services.
The platform, expected to involve an investment of around $1 million, is designed to reshape how the agency approaches strategy by combining internal knowledge, external data sources and advanced AI models into a single intelligence ecosystem.
According to Madison Media, OOH and Hiveminds partner and group CEO Ajit Varghese the initiative forms part of a larger structural rethink within the organisation. “Traditionally agencies built frameworks around media planning and allocation. We are redesigning that structure into what we call a Growth Planning System (GPS),” Varghese said.
The shift reflects a growing belief that effective media strategy must begin earlier in the decision making process. Instead of jumping directly to channel allocation, planners must first decode the market itself identifying consumer barriers, purchase triggers and the core challenges facing a brand.
Once those insights are mapped, agencies can build clearer growth agendas for clients and design media strategies that connect more closely with business outcomes.
To support that approach, Madison has built Madison M BrAIn as what it describes as a human AI cognitive ecosystem. Acting as a central intelligence hub, the platform aggregates proprietary insights alongside external data sources and large language models, enabling planners to access deeper market intelligence before building campaign strategies.
Varghese said one of the core objectives is to democratise knowledge across the organisation. “In the past, this level of understanding was largely available to senior leaders or experienced strategists. With Madison M BrAIn, even a junior planner should be able to access the same intelligence and approach clients with a far more informed perspective,” he said.
The agency has already implemented the new planning philosophy internally and completed three months of testing for the AI platform, with early trials showing encouraging results in terms of learning capability and system performance.
While the first version relied on global large language models, Madison is now developing its own proprietary Small Language Model (SLM) to serve as the core of the M BrAIn ecosystem.
“The SLM will be able to read global LLMs, but the LLMs cannot read the SLM,” Varghese explained. “That ensures all the intelligence we build remains within the Madison ecosystem and strengthens our proprietary knowledge base.”
The first version of Madison M BrAIn is expected to go live in early April, with a more refined version targeted by the end of June. Over time, the platform will integrate additional external data streams and APIs including consumer insight platforms, social listening tools and client datasets.
These integrations are expected to enhance the system’s learning capability and enable it to generate increasingly sophisticated strategic recommendations.
Although the platform is currently being deployed for internal use, Madison sees potential for it to evolve into a licensable product in the future.
“At the moment, our focus is to stabilise and strengthen M BrAIn internally. But over time there is potential for this to become a product that could be licensed externally,” Varghese said.
The AI platform is also part of a wider technology transformation underway at the agency group. Alongside M BrAIn, Madison is building a broader digital infrastructure called the Catalyst operating system, which aims to integrate operational processes, data and product platforms into a unified ecosystem.
This broader technology stack could require an additional $1 million to $1.5 million investment over time, though spending will be phased and reviewed regularly.
“We are evaluating progress every three months and prioritising the most critical capabilities first,” Varghese said.
Madison expects the full AI and operating ecosystem to be fully functional within 12 to 18 months, positioning the agency to combine human strategy with machine intelligence as the advertising industry enters its next data driven phase.
