Engineering a consolidated media supply chain for global reach
Deloitte’s advanced media engineering team supports TelevisaUnivision’s vision for transforming its broadcast technology ecosystem.
THE SITUATION
The merger was a union of equals, pairing Televisa’s powerhouse production engine with Univision’s expansive distribution and digital capabilities. The new company’s leaders intended to scale globally and position TelevisaUnivision to become the largest Spanish-speaking media company in the world.
To engage audiences with content from both companies, TelevisaUnivision was preparing to launch a new over-the-top (OTT) streaming service. With Google Cloud Platform technology, the Spanish-speaking media company committed to building a centralized cloud-based media asset management (MAM) system to create efficiency in the content supply chain and enable timely, frictionless delivery of content assets to customers.
Now, TelevisaUnivision had dozens of platforms—broadcast TV and radio channels, television and radio stations, a movie studio, and advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) and subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services. Following the merger, they were under one proverbial roof, but technological and organizational silos remained.
The merger was guided by a vision of streamlined content production and operations with all forms of distribution—linear and digital—built on modern technologies, leveraging modern harmonized processes, and, wherever possible, in cloud. Leaders recognized the massive integration of operations, systems and cultures could lead the way for the company’s next generation.
Moving forward, TelevisaUnivision needed to be agile, and a business transformation could enable new technologies and capabilities to be more responsive to the ever-changing media industry dynamics.
WHEN HAVING YOUR HEAD IN THE CLOUD BECOMES A BUSINESS IMPERATIVE
THE SOLVE
The Deloitte Media Solutions team stepped up to help TelevisaUnivision chart a course. The team’s highly specialized industry knowledge, decades of experience helping media companies transform their content capabilities, and multidisciplinary approach provided a wide lens for defining and scaling TelevisaUnivision’s ambitions, while navigating the challenges. That translated into several parallel paths:
Strategy, vision and road map
Broadcast ecosystem modernization is a big leap for any organization that, if done efficiently and effectively, unlocks greater opportunity. Deloitte brought together stakeholders across the Spanish-speaking media organization, from multiple functional areas and all the way up to the C-suite, to align on a strategic vision and road map. This enabled Deloitte’s multilingual team, working in the United States and in Mexico, to break the daunting scale of the transformation down into discrete projects or “micro steps” to drive key business and financial milestones. TelevisaUnivision leaders could then make informed tactical decisions without compromising the overall long-term vision.
Business case, finance and planning
As a path forward was identified, Deloitte helped build the business case for the transformation. The team created a comprehensive financial plan that included annual budgeting, a detailed cost analysis of major road map initiatives, and return on investment (ROI) projections for the hybrid platform. These were resources that could help TelevisaUnivision direct and scale its investments over time, taking into account foundational investments that needed to be made at the outset and others that could be prioritized based upon the business operation the company wished to modernize.
Engineering and technology
Previously, Televisa and Univision had leveraged radically different content approaches, technologies and supply chains. Now, Deloitte leveraged its Media Engineering team to help capture and unify the organizations’ legacy content, scaling content production and distribution operations.
Foundations
Deloitte was responsible from the ground up, architecting and building the cloud landing zone that formed the foundation upon which the new hybrid platform would be built. The transition to cloud also required the retraining of team members. Deloitte set up the Google Cloud Platform environment, installed software, and also developed processes and provided hands-on training and support to TelevisaUnivision’s IT and broadcast engineers who would own the systems moving forward.
Content management
Deloitte helped build a full and detailed program to define the future MAM—documenting requirements and teeing up a suite of proofs of concept to shape the final design.
The team then crafted a multiyear plan for migrating content from a wide range of existing locations, repositories and formats to a central cloud library. This encompassed migration and metadata tools, standard operating procedures for operators, and program governance.
Distribution
Finally, Deloitte led the implementation of an IP distribution system—from technology evaluation and selection to design, build, test, and ultimately adoption—that could facilitate TelevisaUnivision’s transition from legacy satellite-based signal distribution to IP-based paths.
The engagement was unique, but challenges around technology adaptation, budget constraints, and the timeline were not. Deloitte’s grounded approach, engineering leaders, and a trusted working relationship kept the journey on track.
AN ENGINEERED APPROACH TO CLOUD TRANSFORMATION FOR BROADCAST
THE IMPACT
A solid foundation for modernization and monetization
Going into the engagement, Deloitte’s objective wasn’t to fix something that was broken, but to help TelevisaUnivision build something completely new that could enable it to connect with a larger Spanish-speaking audience. With aggressive timeframes and targets, Deloitte helped set the vision, build the road map, and develop the solution to deliver on the vision and provide a path to a more cost-effective content ecosystem.
TelevisaUnivision has pushed the boundaries of what was possible to do in the cloud environment, giving customers access to their preferred content, on their terms, through multiple channels of consumption.
Even as it fostered TelevisaUnivision’s technological advancement, Deloitte helped stand up a new technical infrastructure with costs tied more directly to the naturally fluctuating volume of business activity, benefiting the company and its investors.
The horizon may guide a journey, but it isn’t a fixed destination; it’s continually moving. And for TelevisaUnivision, its journey of growth continues, but now with a broader view.
ENGINEERING TRANSFORMATION OF TECHNOLOGY, PROCESSES, MINDSET
