The Concept of Interlinked Multi-channel TV Shows

The creation and composition of the multi-channels is done by the "video conductor", who may be a single human or a whole team at the production site. Content on which the work of the VC is based can come from live AV streams or from the broadcaster’s archive. The VC has to combine and stitch the streams together to produce several AV streams in real-time (cf. Figure 1) which can be received by consumers. What distinguishes our approach from other approaches is, that a VC not only produces one or several live AV streams, but in addition also creates transition points, where the consumer is invited to switch to another channel (cf. Figure 2). The objective is to prevent a mere "zapping" between channels and instead guide the consumer to steer through the content of a live show of interlinked streams with a coherent overall dramaturgy.

Staging concepts to guide the production process

Multi-channel output requires management of the channel information. The content of the channels and their interrelations will be defined within the Staging Concept for multiple channels. The Staging Concept will define for each channel its specific content and form. This might include the specific topics of the selected channel, it might include the specific format or content types included (for example, the genre), or it might include the specific audience the channel is devoted to. Through the Staging Concept each channel is assigned a specific Channel Profile which is used by the Content Recommender to find a suitable set of recommended content.