Prime Focus Technologies (PFT), the technology arm of Prime Focus, announced that its flagship product CLEAR™ Media ERP Suite has been selected by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) to enhance their Network Operations Center (NOC) ecosystem efficiencies and sustainability, with the objective of reducing operational costs for content providers by migrating content delivery, initial QC (quality control) and transcoding operations to the cloud. PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content.

PFT will deploy CLEAR’s Broadcast Cloud and Operations Cloud modules for automating PBS’s complete Direct to NOC file delivery process. All short turn external file-based content intended for the NOC will be ingested through CLEAR, thereby streamlining the member station organization’s process of receiving media across their ecosystem of content providers. PBS and PFT worked with member station Maryland Public Television to evaluate and deploy the system. CLEAR will also manage core operations like NOC-based media processing, initial automatic Quality Control (QC), delivery, storage and external file transfers. The deployment will also empower PBS’s team with a unified dashboard to track the status of business processes throughout the NOC in real time.

“We expect that implementing CLEAR will help us improve operational efficiencies and increase throughput as we move a portion of our content operations to a cloud-based solution,” said Renard T. Jenkins, VP PBS Operations. “Increasing the speed and accuracy of the NOC daily tasks, while improving access and visibility throughout the NOC delivery process is a step in the right direction for us. We feel it will enable us to focus on the imminent challenges ahead such as a future redesign and overhaul of PBS’ entire Media Supply Chain. We look forward to starting a new chapter in our journey to the cloud.” 

“We are extremely pleased and excited to be supporting the team at PBS as they embrace digital transformation. Tailored specially to meet the content management needs of Media & Entertainment (M&E) enterprises with sprawling supply chains, CLEAR is perfectly positioned to help PBS improve efficiencies, lower costs and better serve their member stations,” said Chris Ziemer, Senior Vice President at Prime Focus Technologies. “We look forward to deploying a future-ready solution that will enable the network to deliver a greater experience to today’s digital consumers.” 

About PBS
PBS, with nearly 350 member stations, offers all Americans the opportunity to explore new ideas and new worlds through television and online content. Each month, PBS reaches nearly 100 million people through television and nearly 33 million people online, inviting them to experience the worlds of science, history, nature and public affairs; to hear diverse viewpoints; and to take front row seats to world-class drama and performances. PBS' broad array of programs has been consistently honored by the industry's most coveted award competitions. More information about PBS is available at www.pbs.org.

About Prime Focus Technologies
Prime Focus Technologies (PFT) is the creator of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software, CLEAR™ for the Media & Entertainment (M&E) industry. It offers broadcasters, studios, brands and service providers transformational solutions that help them lower their TCOP by virtualizing business processes around content and managing the business of content better.

PFT works with major M&E companies like Disney, 21st Century Fox-owned Star TV, Hearst, Warner Bros., CBS Television Studios, 20th Century Fox Television Studios, Lionsgate, Starz Media (a Lionsgate company), Showtime, A+E Networks, Tru TV, HBO, IFC Films, FX Networks, Miramax, CNBC Africa, TERN International, Sony Music, Google, YouTube, Novi Digital – Hotstar, Amazon Prime, HOOQ, Viacom’s Voot, Cricket Australia, BCCI, Indian Premier League and The Associated Press.    

PFT is the technology subsidiary of Prime Focus, the global leader in M&E industry services. For more information visit: www.primefocustechnologies.com.