DPP unveils report on localisation

The DPP has released a new report challenging the media and entertainment industry to collaborate more on localisation.

The Home Truths: The Localisation Challenge report looks at the relationships between media companies as they prepare content for global markets - and how those relationships expose the need for greater industry collaboration.

The report was written following a private dinner, hosted by the DPP, featuring 22 senior executives from the industry. It assesses the localisation and versioning processes required for the international distribution of content.

“Localisation and versioning is a topic that highlights all that’s exciting about the growth of modern media markets - but also many of the problems,” says DPP MD and author of the report, Mark Harrison.

“Global distribution offers huge opportunities for new markets and services. But it also shines a spotlight on the challenges of exchanging content smoothly and efficiently.”

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During the dinner, which was backed by DPP member company Amazon Web Services, many of the executives argued that content providers tend to act like their needs are special and unique, despite the fact that processes required for the global exchange of content are largely common to all media companies.

According to the DPP, the lack of trust and standardisation risks becoming a major burden to many companies operating in the industry.

The Localisation Challenge explores a number of opportunities for more effective working through industry collaboration, such as:

• The creation of standardised ways of performing quality control processes
• The building of greater trust between content companies through the centralised provision of assets in the cloud
• Greater transparency about the areas of activity that generate waste - which would, in turn, help vendors focus their efforts on the areas of greatest business need
• Tiering of content, by priority, to reduce bottlenecks and optimise the use of resources.

“This report is both candid about the issues and highly constructive about the remedies,” says Harrison. “It is rare to see a piece of industry insight with such clarity. It will contribute hugely to the work we and our member companies will be undertaking in the year ahead.”

During IBC2019, the DPP discussed localisation in terms of IMF - a key area of focus for the organisation.

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