Part 1: Traffic & Revenue Mgmt Systems: Separate streaming entry and SOX compliance

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In today’s Traffic and Revenue Management System Intel Brief, The Traffic Directors’ Guild of America (TDGA) has asked radio and television traffic personnel nationwide to submit questions and issues for vendors in the space to respond on behalf of RBR-TVBR. Today we look at whether vendors have software that would allow traffic personnel to enter contracts, create logs, etc. for streaming separately from the regular traditional commercial logs; and what features are available to help broadcasters be compliant with Sarbanes Oxley.


The participants:
Ian Campbell (Managing Director), Jo Sare (Product Manager), Shirley Beetar (Documentation Manager) and Dawn Newberry (Traffic Sales Engineer): RCS/Aquira
Dave Scott: CEO: RadioTraffic.com
Bob Lamb: CTO, Pilat Media
Michael Ambrose, Product Manager, WO Traffic; and William “Dub” Irvin, Director of Product Management, WO Radio Automation
Jeff London: SVP of Marketing, Marketron
Shane Harris: Director of Sales, SDS (Specialty Data Systems)
Arthur Drevnig: Broadview Software Director of Sales

 

Courtney Nourse, Traffic Director, Entercom Rochester, NY (WBEE*WPXY*WBZA*WCMF*WROC):
“Currently we have a separate software system for entering internet streaming contracts.  Will any vendors be creating software that would allow us to enter contracts, create logs, etc. for streaming separately from the regular traditional commercial logs?”

RCS/Aquira team: In Aquira we provide the ability to enter web advertisement campaign details on a Contract. For example, Start and End Date, Web Ad Format, Web Placement, CPC/CPT/CPM, Number of Impressions booked, and the Amount for the Web line. This information is used for billing and reporting purposes within Aquira.  Aquira can provide a report of this booking information to send to a third party Ad Serving company who will schedule and manage the actual impressions to ensure the booked number of impressions is achieved.

Scott: RadioTraffic.com has always dealt with Internet streaming as if it were another over-the-air station.  That does assume you’re streaming in-house with the same general type of equipment that you use over-the-air.  We also interface with certain outside streaming vendors.

However, some outside streaming ad substitution systems (like Ando) insist that you use their built-in traffic system for order entry.  In that case, do so for the log creation but put the billing part of the contract into RadioTraffic.com as Off-Air Revenue (AKA Non-Traditional Revenue).

Lamb: Pilat Media’s IBMS (Integrated Broadcast Management System) can be set up to have any type of channel, whether it’s a linear channel, a non-linear service or an internet streaming service. You can schedule programs, promos and commercials on the internet streaming channel just like any other channels provided you have the rights to use them on that service. You can traffic and sell spots on this internet streaming service as a part of any other campaign or can partition them off to a separate campaign.

Ambrose: In the latest version of WO Traffic from WideOrbit, users can create detailed internet campaigns and/or impression-based streaming schedules in combination with traditional on-air schedules on a single order.  The internet campaigns and streaming schedules are exported to an external system for delivery, then impression data is imported back into WO Traffic for detailed invoicing.  Since the orders are booked and billed from WO Traffic, users benefit from consolidated reporting of on-air and digital sales and billing.

London: Through the Marketron Mediascape Platform’s digital solution, also known as Revenue Builder, we enable radio organizations to sell and manage all NTR and digital revenue types.  For streaming contracts, this is further supported by Revenue Builder’s integration with Ando Media’s AdInjector.  Through this integration, radio organizations are able to seamlessly create and manage one order for streaming, airtime and any other inventory type from a single system.  Once created and processed, the streaming order is then automatically fed into the Ando system where it is trafficked, then brought back to the Marketron system for invoicing and reporting.


Harris: When it comes to handling Internet, Digital or Streaming stations, SDS’ Campaign management features provide the flexibility to create a variety of avail types in one system. This allows your sales staff to see the avails in real-time while automating the scheduling of spots for you in Traffic.

Drevnig: Yes, BroadView allows users to easily create a second log that is identical to the first but contains some different spots.  With BroadView, users do not need to create this streaming log from scratch. Furthermore, as station websites become a larger revenue source, BroadView also supports the ability to “traffic” web banners – not simply include them as non-traditional revenue (NTR) but to actually specify key details such as:  number of impressions, number of clicks, price, etc. This information would all appear on the same invoice as the traditional spots.  See the example web order screen below:

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Norma Armogum, Director of Administrative Services, WQME-FM and Covenant Productions Anderson, IN:
“Are there any features in your traffic program to help us be compliant with Sarbanes Oxley?”

RCS/Aquira team: In Aquira you can configure Application Security and Data Security for different User Roles. Role based-Application Security lets you control access to the different areas and functions within the application. For example, your Accounts Team would have access to the Accounts Receivable area, Transaction and Accounts Reports, where the Creative Team or Sales Team would not. Data Security further restricts users from having access to sensitive information within the areas that they are limited to.

Scott: Of course, all but our lowest cost versions of RadioTraffic.com can be complaint with Sarbanes Oxley.  We have any desired level of audit trail and any desired level of password and other protection to ensure that only authorized people can accomplish certain functions.  Further, we offer optional hardware keys and fingerprint readers for positive identification of who makes certain entries (which are shown in the detailed audit trail).  Also, all Internet data can be encrypted with near military security (the U.S. military won’t disclose their exact encryption so nobody can say theirs is totally equal to theirs but ours is either as good or very close).   Even our logs that go to automation are encrypted for those systems that support such encoding (which is most of them these days).

Let me mention that SOX compliance is more a burden to the stations than it is to us in software.  For example, for a complete audit trail one can’t simply go in and change something like a rate, number of spots, start/end dates, dayparts or the like.  One must enter a change order by ending the portion of an order that has already run, using copy to clone it as a new line item, then make appropriate changes in the new line.  With SOX, every credit must have the matching debit and vice versa.  One can’t just “fix” an entry.  The changes must be documented.

Lamb: Our software is already SOX compliant, we are already installed in a number of broadcasters within the US where SOX compliance is mandatory.

Ambrose:   WideOrbit’s WO Traffic is fully Sarbanes-Oxley compliant.  There are numerous audit tools throughout the application, including Security Permissions reports, Spot Activity audits, Create Date and Update Date tracking, Order History reporting, Order Comparison tool, and a System Event Log which  shows user activity for custom date ranges, including login sessions, conflict violations, user override actions, etc.

London: The Marketron Traffic system, as well as our Marketron Traffic Hosted Platform (HSP) have gone through rigorous third party audits and are Sarbanes Oxley certified and maintain audit trails and history for orders, revisions and approvals.  All of Marketron’s Traffic systems adhere to SOX best practices which support your organization though a SOX audit.

Harris: Speaking in general terms, the litmus test with Sarbanes-Oxley compliance is, an auditable check-and-balance system. In short, yes. SDS provides the ability for an administrator to see the “who-what-when-and why” of order/contract revisions. Further, SDS also limits users to task specific features. For example, a user may have rights to print collections reports but not have rights to entering an adjustment.

Drevnig: Yes, BroadView’s solutions help our clients maintain SOX compliance.  The software includes a complete security infrastructure on both the traffic and financial side to control who has read-access, full access or no access to each area.  The system also includes detailed audit reports to enable monitoring of key business functions. (e.g. changes to orders).

Tomorrow in Part II:
How does your traffic system work with automation and voice tracking to ensure that all commercials spots are aired each hour?