CGI, one of the largest IT and business consulting companies globally, and a leading provider of newsroom and radio solutions in Europe, announces the successful completion of upgrading all 19 radio stations of the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) to the comprehensive dira! solutions suite. Various workflow components of the SABC radio network broadcasts are now managed by dira! software, resulting in enhanced reliability, efficiency, and revenue protection.
Extreme reliability
“The dira! Solution Suite has demonstrated extreme reliability throughout its different rollout phases, and we are very pleased with its performance so far,” says Nada Wotshela, Group Executive of SABC Radio.
“The digital transition with dira! has been transformative to our country-wide network of radio stations. It has led to a better-quality on-air product across all the 19 stations, while its adaptive commercial playout technology has eliminated human error in ad placements on our commercial radio stations and has helped us to achieve an 80% reduction in penalties from our commercial partners. It has also proven to be adaptable to our more complicated public service stations with more diverse programming formats.” adds Wotshela
Vice-President, Radio Solutions, CGI, Michael Thielen, says “We have worked very closely with SABC which has enabled this successful rollout to all its radio stations across the country and has established a real partnership with our client.”
The dira! solution suite installed at each SABC station ensures continuity across the organization, encompassing the entire production workflow essential for radio journalism media management. It provides a unified working environment across all stations, facilitating broadcast production, material and program exchange, broadcast scheduling, on-air playout, post-production, and archiving.
The public broadcaster
SABC operates a diverse portfolio of radio stations throughout South Africa, covering all 11 official languages and offering both public service and commercial content. Each station has distinct requirements, and the dira! solution suite accommodates these needs while enabling seamless information and material exchange between stations. For instance, the dira! Multisite module allows a station in Cape Town to easily access content from a station in Johannesburg, despite being 1400km apart. Moreover, editors can contribute content to stations via iOS or Android applications or through a web browser using dira! Scotty, ensuring maximum flexibility throughout the production chain.
“Digital transformation is vital for the future of radio and will ensure that SABC can not only maintain the vital services that SABC offers to the many South African communities, but that they can continue to thrive and evolve in the future.” concludes Thielen
The post SABC Finishes Nationwide Digital Upgrade for Radio Solutions first appeared on IT News Africa | Business Technology, Telecoms and Startup News.