Going Digital
The Knowledge Network has an expansive library of licensed and original content. Making it available on-demand to an online audience would extend their reach and expand their audience. However, being a public broadcaster, Knowledge had limited resources to manage both traditional broadcast operations and new online video distribution services. They required a system that could be easily maintained by their existing staff.
User Experience that Puts Content First
At its core, our solution highlights the main attributes sought in a TV station website: scheduling, programming, and videos. The simple navigation focuses on exposing the depth of content available and opens the door for viewers to easily watch and share Knowledge’s online programming. The disciplined simplicity of our approach allows Knowledge to implement future extensions and keep pace with an evolving broadcast industry.
Seamless Content Delivery & Management
Faced with the challenge of delivering a system that uses Knowledge’s existing resources, we built tools to communicate with their back-end broadcasting system, exposing real-time scheduling data that delivers streaming video to desktop and mobile clients. By having our tools communicate between their present broadcasting system and a new content management system, we created a platform that can be managed without extra resources.
Increased Reach & Viewer Engagement
With their online library available, Knowledge soon discovered new online fans. For example, Bloodied but Unbowed, a documentary chronicling Vancouver’s punk rock scene, had low ratings when it first aired on TV. However, it reached an entirely new audience online and became one of Knowledge’s most viewed and shared videos. Knowledge now engages an audience beyond the reach of its traditional broadcast arm.
The End Result
We were pleased to deliver a site that achieved the overall goal of increasing Knowledge’s reach without adding to their operational costs. Page views and time onsite increased dramatically, and the site has since won numerous awards including W3, Graphex, as well as ADCC Gold!
