Customer: RFD-TV
Application: Chameleon and Custom Development
Platform: Broadcast
RFD-TV and Barchart Data Integration
Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (Toronto)
Customer: Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment (Toronto)
Application: Chameleon
Platform: Digital Signage
Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment (MLSE) is a world leader in delivering extraordinary moments to fans. As the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs (NHL), the Toronto Raptors (NBA), and Scotiabank Arena, MLSE is constantly creating ways to enhance the in-venue experience for guests and exploring improvements to how they navigate and interact with the arena.
Real-time data plays an integral role in delivering content that adds a deeper and more entertaining experience. However, the capabilities of standard methods for delivering visual and data content within venues were limited, and simply couldn’t meet the demands of patrons and advertisers. MLSE understood that advertising and sponsor-related content would have a more significant impact on patrons if real-time, game-relevant, insightful data could be tied to the presentation.
To execute on this strategy, MLSE turned to Bannister Lake’s Chameleon data aggregation and management solution to ingest real-time statistical data from both the NHL and the NBA. Guests watching a game from the venue’s VIP suites would be able to glance over at the suite’s video displays to view carefully parsed, real-time game and league statistics combined with live game action. MLSE uses Chameleon to select, parse, and present the data as HTML5 webpages. Through their in-house digital signage system, MLSE can seamlessly present these webpages to their choice of hundreds of screens and present data content as overlays or regions on-screen and add complimentary sponsorship or advertising content. The process is completely streamlined, taking only seconds to set up and publish live game data to all the facility’s suites.
A significant challenge was building a lightweight L-Bar that was visually attractive and could accommodate all the significant game and league statistics fans expected. Using Chameleon’s Designer tool, MLSE staff created an HTML5 webpage to accommodate the data presentation but also used the tool’s sophisticated x/y/z grid capabilities to guarantee correct on-screen placement.
Using Bannister Lake solutions, MLSE has extended the use of real-time data to various locations within their facility. With Chameleon, MLSE staff can compare statistics between players and put those graphics on-screen extremely quickly. MLSE has also introduced an innovative data application displaying live prize pool numbers (read and managed by Chameleon) for their 50/50 draw. The solution allows patrons to scan a bar code to purchase a ticket directly from their phone.
The response from guests attending events at Scotiabank Arena has been unanimously positive. Fans can quickly glance at game statistics, compare performances, track players, and gain a more comprehensive understanding of the game. This serves as a value-add to their overall game experience and enhances guests’ time at the venue.
MLSE continues to explore ways to expand the reach and creative storytelling possibilities of data, while advancing new Chameleon-based business opportunities.
Cable 14, Hamilton, Ontario Community Channel
Customer: Cable 14 Hamilton
Application: Chameleon
Platform: Chameleon Web and Ross Video XPression
Hamilton, Ontario’s Cable 14 has always been at the forefront of community television innovation. From its origins as a community channel formed as a joint effort of six local cable companies pooling resources, to its pioneering move to HD, to its OTT online presence, Cable 14 has always sought out new ways to engage Hamilton audiences.
Hyper-local television has continued to evolve, and Cable 14 required the next phase of innovation to move beyond the traditional look and feel of a cable community channel. Management understood viewing behavior was changing and wanted to introduce a new approach that would take advantage of real-time data content that resonated with local viewers. At the same time Cable 14 wanted to utilize new ways to promote their content and brand.
To accomplish these goals Cable 14 turned to Bannister Lake’s Chameleon data aggregation and management solution to power multiple real-time data feeds and to drive on-air branding/promo capabilities.
As a kick-off to its 50th anniversary broadcast season, Cable 14 wanted to introduce a new look that took advantage of the dynamic multizone presentation of info channels but focus on real-time content that would be popular with the community. It was crucial that the channel not feel like digital signage, but still maintain the professionalism and editorial credibility of a broadcast channel.
To make this happen Cable 14 used Bannister Lake’s Chameleon to ingest, manage and customize popular data feeds such as local and national sports scores, social media and relevant local and national news stories from local media partners. The Chameleon solution ensured that all the new functionality would be automated with little or no human interaction.
The same instance of Chameleon also provided snipe functionality allowing Cable 14 to run strategic promotional and branding content to guide audiences towards upcoming programs. Chameleon’s traffic system integration, automation and scheduling features were used to automatically refresh and program data content. Chameleon’s tight integration and extensive experience with Ross XPression allowed for a straightforward implementation and high-quality broadcast presentation.
Cable 14’s newfound ability to aggregate multiple locally relevant data sources and present them in a highly attractive and engaging way for their subscribers is directly in line with the community channel’s mission. The results have been spectacular at Cable 14 with audiences reacting positively to both improved editorial content and the updated presentation.
Viewers now have access to up to the minute content and are exposed to promotions of community programming that result in larger audiences and more community involvement. Always innovating, Cable 14 sees enormous potential integrating social media further into hyper-local content providing an important interactive function as well as adding additional content discovery opportunities through more strategic promotions. Chameleon will play an important role in accomplishing these tasks.
EA’s FIFA eSport Tournament
Customer: BOOMBOX (Quebec)
Application: Chameleon
Platform: Chameleon Web and Ross Video XPression
BOOMBOX needed Chameleon to assist in filtering and moderating data, used primarily in XPression during a 3 day eSport event. Requirements include ticker, using Chameleon’s own rendering engine, and export via restfulAPI of player and tournament stats.
- Data sets connected to Chameleon via database provided by Liquiddogs responsible for data entry
- 2 XPressions connected to Chameleon
- Database filtered and populated through to XPression and Chameleon Web Player
- Chameleon Web Player providing tournament L-Bar Ticker
- Xpression providing player board templates to access all 128 players and their stats on the fly.
TVSN, Australia
Customer: TVSN, Australia
Application: Display inventory data for shopping channel programs & replay programs during overnight hours
Platform: Imagine Communications, G7 system
TVSN is the Australian shopping channel (www.tvsn.com.au) and broadcasts to both Australian and New Zealand. Prior to a broadcast a producer will use the Bannister Lake custom application to select products that will be featured during that show. The software automatically pulls data from TVSN’s inventory database to provides not just product information such as prices, descriptions but also real-time data such as size and color availability based on current inventory levels.
The Overnight replay feature is a special customization provided by Bannister Lake which records a show’s graphics where during the day. Recorded is the graphic template displayed and the timecode it was displayed at. During ‘overnight’ hours TVSN replays shows recorded earlier in the day. These are clean recordings, meaning no graphics. The Bannister Lake software plays the templates automatically based on the recorded timecode, only the data of inventory levels and availability are updated and reflect the correct numbers.
Yahoo Finance
Customer: Yahoo Finance
Application: Yahoo Finance Application
Yahoo Finance approached Bannister Lake to produce a dedicated financial application to drive all graphic content for their online Financial Channel.
- Finance Client application authenticates and connects to Yahoo Financial data feed.
- Client UI provides stock ticker preview and modules to create Bugs, Stock Charts, Name Keys and Lower Thirds.
- Quick filters to setup stock chart comparisons, desktop preview of charts then quick add to playlist.
- Drop Down range menu to select time including, Intraday padded, Intraday, 2 day padded, 5 day, 1 month, 3 month, 6 month, Year to Date padded, 1 > 5 year and user defined (Custom) ranges.
- Client app connects securely to Finance Server app in production to generate graphic output for presentation.
MLB Network, The Dugout
Customer: MLB Network, The Dugout
Application: Chameleon Cloud for Social Media
MLB Network Advanced Media in New York needed a multi-user solution to moderate social media for The Dugout, MLB’s weekly 3-hour program live streaming exclusively on Twitter every Wednesday during the regular season.
- An instance of Chameleon Cloud was setup for multiple users at MLB.
- Search topics and groups were defined for ‘Trending Now’ and Twitter accounts for MLB Teams and Players.
- Users moderated and approved Twitter content into approved Twitter playlists for talent during the show.
- CG graphic operator with XPression and XPression Datalinq accessed moderated Twitter playlists using Chameleon BLADE (Bannister Lake Active Data Exchange) for presentation of Social Media on set and the streaming broadcast to Twitter.
Global News BC1
Customer: Global News
Application: Chameleon (Super Ticker Legacy)
Platform: RossVideo XPression
Following in the footsteps of the giant in Canadian info channels, CP24, Global wanted to create a province-wide channel that served the same purpose; an all-in-one place to get your local, national and world news. With a design more in tune to a website than a standard ticker, Global’s goal was to create the modern info channel, BC1.
Super Ticker (the precursor to the ticker function in Chameleon) had all the pieces to deliver on this promise. With data that spanned:
- Ski reports
- Weather
- Scores
- Finance quotes
- News
- Events
- Social media
- Traffic
- Closings
Support for unlimited zones of information and a channel schedule that allowed zones and rundowns to change based on time of day made it all possible. Super Ticker’s web interface Flow gave an interface for all users in the chain simultaneously. And with parsers bringing in data from a wide variety of sources, much of the work was automated.
Rogers Sportsnet
Customer: Rogers Sportsnet
Application: Chameleon (Super Ticker Legacy)
Platform: RossVideo XPression
Rogers Sportsnet has been fighting it out with Bell’s TSN for top prize in the Canadian sports broadcasting landscape. After purchasing the broadcast side of The Score, they wanted to combine The Score’s legendary ticker with the less ambitious tickers Bannister Lake had created for Sportsnet for many years. With 7 channels and their unique ticker requirements, Sportsnet was looking at a single solution to drive them all in an efficient manner while not increasing the operator head count.
The 4 regional channels, Sportsnet East, Ontario, West and Pacific continue to provide a ticker with a regional flavor focusing on information for the region while showing all the national information. These tickers are displayed in a compact fashion to allow the video to dominate.
The newly imagined Sportsnet 360, taking its lead from The Score, became a channel which showed its ticker all the time including commercials and live events. This ticker had more information including betting odds on games and displayed its information in a taller format. This is the channel where hardcore sports fans tune into
Sportsnet One is the national channel while Sportsnet World focuses on world sports like cricket, soccer and rugby.
Super Ticker (now morphed into Chameleon with the inclusion of branding from Brando) became the ideal system to drive these diverse tickers. With a small team of operators organizing the rundowns for these channels, Sportsnet was able to deal with the hectic pace of sports data. While a great deal of the work is automated, Super Ticker’s web interface Flow became the platform for creating the added news that goes into the world of sports and the games and events that drive it.
Super Ticker’s content management was key to success; one database and a multi-user web interface. Super Ticker allows organizing data in a way where the channels can pick and choose their rundowns to include national and regional data.
Bell Media TSN
Customer: Bell Media TSN
Application: Chameleon (Brando Legacy)
Platform: RossVideo XPression
TSN is the leader in sports broadcasting in Canada. On their expansion from one channel to 5, they needed a branding solution to promote the programming of their new 5 channel universe. For example, during a big event like Wimbledon, they might be showing 5 different matches spread among TSN1-5. These promotions included next boards, snipes and navigational tickers.
An added wrinkle is that the branding was mostly during live events. This required a manual triggering method allowing a TD to insert snipes whenever they could fit.
Promotion of big events were also inserted throughout the day with a clear representation of what channels the event will be playing on. In all cases, the promos focused on all 5 channels and included 100s of logos for all the teams and leagues that TSN covered.
Although these requirements didn’t fit a typical branding requirement, Brando came through off-the-shelf.
Brando was the branding ancestor of our merged branding/ticker/content management product Chameleon. We kept everything which made Brando great while modernizing it for today’s broadcasting, streaming and digital signage markets.