Technology advances commercial distribution of television and radio spots in North America.

"Until recently, the fastest way for an advertising agency to deliver their new commercial spots to television stations was to ship packages of videotapes by mail or through one of the overnight services. Now there is a more efficient and economical way to distribute commercials via satellite delivery and it is setting the standard for the way spots will be sent in the future," said Loren Swenson, president and chief executive officer of Cycle Sat, Inc.

In the past 5 years, Cycle Sat has never been content with having invented a new way to deliver these spot commercials. As new technologies have appeared, they have been there to investigate them. Leading the way, they continue to evaluate how their system can be even more efficient and economical for their clients, which include advertising agencies, production companies, and the motion picture studios.

From the outside of its Highland Avenue facility in Hollywood, Cycle Sat appears to be just another office. What happens inside is the latest in technology. Behind their facility is a "dish farm," which handles the sending and receiving of video and audio product. As an uplink center, the Hollywood facility sends the commercials to its headquarters in Forest City, Iowa. Once they're received in Forest City, they are placed into their Sony LMS (Library Management System). This LMS is not unlike a video jukebox. It stores thousands of commercial spots in Digital Betacam format that are programmed for distribution through the system. Spots are also sent in from other sites in the country including Chicago, New York, Detroit, and 28 other "uplink cities". Typically, they receive instructions from an advertising agency regarding which television and radio stations receive which spots. They are the first company to automate the distribution of spots through a patented "black box" known as the Cyclecypher. This "black box" is installed in over 600 television stations. It "lights up" the system and signals the television station's VTR system to record the appropriate spots between the hours of 2 a.m. EST and 6 a.m. EST The spots and instructions for use are all delivered before the first cup of morning coffee is poured in the control room.

Television stations are also turned on by the system. According to Marty Meyer, manager of studio facilities for KCBS-TV, in Los Angeles, "It eliminates the need for a middleman to load and process the tape."

What about the quality? "We are on the same satellite as NBC and AT&T. The same feeds that go to the affiliates from the network are the same high quality transmissions we deliver to our clients," adds Ted Henry, vice president, Cycle Sat.

If you wonder if this system has totally replaced all typical "dub and ship" operations in the U.S., the answer is "no." In fact, Swenson quickly points out that "Cycle Sat is a distribution company. They have several choices to use for spot distribution." Besides satellite direct delivery, we have satellite-assisted tape distribution from a service center in Memphis, Tennessee.

According to Cycle Sat vice president/chief technology officer, Tom Mikkelsen, opening a facility in Memphis created a synchronized system where the company can expand as their volume continues to increase. "We built a full-scale duplication facility to service the 200 or so stations not yet on line. We receive spots via satellite, duplicate them and use Federal Express to get them to their destination by 10:30 a.m. the next morning. We also handle distribution needs for research companies that distribute product reels to test market groups on a weekly basis. Spot radio duplication and distribution is another reason why we created a hub in Memphis."

Meanwhile, the big buzz word today is "fiber." Experts see fiber distribution and satellite delivery as a good fit. They are compatible systems. With satellite distribution, users have an opportunity to transmit video product to many sources from one source. Known as "point-to-multi-point," this system differs from fiber, which is generally point-to-point. As of today, few stations have gone through the expense of installing a fiber connection. Experts in this technology indicate that this could be another ten years off from being a true nationwide system.

"We use fiber to move or transport our product out of certain markets rather than traditional uplink sites," adds Henry. Recently, we were invited to participate in a new use of fiber as it compliments satellite delivery. Locally, Pacific Bell has installed a "fiber loop system" called ABVS (Advance Broadcast Video Services) in Hollywood. ABVS will give motion picture and production companies the ability to move product from post-production facilities to advertising agencies and film studios for a variety of reasons. Edits, changes, and approvals involving video product, such as commercials, can be completed more efficiently with this system. When the spots are completed, they can be sent in for delivery to television stations nationwide. During a recent seminar, presented by Cycle Sat and Pacific Bell, over 50 decision makers from the film and advertising industries listened to Richard Mizer, product engineer for Pacific Bell and designer of the ABVS system. The group learned how their system is not "vapor-ware" but actually works.

"Pacific Bell feels Cycle Sat is important to the loop because they are using the product in one of the purest application forms. The company is moving broadcast quality, full motion video, on-demand, and in real time. Because there service marries our product offering with established distribution methods, such as satellite, we feel it compliments our product very well. We are pleased that they are part of this new ABVS system since they are the first of many products that will be riding on our fiber network," said Stacy Lewis, account manager for Pacific Bell.

The film community is quickly accepting the combination of the two technologies. One of the attendees, Dan Wolfe, vice president of creative advertising operations for Universal Pictures Marketing, commented, "At Universal, we see the value of the Pacific Bell fiber loop. It benefits us because it represents greater efficiency and cost savings for Universal. Simply, it reduces messenger time and approval time. It also minimizes the time it takes for us to get our spots to Cycle Sat for distribution. We'll gain a minimum of 2 hours per day. It eliminates the time we wait for deliveries. We can access clips quickly that we have vaulted at Cycle Sat with the "video-on-demand" capability this system offers. It is also very interactive. Edits and sound mixes can be completed, and then sent on the loop to us at Universal for any final changes or approval prior to delivery. Cycle Sat is considered our final check point. Before the spots go up on the satellite, the firm employs rigorous quality control on the finished spots. They check for any video or audio glitches or quality dropouts on the masters. If there is a problem, they can pinpoint it. They have helped us out by being an active player in the implementation of this technology. They can handle more volume directly by being on the loop. Everything we do leads up to getting it to Cycle Sat so they can distribute it in a timely fashion. Anyone who lives and works in Los Angeles realizes what street traffic is like. With the loop and Cycle Sat, we have greater confidence that we will make our deadlines with time to spare."

Combine the fiber loop with their same day service and delivery sounds almost immediate." Our Satellite Shuttle service can get spots from LA to New York in 2 hours. An agency can get a spot to a network for clearance and still make the deadline crunch. It is like a fax," said Henry.

International boundaries between countries have been a problem for advertisers. Cycle Sat has licensed their technology and marketing capabilities to Forbes Satellite Services, in Toronto, Canada. Now spots will be able to travel from any of the its uplink centers to Canada and then get redistributed to stations throughout Canada via satellite. Cycle Sat indicates Europe is not far off. We are finding that our technology is being applied to the needs of our clients in ways we never anticipated," said Swenson.

Keith Vezensky is president of Americom, a Los Angeles-based company representing the high-tech and entertainment industries.