How to Prepare a Feed for Delivery to a Broadcaster

Start with what the receiving desk needs

Most delivery problems begin before a single frame is sent. A news desk, a network ingest team and a streaming partner each have their own habits, and the quickest way to a clean handover is to ask them plainly what they expect. I usually send a short list of questions a few days ahead: which format and frame rate they accept, how they want audio laid out, whether they need captions or graphics burned in, and who answers the phone on the day. Write the answers down in one place and share them with the crew. When Priya or Callum set up a shoot or a signal path, they should be working to the same specification the broadcaster will check at the other end. It sounds obvious, but a mismatch between what a venue sends and what an ingest desk wants is still the most common reason for a late or rejected delivery.

Keep the specification short enough that people read it. One page is plenty: file type or stream format, resolution, frame rate, audio channels, timecode, and a named contact on each side. If a broadcaster sends a long technical document, I pull out the lines that affect our work and confirm them back in an email, so there is a written record that both parties agreed to the same terms before anything went live.

• Format, resolution and frame rate
• Audio channel layout and loudness
• Captions, graphics or clean feed
• Named contact and phone number for the day

Agree the delivery route and a fallback

Feeds travel by different routes: a dedicated line, a managed internet stream, a file transfer to a shared location, or a satellite booking. Each has its own limits on speed, delay and cost, so the choice should follow the programme rather than habit. A live bulletin needs low delay and a route that recovers quickly. A finished package for a later slot can go by file transfer and be checked at leisure. Whatever you choose, name a second route before you need it. If the main path fails ten minutes before air, nobody wants to be arranging an alternative from scratch. Ewan on the distribution side keeps a standing fallback for most regular partners, often a second internet path or a lower-quality stream that can be switched in while the main one is repaired.

Test the fallback as seriously as the main route. A backup that has never carried a signal is only a hope. Where time allows, we send a short test clip down both paths and ask the receiver to confirm they can see and hear it, then note the time and the result so the next job starts from known facts.

Label everything so it can be found

Clear metadata saves more time than any piece of equipment. Every file or stream should carry the programme or event name, the date, a version or take number, the running time, and a note of anything the receiver must handle with care, such as embargoed material or footage with usage limits. A news editor looking for a clip at short notice will not open ten files named final to find the right one. Agree a naming pattern with the receiving desk and stick to it. Something like event, date, version, and format works well and sorts sensibly in any folder. Keep the same pattern for repeat clients so their ingest staff learn what to expect. Consistency is worth more than cleverness here, and it makes our own archive easier to search when someone asks for a copy weeks later.

Add a short text note to each delivery: what is in it, what has been cut, and who to call about it. Two or three lines is enough. It is the part people skip when they are tired, and it is exactly the part the receiver reads first when something looks wrong.

• Programme or event name and date
• Version or take number
• Running time and format
• Any restrictions on use

Check the picture and sound before you send

Before anything leaves us, someone who did not build the feed should look at it and listen to it. Fresh eyes notice a black frame at the start, audio that drops out on the right channel, a caption that has slipped, or a level that is far too quiet. For a live feed this means a monitor check at the point of output, not only at the camera or the mixer, because faults often appear in between. For files, play the delivered copy rather than the original. Encoding can introduce problems that the source never had, such as stuttering motion or colour shifts, and the only way to catch them is to watch what the receiver will actually receive. Check the beginning, a few points in the middle, and the end, and confirm the total running time matches the specification.

Keep the check proportionate. A thirty-second item and a three-hour concert feed do not need the same routine, but both need someone to look and listen with the specification in hand. Write down what was checked and by whom, even in a single line. If a question arrives later, you can answer it with a record instead of a recollection.

Confirm receipt and keep a record

Sending is not the same as delivering. The job is finished when the receiving desk confirms it has the material, can play it, and has what it needs. For live feeds, that means a brief exchange before and after: ready to receive, signal good, and then a note when the programme ends. For files, ask for a short acknowledgement and, where the partner allows it, a check that the file opened without errors. Keep the delivered copy and the record of how it was sent for a sensible period, agreed with the client. If a partner reports a problem the next morning, being able to compare what we sent with what they saw turns a long argument into a short fix. It also helps when a programme is repeated or an item is reused, since the specification and the route are already written down.

Pass on anything you learned to the next job. If a particular desk prefers a certain loudness or always wants clean feeds with no graphics, add that to the notes held for that partner. Over a season these small notes become the most useful thing in the distribution folder, and they are the reason repeat deliveries run quietly.

• Confirmation from the receiver
• Copy of what was sent
• Notes for the next delivery

A simple order of work to follow

Put together, the routine is short. Ask the receiver what they need, write it down, and brief the crew. Choose the route and name a fallback, then test both where you can. Label the material clearly, check the picture and sound at the output, send it, and get a confirmation. Keep the record and add what you learned to the notes for that partner.

None of this needs special tools, only habit. The teams that deliver cleanly are rarely the ones with the most equipment. They are the ones that agree the details early, check what they send, and speak to the person at the other end before and after. If you are planning a delivery and are unsure where to begin, the first call to the receiving desk is the step that changes the most.