Attention™ | Preference™ | Metadata

Metadata

The application of metadata to ‘content selection’ systems requires a new set of elements that model the way consumers 'think' about content.

'Metadata' literally means 'structured data about data'. Throughout the 1990’s it was synonymous with websites — the internet relies heavily on metadata to enable users to find content.

In a media context, the content (programming) is the ‘data’ and anything used to describe that content (such as genre codes) are metadata elements. Our Metrics division in the UK has been compiling metadata related to television content for many years, including Production Company, Country of Origin, Repeat Status and our unique Microgenre® system. This can easily be exported to the US or any other country with relevant television data.

Historically we have used this metadata to monitor the program supply market, and indeed we still do. Knowing who produced each program allows us to create market share reports or look at the proportion of independent production on a particular channel or in each genre. Similarly the Microgenre® field has provided a basis for more precise analysis of content in numerous projects and is a key element in the new Preference™ System.

New Applications

The changing media landscape is heralding a new application for metadata. Viewers have to ‘search out’ content in a video-on-demand environment. Even on ‘straight’ Multichannel, viewers face a potentially bewildering array of choices. Content providers are keen to ‘help’ viewers by introducing more powerful search functions and recommending content to viewers based on their previous viewing patterns (in the same way the Amazon website recommends other books based on a customer's purchasing history).

The application of metadata to ‘content selection’ systems requires a new set of elements that model the way consumers ‘think’ about content. We are currently researching and testing new metadata elements that will complement our existing dataset and meet these requirements. We are also carrying out work to align our Metadata system with the Dublin Core, the recognized metadata standard (ISO 15836).

For more information on our metadata development, contact:

Adrian Edwards
Tel: +44 (0)1823 322829
Email: adrian.edwards@attentional.com