The Society of Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE•ISBE) today announced it received the 2020 Technology & Engineering Emmy alongside CableLabs, Comcast and Charter Communications.
The award, presented by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS), recognizes the development of the Event Signaling and Management (ESAM) API standard developed by the SCTE•ISBE, an ANSI-accredited standards body.
“The development of the ESAM API standard has already had a significant impact on operators and will continue to create opportunities by allowing for interoperability of products regardless of function or supplier,” commented Mark Dzuban, president and CEO, SCTE•ISBE. “This is just one example of how the SCTE standards program is paving the way for the broadcast industry, establishing specifications, and providing test methods and procedures that promote the long-term reliability of broadband communications facilities.”
The new ESAM API standard (SCTE 250) will support such use cases as controlling regional blackouts with alternate content selection, market protection or other content restrictions, advertising breaks, advertisement replacement, addressable advertising opportunities and more.
In tandem with event scheduling and notification interface (ESNI), SCTE•ISBE says the ESAM API standard creates the foundation for a more dynamic management of business rules and rights for distribution of linear content that is essential when it comes to supporting IP video delivery.
Further, the ESAM API standard provides a protocol for vendors to communicate between a control system and stream-handling devices, supporting real-time and frame-accurate content switching across products from a variety of vendors.
“CableLabs is honored to receive another Technology & Engineering Emmy award that recognizes what we are doing to keep people connected by making broadband faster and more responsive, reliable and secure,” said Phil McKinney, president and CEO, CableLabs. “The work we did with SCTE•ISBE and our members, Comcast and Charter, on the ESAM API standard is meaningful because it enables cable operators to serve their subscribers with relevant content within internet-streamed programming.”
This year’s awards recipients will be honored at the 72nd Annual Technology & Engineering Emmy Awards Ceremony tentatively scheduled for October 10, 2021. Today's announcement marks the second Emmy award for SCTE•ISBE, which received a 2012 Technology & Engineering Emmy for developing local ad-insertion standards for cable (SCTE 35 and SCTE 104) – which serve as foundational standards of SCTE 250.
Partnering with industry professionals and experts, SCTE•ISBE develops technical standards and operational best practices for emerging technologies. The SCTE•ISBE Standards program is the only ANSI-accredited platform for developing technical specifications supporting cable telecommunications.
SCTE•ISBE is a subsidiary of CableLabs. Learn more at www.scte.org.