Al Jazeera English streamlines worldwide newsgathering operations with ScheduALL

Serving as the bookings tool for ad hoc, occasional, and recurring satellite, fiber, and broadband global area network (BGAN) ftp feeds coming into the broadcaster's headquarters in Doha, Qatar, along with its three production facilities in London, Kuala Lumpur, and Washington, D.C., the ScheduALL system at Al Jazeera English brings vital scheduling information into other technical areas of broadcast operations, ensuring that events are actuated and completed according to the booking.

An integrated cost tracking capability links external supplier costs to each work order, supporting financial reporting and enabling rapid reconciliation of each booking with resulting invoices. With ScheduALL, the automation of this workflow has improved efficiencies of existing resources allowing users to improve their productivity; greatly enhanced the financial visibility of key projects across multiple business units around the globe; and contributed to improving Al Jazeera's cost control efforts.

"As an international news organization, we need an effective means of tracking our booking costs and making sure that we are using our resources to their fullest potential,"

said Nick Taylor, head of news operations at Al Jazeera English.

"ScheduALL offers valuable transparency of real-time information across multiple sites, encompassing the whole organization. The detailed audit trail provided by the software allows us to evaluate critical areas of our operations and make informed decisions about how we manage and invest in resources."

Al Jazeera English installed its ScheduALL system as the channel's new broadcast facility was being completed, and today the software supports scheduling for all four broadcast centers, as well as feeds acquired from 69 news bureaus.

Despite the underlying complexity of the workflow, the operation of the ScheduALL system is made simple by customized user interfaces, which provide the right information to the right staff members, whether in the master control room, audio control room, or newsroom. Some key production aids are the template-based work order creation, which not only speeds bookings, but also reduces the risk of entry errors, while the conflict-flagging feature minimizes the possibility of double-booking resources needed to process incoming feeds. This streamlined approach has led to significant cost savings and has ensured a smooth booking process.

"Through the integration of ScheduALL into its broadcasting, operations, and technical facilities, Al Jazeera English took a proactive approach to building smart, profitable operations," said Joel Ledlow, CEO of ScheduALL.

"By leveraging real-time booking data, ScheduALL enables business and financial managers to view on a daily basis, how specific costs compare against projected budgets. While the software's booking tools support smooth feed scheduling, its reporting capabilities offer the insight required to manage that process cost-effectively."