At the heart of the new platform is a simple idea: combining artificial intelligence and human expertise to help buyers identify the titles that best match their programming needs.
As Henze explains, buyers’ briefs rarely fit neatly into traditional catalogue filters. A request may sound more like: “Not too dark. Crime, but nothing too explicit. A strong female lead. Enough volume to build a regular prime-time slot around. A strong setting would be good. Something familiar, but not too familiar.”
These are precisely the kinds of requests that OneGate Media’s new OneGate Screenings platform is designed to understand.
Using Intelligent Search, buyers can describe what they are looking for in natural language and in almost any language. The system then interprets the brief and generates a smaller, more relevant selection of titles, potentially surfacing programmes that might otherwise have been overlooked.
Once the shortlist has been created, data comes into play. Buyers can assess which titles may deserve closer attention by looking at indicators such as launch performance, audience retention, longevity across several seasons, on-demand viewing and international reach.
“Of course, a strong performance in one market does not guarantee success in another,” Henze notes. “But it’s a signal. Data can help decide what is worth a closer look.”
For OneGate Media, editorial judgement and personal relationships remain central to content sales. Programming decisions are still driven by experience, knowledge of a channel and its audience, and sometimes simply by instinct.
“Television is still, at its core, emotional,” Henze says. “At some point, a title simply feels right.”
This human element is reflected in My Showroom, another feature of the platform, where OneGate Media’s sales managers can curate personalised selections for individual buyers. Viewing behaviour can help sales teams better understand buyers’ interests and make more relevant recommendations.
The new platform therefore brings together what OneGate Media describes as “Data meets people”: technology that helps buyers reach relevant titles faster, combined with sales professionals who understand what could work for a particular market, broadcaster or platform.
Ahead of MIPCOM, the launch represents a significant step in OneGate Media’s digital strategy and a new approach to the traditional screening experience, giving buyers greater freedom to search, discover and evaluate content on their own terms.
And as Henze suggests, the best way to test the system may be to start with a real-world commissioning brief: “Not too dark. Crime, but nothing too explicit. A strong female lead…”
