An ad break scheme is a structured plan that defines how commercial breaks are inserted into programs. With ad break schemes, break length, break frequency and break positions can be specified.
1 How to create and edit ad break schemes
Ad breaks schemes are created and edited in the Advertising tab of the Programmer
The existing ad break schemes are displayed in the Advertising tab. They can be searched, filtered and selected from the left-hand side (1) and edited in terms of title, channel and timeline (2). The table in the middle (3) displays the timeline(s) along an entire week. If there are several timelines, they can be selected correspondingly (4).
On the right-hand side the ad break schemes can be deleted, copied and saved (5).
By clicking the plus icon (6), new schemes can be added, leading to a new dialog.
In this dialog, the title of the scheme and the channel and time period the scheme is valid for can be determined.
This becomes relevant when applying the scheme to the plan.
NOTE
Channels are defined in the parameters.
If set as default, parameters will be preselected in the respective drop-down menus.
Parameters can be accessed and edited by users with administration rights. If you need more information, please contact your admin or our CreateCtrl support.
2 Add timelines to an add break scheme
An ad break scheme can contain various timelines. Timelines defines the time periods and days when the add break scheme is active.
By clicking the New timeline button (1), new timelines can be created. Existing timelines can be edited can entering the context menu and clicking the edit button (2).
There are 3 parts separated into tabs, including a timeline (1), lengths ranges (2) and ad breaks (3). The logic is the same as in the current scheme.
2.1 Timeline
The first step is to outline the basic data about the timeline.
Timelines can be given a name (1) and be specified in terms of hours (2) and active weekdays (3). Holidays (HO) can both be included or excluded from an ad break scheme. For this purpose, ad break schemes designed especially for holidays can be created.
Clicking the Continue button (4) allows to move on to the next tab, where length ranges can be defined.
2.2 Length ranges
After outlining the basic data of the timeline, the next step is to specify the length range. It is both possible to create one or multiple length ranges. This process is used to set the rules for ad breaks based on a program's duration.
Both the time range for events and slots (1) and the slot types (2) can be defined to limit where an ad break scheme can be applied later on in the plan.
It is also possible not to define the slot type for ad blocks specifically. This allows to apply the ad break scheme to all slot types.
By clicking the plus icon (3), new length ranges can be added and accessed from above (4). Clicking the delete button (5) deletes the selected length range.
2.3 Ad breaks
In the Ad breaks tab, the individual ad breaks can be placed into the ad break scheme. For the ad breaks, there are different types to choose from.
If there are several length ranges, they can be selected from above (1).
There are different ad block types available, such as AB (ad block before event – 2), AA (ad block after event – 3) and AD (ad blocks that interrupt events – 4). The ad block types can be added to the desired position in the scheme by drag and drop, where they can be further specified regarding their begin time and duration.
Each AD (4) that is added between segments creates an additional segment. The durations of the segments are valid as long as no asset has been connected to the program version.
Tariff categories (5), which determine what type of commercials can be scheduled later on in the plan into the ad blocks, can be assigned to the ad break, as well.
Related topics:
3 How to apply ad break schemes
After being created, ad break schemes can be applied to slots and schemes:
4 Export Adbreaks
If established, ad breaks can be exported in the Connect tab in the programmer, where all imports and exports are executed: