StreamGuys introduces SGcontrol service

Podcast solutions provider StreamGuys has introduced a new managed service it says makes controlling how audiences access content easier for media enterprises. 

The company says SGcontrol provides flexible, centralized management of stream access mechanisms — including geo-targeting, geo-restriction, and tokenized authorization — in a single, unified service. The company adds that SGcontrol enables broadcasters and content providers to improve their market-based monetization initiatives and ensure compliance with rights restrictions.

StreamGuys will showcase SGcontrol alongside other innovations at the upcoming 2022 NAB Show (April 24–27 in Las Vegas) in booth N5625, where it will co-exhibit with technology partner ENCO.

“In today’s complex media distribution and licensing landscape, enterprise customers increasingly need more than just a single access control mechanism,” says Robert Minnix, product manager for StreamGuys. “SGcontrol lets them combine multiple control models flexibly to ensure their business requirements are fully met and that the right audience members get the right content.”

Legal access

Minnix says that SGcontrol’s geo-targeting uses audience location to deliver appropriate regionalized stream variants or in- and out-of-market advertising, while geo-restriction blocks audience members outside the defined region from accessing the content for licensing compliance or audience pruning. 

“Due to licensing, we only stream our stations in specific countries. StreamGuys’ geo-restriction capabilities keep us from getting into legal issues with the royalty companies by preventing our streams from being accessed in unauthorized regions,” said John Whiteside, technical director at Houston-based RFC Media. “StreamGuys’ geo-restriction service has given us and our clients peace of mind that our streams will only be accessible in countries with legal rights to allow access. And as a managed service, it is easy for us to set up geo-restriction for new stations, and StreamGuys always implements our requests in a timely fashion.”