Once a block is either created or opened, it will be possible to set the information that will determine its presence within the scheduling structure, information can be compiled through the following two sections:
BLOCK
In the upper panel of the block editor, it allows to set the main data on which the block scheduling will be based, these data includes:
Block main data
•Name: A unique identifier string that identifies the block within the system, differentiate from other blocks. The block name is unique.
•Types: Specify the types of the recently created block (e.g. 'comm', 'prom', etc).
•Duration: It is the overall duration of the entire block.
•Notes: Insert any additional information (e.g. description) about the block.
•Test Timeline: Use this parameter to simulate the real start time of the block inside the playlist, and eventually update the start time of the block.
•Expired: This function, particularly useful for blocks no longer in used, allows to hide the block from the "List of blocks" but keep it in the database as "expired".
Once a block is set as "expired", it can be recalled for viewing and editing by activating the "search also expired blocks" parameter.
SEGMENTS
In the lower part of the block editor, the operator can define the segments that make up the block structure by inserting a new segment (F2) or editing an existing one; in both cases it define the following properties for the segment:
Segment main properties
•Start time: Identifies the time slot of the segment within the block NOT the on-air time. The block in which the segment is located will be positioned in a schedule using Etere Template Editor. Once the block has been positioned at the relative time, the segment contained in it will acquire the corresponding time. For example, a segment with start time of 01:00:00, contained in the "Morning" block that has been positioned at 08:00:00 of a schedule will acquire the start time of 09:00:00.
•Duration: Identifies the reference duration of the segment, used by the system only as a informative property.
NB: In case of inserting a duration that makes the overall segments duration greater than the block duration, the system will send warning message to operator and automatically change the segment duration to the "maximum available duration" to respect the block duration.
•Maximum duration: Identifies the main duration of the segment, used by the system's scheduling applications (e.g. Air Sales Scheduler, Seasons Scheduler, Strategic Editor, etc) to know the maximum allowed limit for scheduling events within a segment. This duration is initially the same as the reference duration, but it is possible to manually change it to another value.
NB: When saving a block, in case the sum of the maximum-durations of all segments is different (i.e. greater or less) than the block duration, a warning message (i.e. 'Block duration is not valid') will be displayed requesting confirmation to proceed with the saving.
•Type: Identifies the asset type(s) the segment is able to hold, by specifying a type you will enable the block to be displayed when scheduling a sales proposal or commercial order.
•Ad Insertion: Enabled this property to indicate that the segment is used for 'ad insertion', the segment will be available across other regional networks defined under the Etere Configuration > Settings > Basic > Ad Insertion management section. Ad Insertion segments are usually used to schedule specific commercials or news across different networks.
Segment optional properties
•Notes: In this field any notes can be inserted for the chosen segment.
•Objects: Specify a maximum number of objects (events) that can be reserved in the segment. By selecting, for example "five" as the maximum number of objects, Etere Air Sales will not allow you to reserve a number of events in the segment superior to five, even if their total duration is inferior to the duration of the segment.
•Order: Allows you to give priority to the segments during the reservation phase. If segment A has a start time of 00:10:00 and an order of '1', segment B has a start time of 00:05:00 and an order of '2' during the reservation phase, Etere Air Sales will try to allocate events first to the segment with the start time of 00:10:00 (segment A) and then to segment B.
•Groups: Group segments to speed up the reservation process.
•Format: Assign a specific music format to the segment. This feature is particularly used by music channels.
•Category: Associate the price list to the segment when using it on commercial orders.
•Active Budget: Set the active budget expected for the segment (e.g. foreseen returns from commercials). The amount selected will be used in the Budget Report, allowing you to compare your scheduled returns versus the real returns.
•Passive Budget: Permits you to specify the passive budget scheduled for the segment (e.g. expected costs for transmitting seasons). As with the 'active budget' value, this field will be used in the Budget Report, where you will be able to compare your scheduled costs versus the real costs.
•Target Audience: Optionally, it is possible to specify in this field the audience reach (e.g. 46872 spectators) expected for the current segment.
NB: The target audience is used for informative purposes in the daily audience report.
Moreover, by right-click on the segments area it can access to the following segments management functions:
•Copy (Ctrl-C): copy the selected segment to the clipboard.
•Paste (Ctrl-V): paste a copied segment into the selected block position.
•Insert segment (F2): inserts a new segment into the selected block position.
•Delete segment (Ctrl-Del): mark the selected segment and remov from the block (the deletion take effect when the block is saved).
•Restore segment (Ctrl-Ins): cancel the pending deletion of a segment, restore the segment in the block.
•Order segments (F5): use this functions to sort all segments according to their start time (in ascending order).
•Recalculate offset (F6): use it to launch the automatic recalculation of the start time (and duration) of all segments based on their preceding segments. If the block is already scheduled, it could not recalculate the offset, in this case the "force update segment offset" tool should be used.
•Remove the template link: if the segment is linked to a 'music format' (i.e. a format has been assigned to its properties), this function allows to remove its link.
•Linked price lists: Associate price lists (configured in Sales > Prepare > Price lists) to segments, thus allowing the automatic calculation of prices based on the position of spots within the scheduling structure.
NB: This option is available only if the "use manual scheduling" parameter is enabled in "Configuration > Settings > Air Sales > Scheduling rules".
During the insertion of segments it may occur that there are overlaps or non-consecutive segments. If occurred, indicative icons would appear:
•Overlapped segment: In order to correct this issue, the operator can either manually adjust the timings of the segments or alternatively right-click and select the 'Recalculate offset (F6)' tool to correct the segments.
•Non-consecutive segment: In order to correct this issue, simply right-click and select the 'Order segments (F5)' function which will re-shuffle the segments into chronological order.
Saving all changes performed to a block
Once the block and all its segments have been configured, press the [Save] button to store all changes into the database.
Please note that in case one or more segments modified by the operator are scheduled on either past or future days, it won't be possible to apply changes on it, the block will be saved as a new block (e.g. duplicate it).
Changing the structure of a block
The structure of a block can be modified from the Weekly Schedule module by using the Change block structure function.