EPGs So Smart, We Send Them To College

Electronic program guides have come a long way. In fact, thanks to FYI and its sister company E-Guide Services, custom EPGs have been going to colleges, hospitals, hotels, resorts, military bases, and cruise lines for the last five years.

Before 2008, it was virtually impossible to find an EPG in such locations—until that is, FYI’s specialized, customized, and tailored approach to providing entertainment data services.

But the big news for you is that the same fundamental service criteria for providing the most accurate and useful listings services to these industries mirrors the service we always did and always do provide.

Here’s how our EPGs—and the data we provide to create EPGs for others--end up being a smart idea for our clients.

We have to know the data.
Whether serving a major university with management of its guide right down to each individual station and channel number, or providing a major telco access to the massive amount of data they need for their subscribers, we are well-acquainted the data. We know how it’s formatted and why. And, we know why we’ve created such a specific and flexible offering of data to our clients.

To make the data work for any of the categories above, or to deliver data to a major content provider, an understanding of the data and how it can be directly applied to the success of a client is crucial.

We have to know the client.
Knowing a client means knowing all of their practices, goals, dreams, hopes, and aspirations. And, knowledge of the client—as well as unique aspects of their business—will inform the way data is served up, how EPGs are created, then managed.

Knowledge of client, again whether a hotel, a telco, or a cruise ship, creates the first step in delivery of a custom, tailored product that all clients want for their brand.

We have to know their objectives.
One-size-fits-all, come and get it, hope it works out for you data simply won’t do.

Because such an approach completely ignores the fact that all clients are unique and they all have unique considerations, goals, and objectives to address.

Certainly, for categories like hospitality or military bases, it’s important to customize an offering—and to show specialization in that area.

But the same principle holds true when working with a major telco, cable company, satellite company, or television network. The client’s objectives are the fulcrum that lifts up all information. And you can’t hit that bullseye without knowing where it is first. Whether the client is a major cable company or The Sunset Inn.

We have to know their delivery requirements.
At some point, the product has to appear on a screen. So, knowing internal procedures, equipment, and facilities is crucial.

The unique delivery requirements of a client help to shape the way that client’s information will be assimilated, processed, and transmitted. Combining FYI’s skill at customization with the client’s understanding of their own business to create a “hand-in-glove” relationship between the data service and the client’s operations.

We have to demonstrate ROI.
Just being the best provider of entertainment data for listings isn’t enough. If it were, we’d never have to demonstrate ROI.

But the truth is that a cohesive entertainment listings strategy can create ROI in a number of ways. Additional clients through improved programming, a higher room rate due to premium service, or revenue sharing of advertising placed in the EPG.

Advertising, by the way, that’s pinpointed directly at audiences in those targeted silos. Or, for a major consumer content provider? It’s coordinated to time of day, programming stunts, or any other broader appeal that can be associated with people who are looking to be entertained.

We have to manage the execution of the process.
The reason FYI delivers data with such customized skill is that we manage the EPG process for a plethora of clients representing well over 100,000 individual units.

So not only are we well-versed in serving up data, we’re also sensitive and skilled in implementing and leveraging EPGs for their maximum benefit.

As you can see—customized, tailored, and specific are thresholds that serve both our institutional clients requiring EPG services, and our consumer broadband, over-the-air, and API clients as well.