Accelerate Your Global Title Releases with Spherexratings™

In two previous posts, “ Worldwide Content Classification – What Happens When You Get It Wrong ,” and “ Worldwide Content Classification – How Hard Can It Be? ” we’ve laid out the challenge facing content creators and distributors who want to market their content globally. In this post, we will discuss how to avoid making mistakes that can be costly either economically, legally or reputationally, and get your content released in international markets faster than ever before.

To recap, according to IMDBPro, each year an average of 356,000 titles are released. Currently, there are about 31,000 movies, TV movies, TV series and TV miniseries in some stage of production around the world. Every one of those titles destined for general release anywhere on the planet must be viewed and rated by some regulatory body, agency or platform and be assigned a country-specific age-rating. This gives consumers some indication of appropriateness of the type of content they are about to watch. Whether anyone likes it or not (usually not), this is not an optional thing; it is required.

Over the past few weeks, industry trades have published dozens of articles, like here , here , here , here and here , highlighting the problems content creators, producers, distributors and even writers are experiencing trying to get a script or film approved for production or release in major global markets. These are not unique stories. Those who have the responsibility for obtaining ratings know how exacting that process is. What these stories highlight is the complexity and importance of correctly navigating differing country regulatory, legal, and cultural requirements.

But who has time for this? Who wants to hire staff to chase down ratings in 20 countries, whether it is a series of titles or a one-off? Wouldn’t it be great if there was a way to manage this entire process in one place, where titles can be reviewed once, and that one time could generate ratings in top markets around the world? Wouldn’t it be great if the people you worked with had demonstrable knowledge of the cultural realities and regulatory requirements of 200+ countries and territories worldwide? And wouldn’t it be great if the entire process, from application to review to submission, could all be managed online?

Now for the good news: introducing Spherexratings™.

Spherexratings™ is a professional service that assists studios, producers, distributors, and platforms in obtaining valid, in-country maturity ratings for film, TV, and streaming content. Built upon nearly a decade’s experience in studying and assessing cultural requirements in nearly every country on Earth, Spherexratings™ provides a combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) and human assessment to rate video content quickly and efficiently.

Using proprietary processes and technologies developed through creating, managing, and cultivating metadata tools for the Media and Entertainment (M&E) industry, Spherex’s ratings team works with content creators to collect all title information required to rate it. Not only are these data helpful in obtaining multiple country ratings, but they can also be used to create the metadata necessary to optimally market and position content on any distribution platform or search engine worldwide.

Spherexratings’™ client-oriented interface provides complete access to the evaluation process and allows full tracking of the title from the time it is first made available for rating through the ratings and approval process for individual countries. Customers can see and respond to both human and AI-based feedback and recommendations at all review stages.

The Spherexratings™ process is straightforward: provide secure access to the title, answer a series of questions about the title to build a metadata base, including common data such as title, synopsis, release details, cast and production team details, and more and Spherex takes it from there. Upon process completion, legal, country-specific documents are provided to demonstrate the content has been properly rated and distribution of the content can proceed. Once rated, clients can manage all future ratings from the same interface.

Available today, Spherexratings™ will fundamentally speed up the ratings process for content creators and reduce the amount of time they spend managing it. Spherexratings™ is the industry’s first global “rate once, manage forever” rating system for video content.

For more information or to schedule a demonstration, click here , complete the online form and someone from our Spherexratings™ team will contact you. We look forward to making your global content release (and your professional life) a whole lot easier.

Related Insights

Spherex Classification Tool Now Approved for Home Entertainment Content in Australia

Spherex

Regulation

Classification

The Albanese Government has updated the Spherex Classification Tool approval to include ratings for theatrical releases, home entertainment, and streaming content in Australia. Spherex was previously approved to classify online films.

The update underscores the Australian Classification Board’s confidence in Spherex as a tool to help Australian viewers make informed choices about the content they consume. This means Australians can now access a range of new films sooner than they might across all formats and windows.

Spherex has a longstanding relationship with the Australian Classification Board. Since 2020, Spherex has collaborated closely with the Australian Government to ensure its technology reliably generates classification decisions that meet Australian standards and viewers' expectations.

As the world’s only commercial provider of local age ratings, Spherex has successfully produced classification decisions for high volumes of online content in over 100 countries. Since 2018, Spherex has issued over one million age ratings for digital content, including films, TV shows, and trailers, distributed by its clients worldwide.

Spherex customers, including Umbrella Entertainment, Madman Entertainment, and Sugoi Co., rely on its AI-based platform to obtain local age ratings in Australia and significantly improve efficiency, cost reduction, and market reach.

Discover how Spherex's cutting-edge AI-based platform can streamline your content classification process and enhance your market reach while reducing costs.

Visit spherex.com today and see how we can support your content distribution needs.

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nScreenNoise - Interview Spherex: Avoiding the cultural dead zone

Spherex

Culture

One of the conundrums of streaming is that although a service can deliver content globally, it is not guaranteed to be acceptable in a particular local market. Netflix found this out when it announced global availability in 2016 at CES and was quickly banned in markets like Indonesia, where some of the content was deemed too violent or sexual. In 2016, without boots on the ground in a local market, it wasn’t easy to assess whether a show or movie would be culturally acceptable.

Today, global media companies are acutely aware of the importance of their content’s cultural fit. Moreover, they have a company like Spherex to help them prepare their content to ensure it fits with any country of interest. I interviewed Teresa Phillips, the Co-Founder and CEO of Spherex, at the recent OTT.X Summit in Los Angeles. She explained how the company is leveraging AI and its massive cultural profiling database to help companies prepare content for target markets. She also explained how, in the near future, AI would aid the company in measuring a movie or show’s cultural distance from a regional market and help it avoid falling into the failure zone between cultural fit and novelty interest.

Listen to the full interview here.

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Spherex Featured in the DPP's IBC 2024: Demand versus Supply Report

Spherex

Industry

Spherex was featured in the DPP’s IBC 2024: Demand versus Supply Report, a comprehensive look at how the M&E industry is meeting key customer demands. The report focuses on the topics of empowering creators, understanding audiences, engaging users, and innovating the newsroom. It also highlights many of the technical innovations seen at the recent IBC Show.

An article by Spherex’s CEO Teresa Phillips titled "Navigating Cultural Resonance in Global Media: The Art and Science of Culture Mixing" was featured in the report, exploring how Spherex is pioneering the future of culturally informed content.

Teresa shares how cultural mixing has become a critical strategy for creating content that appeals to diverse audiences in today's global media landscape. This phenomenon involves blending elements from different cultures to craft films and television shows that resonate globally while adhering to local regulations.

However, the process of culture mixing is fraught with risks. Superficial or stereotypical representations can lead to accusations of cultural appropriation or insensitivity, alienating audiences and damaging a company's reputation. For example, imposing Western concepts on Eastern content without proper context can feel inauthentic and jarring to local viewers. These missteps highlight the need for a nuanced understanding of cultural elements to ensure that content is respectful and engaging.

To address these challenges, M&E companies are increasingly turning to data-driven solutions. Platforms like SpherexAI utilize artificial intelligence to analyze visual, audio, and textual elements, providing insights into how well content aligns with cultural and regulatory standards across over 200 countries and territories. This approach helps media companies understand the "cultural distance" between a title's origin and its target market, enabling them to make informed decisions about global distribution.

By leveraging these advanced tools, M&E companies can go beyond traditional content localization. They can create media that actively engages and resonates with diverse audiences. As the industry continues to evolve, those companies that embrace culturally informed, data-driven approaches will be better positioned to succeed, fostering cross-cultural understanding and trust while delivering globally appealing content.

Download the report here.

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