nScreenNoise - Interview Spherex: Avoiding the cultural dead zone

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.

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.

Spherex’s Co-Founder & CEO, Teresa Phillips, spoke at the recent OTT.X Summit in an insightful fireside chat titled "Unlocking AI: Driving Growth in Global Media Distribution" with Colin Dixon, Founder & Chief Analyst at nScreenMedia. The conversation provided a deep dive into how Spherex is leveraging AI to revolutionize media distribution on a global scale.

Teresa began by highlighting Spherex’s core mission of helping media companies navigate the complex landscape of compliance and global regulatory acceptance. She detailed how Spherex works with clients to ensure their content adheres to regional regulations and cultural norms, enabling seamless distribution across different markets.

Introduction to SpherexAI

The conversation turned to SpherexAI, our cutting-edge AI platform for generating age ratings and ensuring video content complies with local regulations and cultural norms. Teresa explained how SpherexAI provides analysis of visual, audio, and textual elements in content to enable smarter global distribution decisions by evaluating how well a title aligns with the cultural and regulatory standards of over 200 countries and territories.

AI's Limitations and Future Potential

Teresa and Colin also addressed the limitations of current AI models, particularly their Western-centric training data. Spherex is at the forefront of developing training AI models to understand and interpret cultural norms from various perspectives, ensuring a more inclusive approach to content distribution.

Cultural Distance

Another exciting aspect of the chat was discussing Spherex's patented approach to measuring the "cultural distance" between a title's origin and its target market to help media companies anticipate potential challenges and opportunities. Teresa explained how these metrics, which include the tags materialistic, symbolic, and sacred, predict content appeal across different regions. This innovative approach helps media companies tailor their content to specific cultural contexts, enhancing global reach and engagement.

Future Capabilities

Looking ahead, Teresa shared Spherex's vision of integrating cultural norms into AI models to better predict content success and advise on necessary adaptations. The balance between global and regional content was also discussed, emphasizing the need for a nuanced approach to media distribution in the future landscape.

The fireside chat at the OTT.X Summit highlighted the transformative potential of AI in media distribution, with Spherex leading the charge. By leveraging advanced AI technology and a deep understanding of cultural norms, Spherex is paving the way for a more inclusive and globally resonant media landscape.