The Cultural Algorithm

Pressure on content creators to ensure their productions are suitable for international markets is exponentially increasing. It began in earnest with the release of blockbuster films in the late 70s and 80s, where meeting global demand meant little more than subtitling or language dubs for three or four languages. Very few major films received the complete treatment of multiple language translations that movies and TV shows currently receive because the distribution chain wasn’t what it is today, and costs were prohibitively expensive.    Things changed with the advent of streaming and the creation of hundreds of distribution platforms and thousands of channels that provide access to millions of titles to billions of consumers. There is no limit to where a title gets distributed for the first time in history. Thanks to the internet, there are no actual geographical boundaries.    Are There Global Content Rating Standards? There are no global industry ratings standards-no continental, regional, religious, cultural, or community standards applicable to all content. Content and age-rating criteria used by the Motion Picture Association ( MPA ) in the US can vary significantly compared to the British Board of Film Certification ( BBFC ), the Australian Classification Board ( ACB ), New Zealand’s Te Mana Whakaatu Classification Office , or Canada’s National Film Board ( NFB ). There may be similarities, but US-released titles are not necessarily assigned the same age rating within other English-speaking countries unedited.    It is common for films produced in one country to be banned there, even if those stories include well-known actors, a famous director, and a large production budget. Add to the equation a language, religion, culture, and political or social mores across borders, and the criteria for releasing a title in other markets gets complicated very quickly. If the content does not meet appropriate standards, it’s either edited, assigned an unfavorable rating, or banned. One size does not fit all.    Content Analysis Around the Globe It is easy for those responsible for releasing titles internationally to get confused about what is or is not acceptable content in targeted markets. There is no simple answer to “what are regulators looking for?” For example, a character in an animated film intended for family viewing mentioning they are in a gay relationship may not register in the US or France. Still, it’s enough to get it banned in Muslim, Hindu, and countries with anti-LGBTQ+ laws. Likewise, a scene depicting intentional violence against police or government officers is enough to increase the rating to an adults-only level or even get it banned in dozens of countries.    The best way to avoid problems is to understand each country’s criteria.    Simple Workflow Changes Eliminate Risk  Content owners and distributors have three opportunities to make culture and regulatory edits to a title: pre-production, post-production, and before distribution. The benefits of performing a content analysis at each stage vary, as does the cost.    Pre-production is the best time to review a title for cultural compliance. Dissecting the story, analyzing the script, and reviewing shots to identify culturally sensitive events that may impact age ratings in targeted markets can optimize the production process because content risks are identified and managed. Incorporating Spherex ratings ™ and Spherex greenlight ™ into the pre-production workflow will identify specific scenes and dialogue within the script so the director and writer(s) can address them appropriately and maintain story integrity.  Analysis of titles post-production using Spherex ratings ™ and Spherex greenlight ™ provides many of the same benefits as if done during pre-production. By providing specific event timestamps and explanations of the issue, localization teams can bleep, blur, or edit scenes to conform to local standards and guidelines. It adds the benefit of identifying specific non-compliant scenes within the completed title across 200+ countries and territories that warrant review.  Catalogs being prepared for broad distribution also benefit from using Spherex ratings ™ and Spherex greenlight ™. Prior understanding of edits needed for which country and platform reduces the number of prepared versions, the cost of preparing them, and the effort necessary to monitor them, making licensing distributable titles across markets worldwide a more manageable process.    While global content release may now be limited to only the most popular or well-funded titles, or those explicitly produced for international distribution, that is changing. The demand from consumers, governments, and platforms for more localized content will force content creators and distributors to deliver localized content soon. With the right tools and knowledge, getting ready is easy.

DEG CANON CLUB ADVISORY BOARD MEMBER TERESA PHILLIPSSPHEREX | CO-FOUNDER & CEOTeresa Phillips | SpherexIN THIS JOB Five yearsPRIOR EXPERIENCE Held executive positions at Yahoo! and Time Warner; founder of venture-backed start-up; U.S. Army veteran.HOMETOWN Allen, Kan.LIVES NOW Los Altos, Calif.ENJOYS, OUTSIDE OF WORK My teenage sons, travel, sports and gardening.CURRENT BINGE YellowstoneCONTACT Teresa.Phillips@spherex.com

As content distribution avenues grow and the demand for new content expands worldwide, creating a single-language version of any title no longer ensures a profitable return on investment.

In 2020, “Parasite” director Bong Joon-ho used his Golden Globe acceptance speech to call attention to the “one-inch tall barrier of subtitles” that kept some audiences — American moviegoers in particular — from enjoying the myriad content produced outside of their native languages.

Consider this scenario: A platform has commissioned a new series seeking the broadest possible appeal for the teen demographic worldwide. As the final master English versions are completed, a producer suspects scenes involving heavy partying, drinking, and drug use may be too hedonistic for some Asian territories targeted for the upcoming release.

Does this scenario sound familiar? You have a catalog of hundreds or thousands of titles you’re about to release onto a major streaming platform. Many titles are old TV shows and films ranging from kids’ animated movies to action dramas containing violence and fighting. Others are recent releases that include well-known titles. The platform is available in multiple countries that require age ratings. You think, “I’ve got nothing to worry about” because all your films have U.S. theatrical ratings, and the TV shows have ratings for each episode. If you don’t have age ratings for all countries, you can look up the US rating and apply a comparable foreign rating. How hard can it be, right?   If only.   Here’s the problem. Most professionals working in international distribution understand that many of the world’s major film and TV markets require country-specific age ratings before airing or releasing it. They may not be aware that there are sometimes nuanced and significant differences in how age ratings are defined and applied to a movie or TV title. Getting it wrong can mean your title reaches a smaller audience, which can directly impact revenue and minutes watched.   In a previous blog post , we’ve documented the differences between movie and TV ratings. We encourage you to read it to familiarize yourself with the differences between the two. A key point of that post is that TV and theatrical audiences are different in both size and access. The ratings reflect those differences. For example, the “G” rating is applied to all US films acceptable for any age level. TV, conversely, because of the broad range of programming available, is broken into four: “TV-Y,” “TV-Y7,” “TV-Y7 FV,” and “G.” Likewise, NC-17 content is available in theaters and age-restricted online channels, but not on linear TV. As a result, there is no comparable rating to NC-17 for television.   It gets more complicated with film because there are distinctly different age categories a title must fit, but cultural and linguistic norms must be considered as they can affect a rating. The table below provides examples of film age ratings across seven countries and how they align with those used in the US. As you can see, there are few countries with straight-line comparable age ratings (shown in red) with similar content criteria to those created by the MPA. Considering the film “ Divergent ,” a US PG-13 rated title, self-rating it for other countries by simply following a row in a ratings chart would rate the film as a 15+ title in Australia and Japan, and a 16 in Germany, France, and South Africa. While a two- or three-year difference may not sound significant, it is when it blocks several million viewers from the potential audience. In Germany, the difference in the potential audience from a “12” to a “16” is approximately 2.6 million youth. In France, the audience difference is 3.3 million youth. The average French movie ticket price is $13.33, so self-rating as a “16” means a potential loss of $44 million in box office revenue. From a streaming standpoint, if parents have specific age ratings enabled in their children’s profile, that title won’t appear in their search results even though it is age-appropriate. Either way, self-assigning an uninformed age rating risks less revenue, bad press, and a smaller audience. Awareness of the problem isn’t enough to adequately address it. Distributors may not know the many factors that regulators and consumers consider when choosing a title to view. Examples include alcohol and drug use, blasphemy, discrimination, violence, sexuality, horror, and imitable acts, each of which must be identified and examined to determine their suitability for international audiences. There are also concerns about language, metaphors, slang, and cultural references. To do this properly requires knowledge of those events and the skills to know how much they will matter to regulators and viewers. Below is a screenshot from Spherex greenlight ™ AI/Ml product to demonstrate how complex this is. The graphic below displays the events within “Divergent,” including timestamp flags and a description that can affect a title’s ratings for a given country. Across the entire film, Greenlight mapped 124 identifiable event types and 56 that will change in-countries ratings (aka "exceptions"). This means there are 56 events that someone working at the distributor must know about and be willing or able to address in a post-production process that impacts the title’s rating, including making edits, blurring scenes, or deleting the scene altogether. While the desire to cut costs and self-assign ratings quickly is understandable, the risks outweigh the rewards. Analyzing the event types across a single title, it becomes clear that simply drawing a straight line across a ratings chart cannot reliably provide ratings that platforms, regulators, or audiences will accept. Whether your catalog has dozens or thousands of titles, ensuring appropriate ratings for each title is a critical step in guaranteeing your titles are findable, age-appropriate, and enjoyed by viewers worldwide.

Data and technology company Spherex has introduced what it calls “the first-ever global newsfeed that aggregates stories from around the world related to the globalization of TV and film content.”

Media companies spend a lot of time and money studying and modeling consumer behaviors. It's big business and a critical component of today's media marketplace. Entire companies, platforms with specialized engineering teams, academic researchers, entrepreneurs, and the public attempt to find the Holy Grail of search algorithms that provide the best way to recommend titles, so you don't change the channel.