Blackout Management

Overview

The blackout functionality available through the Blackout Management screen lets you define blackout rules based on device type, connection type, and so on. A client device can request a list of blacked out events (which is compiled using these rules and blackout metadata on the individual events) that it then uses to blackout the events on the client side.

There is another kind of blackout functionality, available through URL Builder, that ensures that the client’s location is passed to the encoder that provides the live stream for a channel. The encoder uses the location to blackout events as appropriate. See URL Builder.

Prerequisites

Blackout rules will only work if:

• The events to be blacked out include the correct metadata.
  See:

  • For XML ingest, see the serverGlobalBlackoutControl and BlackoutControlRulesetId fields in editorialChannel > channelEvents > event > metadataSet in editorialChannel (editorial-based).

  • For ingestion via API, see Creating events.

• Your client applications have implemented the necessary blackout functionality.
  See Getting blackout information in the Client integration guide.

Adding a blackout rule

Currently, you can only have a single blackout rule. Future releases will allow multiple rules.

To add a blackout rule:

1. In the Blackout Management screen, click ADD RULE.

2. In Device Type, select the type of device the rule should apply to.

3. In Connection Type, select the type of connection the rule should apply to.

4. In Playback Type, select the type of content playback the rule should apply to. (You can define rules to apply to start-over and catch-up, not just the live event itself.)

5. To apply the rule to FTTH customers, click the FTTH switch.

6. To apply the rule to OTT customers, click the OTT switch.

7. Click CREATE.

8. Click CONTINUE.

Editing a blackout rule

To edit a blackout rule:

1. In the Blackout Management screen, for the rule that you want to edit, click and then click Edit Blackout Rules….

2. Make the required changes.

3. Click SAVE CHANGES.

4. Click CONTINUE.

Deleting a blackout rule

To delete a blackout rule:

1. In the Blackout Management screen, for the rule that you want to edit, click and then click Delete….

2. Click DELETE to confirm deletion.