Automation builds the schedule from a pattern: what airs, in what order, how much advertising and how often.
The golden rule: it does not rewrite what has been announced
Once laid out, the schedule is not touched. It only appends at the end when the runway gets short.
The reason is simple: the programme guide has already gone out. The viewer has seen that there is a film at ten, and you cannot change that because the engine found a tidier order.
Rules it carries
- Never two parts of a programme back to back without a bumper and a break between them.
- Never two bumpers together without a programme in between.
- Breaks never fall below the minimum in the pattern. If it says 120 seconds, you will not get a break with a single spot: with few commercials it spreads them across more breaks even if some repeat.
- Repetition memory: the same commercial does not return within 45 minutes, and similarly-named ones are separated too.
- Seasonal content: Christmas does not air in July, nor Carnival in August. It reads the name and the file date.
- Repeats at seven days, unless the pattern deliberately asks for older material.
When material is missing
If nothing fits, it leaves a reserved hole in the rundown instead of inventing something. It shows marked in amber, and if the hour arrives with nobody having replaced it, it loops filler rather than going black.
Sold per channel
Automation is a separate module and can be licensed for a single channel.