Ads, Commercials & Station IDs

Detailed inventory separation, creative trafficking, screen bugs, break building, station-ID operations, and proof-of-play.

Four inventory buckets — never mix them

Bucket	Meaning
Paid Screen Bug Ads	Paid advertiser graphics in screen-bug presentation layer.
Paid Commercial Break Ads	Paid full commercial spots in breaks.
HVN Screen Bug / House Promos	HVN-owned promotional bug creative, not billable advertiser inventory.
HVN Commercial / House Promos	HVN-owned full spots/promos inside commercial breaks.

Upload and traffic an advertiser creative

Create/identify advertiser + campaign

Command → Advertising

Record advertiser, campaign name, flight dates, billing/proof requirements, and notes.

Upload creative

Advertising → Creative upload

Select the correct type: screen bug or commercial. Add duration where applicable.

Set eligibility

Creative/campaign

Set National vs local, eligible markets, date window, max plays/frequency constraints, and approval status.

Approve only after QC

Advertising/QC

Check correct media, duration, audio, branding, legal/contract requirements, and market eligibility.

Do not TAKE an unapproved or out-of-flight creative

Master Control

Trafficking checks should block or warn on approval, type, date, market, and max-play failures.

Paid screen bug sequence

Butterfly currently visible
→ TAKE Screen Bug Ad
→ Butterfly fades out
→ Advertiser graphic fades in
→ Hold for configured duration
→ Advertiser graphic fades out
→ Optional Butterfly retrigger starts from frame 0

Advertiser fade-in and fade-out durations should be configurable. Verify the resulting sequence in Preview before first paid use.

Commercial Break Builder

Create or duplicate a break template

Command → Commercials

Choose market scope: national or specific local variant.

Add spots/promos in exact order

Break timeline

Paid commercials and HVN house promos must retain their inventory type.

Verify total duration

Break Builder

Compare planned break duration to the program break window. Do not rely on rough visual estimates.

Preview the entire break

Preview

Watch start→all transitions→end/return.

CUE

Master Control

Prepare break; CUE must not air it.

TAKE

Master Control

Start the break once, then watch actual program monitor and proof-of-play state.

ABORT / RETURN TO PROGRAM if needed

Master Control

Use only the rehearsed return control. Verify all markets return together when the break is synchronized nationally.

Proof-of-play fields

For paid delivery, record at least: campaign, creative, market, program, scheduled start, actual start/end, completed/interrupted status, inventory type, national/local scope, and available audience estimate. Also log station-ID cues when operationally useful.

Proof-of-play proves what your system actually aired; it should not claim precision the telemetry cannot support.

Scheduled National and local commercial avails

Commercial Break Builder creates approved break clocks. Schedule / Rundown places those clocks as Commercial Break / Local Avail blocks that may overlap a Program block.

National break: applies to National and is inherited by local markets unless a local break is active for that same window.
Local substitution: a market-specific break clock replaces National during the overlapping local window. If the local pod ends while the National window remains active, National inventory resumes for the remainder.
Manual cut: TAKE BREAK remains available for an immediate unscheduled interruption.
Prerecorded file: the program timeline is held during scheduled commercials, so viewers do not lose show content.
Live feed: the game/event/feed continues beneath the commercial pod and returns live when the pod ends.

Do not overlap two break blocks in the same market. v24 rejects that traffic conflict.