Operating model and technology consulting
Operating models and technology strategy for media businesses
Advisory for leadership teams making decisions that are hard to reverse. Grounded in what those choices really cost to run once the press release is out.
Operating model and technology strategy
What the work covers
How should operations be structured? What should be built, bought, in-sourced or outsourced? Where should the next pound of investment go, and what should the technology roadmap look like? These are board-level questions, and they are usually answered by people who have not had to run the operation afterwards.
I have done both. The work covers the target operating model, including structure, roles, accountability and decision rights; the technology roadmap, costed and sequenced; vendor and sourcing strategy; and the investment business case that gets it approved.
The output is a recommendation a board can act on, with the running costs, risks and transition path set out plainly, not a deck that has to be reinterpreted by whoever inherits it.
When clients call
Where this makes the difference
The board has set a cost or efficiency target
A defensible model for reaching it that does not quietly move the cost or the risk elsewhere.
In-source or outsource?
An evaluation of the options against cost, control, resilience and capability, and a model you can build.
Operations are consolidating across brands or markets
One structure for content operations where there were several, with the roles and governance to make it work.
A major platform decision is due
A costed technology roadmap and business case before you commit, not after.
Typical output
What you get
- Target operating model
- Costed technology roadmap
- Sourcing and vendor strategy
- Investment business case
- Board-ready recommendation
How it runs
Senior, hands-on, start to finish
- UnderstandThe current model, its costs and where it strains.
- OptionsRealistic alternatives, costed and compared.
- RecommendA clear recommendation and the business case behind it.
- TransitionThe path from today’s model to the new one.
Relevant experience
Done it, not studied it
A group content supply chain and operating model for Sky
Strategy for a next-generation content supply chain across Sky UK, Sky Italia, Sky Deutschland and NOW, and the group operating model for content operations.
Read the case studySkySky Production Services and the Sky News move
Leading Sky Production Services, a 760-strong department spanning studios, post and content services, and helping move Sky News to new infrastructure.
Read the case studyWarner Bros. DiscoveryLaunching TNT Sports from BT Sport and Eurosport
Leading technical development and workflow operations for the Warner Bros. Discovery and BT joint venture that combined BT Sport and Eurosport as TNT Sports.
Read the case studyQuestions
What clients usually ask first
Do you write the business case as well as the strategy?
Yes. An investment business case and a board-ready recommendation are standard outputs, so the strategy arrives in a form that can be approved.
Is this strategy only, or delivery too?
Either. Some clients want the recommendation; others want me to stay and lead the transition. The work is designed so the second follows naturally from the first.
Who do you work with?
Broadcasters, sports rightsholders, production businesses and the investors who buy them, across the UK, Europe and the Middle East.
Other services
More ways in
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How it worksTechnical due diligence
Technical and operational due diligence on media acquisitions: what the asset really is, integration cost and risk, a red-flag register and a post-deal plan.
How it worksLet’s talk about what needs to change
Tell me the problem in a paragraph. I will tell you honestly whether I am the right person for it. The first 30-minute call is at no charge, and under NDA if you need one.
Start a conversationOr email darren.long@sasolo.uk