Italian broadcaster takes audience engagement to another level by integrating Cisco WebEx with Internet-streamed TV.

1. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Challenge
The media industry is finding new ways to deal with rapid change: seizing cost
advantages from broadcasting over IP networks, reaching new audiences through
Internet streaming, and optimizing production efficiency with collaboration tools.
At the forefront of this innovation is Radio Televisione Italiana (RAI). The public
broadcaster balances advertising and progamming through an impressive network of
14 TV channels, six radio channels, and dozens of web portals. These operations are
supported by four main content production sites in Rome, Milan, Naples, and Turin,
along with local editorial offices in all Italian regions.
Several years ago RAI deployed voice-over-IP at Saxa Rubra, its main news
production campus in Rome. Today it has over 7000 Cisco® Unified IP Phones.
More recently RAI has deployed a wide range of Cisco collaboration solutions,
including Unified Customer Center Enterprise, Unified Customer Voice Portal,
Jabber®, and TelePresence®.
“Originally we invested in collaboration to improve employee productivity and the
quality of work,” says Angelo Maria Caso, IP and SAN engineering manager, ICT
Division, RAI. “We made audio and video comms available from the desktop and
while traveling using mobile devices.”
The latest addition to this suite, Cisco WebEx® Meeting Center, sparked an ingenious
idea for injecting more fun and participation into programming. Caso says: “We saw
the chance to experiment, blending collaboration applications with social networks in a
way that builds new relationships with live audiences.”
Solution
To launch the idea, RAI decided to enhance TV Ribelle, a popular kids TV channel,
by introducing a weekly follow-up program. The web-streamed broadcast provides
a platform for live discussion and debate among its mainly teenage audience using
the rich functionality of Cisco WebEx Meeting Center.
Customer Case Study
Building New Relationships
with Live Audiences
Italian broadcaster takes audience engagement to another level by integrating Cisco WebEx with
Internet-streamed TV
Customer Name: Radio Televisione
Italiana
Industry: Media
Location: Italy
Number of Employees: 10,000
Challenge
• Build relationships and audiences
• Make experience more memorable so
viewers return on regular basis
Solution
• Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, giving
viewers of TV Ribelle the program option
of live interaction via audio, video, and
web chat
Results
• Audience participation is much richer,
scalable, and cost efficient
• Greater intimacy and interaction help
grow audiences
• Replicable model for other TV shows and
social media channels
© 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Page 1 of 2

2. “By streaming it live, we
gave the program a closer
feel for teenagers.”
Angelo Maria Caso
IP and SAN Engineering Manager, ICT Division
Radio Televisione Italiana
Customer Case Study
Before the program, kids surfing the RAI website can complete a form asking to
participate. Parental agreement is requested. If successful, the teenage viewers
receive an email with a WebEx link to connect. During the actual broadcast, the
presenter uses a PC in the studio to set up live sessions via audio, web chat, or
video with the viewer connecting via a webcam, for example.
Delivered as a cloud service, the solution was set up and fine-tuned to support live
TV streaming by partner Italtel.
Results
The innovative deployment of Cisco WebEx Meeting Center, a first for the media
industry in Italy and possibly worldwide, is providing RAI with a much richer, scalable,
and cost-efficient way of interacting with viewers in real time. This capability offers
the TV Ribelle audience a more memorable experience and the ability to contribute
directly to the program, all of which are extra reasons to return.
“The intuitive video and web chat features of the WebEx platform offer a natural fit
with social media channels,” says Caso “By streaming it live, we give the program
a closer feel for teenagers.”
In fact RAI is so pleased with the results that it’s evaluating the solution to help drive
live participation across other TV programmes and channels. Other options under
consideration include moving to an on-premise WebEx model, enabling potential
cost savings through greater content sharing and integration of telephony and
videoconferencing services.
For More Information
To learn more about the Cisco architectures and solutions featured in this case
study, go to:
www.cisco.com/go/collaboration
Product List
Collaboration
•• Cisco WebEx Meeting Center
•• Cisco Jabber
•• Cisco TelePresence C90 and SX20 Quick Set
•• Cisco Unified Contact Center Enterprise
•• Cisco Unified Customer Voice Portal
•• Cisco Unified Communications Manager (Version 9.1)
•• Cisco Unified IP Phones (7900, 8945, 8961, and 9971 Series)
© 2014 Cisco and/or its affiliates. All rights reserved. This document is Cisco Public Information. Printed in the UK ES/1214 Page 2 of 2
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