Although much of the talk around automation concerns the pros
and cons of a channel-in-a-box, stepping back from the hardware
packaging, the issues are all about process.  Broadcast
automation fulfills the business transactions of the
broadcaster. This includes the program contracts and the
advertising. It lies at the focal point of the revenue chain,
where business meets technology.  Commercials and programs
follow two completely separate process chains, only converging
in master control. The content for the two formats is created
though similar acquisition and post-production workflows. But
from the business point of view, the processes are
transactional: selling airtime and buying program rights.  The
content workflow is subservient to these transactions, but must
be efficiently managed by the transactions. This is where media
asset management (MAM) becomes a tightly bound partner to
broadcast automation. MAM looks after the content, and
automation of the events.  Automation came from the quest for a
way t