Staff Spotlight: Kev Kenning, TV Metadata Services Manager

PA TV Metadata are one of the leading providers for metadata services, TV broadcast data aggregation, channel management for linear channels and VOD platforms. Its success for more than 30 years is down to its incredible team of dedicated, passionate and knowledgeable staff across our offices in Howden, Letchworth and London who we’re all extremely proud of.

Recently, we put Head of Client Services, Paul Wallace in the staff spotlight hot seat and got his opinion on the latest industry developments and more about him outside of work.

We catch up with Kev to find out what he sees as the biggest changes since he started working at PA, the best part of his role and most challenging, plus his thoughts on AI and what’s on his to watch list outside of work.

What is your job title and what does your role entail?

I am a TV Metadata Services Account Manager. My time is split between the commercial account management of more than 80 clients and working on the day-to-day management of our services. As part of a team of five people – three in Howden, two in the Letchworth office – we onboard new services, troubleshoot our systems and work on the continuous improvement of products and processes.

What would you say are some of the qualities you need to work in a role that deals with TV metadata?

Attention to detail is arguably the most important quality, as we need to ensure that our metadata is accurate. Perseverance would be a very close second – a large part of the job involves research to obtain the required metadata, and it can sometimes be frustrating when the data is difficult to find. Finally, the ability to understand how our data is used by clients and the impact it has on the services they provide. It’s sometimes easy to forget that a task as mundane as rearranging episode numbers to make a coherent season structure actually has a huge positive impact on potentially millions of viewers.

How have you seen the landscape of your industry change over the years and how is it impacted your job?

The way people consume content is the biggest change. When I started at PA, everything was based on linear TV schedules, and we provided these listings to print customers. If you wanted to watch something, you had to buy a TV guide, and make sure you tuned in at the right time. This morning, I streamed one of my favourite films (Thor: Ragnarok) on my phone while making breakfast – I think that shows how very different things are. While we still provide a lot of print products, my job no longer revolves around print deadlines, and our metadata is accessible around the world, 24/7 – making the challenge of providing accurate and engaging content even more demanding. Added to this is the increasing amount of metadata that is now required – as we are no longer constrained by the physical limitations of a printed page, we’ve moved from providing a simple synopsis for each programme to adding cast, crew, biographies, images, trailers, production details etc… all of which needs to be 100% accurate for consumers.

What’s the best part of your role?

Being part of a dedicated and highly experienced team. Due to the nature of our roles, we never know what each day has in store for us, but being supported by each other makes a huge difference – especially, for example, when taking on a new contract or project that has seemingly impossible requirements (but we do love a challenge!)

And the most challenging?

Trying to stay organised in an ever-changing world. Every day we face the unexpected, so keeping on track with projects when there are constant distractions is always a bit of a battle. However, life would be boring if everything went to plan.

What role do you see AI having in the world of metadata – could it be a help or hindrance?

AI has the potential to improve the automation of metadata creation and curation, but at present the accuracy and quality of data cannot be assured. It’s a very useful tool, but at the end of the day a human being is still required to fact-check, re-word and ensure the data fulfils the needs of our customers.

What are your hopes and goals for 2024?

I’m looking forward to making further progress with VOD platform data, as we’ve been steadily increasing our involvement in this area for some time. This will allow us to expand our portfolio of products, and the changing demands of customers is also likely to drive improvements across our systems, which is always a bonus.

What TV series are you currently watching or planning to watch in the future?

As a father of two teenage girls, I don’t have much control over the TV remote. YouTube seems to take up most of the day – but that’s not a bad thing, as there is an incredible amount of good content out there. I recently rewatched Loki, and I really need to catch up on Season 2 of Reacher. Looking further ahead, I can’t wait to watch the new Daredevil: Born Again series.

Keep posted for our next Staff Spotlight!

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Contact the PA TV Metadata team here.