Bella Hawker, Product Manager, 9Now: curating the tools for success

Bella Hawker, Product Manager in the Curation Tools team at 9Now, Australia’s leading broadcast video on demand platform, shares her experience working on our platform that’s geared  up to deliver every single Olympic event live to Australian viewers. In her nine months at Nine, Bella has played a pivotal role in tackling the unique challenges posed by the Games, providing the opportunity to develop her leadership and resilience on the job.   

The Olympic challenge

The curation tools team handles the backend systems that manages the content for 9Now. Their primary role is to manage the Video Management System (VMS), which handles all the video assets, images, clips, and metadata that appear on 9Now. Before her team was formed, these tasks were scattered across multiple teams, making content management cumbersome. The growing amount of content and users prompted the creation of a dedicated team to address this need.

The Olympics and Paralympics posed a significant challenge for the team, with the sheer volume of live events to be uploaded. Normally, it would take about two minutes to upload each event manually. With thousands of events, Bella calculated that this would have taken around 80 days! Clearly an impossible task. The team came up with a solution: the bulk upload feature. This new tool allows them to upload multiple events simultaneously, using a CSV file to handle the data. This innovation ensures that live streams are timely and efficient–a crucial factor for live coverage.

Developing new skills through problem solving

Working on such a high-profile project has pushed Bella to develop new skills, particularly in leadership and resilience. 

“There’s so many things that need to get done and problems that need solving. It gives people the opportunity to take ownership. I’ll go away and investigate and sort out one problem, while others are doing similar tasks for a different problem.”    

With numerous road bumps along the way, it would be easy to lose your cool, but Bella has learned to stay calm under pressure. She’s realised there’s always a way to resolve an issue; you just need to gather the team and work through the problem together.

Collaborative Teamwork

At 9Now, collaboration between teams is the key to success. Bella’s team frequently works with various departments, including the content operations and programming teams, to ensure a seamless user experience. This collaboration is vital, especially during high-pressure times like the Olympics. Different teams come together to solve complex problems, share insights, and develop innovative solutions. 

Within the curation tools team, one of the highlights for Bella has been the supportive culture. When the team was formed, they established ‘social contracts’ to ensure effective communication and mutual support, especially during intense periods. These agreements help the team stay motivated and understand each other’s ways of working, which is crucial for maintaining a positive work environment.

The Future of 9Now

The future of TV is firmly rooted in streaming, and Bella takes pride in working on a product that’s already used in almost every Australian home. 

As more viewers shift from traditional TV to streaming services, 9Now is evolving to position itself on a par with global streaming giants like Netflix. Unlike other platforms that are focussed solely on video on demand, 9Now is leveraging its strengths in live streaming and sports coverage. By continuously innovating, collaborating and solving different problems, Bella and her team are helping to make 9Now the best it can be to deliver exceptional content for our audiences.