Schedule a non-episodic program of exact block duration using a collection

Let’s schedule a non-episodic program using an automatic curation collection such that once scheduled, the total duration of the program should be exactly equal to the block duration. The total program duration includes the duration of assets available in the non-episodic program, ad breaks, as well as pinned assets. 

Assumption: The program needs to be scheduled for an exact block duration of 60 minutes. When scheduled, the assets in the program should be arranged in a random sequence  irrespective of the asset order chosen while building the master collection.

1. From the CONTENT MANAGER pane → Collection tab, locate the master collection if it is already available in the PLANNER application. Else, build a new master collection. Check out this section for details.

2. Ensure that the ad media is configured for this collection before scheduling. Check out this section for details 

3. Ensure that the scheduling date (the day on which the non-episodic program has to be scheduled) is visible in the scheduling calendar.

4. From the CONTENT MANAGER pane, drag the collection to the scheduled start time and date in the calendar.
    

5. Configure the Schedule Collection window displayed on the right pane of the PLANNER application. 

   1. On the left pane in the Schedule Collection window, select the Schedule Type as Non Episodic and provide the Target Duration as 1 hour (01:00:00).

   2. Ensure that the ‘Start time’ and ‘Scheduling Date’ chosen in the Schedule Collection window match with the program’s start date and start time. 
      
      

   3. Click the Rules tab on the right pane, and configure the following:

      1. Choose the number of ad breaks that you wish to schedule in the program.

      2. Choose the asset order of the program as Shuffle.    
              
                            

6. Click the SCHEDULE button available in the bottom-right corner of the Schedule Collection window.
   
   

Once done, a non-episodic program will be scheduled such that the assets, along with the ad breaks, will have a total duration of precisely 60 minutes. Open the Program Details window