As the demand for multi-platform consumption rises and the complexity of live events and VoD workflows increases, broadcasters, streaming platforms and other media organisations need access to reliable and scalable digital operation services to remain competitive.
Global media and entertainment (M&E) companies have spent years chasing revenue growth and expanding their subscriber base, but now they’re shifting gears to focus on profitability. With broadcasters, studios, OTT platforms, and sports networks facing increasing pressure to manage complex workflows at scale, and on smaller budgets, some forward-thinking organisations are realising the immense potential of Media Capability Centres (MCCs).
Media Capability Centres explained
MCCs offer on-demand scalability, allowing media enterprises to dynamically scale operations in response to market demands. This aligns with the global expansion of Global Capability Centres (GCCs), India now hosts over 1,500 GCCs across industries, including finance, retail, healthcare, technology, and manufacturing. These GCCs serve as strategic offshore hubs for innovation, product development, data analytics, and customer experience management.
Leading broadcasters, studios, and OTTs have already tapped into GCCs for IT, finance, and analytics; MCCs are an extension of this model, specifically built for content operations and media workflows, and we at Skandha are pioneering the MCC concept to offer the same scalability and efficiency benefits, presenting a strategic offshore alternative to traditional in-house operations and disjointed outsourcing methodologies.
- MCCs are expert hubs designed to streamline and scale media operations across industries, including broadcasting, digital platforms, sports, gaming, publishing, and advertising.
- They make processes like localisation, compliance, post-production, VFX, Ad-tech, programmatic media buying, news production, and audience analytics more efficient.
- MCCs cater to the unique mix of creative, operational, and technical needs in M&E businesses. Unlike traditional outsourcing, they take a more integrated, capability-driven approach to content operations—covering everything from ingest and metadata tagging to post-production, monitoring, and playout.
- With cutting-edge tech, MCCs use AI, cloud-based media management, and automated QC tools to improve workflows and minimise manual effort and human error.
- Businesses can opt for a fully managed MCC or a hybrid setup, keeping key functions in-house while outsourcing repetitive tasks.
- MCCs make it easy to scale up fast when production ramps up, new markets open, or content demand spikes seasonally.
Prolific media brands such as Bloomberg, Comcast, Disney, ESPN, Thomson Reuters and Warner Bros Discovery are already using GCC/MCC hubs in India.
Financially sustainable workflows
The surge in content volumes and multi-platform distribution i.e. the rapid growth of multi-lingual, multi-platform content consumption, has created a huge demand for scalable content operations.
By outsourcing infrastructure and services to MCCs, broadcasters, OTT platforms, and live sports and event producers can skip the heavy Capex costs of massive infrastructure and hardware. Plus, their in-house Opex could shrink by 30-50 per cent over time. Offshoring key but non-core tasks like content ingest, quality control, metadata management, and playout can slash costs by up to 40 per cent compared to keeping everything in-house.
With MCCs, organisations retain full control over their operations, enabling seamless scaling without dependency on third-party vendors and service providers; and with AI-driven workflows and automated quality control, content can be turned around faster than ever before.
Early MCC adopters in M&E
Leading industry players are aggressively restructuring operations to optimise costs and enhance margins, creating an opportunity for MCCs to consolidate and streamline content production, processing, and distribution. Major US and European broadcasters, streaming platforms, and studios are actively expanding offshore content operations, signalling a strategic shift toward MCC-driven models.
Global network broadcasters are expanding offshore MCCs for localisation, compliance, and AI-powered quality control, with many transforming them into full-fledged GCCs by integrating IT and analytics. Major film and TV studios leverage MCCs to streamline post-production and centralise automation and content workflows. And with growing multilingual demand, OTT platforms use MCCs for metadata tagging, adaptive distribution, and real-time monitoring, as well as audience analytics and ad-tech integration. For live sports and events, MCCs power real-time playout, AI-driven highlights, and remote production. Many sports broadcasters have embedded MCCs within existing GCCs for analytics, rights management, and digital streaming.
Holistic hubs
The M&E requirements for technology, talent, compliance and security can all be met with MCCs, making it an attractive end-to-end proposition:
- As AI, machine learning, and automation reshape content management, MCCs allow enterprises to integrate next-gen AI capabilities into media workflows at scale. This is because MCCs invest in AI-powered automation, virtualised production environments, cloud-based playout systems, and real-time metadata management.
- MCCs enable firms to scale operations and workforces dynamically, providing agility during market fluctuations.
- MCCs deploy highly skilled media professionals, AI engineers, workflow automation specialists, and multilingual content experts to manage diverse content requirements effectively.
- With global content regulations evolving, MCCs ensure adherence to GDPR, FCC, and regional broadcast compliance frameworks to avoid legal and reputational risks.
- Given the growing concerns with content piracy, cyber threats, and IP theft, MCCs deploy enterprise-grade security protocols, blockchain-based content rights management, and robust access control mechanisms.
- Many media firms are using MCCs as a strategic pathway to build larger, multifunctional GCCs, integrating IT, analytics, ad-tech, and AI-driven audience intelligence.
Future-proofing with MCCs
MCCs give media companies the flexibility to ramp up operations when content demand spikes and cut costs when things slow down. They also act as a backup system—offshore MCCs help ensure business continuity by tapping into global talent and secure, cloud-based content management.
With the cutting-edge tech we implement at Skandha, such as cloud editing, AI-assisted localisation, and blockchain-powered content security, our MCCs will keep media businesses ahead of the digital curve. Plus, they offer extra resilience when content distribution gets disrupted, especially during major global events that shake up traditional supply chains.
MCCs: A competitive necessity
The M&E industry is at a turning point—organisations that proactively embrace MCCs will gain a competitive edge, while those that delay adoption risk falling behind.
The MCC model isn’t just an operational shift—it’s a competitive necessity. With content volume, complexity, and competition rising, organisations that embrace MCCs today will be best positioned for scalability, efficiency, and long-term market leadership. Their ability to streamline operations and drive innovation makes them an indispensable asset for businesses aiming to stay ahead.
