Inside the START Streaming Service Editorial Team

Before a movie or TV series appears on the streaming platform, the editorial staff puts in a lot of prep work. Dedicated teams handle everything from technical editing and design to storefronts, managing the children’s section, media planning, content review, video processing, copywriting, and localization. An article covering all the teams and their work would be too long, so we opted for a series of articles instead.

In the opening article, Margarita Gorlina, the chief editor of the department, takes us through the editorial team’s journey from its inception in 2017 to the present day.

Before we dive into the history, let’s break down the terms we’ll be using:

admin panel — cms — website management system,

FTP — a protocol for transferring files over a network,

encoder — video encoding system,

editorial lineups — compiled and published manually by editors,

automatic lineups — compiled based on an algorithm,

API — an intermediary between an application and a service,

locale — a set of language and cultural parameters that determine how data is displayed on your device,

crush admin — server administration program,

multiplex — a bundle of TV channels combined into a single digital package for broadcasting,mandatory for all streaming platforms and cable operators.

2017–2020

When I joined START in July 2017, there was no editorial department yet, but some content had already been uploaded via FTP, and the development team had created our first admin panel. With only a few months until the project launch, I had to quickly assemble a team to process and upload content to the site and set up our first storefront. Few people know that Spain was the first test country for START.

In 2017–2018, the core of the editorial team included two editors for the adult and children’s sections, a lead editing director, a senior designer, a lead copywriter, and a production editor. Occasionally, freelancers under civil contracts, such as designers, assisted us.

Back then, the editorial department’s main tasks were receiving, processing, and releasing content, as well as creating storefronts and catalogs for users on all devices — web, mobile, and TV. And, of course, partnering with others was a priority from the start. Some partners collaborate with us via API, others through FTP.

2020–2021

In 2020, the editorial department began to grow rapidly. This expansion was linked to the launch of our international service, start.film. At that time, our team grew to include several designers, editors, translators, an editing director, and a project manager. We translated the interface and all content descriptions, localized posters, and prepared subtitles in four languages: Croatian, Bulgarian, English, and Serbian. We uploaded content and designed storefronts for each locale of the new service. We prepared no less than 300 hours of content for each language. Later, the project was put on hold, we said goodbye to the translators, and the designers and editors were integrated into the main editorial department and assigned to different teams. By then, the amount of content had doubled since 2017, and we had also introduced new features to the website.

The most significant change in 2020, especially for me as a manager, was the transition from a vertical to a horizontal structure. This divided the editorial staff into different directions/groups, each under its own manager. Once responsibilities were divided, we could begin developing the functionality we had been working on and jointly launch new features.

In the summer of 2021, we soft-launched the Journal. Looking ahead, the Journal faced a challenging path, with several changes in the team and strategy. Ultimately, by the end of 2022, the project was entirely managed by the editorial team’s copywriting group.

In late 2021, with input from the editorial team, we launched two of our TV channels, Start Air and Start Word, each featuring 400 hours of content. It was then that the first screening and TV editors appeared in the editorial department. Because of stricter regulations and screening rules for all content, including content for children, the screening team expanded into a separate division.

2022–2024

In 2022, we began to develop the TV segment on the platform. During spring, we launched 20 multiplex TV channels, and we’ve since added paid channels, which now number over two hundred, all technically managed by our editorial team.

There is a dubbing studio called MOYGOLOS in St. Petersburg. They’ve been dubbing foreign content into Russian for START for four years now. They have completed over 50 projects for us to date.

Interaction Between Departments

The editorial team interacts with almost the entire company. This interaction falls into two categories: when we provide content and when we handle other tasks. A team of content and TV editors gets content ready for the TV channels Start Air, Start Word, and Epic. They handle everything from receiving and screening the content to editing and uploading it to the broadcast operator. The localization team produces content for the Digital Content Development Department. Working with the Business Development Department, our goal is to provide all START content to our partner that is available for their territory.

We maintain a strong connection with the Development Department, as all major programs through which we manage the service and encode content are written and technically supported by our developers. For several years, we’ve had a Content Admin working group, where we collaborate to improve our internal website systems, making them better, faster, more efficient, without disrupting what is already available to users. I should also mention our work on the recommendation system, for which the editors set the requirements, and then we all test the accuracy of the algorithm together.

Together with the Product and Analytics Departments, we formulate hypotheses and assess the effectiveness of the platform’s core functionality, which drives key product growth and development metrics. The editorial team has a group dedicated to developing our service’s products, comprising editors who oversee the website. This year, the main focus of the working group is our main page, including its features, lineups, and internal promotions. We’re analyzing the effectiveness of promotional tools, personalizing them, and scaling them across all platforms. In late February, the entire working group took a training course on product analytics.

Together with the Marketing Department, we launch original projects, advertising campaigns, push notifications, and newsletters. We strategize on adapting the platform for specific title releases, making each release a special event for users on all devices. We work together from the announcement stage before filming starts, and we keep making behind-the-scenes movies even after the final episode is released. We also put together hero lineups, create posters, support promotional videos for the season or specific projects, and update the design as our focus changes.

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