As-run reconciliation: how TV channels check what actually aired
No broadcast day airs exactly as planned. A match runs into extra time, news breaks in, a commercial arrives too late, an operator swaps a promo. The plan that traffic sent to playout and what viewers actually saw drift apart, a little or a lot.
As-run reconciliation is how a channel closes that gap: it compares the as-run log — playout automation’s record of what actually aired — with the planned schedule, explains every difference, and decides what to do about it before advertisers are invoiced and reports go out.
What is in an as-run log
The automation writes one line per event that played, usually including:
- the event or house ID, and the title of the material;
- the planned start and the actual start, to the frame;
- the planned and actual duration;
- a status: played, skipped, cut short, or failed;
- often the secondary events too, such as logos and graphics.
It arrives as a file once a day, or continuously when traffic and automation are connected through a standard such as BXF.
Why reconciliation matters
- Advertising revenue. Advertisers pay for spots that aired as booked. A spot that missed air, or aired outside its booked time, cannot be invoiced as if it had run.
- Proof of performance. Agencies ask for confirmation of what aired and when.
- Rights and licensing. Films and series are often licensed for a number of runs; the as-run is the count that counts.
- Rules on air. Advertising minutes per hour, protected hours for children’s programmes, and time windows for certain products are checked against what actually aired, not against the plan.
- An accurate guide. Programme guides and catch-up services are corrected from the as-run.
Reconciliation, step by step
- Collect the as-run. Import the day’s log from automation, or receive it event by event.
- Match each aired event to a planned one. First by event ID; where IDs are missing or changed, by material ID and a time window around the planned start.
- Classify the differences. Aired as planned; aired early or late beyond the tolerance; cut short; not aired; aired but never planned; replaced by other material.
- Decide what each difference means. Accept it, schedule a make-good, or pass a credit to sales and billing. Programme differences may need a note for rights or the guide.
- Close the day. Sign it off, so billing, sales and reporting work from the confirmed version.
Tolerance: which differences matter
A spot that starts two seconds after its planned time has still aired in its break. Each channel sets a tolerance: differences within it are matched automatically, and only those outside it go to a person. Without a sensible tolerance, a team spends its morning confirming hundreds of lines that were fine.
Durations are worth a separate check: a commercial that aired for 20 seconds of its 30 has not aired as booked, even if it started on time.
Make-goods and credits
When a booked spot misses air or airs outside the time it was sold for, the channel usually offers a make-good: a replacement airing of equal value, agreed with the advertiser. The make-good is a new booking like any other, so the usual traffic rules still apply — clash codes, break lengths, the product’s time windows. Where no suitable slot is left, the advertiser gets a credit instead.
Why plan and as-run disagree, and how to prevent it
| Cause | What it looks like | Prevention |
|---|---|---|
| Live overrun | Everything after the event airs late; spots dropped at the end of the day | Re-flow the day while it is on air, and re-place spots that no longer fit |
| Missing or late media | An item skipped, or replaced by a filler | Check media availability before the playlist is exported |
| Manual changes in playout | Unplanned events in the as-run | Make late changes in traffic, so plan and playout stay one |
| Timing mismatch | Every event a few seconds off, growing through the day | Agree frame rate, drop-frame and time zone on both sides |
| ID mismatch | Events that aired but cannot be matched | Use the same house IDs in traffic, playout and the media library |
Making reconciliation faster
- Match automatically, and show people only the exceptions.
- Give every difference a reason — “overrun of the live match”, “media missing” — so the decision is quick and the history is useful.
- Propose make-goods in breaks that still respect the booking’s rules.
- Reconcile every day, not at the end of the month, while people still remember what happened.
As-run reconciliation in 9eye
9eye reconciles the as-run log from playout against the plan, with a tolerance set per channel and every difference explained. Because programmes and breaks are planned in the same system, a live overrun is visible both in the programme schedule and in the spots it pushed out. With the AI agents, a reconciliation agent (in preview) matches the day, explains each difference and lists the spots that need a make-good — for a person to approve. Read more about 9eye TV traffic software and the AI agents.
More guides
- What is BXF? The Broadcast Exchange Format, explained — The SMPTE standard that traffic, scheduling and playout systems use to exchange schedules, as-run logs and content data.
- Drop-frame timecode, explained: 29.97 and 59.94 fps — Why 29.97 fps needs drop-frame timecode, which frame numbers are skipped, and how to convert between frames and timecode.