Vista Group launches AI-driven podcast feature with Microsoft Azure

Vista Group has embarked on a significant cloud-first initiative with Microsoft Azure, featuring one of New Zealand's largest cloud consumption agreements. This move aims to provide cinema operators with actionable data insights rapidly and leverage generative AI to enhance business intelligence. The company has introduced a personalised daily podcast within its Oneview app, designed for cinema leaders to obtain critical performance information as they start their day.

The cinema exhibition industry is multifaceted, involving numerous elements from weekly new movie releases, complex food and beverage operations, to sophisticated technology, and personnel management. Vista Group, which is a leader in global film industry technology, developed the Oneview app to assist cinema CEOs and senior management in consolidating data from various operations. Launched in 2023, Oneview compiles cinema, movie, and audience data from comprehensive solutions including Vista, Numero, and Movio.

Information such as box office revenues, admissions, food and beverage expenditures, ticket pricing, operational KPIs, and staff performance is processed in real-time on Microsoft Azure, enabling immediate actionable insights. Matthew Liebmann, Chief Product, Innovation and Marketing Officer at Vista Group, said, "Oneview marked the first time Vista united data in this way for our clients. The way we present the data in the app tells the story of their business, right down to the individual theatre and showtime level, and in the context of the overall market."

Addressing the need for accessible and timely content, Vista Group decided to innovate further by leveraging generative AI. "We want our app to be the first thing executives open each morning. Most people I know start their days getting ready, wolfing down breakfast and commuting to work – reading and deep analysis are rarely an option," added Liebmann.

In June 2024, Vista Group formalised a landmark cloud services agreement with Microsoft, intensifying its scale and innovation capabilities. Vista Group was also part of Microsoft's Technology Center AI First Movers programme in 2023, which provided additional support to explore pioneering ideas using AI. One notable concept considered whether the data tables and charts in Oneview could be converted into an audio briefing for cinema leaders to listen to during their morning routines.

Daniel Scott-Raynsford, Partner Technology Strategist at Microsoft New Zealand, commented, "Vista Group is ahead of the curve. They’re using leading-edge tools like agents, which have really only been around as a concept for less than a year." The collaborative effort added GPT-4 generative large language model via the Azure OpenAI service, integrating Azure Text to Speech technology. This innovation converted data into audio briefings, summarising only essential information for cinema managers.

As a result, Oneview now offers a podcast-style digest, delivering information such as overnight box office figures, admissions, market share insights, at-risk showtimes, food and beverage performance, and upcoming movie pre-sales during executives' commutes. Transcripts are also provided for accessibility. "This is business-oriented AI that seeks to be of everyday use by being real-time, future-focussed, and decision-oriented. It can have a material impact on your day and your organisation's performance," stated Liebmann.

The podcast feature will be available to all Oneview clients globally, with additional features such as multi-language support. Daniel Scott-Raynsford remarked, "There’s a lot of leading-edge stuff behind the scenes. This just makes it look easy."

Vista Group intends to continually enhance the Oneview platform, including more personalised insights and new features leveraging Azure AI. Planned developments include First Draft features that suggest text for emails in the customers' brand voice and interactive fan experiences using generative AI. Liebmann noted, "When we launched Oneview, the intention was to reveal how you’re performing, why, and recommend what you should do to seize every opportunity. Generative AI takes that to the next level, in the most accessible way possible."

Scott-Raynsford anticipates broader applications, saying, "In the future, we think every business with the level of data Vista Group holds will adopt this model for their own clients. This is the start of something really big."