How do I Set Up Programs and Episodes?
Programs organise your regular shows. A program has weekly broadcast slots, such as Sunday Service every Sunday at 9:00 AM for two hours. Into each slot you schedule an episode: a pre-recorded video, or a live broadcast.
During the slot, the channel airs the episode and shows viewers its details.
How Programs Work
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| Program | A show, with a name, synopsis, banner, trailer, status and weekly broadcast slots |
| Broadcast slot | One dated occurrence of a weekly slot, such as Sunday 7 September at 9:00 AM. Each slot takes one episode |
| Episode | One instalment of the show, either pre-recorded or live |
What airs during an episode's slot:
| Episode | What airs |
|---|---|
| Pre-recorded | Its video |
| Live, with your feed connected | Your live feed |
| Live, before your feed connects | The episode's trailer, or the program's trailer, on a loop |
| Live, with no feed and no trailer | A starts soon card, or your channel's usual content |
- Priority: an episode interrupts the playlist at its slot's start time. A live feed and scheduled broadcasts on the Schedule take priority over episodes. See What Airs When.
- What viewers see: your watch page shows the program's name and the episode's number, name and synopsis. The Channel API returns the same details.
Create a Program
- In the channel menu, click Programs.
- Click Create Program.
- Enter the Program Name, such as Sunday Service.
- Click Create Program. Cecula Stream confirms Program created. Finish setting it up below. The program's Setup tab opens.
A new program is a draft, so it doesn't air until you make it active.
Set Up the Program
On the Setup tab, under Basic Information:
| Field | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Program Name | The show's name |
| Program Synopsis | What the show is about, up to 5,000 characters |
| Program banner | The show's artwork. See Add a Program Banner |
| Program Status | Whether the program goes to air. See Program Status |
| Keep episodes available on demand | See Keep Episodes Available on Demand |
| Viewing / Broadcast Type | Live Program or On-Demand Viewing Only. See Broadcast Type |
| Episode Reminders | See Episode Reminders |
Click Save Program. Cecula Stream confirms Program updated.
Program Status
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| draft | New and not on air yet |
| active | Goes to air, and reminders are sent |
| paused | Keeps its episodes and schedule, but isn't broadcast. For example, between seasons |
| archived | Keeps its episodes and schedule, but isn't broadcast. For programs that have ended |
Only active programs go to air.
Broadcast Type
- Live Program: has a recurring weekly schedule. Its episodes can be pre-recorded or live.
- On-Demand Viewing Only: has no schedule, and its episodes are never put on air.
Add a Program Banner
- Under Program banner, click Upload banner.
- If this is your channel's first program or episode banner, choose a Banner format. It's a one-time choice: every program and episode banner on the channel uses this shape, so your artwork stays consistent.
| Format | Shape | Size |
|---|---|---|
| Widescreen | 16:9 | 1920 × 1080 |
| Cinematic | 21:9 | 2520 × 1080 |
| Classic | 4:3 | 1440 × 1080 |
| Square | 1:1 | 1080 × 1080 |
| Poster | 2:3 | 1080 × 1620 |
- Click Choose an image. It must be a JPG or PNG of up to 8 MB, at least the format's size.
- Drag the image to position it and scroll to zoom, then click Use this banner.
- Click Save Program. Until you do, the banner shows Unsaved — save the program to keep it.
To undo a crop before saving, click Discard crop. To take a saved banner off, click Remove.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| That image is …×…. … banners need at least …×…. | Use a larger image |
| That image is larger than 8MB. Try a smaller file. | Use a smaller file |
| That file is not an image. | Choose a JPG or PNG |
Add a Program Trailer
For live programs, Program Trailer sets a holding video. Choose it in Trailer video (optional), then click Save Program.
The trailer loops during a live episode's slot whenever the live feed isn't connected and the episode has no trailer of its own.
Episode Reminders
For live programs, Cecula Stream can email the channel owner when an upcoming slot has no episode. Under Episode Reminders, choose Remind me:
- Do not remind me
- 1 week before
- 3 days before
- 2 days before
- 1 day before
Or click Custom… to enter a number of days.
The email is titled An upcoming broadcast has no episode and has a Schedule an Episode button. It's sent once per empty slot, and only for active programs. If every slot has an episode, you're never emailed.
Set the Broadcast Schedule
For live programs, the Broadcast Schedule card sets the weekly slots:
- Click Add broadcast day.
- Choose the Day and the time it Starts.
- Choose how long it Runs for: 5, 10, 15, 30 or 45 minutes, or 1, 1½, 2, 3 or 4 hours.
- Repeat for each slot. A program can air more than once on the same day.
- Click Save Schedule. Cecula Stream confirms Broadcast schedule saved.
The card shows the program's total Airtime per week and the next dates it airs (Next up).
- Overlaps: if two slots overlap, the card warns Overlaps another slot — two episodes would share airtime. Avoid overlaps with other programs' slots too. When slots cross, the episode that started first stays on air.
- Time zone: slot times are West Africa Time (WAT).
- Existing bookings: changing a slot doesn't change episodes already booked into it. They keep the times they were booked for.
Schedule an Episode
- Click Schedule Episode. Schedule an episode opens on the Episodes tab.
- Choose the Episode type:
- Pre-recorded: plays a video from your Media Library at the scheduled time.
- Live: expects an incoming stream. A trailer loops whenever the stream isn't connected.
- Fill in the details:
- Episode number: filled in with the next number.
- Episode name: required.
- Episode synopsis.
- Video from media library: required for pre-recorded episodes. Only videos that are ready and playable on your channel are listed.
- Episode trailer (optional): for live episodes.
- Choose the Broadcast slot. Only free future slots from the program's schedule, up to 12 weeks ahead, are listed. Leave it empty to save the episode without scheduling it.
- Optionally, add an Episode banner. It uses the same shape as your program banners. Without one, the episode uses the program's banner.
- Click Schedule episode. Cecula Stream confirms Episode scheduled.
| Message | What to do |
|---|---|
| No slots available. Add broadcast days on the program's Setup tab first. | Set the program's broadcast schedule |
| That broadcast slot is no longer available. Pick another one. | Someone booked it first. Choose another slot |
| That video is not available for playback on this channel. | Choose a video that has finished processing and is usable on your channel |
Go Live for a Live Episode
- Going live: start your encoder during the episode's slot, the same way you normally go live. See How do I Stream from OBS or vMix?.
- Before your feed connects: the trailer or starts soon card plays.
- The Live Stream screen: shows an On Air card with what's playing. See When a Program Episode Is On Air.
- No stream at all: if no feed arrives before the slot ends, the episode is marked missed.
To keep a recording, switch on Auto-record Stream before the slot starts. See How do I Record My Broadcasts?.
Manage Episodes
The Episodes tab lists every episode with its number, name, PLAYOUT date, TYPE and STATUS.
| Status | Meaning |
|---|---|
| draft | Not booked into a slot |
| scheduled | Booked into an upcoming slot |
| on air | Its slot is running now |
| completed | Its slot has passed and it aired |
| missed | A live episode whose slot passed with no stream |
| cancelled | Its broadcast was called off |
Click an episode to expand it. It shows a player for its videos (Playout video, Trailer or Recording), and As viewers will see it: the program, episode, synopsis, broadcast window, type, and whether it stays available afterwards.
- Edit: click the pencil, change the details, artwork or slot, then click Save episode. To take an episode off the schedule, clear its Broadcast slot and save.
- Cancel a broadcast: on an upcoming episode, click the cancel button and confirm Cancel this broadcast? The slot becomes available again. Cecula Stream confirms Broadcast cancelled.
- Delete: click the bin and confirm Delete episode "…"? Any scheduled broadcast of it is removed too. A recording made during the episode stays in Catchup.
Keep Episodes Available on Demand
Tick Keep episodes available on demand on the program's Setup tab to keep episodes watchable after they air:
- Pre-recorded episodes become available once their slot has started.
- Live episodes publish their recording once it has finished processing. This needs a plan that includes recording, with Auto-record Stream switched on before the broadcast. If recording isn't available, the setup screen warns you.
Available episodes are returned by the Channel API's program episodes endpoint, with a link to play them. See How do I Use the Channel API?.