Managing Editor Inc. (MEI), an Adobe premier development partner and vjoon's K4 integration partner in the US, today announced that Editorial Televisa has begun live production with the vjoon K4 publishing system. Editorial Televisa is the Mexico-based print branch of Grupo Televisa, the largest media conglomerate in Latin America, known throughout the world for its television production, programming and broadcasting.

MEI distribution partner Informática Dalai SA de CV is handling K4 consulting, installation and training at Televisa. Dalai has already completed the first phase of deployment, which includes 110 users across 27 magazine titles currently producing live issues with K4 in Mexico City. Editorial Televisa is the leading publisher of Spanish-language magazines, with titles distributed in Mexico, the United States and throughout Latin America. Its portfolio includes popular women's publication Vanidades, entertainment title TV y Novelas and music magazine Furia Musical. Editorial Televisa also produces Spanish-language versions of renowned publications such as Cosmopolitan, Harper's Bazaar and Men's Health. Editorial Televisa's magazines have a paid annual circulation of 137 million.

Televisa decided to move to K4 in late 2008 to enhance productivity and improve quality, to prepare for future development and to increase overall accountability. The company was planning a comprehensive reengineering of its publishing workflow to manage its massive catalog in a more standardized and efficient manner, and decided it was necessary to incorporate a powerful, reliable editorial system. So far, Televisa production staff has been very pleased with the smooth transition to K4:
    •    "We chose K4 not only because of the software itself, which, on the pilot tests, was successful, but mainly because of the experience of the integrator, Informática Dalai, and their mastering of formal project-management methodology, excellent planning and well-defined implementation strategy."
    •    "The implementation team has been working closely with the end-users, who have never been left alone. Their good planning provided enough time to assist our editorial staff in creating the magazines with K4. The team is really excellent."
    •    "We did some research and on-site pilot evaluations among several publishing solutions, and what we found with K4 was that not only is the database very reliable, the system also enables workflows that help to make the work more efficient and collaborative."
    •    "Without any doubt, the teamwork was the main factor, and the attitude toward the final users transmitted a good spirit to move forward. I have been involved with many projects in which every stage is a constant struggle and everyone is downhearted at the end of the project, but in this case, the result has been the opposite. I think the planning and the preparation of this project before the implementation has been really helpful."

Since installing the system, Televisa has already seen a positive impact on its workflow management, and the publisher is already considering its future plans for K4. According to production staff, the results obtained so far have generated many ideas about development at the company, specifically regarding how Televisa can obtain even more measurable benefits thanks to the new software:
    •    "With the system as our cornerstone and key factor, I think in the future I can easily create job pools or any job segmentation we need, and then we will obtain a real benefit from the reengineering. Currently, we have indirect returns such as time control, but with the use of K4, we can now talk about information and we can talk about more control. We can now see more efficiencies in other areas, which are definitely a return on investment."
    •    "With this platform, at this very moment, if we need to create a new title, I have the technical and standardized elements to react quickly not only on the printed side, but also to distribute content possibly through Web publishing and syndication."
    •    "This implementation has been so successful that other areas within the company are willing to integrate their processes with K4. Some examples are the synchronization of a production calendar, creating a general schedule for commercialization, circulation and production, and automating the process of ad management through K4."
 
Televisa is already complementing its system with K4 add-on technologies from Dalai, including Executive Vision for K4. This Web-based solution helps executives and managers closely analyze daily editorial operations. Using an optimized PrimeBase database and a custom Windows service, K4 Executive Vision accesses and extracts sensitive production data from the K4 database server. It then generates a visual interface to track and report on specific key indicators, such as closing time by section, content produced, and detailed process follow up.

"We are proud to be working closely with Televisa's outstanding leadership, consultants and users at this landmark project," said Juan L. Aguirre, president and CEO of Informática Dalai SA de CV. "We enjoyed deploying the best editorial system in the industry, paired with our own software developments, to bring workflow efficiency and flexibility, as well as facilitating editorial accountability and enabling better decision-making. Our kudos goes to all involved for their insight, trust and teamwork effort."

K4 is helping hundreds of publishers across the globe manage their Adobe-based workflows with improved efficiency. Televisa's purchase further expands the system's dominance of the industry. "Televisa is a worldwide media leader and a recognized name in several markets," said Linda Bruce, vice president of enterprise sales at MEI. "They require a high level of quality for producing their massive editorial catalog, and we're proud that K4 has proven itself to be the tool to accomplish that."