Publication review

Before an asset is published, a Content Reviewer who did not prepare it looks at the processed revision. The decision is recorded against that exact revision, with the outcome, the reason, the date and a reference to the evidence the reviewer relied on. The outcome is Approved, Returned or Rejected. A new decision starts as Pending until the reviewer completes it.

Evidence documents sit on the asset: rights clearances, caption files, content ratings, music licenses. Each has a title, a document date, an external reference and a verified marker with the name of the person who checked it. The reviewer reads this evidence alongside the transcode outcome and the run before deciding.

• Independent reviewer. The person who prepared the revision cannot approve it. The reviewer is named on the decision.
• One decision per revision. The decision records the revision it saw. A changed revision needs a new decision before it is published.
• Verified evidence. Each evidence document is marked verified by a named person. Unverified evidence stays visible until someone checks it.

Agree who may review in each organization and what they check: picture quality, captions, rights windows, content rating. Agree when to return a revision for a fixable gap and when to reject it outright. Agree which evidence documents are required for each content type, and who may verify them. Set a turnaround target for pending decisions so titles are not held up before a launch date.

A drama episode reaches review at revision 2. The reviewer finds the Spanish caption file attached but unverified, and the music license dated after the planned launch. She records Returned with the reason “Spanish captions unverified; music license starts after launch”. The operator gets the license reissued and the captions checked. The evidence documents are updated and verified, and the asset is processed again as revision 3.

The reviewer approves revision 3, citing the verified license. The asset moves to Reviewed and the operator publishes it. Had the operator tried to approve her own revision, the decision would not be accepted, because the preparer is never the reviewer.

• Pending Review Decisions — Decisions waiting for the reviewer, with asset, revision and evidence reference.
• Assets Awaiting Review — Processed assets with revision, transcode outcome and duration, ready for review.
• Unverified Evidence — Evidence documents not yet checked, with date and external reference.

• Upload to publication: The review decision that releases a revision for publication.

Check roles and permissions before naming reviewers.