OUTtv is a small but mighty Canadian broadcaster turned OTT and streaming platform; a leader in LGBTQ+ programming. What began more than two decades ago as a linear channel has evolved into a multi-platform entertainment brand spanning direct-to-consumer apps and partnerships with Apple, Amazon, Roku, YouTube, and beyond. Today, OUTtv distributes premium LGBTQ+ content, including original productions, licensed series, films, and documentaries across 14 countries and five continents. With expansions into FAST channels and new territories like Taiwan, OUTtv continues to champion inclusive storytelling while delivering diverse programming to an ever-expanding global audience. 

Samantha Amaral, OUTtv Manager of Broadcast and OTT Operations, oversees a team of seven and every aspect of the network’s technical operations — from ingesting masters and managing archives to delivering to global partners and supporting internal editorial workflows.  Known for wearing many hats, Amaral also manages OUTtv’s IT infrastructure, making her team the backbone of broadcast and digital distribution. Despite the complexity and volume of work, her team ensures that content moves quickly, securely, and reliably. 

OUTtv’s initial use case was two-fold. Much of the team’s archived library still lived on office hard drives.  

“Archiving was one of our goals,” she explained. “Our fear was something happening to the building, we would lose all those files!” 

Early backups relied on a combination of hard drives and transfers to a local NAS via consumer-grade tools like Dropbox, WeTransfer, and Google Drive, which quickly fell apart as file sizes grew.  

Solving challenges at the beginning of the submission process was equally important. For a typical delivery package, OUTtv expects a ProRes master, either HQ422 or 444, texted and textless file, split-track audio, marketing materials, closed captions, and metadata. With package sizes growing, the team faced waiting hours or days to download the files from FTP, which was slowing down their workflows.  

“When we were using FTP, files took two to three days,” Amaral reflected. “There’s not a heck of a lot more you can do on that computer because it’s being bogged down by the download.”  

OUTtv was growing, workflows became more complex, timelines were shrinking, and the need for a more reliable file transfer solution became impossible to ignore. 

What started as a way to modernize archives quickly expanded into a full-scale delivery and ingest solution. For a typical delivery package, OUTtv expects a ProRes master, either HQ422 or 444, texted and textless file, split-track audio, marketing materials, closed captions, and metadata. With package sizes growing, the team faced waiting hours or days to download the files from FTP, which was slowing down their workflows.  

OUTtv learned about Signiant from a partner when onboarding onto their streaming platform.  

“We got to see a few of the different ways they did delivery,” Amaral said. “That was our first introduction to Signiant.”  

“The bulk of any file that comes in or goes out of OUTtv is touching our Signiant portals at some point, whether that’s being uploaded to the cloud or receiving the file from the producer. Or even sharing with our partners.” 

Since then, OUTtv cut transfer times dramatically, moving content in a matter of hours instead of days. That type of efficiency not only removed bottlenecks but also gave the team confidence to take on more partners, expand to new locations, and handle more content without compromising on timelines.  

“In the grand scheme of a project or show, it could be a week of us delivering. Now, we can get it back within a short period of time, even if they have to re-deliver, it’s a couple of hours rather than a couple of days,” Amaral said. 

Protecting Every Frame

Although speed improvements were the main priority, security was equally critical to OUTtv’s decision. 

“Some of the files have ironclad legal terms behind them,” said Amaral. “We wanted to make sure we were following any rules.”  

With increasing partnerships and a larger global presence, OUTtv needed enterprise-grade protection to keep sensitive, high-value content safe at every step of the workflow. Signiant’s secure transfer protocols offered exactly that, ensuring that even under tight deadlines, files could move quickly without compromising compliance or partner trust.  

The combination of acceleration, security, and simplicity is what truly sets Signiant apart for OUTtv. Signiant leverages proprietary acceleration technology that moves content up to 100x faster than standard internet transmission speeds that run FTP, giving the OUTtv team the confidence to meet tight deadlines. At the same time, the intuitive, user-friendly interface makes it easy for producers of all experience levels to deliver content through OUTtv branded portals, while Amaral’s team maintains full control and visibility behind the scenes.  

“Signiant brings a professional level of file transfer that you don’t get with the other consumer-based tools,” Amaral justified. “It’s leveled us up to a different league with file management.”  

Having peace of mind means Amaral’s team can focus on operations, not worrying about whether their transfer tools were exposing them to any unnecessary risk, all while providing a level of professionalism. 

Professional Doesn’t Have to be Complicated

OUTtv works with a range of producers, some seasoned, others completely new to delivering to a network.  

“We sometimes work with green producers, and this may be their first time delivering a show to a network,” Amaral noted. “We wanted something that felt familiar and easy to use but also had the speed and security behind it.”  

With Signiant, OUTtv could provide producers with a straightforward place to upload and a spec sheet, ensuring a smooth onboarding process no matter their level of experience. That ease of use minimizes training, reduces errors, and creates a simple, user-friendly tool for all. And importantly, Signiant offers this balance of usability and enterprise-grade functionality at a price point that fits OUTtv’s budget, making it both a practical and sustainable choice as the company continues to scale.  

The impact was immediate, for both operations and from a business standpoint.  

“Signiant smoothed out our delivery process from third-party producers,” Amaral stated. “We were able to make a very clear delivery path.”  

By eliminating bottlenecks, the team gained time and headspace to support  

What once stretched into days now only takes hours, freeing Amaral’s seven-person team to focus on growth instead of troubleshooting transfers. Now, with countless countries and myriad platforms, Amaral gives credit for this expansion to the improvements of their systems.  

“It speaks volumes of what we can do now because we are not tied up in our processes and are continually changing as we grow,” she explained. “Our first step was getting Signiant just to get faster transfers. And it’s kind of been snowballing since then.” 

For OUTtv, the transition to Signiant wasn’t just about solving the challenges of the past; it was about building a stable foundation for the future. With faster transfers, stronger security, and workflows that quickly and easily scale, Amaral and her team can now support global expansion without adding unnecessary complexity. The difference has been so transformative that going back to old methods isn’t even an option.  

“I can’t even think about going back to hard drive delivery or FTP,” Amaral laughed. “We’re not going backwards. We have Signiant.”  

With Signiant at the core of its operations, OUTtv is positioned to keep growing, continue innovating, and sticking to championing LGBTQ+ storytelling on a global stage.