Premise

Live television game shows thrive on audience engagement, and selecting participants fairly and efficiently is crucial. Sharjah TV, known for popular live programs like Al-Neshan, required a highly reliable, scalable, and fraud-resistant shuffle system to manage audience selection during game shows, particularly during Ramadan, when demand surges. Since these events are broadcast live, even a minor technical issue could result in significant losses and reputational damage.

Challenge

• Live Broadcast Risks: Any failure in the shuffle system could disrupt the show and lead to financial and operational setbacks.
• Scalability & High Availability: Multiple live TV shows needed a system that could scale across data centers within minutes.
• Customization Needs: Each program had a unique theme requiring a flexible shuffle screen design.
• Fairness & Fraud Prevention: Ensuring fair play despite repeat participants and preventing fraudulent entries.
• Comprehensive Tracking & Management: From registration to gameplay, prize distribution, and blacklist maintenance, everything needed to be automated.

Solution

To tackle these challenges, we developed a top-tier Shuffle system designed specifically for real-time, live TV audience participation.

Key Features

• High Availability & Scalability: Auto-scaling within 2 minutes across multiple data centers to prevent downtime during peak showtimes.
• Fully Customizable Shuffle Screen: Dynamic UI to align with different show themes, ensuring seamless visual integration.
• Annual Reusability: The platform is built to be reused every year across different live TV programs, reducing operational costs.
• Advanced Shuffle Options: Shuffling can be done based on criteria like age, gender, nationality, and other demographic factors.
• Seamless Game Lifecycle Management:
  • Registration → Selection & Shuffling → Game Participation → Winning & Award Allocation
  • All managed within a single platform, reducing the burden on producers.
• Fraud Detection & Prevention:
  • Proprietary algorithms flag suspicious participants based on participation history, blacklists, Emirates ID records, and more.
  • Blacklist Management to maintain records of fraudulent entries and prevent abuse.
• Fair Play Algorithm: A proprietary shuffle algorithm ensures fairness even if participants enter multiple times across multiple days.
• RBAC Integration: Linked to the common Role-Based Access Control (RBAC) system of Sharjah Broadcasting Authority (SBA) for controlled access.