When CCMA, Catalonia’s public media powerhouse, launched its new digital platform 3Cat, demand for high-quality, accessible content skyrocketed. 3Cat needed to ramp up video production, especially for social media. However, their subtitle generation process was long and laborious. Each video required manual transcription, linguistic review, and a tedious process of integrating subtitles into the video editing tool. It was clear their manual process was slowing them down.
“Subtitling consumed 60% of the production time, leaving little room for creativity.”
To solve this, 3Cat turned to HappyScribe. The goal? Streamline the subtitling process to free up time for their core focus: creating great content.
The must-haves: Speed, ease, and Catalan accuracy
Beyond saving time, 3Cat needed a subtitling platform that could meet two critical requirements. First, and most importantly, it had to handle Catalan subtitling with precision. As a public broadcaster deeply committed to linguistic quality, 3Cat couldn’t settle for anything less than top-tier Catalan accuracy, on par with widely spoken languages like English and Spanish.
Second, it had to be user-friendly as it had to be used by a range of different roles from linguists, to content creators, and editors.
“We needed a solution that would integrate smoothly into our workflow. It had to be easy to use, as people with different roles would rely on it.”
HappyScribe checked all the boxes: speed, ease of use, and impeccable Catalan accuracy.
Top-notch accuracy in a less common language: Catalan precision helps 3Cat move faster
3Cat chose HappyScribe because it ticked all the boxes. The accuracy of Catalan transcription was a game-changer for 3Cat, meeting their highest standards for linguistic quality.
“There are many tools out there, but not many understand Catalan as well as HappyScribe.”
But it wasn't just accuracy, HappyScribe also made collaboration easy. The intuitive, user-friendly interface allowed seamless teamwork between content creators, editors, and linguists. Teams could easily communicate and move projects along thanks to flexible features like tagging.
“We set up a system within HappyScribe with four tags: reviewed, to correct, corrected, and ready to publish.”
This tagging system ensured every team member knew the status of each project at a glance.
Another standout feature was link sharing. From video editors to the linguistics team, everyone could access the content via a single URL, eliminating cumbersome file transfers and reducing bottlenecks in the workflow.
“The link feature has been invaluable. It allows us to send the URL to our linguists, who can access the video directly without file transfers, simplifying our entire process.”
Improving efficiency for over 100 users across teams
Since adopting HappyScribe, 3Cat has managed to subtitle over 50 videos weekly, with over 100 users benefiting from the tool’s efficiency and reliability. The time spent on subtitling dropped dramatically from 60% to less than 10%, freeing up resources for more creative and strategic tasks. Ferran describes this transformation succinctly:
"The best sign that something works well is the absence of complaints. With HappyScribe, there have been none."
To make the absence of complaints sustainable, effective communication and responsiveness between the client and HappyScribe have been crucial.
"What has surprised me the most is HappyScribe’s approach as a service that also learns from the client and their needs, adapting and incorporating new functionalities if necessary. This has been key for us, as it has created a seamless relationship where both parties benefit."
This collaborative environment of knowledge exchange and product adaptation has benefited both 3Cat and HappyScribe, leading to continuous improvements in Catalan transcription, which also benefit similar clients.
"In the case of 3Cat, it becomes more interesting with the unique aspect of a language like Catalan. With HappyScribe, there has been a collaboration to expand and improve the understanding of Catalan, reducing the need for human intervention and bringing it to the level of more widely spoken languages."
Looking ahead, 3Cat plans to expand its use of HappyScribe’s features, including incorporating custom glossaries and improving user management, allowing broader use across different areas like news broadcasting.
In a nutshell...
- Time spent on subtitling reduced from 60% to less than 10%
- 100+ users across departments, from editors to linguists
- 50+ videos subtitled per week across multiple platforms
Cristina G
Cristina G is a former journalist who transitioned into PR and Communications before diving into growth marketing and ultimately product marketing. She loves learning and writing about how HappyScribe customers use the product to achieve their goals.