---
title: "Avail / Interstitial Manager"
canonical: "https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636101/Avail%20%2F%20Interstitial%20Manager"
format: markdown
---
**Avail/Interstitial Manager (AIM) allows stations to add sponsorship and interstitial content into 65-second breaks at the end of each scheduled program in the PBS 24/7 KIDS channel livestream.**
> Macro (toc)
**[Click here to view the latest AIM webinar on the Hub](https://hub.pbs.org/posts/aim-q-a-and-station-showcase)**** **(This link takes you to the PBS Hub website and requires a login. If you need access, [submit a support ticket](https://digitalsupport.pbs.org/support/tickets/new).)
## Overview
Back in 2017, the PBS 24/7 KIDS channel became available to stations via satellite for rebroadcast and multiple system operator (MSO) retransmission in their local designated market area (DMA). As part of the rebroadcast, stations can program sponsorship and interstitial content into 65-second breaks at the end of each scheduled program. These** 65-second breaks in the linear stream when stations can insert an interstitial are referred to as *****avails*** (short for availability). The Avail / Interstitial Manager (AIM) distinguishes station-specific streams instead of user-specific streams, which means all users localized to your station will see interstitial content from your station alone.
Interstitials through AIM are integrated into the KIDS livestream on all PBS KIDS platforms (site and apps) and on external partners SamsungTV Plus, Hulu and DirecTV.
The basic workflow for using this tool is pretty straightforward and entails:
- [uploading your video file as a pod](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5637193/Pods)
- [scheduling your pod](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5637175/Schedule) to appear in the linear stream
- [generating reports and invoices](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5637153/Reporting)
[View a PBS webinar about Avail/Interstitial Manager](https://hub.pbs.org/posts/aim-q-a-and-station-showcase) (This link takes you to the PBS Hub website and requires a login. If you need access, [submit a support ticket](https://digitalsupport.pbs.org/support/tickets/new).)
View a quick tutorial:
## Getting access
All stations must submit a Digital Support ticket to request access to the AIM console. For stations that don’t broadcast the KIDS 24/7 channel, you must first [request a waiver](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWDR8m0fzzqEQ9q11me8KssZHsazjL0vadkhTGriBUvV460w/viewform) from the KIDS team to begin using the console.
Note that additional steps are required after testing to launch your local interstitials on PBS-owned platforms. However, your local interstitials will automatically be live on all external partner platforms (SamsungTV+, Hulu Live, and DirecTV). Please see the [Testing section](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636101/Avail+%2F+Interstitial+Manager#Testing) to learn more.
For stations who should request a waiver, follow the steps below:
1. Fill out the [Waiver Request form](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdWDR8m0fzzqEQ9q11me8KssZHsazjL0vadkhTGriBUvV460w/viewform) for the KIDS team to review.
2. After the KIDS team reviews your request, you will receive a notification that your waiver was granted.
3. Once the waiver is granted, [submit a Support ticket](https://digitalsupport.pbs.org/support/tickets/new) requesting access to AIM.
4. The Support team will message you to set up access and go over test and launch processes.
For all questions, please [contact the PBS Support team](https://digitalsupport.pbs.org/support/tickets/new).
## Key features
The primary components that make up the Avail / Interstitial Manager include:
- **[Pods](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AVAIL/pages/5637193)** - The 65-second video, and associated metadata, assigned to a time slot.
- **[Spots](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AVAIL/pages/5637219)**** **- Individual video elements that can be of varying lengths and are used to create your 65-second pod.
- **[Rules](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AVAIL/pages/5636827)** - The mechanism by which pods are assigned to time slots.
- **[Schedule](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AVAIL/pages/5637175)** - The various views showing all pods and campaigns assigned to the time slots. A schedule displays a week's worth of data at a time.
[See the Glossary for more terms](https://pbs-docs.atlassian.net/wiki/spaces/AVAIL/pages/5636939)
## Benefits
Inserting sponsorship messaging into avails between programs helps stations monetize their KIDS 24/7 livestream. The AIM console provides an easy way for stations to run and export reports and generate invoices that address costs per view. [Learn more about generating invoices](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5637153/Reporting#How-to-generate-an-invoice)
## Console
The Avail console is located at [https://aim.console.pbs.org/](https://aim.console.pbs.org/). To begin using the console, you must first request access by [submitting a support ticket](http://digitalsupport.pbs.org/support/tickets/new).
Accessing the console does not mean that your scheduled pods will automatically go live. **[Please see the Testing section to learn more](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5636101/Avail+%2F+Interstitial+Manager#Testing)**
## Getting started
- Once you've been given access to the console, click **Login** in the upper right side of the page (Figure 1).
Figure 1
- Type your **email address** and **password** in the textboxes provided (Figure 2.1).
- Click **Sign in with Email** (Figure 2.2).
- If you do not have a PBS account, click **Create an account** and follow the steps to create an account (Figure 2.3).
Figure 2
You are redirected to the schedule view where you can see everything currently scheduled in your livestream. The schedule view is primarily used just for viewing your station's streaming schedule and any pods and campaigns you have scheduled, as well as available timeslots for pods and campaigns.
- The schedule view displays a full week of data with the current timespan displayed at the top of the page (Figure 3.1).
- Click the **timeframe** on the left and right side of the page to skip to a previous or future week (Figure 3.2).
- Click ***Export schedule*** to export the schedule (Figure 3.3).
- Each 24-hour period of time is split into 8-hour chunks that can be scrolled through by clicking each **tab** (Figure 3.4).
- Click on a **day** (Example: *Sun 4/23*) to see all times for that one day (Figure 3.5).
- Each time slot reserved for an interstitial is highlighted as a blue link; empty slots are blank (Figure 3.6).
Figure 3
## Navigation
- All functionality in the AIM console can be accessed from the **top navigation menu** and in the **Create dropdown menu** in the upper right corner of the page (A).
- All scheduling information can be accessed in the **body of the main schedule page** when you first log in to AIM (B).
## > Macro (anchor)
Testing
Before scheduling your pods to go live, it's important to familiarize yourself with the console by ***testing ***to ensure your pods run well.
**View the testing environment here: ****[https://aim.console.pbs.org/livestream/](https://aim.console.pbs.org/livestream/)**
When everything looks good and you're ready for your AIM instance to go live in production, [submit a support ticket](http://digitalsupport.pbs.org/support/tickets/new) stating that you are ready for your interstitials to go live. PBS will update your KIDS 24/7 livestream URL to pull in your localized interstitials.
PBS will notify you when everything is complete and when you should start seeing data for your scheduled pods populate the report section.
**[Learn more about using the livestream to test](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5637225/Livestream)**
> ⚠️ **Due to the way our external partners localize our KIDS 24/7 livestream, pods will automatically go live on these platforms, even if PBS platforms are not yet live. This means that anything scheduled during testing will be live and *****viewable to the public *****on SamsungTV+, Hulu, and DirecTV.**
## Next steps
Begin your AIM experience by **[creating a pod](https://docs.pbs.org/space/AVAIL/5637193/Pods#How-to-create-a-pod)**.