NEWARK, NJ—Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America has announced a partnership with NEP Group, integrating Panasonic’s Kairos IP live production system with NEP’s recently announced NEP Platform, a new software orchestration system.
The companies said the integration enables media companies and live events service providers to deploy flexible and scalable production workflows that bridge traditional and IP-native infrastructure without vendor lock-in.
“Media, broadcast, and streaming companies are rapidly shifting to software-defined, IP-based production architecture. Operators face mounting pressure to reduce infrastructure footprint, increase workflow agility, and support hybrid cloud–on-premises models without compromising the frame-accurate reliability live production requires,” said Steve Milley, Vice President, Professional Video and Audio Systems at Panasonic. “Our partnership with NEP marks a meaningful step forward for Kairos’ open-platform vision, giving customers a clear, validated path to IP. With flexible, scalable workflows, Kairos is designed to eliminate the integration challenges that have slowed adoption of software-defined production.”
NEP Platform allows broadcasters to customize and optimize their production environment, saving valuable time and resources. By achieving certified interoperability with Kairos, the two platforms share a unified control and data plane that allows operators to dynamically allocate production resources, trigger Kairos' multiviewer and production switching events, and synchronize metadata from a single interface.
The integration between Panasonic and NEP delivers operational advantages for production teams by streamlining control, scaling flexibility, and reducing deployment time, according to the companies. Operators can manage Kairos production switching, NEP routing, and resource orchestration through a single unified interface, eliminating the need for constant context switching. Additionally, the pre-validated integration was created to significantly reduce system commissioning time, with the goal of a faster, more efficient deployment.
“Through our ongoing partnership with Panasonic, we've been able to bring together best-in-class technologies into a unified, software-driven ecosystem,” said Dan Murphy, VP of NEP Platform. “Integrating NEP Platform with Kairos demonstrates how open, standards-based innovation can simplify complex workflows and deliver the performance and reliability live production demands.”
The collaboration builds on Kairos’ open architecture and established use across broadcast and live production environments worldwide. The platform exposes fully documented APIs through the Kairos Alliance Partners program, enabling third-party integrations and interoperability. Built on standards including SMPTE ST 2110 and NMOS, Kairos supports true software-defined workflows without legacy SDI constraints. The platform also aligns sustainability goals through its COTS-based, software-first approach, designed to reduce power consumption and physical infrastructure requirements.
The companies will showcase a joint demonstration at NAB Show 2026 in Las Vegas from April 19-22 at Panasonic’s booth (#C3509).
