BURLINGTON, Mass.—Avid has signed a strategic collaboration agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), to deliver a cloud-based production framework that helps film and television production companies address key industry challenges, including rising costs, reduced budgets, and increasingly complex workflows, the two companies said. The new collaboration will be showcased at the 2025 NAB Show 2025 in Las Vegas April 5-9.

The new Avid on AWS production framework gives studios, broadcasters, and streaming services unparalleled access to Avid’s post-production solutions—offering the award-winning Avid Media Composer video editing software and Avid NEXIS storage on AWS, Avid said.

Unlike traditional on-premises post-production models, which require heavy upfront investment, the new Avid on AWS production framework delivers enterprise-class security, compliance, and seamless scaling, according to the company. The framework empowers TV and film production companies and post-production facilities to reduce infrastructure complexity, cut operational costs by as much as 40%, and shrink deployment time by roughly 60% through automated workflows. The framework also addresses the skills shortages many production teams face by providing remote access to global talent.

The new Avid on AWS production framework enables rapid deployment of production environments—in hours rather than days or weeks – by utilizing templates for specific project needs. This turnkey solution transforms traditional production workflows by enabling efficient, scalable, and secure cloud-based operations.

“Moving post-production to the cloud means we give creative teams faster, more efficient workflows and real-time collaboration, making it easier than ever for them to view and access media, and eliminate wait times that interrupt the creative process and flow,” Wellford Dillard, CEO at Avid, said. “At Avid, we know that every timeline tells a story, and we are committed to powering creators to craft and tell their stories, and capture inspiration anytime, anywhere.”

The Avid on AWS production framework will be available in AWS Marketplace and expanded offerings for film, TV, and enterprise production companies, including advanced training programs, will roll out throughout 2025.

“The collaboration between Avid and AWS helps set a new standard for efficient, global content production,” said Chris Blandy, Global Leader, Strategy and Business Development for Media & Entertainment at AWS. “Together, we are empowering the media and entertainment industry to accelerate the pace of implementation and content delivery. The Avid on AWS production framework will eliminate costly operational burdens and help maintain professional management standards for post-production.”

Also built on AWS and showcased at NAB Show 2025 is Wolftech News. Wolftech is an Avid company that enables newsroom teams to easily manage story-centric workflows. Wolftech News will be presented at the AWS Theater, Stand W1343 on Sunday, April 6 at 12:45 – 1:15 pm.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—Spain’s public broadcaster RTVE has inked a deal with LiveU to provide the IP bonding technology and cloud-based services that the broadcaster said will improve its content gathering capacity and production efficiency. 

As part of the agreement, LiveU is supplying more than 150 units, including multi-camera LU800s, compact LU300Ss and LU-Smart mobile applications, along with multiple instances of LiveU Ingest for automatic recording and metadata tagging of stories for RTVE’s use in domestic and international capital cities around the world, including across Europe, Asia and the Americas.

Given the scale of the project, RTVE carried out an in-depth examination of the technologies’ capabilities working with LiveU and LiveU's local partner, Sinopsys Distribución Integral SAU (SDI). After the rigorous product testing process across the market, RTVE published the tender dossier, with the contract awarded to LiveU, the companies said. 

Laura Llames, Country Manager for LiveU Spain, said: "We are delighted to have secured this important account in such a competitive environment, with the additional help and expertise of our partner, SDI. Our EcoSystem enables our customers to think and work differently, providing highly cost-effective and flexible ways of collecting and processing content. This, in turn, greatly enhances the viewer experience, enabling the capture of more and varied news and sports from across the country and internationally.”

The network has four main national centers: two in Madrid, one in Barcelona and one in the Canary Islands. RTVE's Torrespaña center in Madrid serves as the main hub and is where most of the signals pass through and therefore hosts a significant number of the servers, including LiveU Ingest. These main hubs account for approximately 50% of the field units. Each main center also has LiveU Video Return technology installed, which allows the field teams to instantly see what is being broadcast.

RTVE's territorial structure also has smaller regional center in the capitals of each of Spain's 17 autonomous communities, which, in addition to those served by Barcelona, Madrid and the Canary Islands, include Andalusia, Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, Navarre, La Rioja, Aragon, Castilla y Leon, Castilla-La Mancha, Valencia, the Balearic Islands, Murcia and Extremadura. 

Each of these regional broadcasters regularly contributes live news and sports to the channel's production. Each field unit benefits from the inclusion of LiveU Intercom and DataBridge capabilities. In December 2022, RTVE sent units to its correspondents around the world for international content gathering.

"We have worked very closely with SDI to secure this important and exciting deal from RTVE," Llames added. "It has been a complex process and we continue to work closely with SDI as both companies have developed a close relationship with RTVE. We understand the requirements, and the way the broadcaster works, and this provides us with a clear way forward as the relationship continues to evolve, along with our technology roadmap. We look forward to continuing to grow our relationship with RTVE.”

LONDON—Blackbird plc, a U.K.-based provider of the Blackbird cloud-based news production platform, has announced that digital news publisher TownNews has extended its adoption of Blackbird to 14 additional TV stations, bringing the total to 39 stations in 24 states. This is the third time the organization has expanded its use of Blackbird in less than 12 months, according to the company.

The additional stations are owned by seven broadcast groups that provide premium local news content to millions of viewers across the United States.

TownNews' TV news customers use the Blackbird platform in conjunction with the TownNews Field59 VMS to rapidly view, edit and publish video content in an SaaS cloud environment. 

In June 2018, Moline, Ill.-based TownNews launched the combined solution into 17 Meredith Corporation locations across 11 states. In December 2018, they extended this further into three networks owned by Block Communications.

"Our strong partnership with the successful TownNews group is growing quickly and has doubled the number of networks served within a year,” said Ian McDonough, CEO of Blackbird. “Blackbird and TownNews now serve 39 networks in 24 states which demonstrates our scalability. 

"The American news industry is evolving rapidly to accommodate digital consumption. This is where TownNews and Blackbird can add significant revenue advantages in speed and productivity. Commercially our partnership is a great example of a successful OEM strategy where Blackbird and TownNews land and then expand."