LAS VEGAS—IAMT, formerly known as IABM, has announced it will be offering an extensive program of sessions at InfoComm 2026, which runs from June 17 to 19, 2026 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Events include the InfoComm Spotlight Stage Partner Sessions, featuring an exciting panel of experts exploring everything from the rise of enterprise media production to how organizations are rethinking storytelling and content creation in the workplace.

It will so be hosting the IAMT Social Hour, where attendees can relax and unwind with the IAMT team and global MediaTech community on June 17 and 18 between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. at the IAMT Hub – N7055.

The full program is available here.

LAS VEGAS—At the 2026 NAB Show, the IABM has announced that it has rebranded itself as the International Association of MediaTech (IAMT) and unveiled a number of new initiatives.

Those include a new AI-powered intelligence platform and the IAMT Global Alliance.

The transition to IAMT represents a fundamental strategic shift reflecting the reality of today’s market, the group said.

“This is beyond a rebrand—it’s a recognition of the market we now inhabit,” said Saleha Williams, CEO of IAMT. “The media value chain has been permanently transformed, moving from hardware-centric silos to a fluid, software-defined, and cloud-integrated ecosystem. IAMT is a lever for our collective growth.”

Building on its broadcast heritage while expanding into a broader MediaTech ecosystem, IAMT said it now supports a wide range of sectors including streaming, enterprise media, AI-driven workflows, immersive experiences and emerging content platforms.

The group said it made the change at a time when it was seeing record levels of audience engagement and industry reach. In 2025 alone, the organization achieved an 8.8% LinkedIn engagement rate—nearly three times the industry average—alongside more than 356,000 website sessions and over 220,000 active users.

“IAMT is not just growing its audience—it is activating it,” said Williams. “We are delivering high-value visibility, meaningful engagement, and trusted influence that translates directly into stronger credibility and more commercially valuable connections for our members.”

A key component of its new strategies is the launch of MAI (MediaTech Agentic AI), an advanced agentic AI-powered discovery platform developed in collaboration with IAMT member Alpha Cogs. MAI is an integral part of IAMT’s new website, TheIAMT.org

MAI is trained on IAMT’s full knowledge ecosystem—including research, member thought leadership, journal content, and its Business Intelligence Unit—transforming the organization’s digital platform into an active, always-on engine for insight and discovery.

IAMT has also launched its new Marketplace platform as part of its reimagined website, designed to work in tandem with MAI to enhance member visibility and enable agentic AI-powered discovery of company profiles, products, and innovations, with content continuing to expand as members build out their presence on the platform.

“MAI is a gamechanger for member industry amplification,” said Williams. “It moves us from a static repository of information to a 24/7 global advocate for our members.”

Using Answer Engine Optimization (AEO), MAI generates direct, synthesized responses to user queries—citing IAMT member content as authoritative sources with:

• Direct Citations: Answers are built from member-contributed insights, articles, and data
• Authoritative Positioning: Members are presented as definitive experts within a trusted, neutral platform
• Dynamic Content Integration: Updates from the IAMT Marketplace are continuously incorporated

“We are moving beyond traditional AI integration into systems capable of interpreting intent and contextual signals,” said Nicola Cogotti, founder and CTO of Alpha Cogs. “Leveraging the Emotional Intelligence Engine originally developed for

Cogi, MAI applies that same human‑centric architecture to information discovery—helping people access insights in a way that feels natural, adaptive, and deeply intelligent.”

IAMT also announced the launch of its IAMT Global Alliance, a reimagined ecosystem designed to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world application, showcase the though leadership of our partners and deliver information in the form of insights and intelligence. The IAMT Global Alliance is built on three core pillars:

• Media Partners: Bringing MediaTech buyers and end users into direct dialogue with MediaTech providers
• Educational Partners: Supporting the next generation of MediaTech talent through academic collaboration
• Industry Collaboration Groups: Connecting organizations such as standards bodies and sustainability initiatives to address global challenges

“At its core, this is about aligning innovation with real-world needs,” said Williams. “By bringing buyers, educators, and industry groups into the same ecosystem, we are creating a more connected, responsive, and forward-looking industry.”

To further amplify member and partner voices, IAMT is launching its Visual Podcast Series at NAB Show 2026, providing a broadcast-quality platform for thought leadership, interviews, and industry dialogue—distributed globally across major streaming platforms and digital channels.

“We’re creating a direct connection between those building MediaTech and those buying it and those using it,” said Matt Stagg, of Neutral Wireless and an IAMT Global Alliance Ambassador and host of the IAMT Visual Podcast Series. “By bringing senior MediaTech buyers into the conversation—through research, roundtables, and real-world dialogue—we can ensure innovation is aligned with actual industry needs, not assumptions.”

Together, the rebrand to IAMT and the launch of MAI and the IAMT Global Alliance represent a unified platform for insight, connection, and influence—helping the MediaTech industry navigate transformation, unlock new opportunities, and shape the future of content creation and MediaTech worldwide. To get involved contact globalalliance@theiamt.org.

LAS VEGAS—IABM said that it will host a hot breakfast on the morning of April 19 at the 2026 NAB Show during which it will make “a major announcement impacting the future of the MediaTech industry.”

As the media technology landscape undergoes a rapid transformation across broadcast, streaming, enterprise, and emerging sectors, the IABM said that its announcement “reflects a significant step in how the industry connects, collaborates, and evolves moving forward.”

Attendees will gain early insight into:

• A major strategic development from IABM
• What it signals for the broader MediaTech ecosystem
• New opportunities for industry alignment, growth, and innovation
• Opportunity for follow-up interviews with IABM leadership
• After the briefing, press are welcome to stay for IABM’s flagship State of MediaTech report – giving you a clear view of where the market is heading, where investment is accelerating, and how to focus your time at NAB for maximum impact.

The event will be held on Sunday, April 19, 2026 at Room N250 in the LVCC at 2026 NAB Show, North Hall, Level 2 near Press/Newsroom area. The agenda is as follows:

8:00 AM – Breakfast served

8:30 AM – CEO Press briefing begins

8:40 AM - Fireside chat with Matt Stagg (Warner Bros. Discovery / BT Sport) and guests

9-9:45 AM - IABM Impact Briefing

10:00 AM – Program concludes

RSVP here.

IABM, the International Trade Association for Broadcast and Media Technology, has confirmed the appointment of its Members’ Board for 2025, following the conclusion of this year’s election.

The announcement was made during IABM’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on July 21, 2025, which attracted the highest number of attendees in recent years.

The meeting also provided an update on the association’s transformation program, now six months into a two-year strategy focused on strengthening global engagement, enhancing member services, and reinforcing IABM’s position as the independent voice of the industry.

The Members’ Board for 2025 includes both new and continuing Board Members. The continuing Board Members are:

• Josh Arensberg – Verizon (Chair)
• Andreas Hilmer – Lawo (Immediate Past Chair)
• Jade Kurian – latakoo
• David Phillips – Multicast
• Peter Sykes – Sony
• Saleha Williams – CEO, IABM
• Lucinda Meek – CFOO, IABM

Newly elected IABM Board Directors are:

• Steph Lone – AWS
• Alison Pavitt – Blue Lucy
• Oscar Teran – EVS
• Adam Marshall – Grass Valley
• Glodina Lostanlen – Imagine Communications
• Hasan R. Sayed Hasan – MasterMedia
• Ajey Anand – Norigin
• Tom Wootton – Red Bee Media
• Chris Lennon – Ross Video
• Anna Lockwood – Telstra
• Chairs of IABM Member Councils:
• Paul Stechley – Applied Electronics
• Thomas Gunkel – Skyline Communications
• Sumit Suri – U-TO

The IABM Members’ Board plays a vital role, including input to the association’s long-term strategy, championing innovation, and representing the diverse voices within its global membership, the group explained.

The newly elected and continuing directors will support IABM’s work over the next two years as it advances its transformation program and delivers on its mission to connect, support, and inform the media technology community.

“This is a pivotal moment for the industry and for IABM,” said Saleha Williams, CEO of IABM. “With a renewed Board and strong engagement from our membership, we are well-positioned to continue building a globally connected, forward-looking association that reflects the needs and ambitions of the media technology sector.”

Josh Arensberg, Chair of the IABM Board, added, “I would like to express my thanks to the IABM Members’ Board and IABM members for re-electing me as Chair. My thanks to the outgoing Board directors for their support over the last two years, and welcome to the new Board members who join us at this exciting time. I look forward to supporting Saleha and her team to drive IABM forward and proactively secure our future success.”

A full AGM summary, including additional updates and insights, is available at www.iabmimpact.com.

IABM will be active at IBC2025, with the IABM Hub located in the RAI Diamond Lounge, featuring the IABM Member Lounge, IABM Impact Stage, and IABM TV.

WORCESTER, U.K.—The International Trade Association for Broadcast and Media Technology (IABM) has named a new global head of member engagement and bolstered its regional member engagement team with a pair of new hires.

Ana-Claire Bernardes has been promoted to the new role of global head, member engagement, tasked with strengthening global relationships, growing the global community and fulfilling the needs of members and the wider industry. Bernardes joined IABM as an analyst nearly three years ago and advanced to lead its Global Engaged Partner Programme (GEP).

Michelle Kelly, former senior vice president of NAB Show at the National Association of Broadcasters, joins IABM as head of member engagement & growth for North America. Sushant Rai, an industry veteran, joins in the same role for the Asia-Pacific region.

Kelly and Rai will report to Bernardes.

“In these rapidly changing times for our industry, we need all the support, information and understanding we can get,” Josh Arensberg, chair of the IABM board, said. “As an association, we are taking great steps to drive engagement, putting value creation for our members at the heart of everything we do. Ana-Claire, Michelle and Sushant are very experienced leaders, and I am delighted they will be joining us to ensure every member—and potential member—gets the most out of our community.”

In addition to raising the association’s visibility and ensuring the voices of members are heard, Bernardes, Kelly and Rai will be responsible for collaborating closely with regional IABM Councils in their territories.

Said IABM CEO Saleha Williams, “I joined the association at the beginning of the year, under a mandate from the board and membership, to revitalise and modernise, to build connections, to share knowledge and above all to ensure that the voice of the members is clearly heard.

“Part of my strategy was to ensure that we have the best possible reach around the world,” she continued. “Having great people who can engage with the industry on its own terms, and in its own territory, as well as working closely with our IABM Regional Councils, is a vital part of that and I am delighted to promote Ana-Claire and welcome Michelle and Sushant into Ana-Claire’s team. Together, we will continue to innovate in our support for our members, delivering real impact and helping them succeed in their own businesses.”

TV Tech has gathered broadcast industry experts from Dell Technologies and NVIDIA, along with the International Trade Association for Broadcast and Media (IABM) to discuss the  M&E tech trends and buzz from the recent IBC23 show.  

Tune in to this live webcast, Tuesday Oct. 17 at 2PM ET  as we unpack the hype and discuss the transformation happening in the world of broadcasting.

IABM announced the results of its biennial election of its Board of Directors and said that the new board will be chaired by Josh Arensberg, CTO, Media & Entertainment of Verizon Business.

“We are in a pivotal time for the media and entertainment industry, and I am honored to be appointed Chair of the Board for the IABM,” said Josh Arensberg, CTO Media & Entertainment, Verizon Business. “As Chair, I want to ensure a successful CEO search, and partner with our next leader to build upon the successes of the organization to date, while also helping our membership and the industry as a whole navigate and grow during this moment in time.”

The international trade and business association for the broadcast and media technology sector, which has about 450 members worldwide, reported that the newly elected board members and their nominated representatives are:

• AWS – Shweta Jain, Head of Business Development, Media & Entertainment, India
• Avid – Raymond Thompson, Senior Director Partners and Alliances
• Elevate Broadcast Pte Ltd – Dennis Breckenridge, CEO
• EVS – Nicolas Bourdon, Chief Marketing Officer
• Imagine Communications – Glodina Connan-Lostanlen, Chief Sales Officer
• NEP Group – representative to be confirmed
• Red Bee – Tom Wootton, Head of Product Area for Broadcast Services
• Ross Video – Chris Lennon, Office of the CTO: Director, Standards Strategy
• Sony – Peter Sykes, Strategic Technology Development Manager
• Telstra Broadcast Services – Anna Lockwood, Head of Global Sales

The newly elected members join five continuing members (elected by the outgoing board for continuity). Those five continuing board members are: 

• Verizon Business Group – Josh Arensberg, Chief Technology Officer, Media & Entertainment, Verizon Business (Chair)
• Lawo – Andreas Hilmer, Director Marketing and Communications (Immediate Past Chair)
• Latakoo – Jade Kurian, Co-founder and President
• Multicast – David Phillips, CEO
• Pebble – Alison Pavitt, Chief Revenue Officer

In addition, the Chairs of the Americas, APAC and EMEA Regional Members’ Councils – Paul Stechly of Applied Electronics, Alex Timbs of Dell EMC and Thomas Gunkel of Skyline Communications respectively – have seats on the Board. 

Vice Chair Nathalie Schwarz, Non-Executive Director Christine Losecaat MBE and IABM CFOO and Company Secretary Lucinda Meek complete the IABM Members’ Board line-up until the appointment of the new IABM CEO is announced.

“The diverse make-up of the new Members’ Board is a reflection of the changes in our industry as telcos and digital-first companies have moved into the Broadcast and Media space alongside dedicated MediaTech companies,” said Lucinda Meek. “All sides will benefit from the cross-pollination that working together on the IABM Members’ Board will provide for the good of the industry as whole. I am looking forward to working with the new Board and its inspirational new Chair, Josh Arensberg, helping to take IABM to the next level to support and enhance all our members’ businesses.”

TEWKESBURY, U.K.—IABM has announced that its member companies have taken advantage of IABM’s Stand with Ukraine initiative (launched on 10 March) to announce their backing for boycotts of media tech equipment supply and support to Russia. 

In a number of cases companies have gone even further to pledge funding for aid to Ukraine, the IABM reported. 

The trade group announced that 2wcom, Accedo, Argosy, Avid, Cobalt Digital, Codemill, Eon Media, farmerswife, Hi Tech Systems, Imagine Products, Lynx Technik, Mediaproxy, Newsbridge, Nextologies, Octopus Newsroom, Ross, Squared Paper, Techex, Telestream, Utah Scientific, Videon, and x.news have all announced that they stand with Ukraine. 

Organizations outside the IABM family, including Beam Dynamics, BNNRC, Lumina, Source Elements, TVBEurope and Videstra, have also joined the pledge. 

The list of supporting companies continues to grow; pledges of support can be made here or by emailing info@theiabm.org.

A number of member companies have gone further. For example, Octopus Newsroom has pledged to support “Any organization or outlet that aims to get the facts to Russian viewers or readers” with production technology to enable them to do this, CEO Petr Stokuc said. 

Radio technology company 2wcom has already begun shipping its technology to Ukraine “In order to guarantee this important communication channel in the crisis area. A small batch of our 2wcom Systems products is already on its way to Ukraine. 2wcom is eager to support and wants to continue to help keep radio alive!” the company said.

Nextologies announced that it is making “channels carrying Ukraine’s ‘United News’ broadcasts available to any North American broadcaster, IPTV or OTT provider free of charge”.

The Support for Media Professionals in Ukraine group on LinkedIn, created by Cinegy and Playbox Neo, is posting “job openings and offers, as well as information about local help, shelters and transport, or any resource that could help our Ukrainian colleagues”. 

The group said it “Would also like to provide support for our colleagues in Broadcasting and Media currently remaining in Ukraine with all the help that they need – equipment, walkie talkies, resources, bandwidth, transmitters and satellite allocation, food, shelter, and any resource they may need”.

Finally, IABM is working with member companies and other industry organizations to organize the supply of key technology to maintain broadcasting in Ukraine. 

The trade group said more details on that effort would be released later. 

“It’s impossible to not be shocked by the 95% destruction of previously beautiful cities like Mariupol and the associated humanitarian atrocities,” said David Ross, CEO of Ross Video. “Employees, shareholders, and customers today expect their companies to be about more than pure maximization of profit but also expect them to make the obvious moral, environmental, and humanitarian decisions that are in front of them.” 

Ross went on to say, “Frankly, I’m surprised at the silence coming from some of the larger companies in our industry.”

Jeff Rosica, CEO & president of Avid, said, “What’s encouraging amid this very grave situation is that our industry simply won’t sit still and is acting with extreme initiative to bring relief to Ukraine’s people. Whether taking action as companies or as individuals, we know that we in media & entertainment technology have power and reach to make a difference in many ways.” 

“I am proud to be part of an industry that backs its convictions with actions,” said Peter White, CEO, IABM. “I hope that we can encourage more companies to step forward and publicly stand with Ukraine. As Volodymyr Zelensky has said, ‘If we remain silent today, we will be gone tomorrow.’”

"The picture is bleak.”

That’s the assessment from IABM, which published results of its electronic components supply survey of global media technology companies.

The association said lead times are lengthening and component prices are rising significantly since its last survey nine months ago.

“Respondents also sounded the alarm on their financial positions if component supply problems persist for a further 12 months; there are very few signs that the situation will improve in the short-to-medium term,” it wrote.

IABM is a trade association for broadcast and media technology. [See a list of IABM member companies.]

It said 97% of technology vendors reported being significantly affected by component shortages, with 63% saying they are severely affected, up from 40% last April.

“The survey finds that lead times for components have increased by an average of 74% and component costs by 44%, resulting in a 26% impact on final product costs.”

The association expressed concern that 86% of respondents “reported facing moderate or severe impact on their financial sustainability if the issues persist for another 12 months.”

CEO Peter White said in the announcement, “With no early prospect of the component shortage problem being resolved, many media tech companies have responded by redesigning their products to mitigate issues with sourcing specific components, and/or stockpiling components where possible to keep their production lines flowing in the face of dramatically increased lead times.”

He also cited evidence of component price increases “which will either need to be absorbed by media tech suppliers or will feed through into increased end-product prices.”

The association recently launched a service that allows companies to list their excess stock; members experiencing shortages can use it to find supplies. “I have been surprised that not many companies have taken advantage of the BaM Stock Exchange so far; perhaps this is the moment for them to do so,” White said in the release.

LONDON—Hubilo Technologies has announced that the International Trade Association for Broadcast & Media Technology (IABM) has deployed its virtual event platform to drive engagement and increase networking opportunities with its membership and with the broadcast media and entertainment industry.

The decision by IABM expands the relationship between the two organizations and follows the success of IABM’s first virtual events hosted on the platform in March and June, with the March event attracting over 1800 attendees.

With the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, IABM made the decision to adopt a virtual events platform so that it could continue to provide networking and learning experiences for the broadcast media and entertainment industry and ultimately chose the Hubilo events platform.

Since then, Hubilo’s virtual events platform has helped IABM achieve its main event goal of ensuring high engagement across multiple speaker rooms and trade sessions, the organizations said. 

Through Hubilo’s comprehensive analytics capabilities, IABM partners are able to use the self-service dashboard and demonstrate the event’s ROI, Hubilo reported. Hubilo’s customer success team has also been on hand throughout to assist IABM, which was new to the virtual event space. 

Following the success of the first BaMLive! the virtual event, IABM created IABM BaMZone to deliver an always-on experiences to the broadcast Media and Entertainment Industry and in June held a second quarterly event using Hubilo. With high levels of engagement once again and great feedback, IABM plans to continue to use the platform to create more networking, engagement and learning events in the future.  

“Hubilo’s platform ticked all the boxes and is allowing us to easily engage with each other and with the content,” explained Lisa Collins, head of membership engagement at IABM. “We have never used a better customer success process and team and were amazed by how quickly Hubilo came back to us and was prepared to assist.”

Vaibhav Jain, Hubilo founder, and CEO added: “Our purpose and mission is to drive deep engagement and reimagine the events landscape to foster greater human connections with no geographical boundaries. We are proud to have facilitated fruitful networking opportunities for IABM’s members during the pandemic. Together we have built a great partnership and can’t wait to support their future plans.”

More information on how IABM used the platform is available here. 

TEWKESBURY, U.K.—The international trade association for broadcast and media technology suppliers, IABM, has announced the results of its biennial election of Board Directors, which expanded the number of elected member companies represented on the Board from 15 to 20. 

The expansion of the Board Directors was made following the unanimous approval of a special resolution at IABM’s Annual General Meeting on 22nd July 2021 to “widen representation and better reflect the level of diversity in IABM’s membership: including for example representational diversity in size of company, regions in which our members are based, type of company and gender diversity.”

The Members’ Board serves a two-year term and plays a central role in the association’s activities.

“I extend a warm welcome to all our Board members, new and returning, and am very much looking forward to working with them to keep our Association vibrant, ever-more relevant and supportive of members’ needs,” said IABM CEO Peter White. “I am delighted that the members voted for expansion of their Board. Over the last few years, we have seen a massive transformation in the industry, with innovative, new businesses across a much wider spectrum of technologies and operations springing up alongside more established companies, which have themselves successfully embraced change. The new Members’ Board really reflects this diversity; I am excited and energized by the wide range of experience, new thinking and energy it will bring to all IABM’s activities.”

The newly elected member companies and their nominated representatives are:

ARRI – Peter Crithary, president (ARRI Rentals), vice president, marketing and market development (ARRI Americas)

Bitmovin – Stefan Lederer, CEO and co-founder

Comcast Technology Solutions – Doug Triblehorn, vice president of global sales, content and streaming provider suite

Elevate Broadcast Pte Ltd – Dennis Breckenridge, CEO

EVS – Nicolas Bourdon, CMO

Fonn Group – Ingrid Agasøster, chief operating officer

Imagine Communications – Glodina Connan-Lostanlen, chief sales officer

latakoo – Jade Kurian, co-founder and president

NEP Group – Andrew Jordan, global CTO

Pebble – Alison Pavitt, director of sales and marketing

Red Bee Media – Steve Russell, chief product officer

Ross Video – Chris Lennon, Office of the CTO: director, standards strategy

Sony Professional Solutions Europe – Peter Sykes, strategic technology development manager

Telstra Broadcast Services – Anna Lockwood, head of global sales

Verizon Business Group – Josh Arensberg, global head of business development, media & entertainment

The newly elected members join five continuing members (elected by the outgoing Board for continuity). Those five are:

Lawo – Andreas Hilmer, director marketing and communications (Chair)

Pixel Power a Rohde & Schwarz Company – James Gilbert, CEO and co-founder (Immediate Past Chair)

Avid – Anne-Louise Buick, vice president, global field and channel marketing

Grass Valley – Tim Shoulders, CEO and president

Multicast – David Phillips, CEO

In addition, the Chairs of the APAC, EMEA and Americas IABM Regional Members’ Councils – Alex Timbs of Dell EMC, Thomas Gunkel of Skyline Communications and Paul Stechly of Applied Electronics respectively – have seats on the Board. 

Vice chair Nathalie Schwarz, non-executive director Christine Losecaat MBE, IABM CFO and company secretary Lucinda Meek and CEO Peter White complete the IABM Members’ Board line-up, the association reported. 

Further information on the IABM board and what they have to say about the organization is available here.  

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, U.K.—The International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM) and BaM Live! last week announced the winners of the 2020 edition of the BaM Awards and Annual IABM Awards, including recognition for an outstanding project or collaboration, the Andrew Jones Young Person of the Year and Technology Leader of the Year. 

“Considering how difficult 2020 has been, it was really fantastic to see so many great innovations from the over 120 entries submitted,” said Stan Moote, IABM CTO. “The judges had to dig really deep to choose the eventual winners.”

This year’s BaM Award winners include (by category):

• Create—Wavemaker Creative, Crew in a Box 
• Produce—disguise, disguise xR 
• Manage—Meta Data Systems, Meta x WarnerMedia Localization Platform 
• Publish—Limelight Networks, Limelight Networks EdgeFunctions 
• Monetize—Vubiquiety, Amdocs Media’s MarketONE 
• Consume—Deltatre, mtribes 
• Connect—NEP Group, BSI’s Mini Tx UHD 
• Store—EditShare, EFSv: Seamless Proxy Editing 
• Support—Telestream, GLIM Remote Media Player 
• Project or Collaboration—Nextologies and PSSI Global Services, SpaceX Launch and Splashdown Shows 

The IABM Annual Awards winners include (by category): 

• Andrew Jones Young Person of the Year: Aditya Panikker of Digigram. Panikker joined Digigram in 2018 as a product and digital marketing intern while pursuing his master’s degree. Over the past two years, he has laid down the structure of the company’s social media presence, worked as a junior product manager and took over responsibility to expand the company’s business in Eastern Europe, the Middle East and Africa over the past year. 
• Technology Leader of the Year, sponsored by Avid: Jackie Howes, director, Media Infrastructure Architect, Discovery. Howes is directly responsible for scoping, defining and coordinating both large and small infrastructure systems impacting Discovery’s technical capabilities and profitability. 
• Broadcast/Media Company of the Year, sponsored by Bridge Technologies: latakoo. Nominated by DISH Mexico marketing director Eduardo Peniche, who said, “latakoo provides the fastest, most secure way to transfer large media files from any location. latakoo has become an essential tool for our company and other broadcasters around the world, including industry leaders such as Nexstar, Charter, NBC and Telemundo.” 
• Most Successful Virtual Event: Freeman and Sound and Vision Entertainment (SAV), NFL Draft 2020. Freeman, Brady Belavek of SAV and engineer Dave Ragains of Show Machine were hired to handle all production communications between the NFL, the networks and all production staff. 
• Most Creative Digital Campaign: beIN Sports, “Love it Like the First Time.” To retain viewer and subscriber passion for sports, beIN Media Group’s departments worked with global offices in Singapore, London, Miami, Paris, Doha and Istanbul to create the first truly integrated creative global campaign curated for viewers and subscribers across 43 countries and in five continents. 
• IABM Honorary Membership: Graham Pitman, vice chair IAM for more than nine years. Called “a tremendous asset to me personally” by IABM CEO Peter White, Pitman has been honored for his “unstinting contribution” to IABM and to recognize “his long and successful career” in broadcast and media technology, said White.  

More information is available on the IABM website. 

UPDATED 9/8: The annual IBC Show in Amsterdam, like nearly all conferences in 2020, was forced to go the virtual route because of COVID-19 with the IBC Showcase taking place Sept. 8-11. Part of the draw of IBC is hearing about the latest tech and products from new companies, but just because they aren’t happening in person, doesn’t mean companies aren’t eager to share their latest news.

Here is a rundown of IBC-related press conferences scheduled to take place before and during the IBC Virtual Showcase.

Pebble Beach Systems

Building Resilience into your Playout Operations
Sept. 9 at 4:30 p.m. BST (11:30 AM, ET)

The kickoff of a series of webinars throughout September and beyond looking at how the industry has responded to the challenges of 2020 and the role the company can play in helping broadcasters survive and thrive.

Pebble Deep Dive Workshops
Sept. 10-16

Pebble Beach Systems will make its experts available to answer questions during a series of workshops tailored to the interest of attendees.

Registration for the former webinar is available online; and an online calendar where a reservation can be made for the latter is available on the company’s website.

IABM Future Trends Channel
Through September

Starting on Sept. 1, IABM is hosting the Future Trends Channel, which will offer a weekly live event on Tuesdays on different themes, including cloud & virtualizations, AI/ML & analytics, imaging & immersive, streaming content & platform and future media economies. For more information, visit IABM’s website.

ATTO Technology IBC Showcase 2020
Sept. 8-11

ATTO will unveil new features and updates to the ATTO 360 Tuning software, as well as video demonstrations of the ATTO FastFrame and Celerity platforms. For more information, visit ATTO's website. 

Elements Remote Week 2020
Sept. 8-11

Elements will host a series of web sessions where it will showcase its new remote editing tool Elements Satellite and its latest innovations in media storage workflows. For more information, visit Element's website.

IPV's "Locked Down but Not Out: Creating Video Remotely"
Sept. 8-11

IPV will host industry leaders from Sky, "Sesame Street," HBO and WarnerMedia over four sessions to answer questions about collaborative content creation in the age of remote workflows. For more information, visit the IPV website. 

Bitmovin Live: IBC Edition 2020
Sept. 9-24

Bitmovin is hosting a virtual experience that includes video tech webinars, case study discussions, developer learning labs, demos and partners presentations on topics like costs of video distribution, app development and optimizing video workflows. For more information, visit Bitmovin's website.

Harmonic Live Connection IBC 2020 Edition
Sept. 10

Harmonic's virtual showcase will include a series of webinars hosted by industry-leading experts, a virtual showroom with new innovations and insights on video streaming and delivery, and one-on-one meetings with Harmonic team members. Register here.

Primestream Virtual IBC Event
Sept. 10

Primestream will have four virtual "rooms" that each highlight a smart workflow for a different type of user, including news production, media and entertainment, live events and content creators. Register here.

“Zixi Delivers” Virtual Showcase
Sept. 14-18

This multi-day event will present enhancements to Zixi’s SDVP for delivery of live video over IP via webinars, presentations and virtual customer and partner meetings. For more information, visit Zixi’s website. 

Verizon Media's "OTT Trends & Solutions" Webinar
Sept. 22, 11 a.m. ET

Verizon takes a deep dive into OTT trends that are reshaping the industry and how you can keep pace and use new technology. Register here.

WASHINGTON—The benchmark for ATSC 3.0 deployment in 2020 of 40 markets that was set at the 2019 edition of the NAB Show in Las Vegas may be out of reach because of the impact the coronavirus has had on the broadcast industry, according to Pearl TV Managing Director Anne Schelle.

Schelle offered her assessment during the "NAB Show Express 2020: IABM Online State of the Industry Conference" as part of a panel focusing on U.S. broadcasters.

Schelle notes that NextGen TV development was in a great position following the close of CES 2020, when TV manufacturers said that they would have 20 TV models that were NextGen TV compatible by the end of the year. Schelle also expected that had this year’s NAB Show gone on as planned in April, a number of markets would have had stations that were on-air with the next-gen standard. One such market would have been Las Vegas, which recently announced it is expected to launch ATSC 3.0 by the end of May.

Overall, Schelle estimates that ATSC 3.0 deployment is about a quarter behind of where it could have been had COVID-19 not significantly disrupted the industry. As of publication, six markets have ATSC 3.0 on air. 

She is still optimistic about the eventual deployment of the NextGen TV. She highlighted that manufacturers have remoted into Pearl TV’s Phoenix ATSC 3.0 model to test equipment, as a good portion of infrastructure is software-enabled and able to prep remotely.

This is just one example that the panel focused on regarding how the industry has changed over the last few months.

Additional panelists included Del Parks, CTO of Sinclair Broadcast Group, and Renard T. Jenkins, vice president of content transmission at WarnerMedia, who joined Schelle to talk about the pandemic’s impact on their groups. Mike Strein, director of engineering and technology at ABC TV Network, and Ryan McCormick, executive director of engineering and operations for ABC News, spoke on the new TV facility that Disney is creating. Tim Shoulders of Grass Valley and Louis Hernandez Jr. of Black Dragon Capital spoke on GV’s strategy and the status of their acquisition. Also, a group of vendors (Ben Vanderberg, CEO, Skyline Communications; Darren Lepke, head of video production management, Verizon; Joe Fiveash, vice president of strategy, The Weather Company; and Dan Castles, CEO, Telestream) talked about how their companies have reacted to recent changes and challenges.

As IABM CEO Peter White said at the top of the virtual conference, “We know this will change the way we work irreversibly moving forward.” This session helped to highlight some of the ways that it already has.

For more information on IABM virtual events, visit their website. 

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, U.K.—In light of many of the recent trade show cancellations or postponements as a result of the coronavirus (COVID-19), IABM is looking to provide support for industry professionals both in staying up to date with coronavirus news as well as with events and other offerings.

“IABM is ideally placed to provide both up to the minute information and a wide range of supporting services for both technology vendors and buyers in broadcast and media,” said Peter White, IABM CEO. “We are in constant contact with organizers of all these shows and events in our industry worldwide, and we have created a page on our website where you can see the latest status and statements on all these events in the light of COVID-19 coronavirus.”

In addition to the latest news regarding industry shows, which recently included the postponement of ConnecTech Asia and CABSAT to the fall of 2020, IABM is also offering its own industry resources that can serve as potential supplements for these industry events.

IABM TV says that it will travel to events, wherever safe to do so, to provide news, debates and coverage for members unable to attend in person. This information will be provided through IABM’s Knowledge Hub.

The organization will also offer a series of webinars covering technology and business, and the BaM Shop Window to help consumers review technology choices.

More information is available on www.theiabm.org. 

LONDON—The International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM) has honored Manfred Reitmeier, vice president of Transmitter and Amplifier Systems at Rohde & Schwarz, with its Technology Leader of the Year 2019 Award, the company announced.

Granted to the person who is at the forefront of disruption and innovation in the broadcast and media industry and who through inspired leadership has helped deliver groundbreaking technology and business benefits, the award was presented Dec. 4 to Reitmeier at the IABM Annual International Business Conference & Awards in London.

Joining Rohde & Schwarz in 1989, Reitmeier is credited with building a team of gifted technologists and product designers and creating a product roadmap for the company’s transmission portfolio. Before taking on his current role with the company, Reitmeier held a variety of positions, including director of R&D Software, senior director of Transmitter Systems and senior director of Product Management Transmitter Systems.

Perhaps his greatest accomplishment at the company is leading the effort to make 5G Broadcast for mobile TV a reality, the company said. Years ago, Reitmeier and his team set out to intelligently link the strengths of broadcasting with the capabilities of mobile networks.

“Quality of experience for the user is a major consideration in the evolution of 5G Broadcast for mobile TV,” said Manfred Reitmeier. “As a sports-loving commuter, it nearly drives me crazy when I can’t watch a Champion’s League match live on the train.”

Reitmeier recognized that his vision for 5G Broadcast would require that his team collaborate internally with others at Rohde & Schwarz and externally with like-minded groups. In June 2017, the company joined the 5G Today research project as a partner.

Under the leadership of Germany’s Institute for Broadcast Technology (IRT) and with the cooperation of Rohde & Schwarz and antenna manufacturer Kathrein, 5G Today is working on the evaluation of broad-area TV transmission. Other 5G Today members include mobile operator Telefonica O2 and the Bavarian Broadcasting Corp.

In December 2018, Rohde & Schwarz turned on a high-power, high-tower (HPHT) transmitter for 5G Broadcast at the BR Wendelstein transmitter station in the Bavarian Alps. The transmitter, an R&S THU9evo high-power transmitter has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 100 kilowatts and covers an area in excess of 37.5 miles (60 km) in FeMBMS (Further evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Service) broadcast mode.

Dubbing the deployment “a real breakthrough,” Reitmeier reflected on his career at Rohde & Schwarz. “Rohde & Schwarz has provided me with a platform to achieve all my goals and dreams as a broadcast technologist. Together with some truly inspirational colleagues, we have made, and continue to make, a real difference to broadcasters and consumers worldwide. And with 5G Broadcast, the best is still to come.”

(Editor’s note: High-power, high-tower is relative to the existing transmission infrastructure in Europe.)

LONDON & WHITE PLAINS, N.Y.—The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers today announced an agreement to make training by each organization available to the membership of the other at discounted prices.

The agreement also calls for the organizations to look for other areas in which collaboration could benefit the members of each. Calling the deal “something of a milestone,” IABM CEO Peter White said the agreement marks “the beginning of an ongoing collaboration across a number of activities and the start of what we envision to be a long-term partnership.”

As part of the deal, some SMPTE members will have privileged access to IABM Business Intelligence via an exclusive web portal and webinars, and IABM members will be granted access to SMPTE webcasts, the groups said.

“A knowledge exchange with IABM makes a great deal of sense for both of our organizations,” said SMPTE Executive Director Barbara Lange. “IABM’s strength is in business knowledge and research, while SMPTE brings expertise in standards-based technologies—a synergy that will add great value for our respective communities.”

Both organizations published links to their respective courses and educational offerings covered under the agreement, including SMPTE educational offerings and full IABM course offerings.

“Collaboration is not just the latest buzzword—it underpins the future success of both the supply and buying sides of the broadcast and media industries,” said White. “We see media companies increasingly coming together to form alliances in the search for digital speed, scale and geographical reach, and the same thing is happening on the supply side.” 

GLOUSESTERSHIRE, U.K.—The IABM has released its latest Buying Trends Report, which reveals a confidence in the broadcast and media industry despite a drop in revenues.

According to the report, revenue growth has decreased from 9.3% in April 2019 to 3.1% currently, and profit growth remains negative at -3.1%—slightly down from -2.4% reported in April.

One of the other key findings of the report is that multiplatform content delivery is the most important priority for technology users followed by 4K/UHD.

The report also reveals:

• Confidence in the industry remains high with 74% of respondents saying that they are positive about the business environment, down by four percentage points compared to six months ago
• 21% of technology users derive the vast majority of their revenue (more than 80%) from traditional broadcast operations although most expect this to change
• Efficiency remains the most important driver of product purchase, followed by total cost of ownership and agility
• Investment in building internal capabilities for technology development continues to increase
• Cloud, UHD and AI rise while Blockchain is still at an early stage of adoption at 2%
• 92% of end-users say that interoperability is important

“Changing priorities have translated into a shift in technology spending that prioritizes Opex over Capex,” said Lorenzo Zanni, IABM head of insight and analysis. “Our data demonstrates that technology users are focusing on solutions that make them more efficient and agile. In order to do that, they are spending more money on generic IT technology and increasingly investing in in-house development to suit their specific needs. This shift in technology spending is prompting end-users to adopt a variety of emerging technologies to streamline their supply-chains for the multiplatform world. Given that confidence levels remain relatively high, it is clear they are optimistic that they can meet the challenge from the digital giants head on.”

LONDON—Jürgen Sommer has been appointed to the IABM board of directors. Sommer is the vice president of channel development, EMEA, for Vitec Production Solutions, a division of the Vitec Group.

Sommer has been working in the video and broadcast industry for more than 17 years, during which time we often worked with IABM. He started with the Vitec Group in 2002, working for a number of the group’s brands, including Sachtler, Autoscript, O’Connor and Vinten. He has been with Vitec Production Solutions for the last three years.

“Especially at this moment, when a lot of exciting changes and innovations are happening, it is very important to have an institution like the IABM helping our industry to better understand what the future will bring,” said Sommer.

He added: “I’m grateful to have a seat at the table with so many of the industry’s leaders to contribute to that effort. I’ll use my expertise to help IABM members prepare themselves for the challenges and benefits that are coming. I’ll also be a voice for the hardware manufacturers.”

Sommer is based in Garching, Germany.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, U.K.—The International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM) today announced the election of 10 new boards members, who will join five continuing members on the board.

New board members include: Dr. Jörg Pohlman of ARRI; Anne-Louise Buick of Avid; Nicolas Bourdon of EVS; Tim Shoulders of Grass Valley; David Phillips of Multicast Consultancy; Geir Bryn-Jensen of Nevion; Bea Alonso of Ooyala; Alison Pavitt of Pebble Beach; Peter Sykes of Sony; and Juergen Sommer of Vitec Group.

IABM board members, who serve two-year terms, chart the overall strategy of the organization, help direct IABM activities and are responsible for its policies.

Continuing IABM board members include: Andreas Hilmer, board chair, of Lawo; James Gilbert, immediate past chair, of Pixel Power; Nicki Fisher of Clear-Com; Glodina Connan-Lostanlen of Imagine Communications; and Anna Lockwood of Telstra.

Remaining members include the chairs of the APAC, EMEA and Americas IABM Regional Members’ Council, including Dennis Breckenridge of Elevate Broadcast, Ole Clausen of Danmon Group and Paul Stechly of Applied Electronics, respectively, as well as Vice Chair Graham Pitman, IABM CEO Peter White and Finance Director Lucinda Meek.

“Never before in my 16 years working for broadcast manufacturers have I seen such a burst of activity and creativity despite the disruptive changes facing manufacturers, service providers and broadcasters,” said IABM Board Chair Hilmer. “Helping to steer our industry through these turbulent times will be the mission of this newly elected board and IABM’s wonderful in-house team.”

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, U.K.—The quest to find new efficiencies remains the top motivator for media companies purchasing new products, while interoperability and agility continue to be important factors in guiding technology acquisitions, according to the newly released “Buying Trends Report” from the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM).

To achieve those priorities, media companies are spending more on generic IT technology and increasing investment in in-house development that fulfills specific requirements. The transition to these generic platforms coincides with a reprioritization in spending that favors OPEX over CAPEX, the report finds.

The report, which analyzed the financial performance of media companies from July 2018 to December 2018, reveals a mixed bag, which may be contributing to the continued emphasis on finding new efficiencies.

While revenue for the second half of 2018 grew to 9.3%–up from 5.3% in the first half of 2018—profit remained negative for the latter half of the year at -2.4%, slightly better than the -2.6% registered for the January through June ’18 period, the report found.

New media and its direct-to-consumer offerings have placed traditional advertising and subscription-based business models under pressure. While profits fell for all organization types, the ad model finds itself under greater pressure than pay-TV, the report said.

A qualitative analysis of respondents to a pre-NAB Show 2019 buying trends survey also reveal important underlying currents cited in the report. While 78% of respondents reported strong confidence in the business environment (down 5 points from the previous report), 25% said their companies still derive 80% of their revenues from traditional broadcast operations, the report said. Most expect this heavy reliance on traditional broadcast to taper off in coming years.

In terms of specific technology types, multi-platform content delivery is the most important priority to technology users, followed by 4K/UHD.

“These results show that the demand side of the industry continues to go through a radical shift, with changing revenue models influencing the trends in media technology investment,” said Lorenzo Zanni, IABM head of Insight and Analysis. “Although technology investment has shifted to new priorities, technology has never been so key to driving business success in the multi-platform world. Buyers’ continued adoption of new technologies requires suppliers to move to new business models centered on the flexible provision of software. With change, the future is bright as greater investment is poured into content.”

IABM members can download the full report from the IABM website.

Virtualization technology has already arrived in the broad world of smart business where automation and predictability hold the key to monetization. Industries such as telcos, manufacturing, energy, financial services and retail, among others, successfully adopted the cloud some time ago. However, when you look at the broadcast, media and entertainment sector and its vendors, it’s somewhat behind the curve. As a broadcaster, if you aren’t considering or testing cloud technology at this moment in time when other sectors have already made lucrative gains, then your business model is at a high risk of failure.

Long-established vendors in the world of broadcast, while still having a role in specialist functionality, are now joined—and arguably superseded—by a new influx of service providers. On the one hand, there are cloud companies like AWS, Azure and Google; on the other enterprise business management services like Salesforce and SAP.

MOVING FROM CAPEX TO OPEX

Over the last few years, these companies have broadened their feature sets to the point where the line on which one product finishes and another starts, has blurred beyond recognition. These "new" players are introducing completely new ideas when it comes to managing and delivering content, based on processing, connectivity and storage, while at the same time enabling the move towards new business models.

As one of the first companies in the U.K. M&E space to adopt a ‘cloud-first’ strategy and the first AWS certified M&E partner in the U.K., Support Partners are well versed in utilizing these disruptive technologies. As a company, our goal is to help all of our clients migrate parts or all of their infrastructure to the cloud by 2020.

Making the move from CapEx to OpEx is potentially transformative for the business models of content creators and deliverers. The OpEx model allows a direct link between costs and revenues, dynamically scaling on demand to capture those new opportunities. That, in turn, allows you to understand where profitability lies, and therefore concentrate on the more commercially compelling services.

Cloud technology is inherently agile. You can add new services, whether that is 4K Ultra HD production or machine learning for automated logging, simply by spinning up the appropriate microservices in the cloud.

A software-defined network allows you to move to a business-driven operation. Instead of someone in marketing asking for a channel and someone in engineering saying it will take six months to get it online, executives working in enterprise management software like Salesforce will be able to run a what if? exercise and immediately see how financially and operationally viable a new service would be.

[Read: It’s A Very Cloudy Forecast For 2021]

However, for most organizations it is daunting to make the jump to being cloud first, so where is the sweet spot between on-premises hardware and the cloud? Do you hand everything over to AWS, Azure or Google? Or do you use the cloud for its elasticity, stepping in when your on-premise hardware is at full stretch? And, if the latter, how do you know just how much hardware you should have on site so that it will be running close to capacity most of the time?

UNDERSTANDING SCALE

In a traditional broadcast architecture, the experienced system designer would look at a requirement and have a basic understanding of the scale. An installation might have, say, around 400 device ports, so to be safe the architect would specify a 512 x 512 router. Having set the size, the procurement people could talk to a selection of vendors and get the right deal on the right device. This CapEx model means that you can’t easily scale up without more investment or indeed scale down as and when required, plus you are tied to specific vendors.

In a virtualized environment the scale is equally vital when provisioning a system but it is far less readily understood. How many processor cycles do you need to render a 4K animated title sequence? How much storage do you need to edit a 13-part drama? How much additional processing power can you afford to call on in the cloud before you have to say a process will have to wait—and who makes that decision?

The answer: you need to understand the data. Not the content and its metadata, but the usage data. How much storage are you using and for how long? How many processors do you need, how many are in continual use and how many do you call on when a lot is happening?

Now the chances are you already have some cloud contracts or at least are negotiating at this very moment. The IABM/Devoncroft research published earlier this year said that 85 percent of broadcasters think they will be using the cloud in the next two to three years and 28 percent are already using it.

If you already have a cloud contract, did you get a good deal? It can be hard to tell when file transfers are billed by the gigabyte, processing by the minute, and asset management by the terabyte of storage.

This is a multi-dimensional matrix. The cloud provider will have a set of fees, which may include some hefty surcharges if you go over a certain level. The software provider will also have its own licensing model, which will be based on different parameters such as usage, nodes activated, codecs used etc.

The people providing media-specific software used to sell broadcast hardware. They have had to re-engineer their own businesses from a cash flow position where they received 100% of the value of a sale at the point of acceptance, to one where they are maybe hoping to get a recurring license of 20 percent of the value each year for five years. Their natural instincts are to ensure their return by nudging the license fee up; you may find yourself paying 25% a year, with the expectation that you will still be there five years from now. So, how can this be avoided?

AT A GLANCE

The solution is to have a means of monitoring and evaluating all the data and presenting it on a single pane of glass. If you were making something physical – a car, say – then you would want to be able to see the complete supply chain from component to customer on a single dashboard. Why should it be any different for the manufacture of intellectual property, like a television program or a commercial?

The solution surely lies in an integration between the broadcast and management infrastructures. Platforms like Salesforce have the dashboard functionality: you need to integrate it with the media technology to monitor trends, track usage and provide actionable insights.

Taking this approach builds an accurate, trusted dataset, derived from all available sources. Usage is reconciled between on-premise hardware and software services and cloud providers. That, in turn, gives you a real insight into how your transition to virtualisation and the cloud is performing.

More importantly, it allows you to apply predictive data analytics to do the what ifs? for your future plans. If you know accurately what you need in terms of processing, connectivity and storage today, you are in a strong position to make decisions for the future.

You know if you have a good deal today (or not), and you know what you want to achieve when you renegotiate. Armed with predictive data requirements, you are in a much stronger position to compare bids and costs. You are no longer locked into your current vendor for fear of getting a worse deal. You can use predictive analytics to understand how best to apply automation and machine learning, which microservices to spin up, and determine which spot instances are the best value at any particular time.

There is no doubt that the future for media is all about predictive automated workflows, running on software-defined architectures in virtualised environments, on-premise and in the cloud. Provisioning these systems calls for new skill sets and a new way of thinking.

At Support Partners, we have implemented predictive data analytics for one of the world’s biggest production and broadcast companies, but it is applicable to any media company. If you are not capturing your operational data today, you will not know where you are tomorrow. That will be the difference between commercial stability and the risk of failure.

Harry Grinling is the CEO of Support Partners.

MONTREAL– Michael Cronk, vice president of Core Technology at Grass Valley, has received two honors for his professional achievements, technical and business innovations and continuing influence within the broadcast industry.

Cronk is among six recipients of Future’s 2019 Industry Innovator Award, presented by TV Technology magazine. The awards are now in the second year. Cronk was also recently honored with IABM’s Technology Leader of the Year Award.

With over 20 years of broadcast industry experience, Cronk has built his career on designing and building product roadmaps and technical strategies to advance the development of content and media technology. His work has been especially impactful in the wake of progressive changes such as the shifts from tape to disk, SD to HD to 4K UHD, and linear to on-demand. He has been instrumental in guiding the development of the company’s core technologies to ensure portfolio interoperability and consistency, leading a team of some of the media industry’s most experienced and respected engineers. As Chairman of the Board for the Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS), Cronk has been influential in leading the industry towards a clear, efficient path to standards-based IP.

“These recognitions are incredibly well deserved. Mike is a true leader and visionary, and a major asset to Grass Valley and the industry,” said Tim Shoulders, president, Grass Valley. “It is hugely exciting to see him being honored for his impactful work in driving the advancement of the content and media technology landscape; this is what being an innovator is all about.”

“It’s a pleasure to honor those who make such a difference in their industries – innovating in technology and business while also inspiring others,” said Carmel King, vice president of media technology for Future's B2B Group. “The awards are designed to shine a spotlight on the people behind the companies and technologies on which our industries depend. We offer a heartfelt ‘thank you’ for their contributions, and wish them continued success.”

IABM’s CEO, Peter White, commented, “I can think of no one more deserving of this recognition for what he has helped achieve with AIMS over the last two years – while also holding down his day-job at Grass Valley!”

Cronk’s recognition as an industry innovator and technology leader is embodied by some of the major successes that AIMS and Grass Valley achieved over the last year. Under his leadership, AIMS has substantially contributed to the widespread vendor adoption of IP since its founding three years ago, attracting nearly 100 members. At Grass Valley, he has dedicated the last few years to enabling faster innovation, and at scale, resulting in the debut of its Core Technology Initiative – a ‘build once, integrate to many’ agile R&D approach to strengthen product quality and capability across its expansive portfolio. 

Gloucestershire—IABM recently announced the appointment of new members for its Americas Members’ Council, along with its new chair – Paul Stechly, Principal & President of Applied Electronics Limited. The Americas Members’ Council serves the needs of its local members by hosting events and discussing important issues.

“Our regional Members’ Councils are now well-established and have proven their value in increasing engagement with members in the regions, providing them with a platform for highlighting and resolving regional concerns, and opening up invaluable networking and collaboration opportunities,” said Peter White, CEO, IABM. “The new edition of the Americas Members’ Council has all the right ingredients – great people! – to carry these activities to the next level, and I am looking forward to working with them over the next two years to further increase our footprint and influence in the Americas.”

Serving on IABM Americas Members’ Council with Stechly are:

• Michael Accardi – President, CueScript, Inc
• Keith Adams – Marketing Communications Manager, GatesAir
• Joe Commare – Marketing and Sales, Riedel Communications
• Brick Ecksten – CTO, Imagine Communications
• Ted Korte – COO, Qligent
• Shawn Maynard – SVP/GM, Florical Systems
• John Miller – SVP Sales & Marketing, BeBop Technology
• Dan Montgomery – President, Imagine Products Inc
• Sean Moran – COO, Hitachi
• Ian Sharpe – CEO, Promethean
• Thomas Tang – CEO, Apantac

NEW YORK—While the IT world has embraced software as a service and relied heavily on the cloud for offsite storage, the broadcast world has remained more apprehensive about moving away from on premise hardware and onto cloud-based systems. However, the last several years have seen greater endorsement from the industry vendors in what SaaS can bring to broadcasters, who are now beginning to embrace the model.

“When we launched Media Shuttle, our first SaaS solution, more than five years ago, many in the industry weren’t ready for SaaS,” said Jon Finegold, chief marketing officer for Signiant in Lexington, Mass. “In fact, it was common to hear from top media and entertainment execs that ‘we will never use SaaS.’ Fast forward to 2018, and Media Shuttle has surpassed the 400,000 user mark and is now the de facto standard in the industry for sending and sharing large files. From our lens, the state of SaaS in the industry is very strong.”

‘PAY AS YOU GO’

Mid-2018 could be seen as the transition era where ever more broadcasters and production houses give SaaS another look.

“We’re starting to see broadcasters understanding the need for buying software in different ways,” said Karl Mehring, director of product management for playout at Grass Valley. “The driver is the move from a load of equipment to a ‘pay as you go’ model, and that is something SaaS can provide better than other options out there today.

“This has really been driven by the adoption of the cloud and SaaS in other industries, where there has been a lot of success with it,” Mehring continued. “There will always be challenges with SaaS if you expect it to be same [as legacy broadcast equipment]. But that shouldn’t be a reason to always do the same thing when this technology offers so many benefits.”

‘FAIL FAST’

SaaS can have the added benefit of ensuring that what doesn’t work so well for a company doesn’t mean a large capital expenditure. With SaaS there is the ability to experiment—something usually not possible with onsite hardware.

“The primary advantage of the SaaS model is that the cloud offers the ability to be more dynamic with your business,” said Brick Eksten, CTO for playout and networking at Imagine Communications. “You can try new software with less risk when it comes to upfront costs. If you follow existing IT models of the ‘fail fast,’ then you don’t have to put a lot of expense into it.”

SaaS also allows broadcasters to adjust to ever-changing needs in production. For many businesses SaaS offers scalability and flexibility, which can be important for broadcasters that have variable workflows or are covering a major event, such as the recently concluded World Cup.

“For UHD with typical infrastructure this would be a barrier as you’d need to invest in a lot of hardware that would then go unused 90 percent of the time,” explained Olivier Karra, director for OTT & IPTV solutions at Harmonic. “With SaaS you can optimize your investment in these small windows.”

These small windows could be project-based productions, and it is more than just running remote software; it can offer other advantages that hardware-based solutions don’t so easily provide.

“SaaS allows for a virtual workspace in the cloud, with access data, publishing data and the ability to share metadata as well,” said Tim Claman, CTO and vice president of product management at Avid. “It is also a ‘pay as you go’ solution where multiple users can essentially ‘paint on the same canvas’ at the same time.”

It can also include both storage and compute power during those special projects and events.

“This allows for heavy use for a month or two, where you need a huge scale, but you can downgrade after the event is over,” added Todd Kelly, product marketing director at Aspera, a division of IBM. “What is important for broadcasters is to utilize a platform that will create no latency or bottlenecks when uploading a lot of content to the cloud. You want to make sure you can still run other things on your network, and not have SaaS impact the rest of your transfers or your performance.”

Part of this comes down to understanding how SaaS and the cloud do fit together, but shouldn’t be considered entirely one and the same.

“SaaS is a managed service that can utilize the cloud, and that has created some confusion,” said Karra. “The way we see SaaS as a cloud service can be different from companies that are simply trying to mimic what is running on premise in existing infrastructure.”

COST CONSIDERATIONS

A remaining downside to SaaS is the expense of moving large files to and from the cloud. While it does allow for flexibility and scale, broadcasters utilize far larger files than the IT sector, and as the cloud is geared for the latter, broadcasters may pay a premium in those peak usage times.

“Moving large data to the cloud and back is just very costly, so it is good for storage but moving content back and forth gets very expensive very quickly,” said Ian Fletcher, CTO for media at Grass Valley.

“One of the things you have to consider as a broadcaster using the cloud is what your end distribution model looks like,” added Imagine Communications’ Eksten. “If you are originating content in one country but distributing in another, the satellite costs may justify the transport costs of using the cloud.”

Understanding the costs and transport times with SaaS and the cloud is important, especially for those broadcasters that are only now adopting it.

“Video is very [data] heavy, and businesses that are attuned to IT content need to understand this, and that includes getting the workflows dialed in so that you can see the cloud as a benefit and not something that will slow you down,” said Avid’s Claman.

Then there’s the question of bandwidth.

“For smaller production houses you could hit your file caps,” warned Stan Moote, CTO for the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers. “That is the one thing everyone has to be careful about. Broadcasters can be savvy about understanding the magnitude of the file size when it comes to transporting it, but there needs to be an understanding of the costs of putting it in storage and getting it back out. This is why some recent statistics show that 40 percent of companies that went into the cloud came back out.”

There may still be some holdouts among broadcasters, but in the short term SaaS may co-exist with legacy systems.

“An important consideration for those looking at SaaS is how it will extend to on-premise operations,” said Shawn Carnahan, CTO of Telestream. “A lot right now is a hybrid. SaaS is increasingly driven by the workflow that often needs to be distributed via the cloud. Some of this may allow broadcasters to better utilize the premise resources or move the extra processing to the cloud.”

For some broadcasters the hardest part may be simply adjusting to SaaS and the cloud, even in this transition period.

“The biggest challenge with SaaS is always finding the 80/20 balance; it comes down to understanding which features and capabilities will add the most value to the most customers so that you can keep the balance of simple and powerful, which is key to a successful SaaS business,” said Signiant’s Finegold. “The media industry is in a very dynamic stage right now so there are always opportunities for new features and new services. The challenge is to focus on the things that matter most to the most customers—a never ending battle in SaaS.”

SIDEBAR: SaaS and Security

One consideration for broadcasters and production houses that are utilizing SaaS along with the cloud for storage is that data isn’t entirely on-premise. This is a legitimate concern given how Sony, HBO and others in the media and entertainment world have had content stolen or leaked. However, security is something all industries should think about regardless of whether SaaS is part of daily operations.

“More and more we’re seeing broadcast production integrated tighter and tighter with IT departments, but more importantly integrating better IT policies,” said Brick Eksten, CTO for playout & networking at Imagine Communications. “We are finally seeing better collaboration here, and while the broadcast world isn’t at the level of banking systems, I’m not really sure it has to be either.”

Taking cybersecurity more seriously is what matters however.

“It is absolutely critical and security hasn’t been taken seriously enough in the industry,” said Ian Fletcher, CTO for media at Grass Valley. “It has actually gone backwards in many ways. We’re used to systems that were disconnected, as for so long we worked on ‘air-gapped’ machines that weren’t connected online. Now with the move to SaaS every system is connected, but at the same time security isn’t always something that you can retrofit into existing infrastructures.”

Added restrictions could of course slow the workflow, especially when many different individuals or teams access the data. However, a cloud with the right security could allow for approved remote access to data and should help broadcasters overcome the barrier of distance.

“We’ve taken the view that regardless of whether it is a private cloud with a data center or the public internet you need the same type of security that you would see if you were doing banking online,” added Fletcher.

Treating data in the broadcast world with the same level of sensitivity as banking or health care is the logical next step.

“SaaS offers the ability to set up the legitimate users for the particular content; as well as their level of permissions where specific control can be granted,” said Todd Kelly, product marketing director at Aspera, a division of IBM. “Broadcasters simply need to organize the content so that they can make sure the right users have the right access. The user access model is the really important part. We’ve seen leaks, but most of it is due to operator error.”

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, England — Kathy Bienz has been named the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers Director, North America, and will take over from Caryn Cohen, who has served in that role for the past four years, IABM said Monday.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to carry forward all of IABM’s initiatives in North America and to further grow the family of members here,” said Bienz.

Bienz has more than 20 years of experience in the broadcast and media industry. She has worked in a range of marketing and management and channel management roles at Grass Valley, ChyronHego, Leitch Technology, Harris, Imagine Communications and Snell Advanced Media (SAM).

“Our previous director, North America, Caryn Cohen, was a real force for change and has done a tremendous job in helping IABM increase its footprint internationally — particularly in North America,” said IABM CEO Peter White.

“We are delighted she has joined IABM, and I look forward to even deeper engagement in the North American market as Kathy brings her very considerable industry experience and technical understanding to bear in her new role.”

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GLOUCESTERSHIRE, U.K.--V-Nova Ltd.—a U.K.-based provider of compression solutions for media processing and delivery—has upgraded its membership to the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers to Platinum, the organization’s highest level--Platinum. IABM is an international trade association for broadcast and media technology suppliers.

V-Nova’s product portfolio, which includes PERSEUS cross media codec technology, spans content production, contribution, storage, and distribution to end-users.

“As members for several years already, it has become clear that IABM is a leading forum and we now look forward to expanding our work with other members to drive forward progress across the industry,” said Guido Meardi, CEO and co-Founder of V-Nova Ltd., in London, U.K.

[Read: V-Nova Acquires Faroudja Enterprises Video Processing Patents]

V-Nova joins other IABM Platinum level members including Dell EMC, Google, Grass Valley, NEP, Piksel and Verizon Digital Media Services. IABM provides a wide range of member services, including market intelligence, training, technology, exhibitions and best practices to help them improve business.

“We welcome V-Nova’s decision to upgrade its IABM membership to Platinum level,” said Peter White, IABM CEO. “Having been an IABM member since 2015 – not long after the company was founded – V-Nova has been an active participant in IABM initiatives, events and activities, and is in a great position to take advantage of the extra benefits and status that Platinum membership offers. I’m looking forward to working closely with one of the industry’s great, new-generation innovators.”

LAS VEGAS—Next-Gen television rose to the forefront as both subject and object of the 2018 NAB Show, April 9–12. No matter where one turned, there were constant reminders of the ascendency of ultra high-definition, extended color gamuts, high dynamic range, and immersive audio, along with their enabler, the newly-minted ATSC 3.0 digital television transmission standard. Beginning in the Central Hall concourse of the Las Vegas Convention Center and extending into the exhibit halls and beyond, there were constant reminders of what lies ahead in terms of a greatly enhanced television experience. Technical experts laid bare the inner workings of ATSC 3.0 in all-day Saturday and Sunday sessions, as other presenters explained how to best make use of the standard, as well as how to profit from it.

ATSC 3.0 SPREADS ITS WINGS

“The momentum for ATSC 3.0 is evident with the interest we received from broadcasters throughout the world during the NAB Show,” said ATSC president Mark Richer, in reflecting on the rollout of the new standard during the event. “There was high interest in the potential for television transmitted to moving vehicles like the autonomous shuttle that was in our exhibit, and for the potential for next-generation television to reshape how broadcasters relate to their audience. People are carefully watching the deployments, with an eye on taking advantage of various new services made possible by ATSC 3.0 such as hybrid broadcast broadband applications, targeted advertising, and mobile reception.”

That mobile reception aspect of ATSC 3.0 was graphically demonstrated via a receiving installation in a small driverless “bus” that maneuvered in the open area outside Central Hall during exhibit hours. In addition to the completely hands-off driving experience, passengers witnessed rock-steady video despite vehicle motion, signal shadowing from buildings, and multiple reflections from surrounding structures.

Incoming ATSC Technology Group chair, Madeleine Noland, also expressed her satisfaction with the “buy-in” for the new TV standard at the show.

“I am amazed by the progress of next-gen TV from year to year, and momentum showed no signs of slowing at NAB 2018,” said Noland. “This year showed a clear shift from demos to deployments. The ‘Road to ATSC 3.0’ exhibit highlighted deployments across the U.S. and South Korea, and the Saturday IEEE BTS panel discussion offered an in-depth look at three field deployments projects, along with info on Advanced Emergency Alerting. As incoming ATSC TG chair, I’m excited about the year ahead and can’t wait to see what NAB 2019 will bring.”

UHD/HDR/ECG/HFR ALSO IN THE LIMELIGHT

Noland, who’s also with LGE Electronics’ office of the CTO, was one of 15 presenters at the day-long Saturday “Global UHD Conference” that explored topics including use of higher frame rates, advanced television rollout regulatory issues, and compression technologies for accommodating greater line counts, extended color gamuts, increased dynamic range and other components in UHD signals. The presenters included a Korean contingent that addressed the deployment of advanced TV in their country, and “lessons learned” in that rollout.

The accomplishments of the Koreans were acknowledged by NAB president and CEO, Gordon Smith, in his closing remarks at the Global UHD Conference.

“I want to congratulate Korea’s broadcasters, who, using the occasion of the Winter Olympics, were able to make this transition [to ATSC 3.0] in a way such that anyone could experience the dramatic difference made by this new technology,” said Smith. “The Olympics gave the Korean broadcasters an opportunity to shine, and they truly did. And they brought that great event to audiences all over for everybody to enjoy and get a glimpse of the future. U.S. broadcasters look forward to [soon] joining you in rolling out next-gen TV commercially.”

Examples of ATSC 3.0 technology were liberally scattered across the convention center’s exhibit halls, ranging from ATSC 3.0-capable transmitters, to consumer products including set-top boxes to allow older TVs to work with the new signals, “dongles” for converting tablets into ATSC 3.0 receivers, and even a master antenna television (MATV) unit for distributing 3.0 signals throughout an apartment building or hotel.

In addition to its ATSC 3.0-ready TV transmitter line, Hitachi-Comark also featured a complete “end-to-end” 3.0 demo.

“Visitors were able to see a “glass-to-glass” (camera-to-TV) ATSC 3.0 demo showing 1080p60 HDR along with up to 12 SD programs in a single 6 MHz RF channel,” said Joe Turbolski, marketing chief for the Southwick, Mass.-based company. “They expressed a keen interest in our transmitters for repack [as well as] ATSC 3.0.”

Turbolski added that Comark Digital Services (CDS) had recently been relaunched to assist broadcasters’ migration from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0.

AD TARGETING COMES OF AGE

ATSC 3.0 even extended to an upper floor of Las Vegas’s Wynn Hotel where the standard’s targeted advertising capabilities were demonstrated. Kevin Gage, executive vice president of strategic development at ONE Media, participated in the demos and said response was “overwhelmingly positive.”

“We hosted a broad range of global industry members in our suite,” he said. “Along with our partner SK Telecom, we demonstrated how MMT [MPEG Media Transport] enables broadcasters to provide client-side targeted dynamic ad insertion and geotargeted graphical overlays.”

The show also served as the backdrop for the Monday afternoon signing of a memorandum of understanding addressing the emergency alerting capabilities that ATSC 3.0 brings to the table. Representatives from AWARN (Advanced Warning and Response Network) Alliance, the NAB, and Korea’s RAPA (Korea Radio Promotion Association) agreed to “actively promote next-generation television using the ATSC 3.0 standard,” giving special emphasis to its emergency alerting capabilities.

IP CONTINUES TO MAKE INROADS

Although Next Gen TV got the lion’s share of attention, there were plenty of reminders of other churn and evolution going on within broadcasting, including the increasing movement to the cloud, virtualization, and most assuredly, the transition to IP connectivity. Many equipment manufacturers featured IP-enabled technology, and the industry-sponsored IP Showcase returned for its second NAB appearance and first since the SMPTE 2110 video transport over IP standard was approved last fall.

“The interest in real-time IP conductivity changed since last the NAB when the IP Showcase’s focus was interoperability,” said Stan Moote, IABM CTO. “This year’s hands-on demos, complete with a SMPTE ST 2110 studio producing videos and live streaming of the presentations at the IP Showcase IABM Theater, drew crowds. The ‘standing-room-only’ theater sessions [included] IP use cases and deep dives into the specifics of existing IP facilities, configurations and standards specifics.”

THE CLOUD GROWS

Companies that in the past have not been directly associated with broadcasting such as Amazon, Microsoft, and Verizon were at the show, with larger booths and increased staffing to accommodate interest in their wares.

Mary Kay Evans, chief marketing officer at Verizon Digital Media Services, spoke about her company’s offerings, noting the increased level of interest in live streaming and other new content delivery modalities.

“We debuted our Live Event Operations managed service which allows broadcasters to quickly ramp up operations capacity to optimize live event streaming,” she said. “It was perfect timing, as monetizing and scaling live event streams were big concerns for many of the visitors who stopped by our booth.”

Amazon Web Services (AWS) chief product officer Asiam Khader also noted an uptick in interest in what his company is offering.

“Cloud migration is definitely accelerating,” said Khader. Increased agility and innovation, along with lower costs, are the drivers.” 

He observed that another tool offered by Amazon is gaining traction. “We also are seeing more providers building intelligent video workflows with AWS machine learning services to improve engagement.”

No matter where you looked, it was evident at this year’s NAB Show that a paradigm shift was underway in the way both broadcasting and content production are done. The 2018 event seems destined to be remembered as the one where next-generation television arrived in full force and reminders of ATSC 3.0 extended throughout the entire show.

The 2018 NAB Show featured exhibits from 1,718 companies that occupied more than one million square feet of floor space. Approximately 93,000 attended, a 10 percent drop from 2017. Of those, 25,550 were international.

The 2019 NAB Show is scheduled for April 6-11 in Las Vegas.

For a comprehensive list of TV Technology’s ATSC 3.0 coverage, see our ATSC3 silo. 

We all thought any more discussion about net neutrality was done and over with back in 2015 when the Federal Communications Commission, FCC, in the U.S. adopted Net Neutrality rules that keep the internet free and open. It was a fierce battle leading up to this decision and now the FCC is reversing its decision and removing the net neutrality rules. So what does this really mean?

My wife is an avid Facebook user—strictly for her profession—and she started asking me about net neutrality. As you may know, I live in Canada, so I was curious to know why she even knew about net neutrality given her vocation is teaching specialized arts and craft techniques, which has little to do with our tech-y media and entertainment world. Many of her Facebook “friends” were up in arms and super concerned about the changes in net neutrality and how it would affect their daily lives including their Facebook activities. Digging deeper it was pretty clear people were only picking up a single thread about net neutrality. This is unfortunately really common now; social media is increasingly an echo chamber for like-thinking people, without even a hint of the balanced view that professional journalists strive to report.

Net neutrality is all about ISPs (internet service providers) not being able to block, or for that matter even slow down, specific internet traffic to their customers. Without net neutrality, competitive services could be slowed down or even blocked by ISPs. For instance, an ISP that is owned or associated with a media company could block or slow up competing television services that are using OTT for distribution. For that matter, the reverse could happen where media providers that rely on OTT could indeed pay the ISPs to give their services higher speeds, thus slowing down their potential competition.

Getting back to my wife’s Facebook “friends” hyped-up concerns, opinions aired over the Internet could be blocked if the ISP has opposing views, stifling free speech online. Wow—here we are back to freedom of the press! Many smaller lobby groups are afraid they will lose their voices.

So why would the FCC make a 180 degree turn? They call this “Restoring Internet Freedom” moving back to encourage rapid Internet growth, openness, and freedom. As Jim Burger, who is an attorney in Washington at Thompson and Coburn explains it, the current administration believes “less regulation is good.” I have spoken with several colleagues including those whose companies have a foot in the Internet and the media business who believe this 180-degree turn is good—however they declined to go on record and do an interview for IABM TV.

As you can see, there are very strong opposing views on this topic. Thinking about this on a broader level, Net Neutrality has been considered very important for small business owners, startups and entrepreneurs to compete against the big guys who could afford to bias the Internet service providers’ through-puts. Further, overseas companies wanting to provide services within the US. .could be blocked. Either way, this new “freedom” would effectively actually reduce freedom of choice for buyers. After all, who can do any business these days without having an internet presence? This could happen in other countries too, protecting their own services; many countries outside the US. .are watching this closely as they decide on their own communication regulatory framework. 

Stan Moote is the CTO for the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—IABM is opening up its door to some of the new companies on the block, announcing the creation of a “Start-Up” membership category. Companies that have been incorporated for less than two years are eligible to sign up with this new membership, which provides the full range of IABM membership services to support as they develop at what IABM describes as a “manageable price.”

Start-Up membership includes full access to IABM’s portfolio of business intelligence insights and analysis; technology services; events and networking; discounts on floorspace and access to member lounges at exhibitions; and entry to IABM awards.

IABM has announced that Salsa Sound, founded in 2017 by Dr. Rob Oldfield and Dr. Ben Shirely, is the first start-up to sign up for the Start-Up membership category.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—The International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers (IABM) has announced the winners of its annual awards recognizing outstanding achievement in the flow of young talent into the industry, tech innovation and creative collaboration between vendors and end user.

John Ive

The awards were presented during the IABM Annual International Business Conference in London Nov. 30-Dec.1. The association also presented its Honorary Membership of IABM award, which is bestowed on an individual who has played a major role in the industry’s development and contributed to the advancement of IABM throughout their career.

Winners include:

· Aleksei Bukhalov, IABM Young Person of the Year, sponsored by ARRI. Bukhalov is a master’s degree student at the St. Petersburg State University of Film and Television. His dissertation is on the use of eye-tracking in media, which is especially relevant to virtual and augmented reality.

· EVS – X.One single operator live multi-cam production, IABM Peter Wayne Award for Design and Innovation.

· SDVI Corp. with Fox Networks Group, Discovery Communications and Turner, IABM Creative Collaboration Award, sponsored by Aperi. SDVI established special relationships with Fox, Discovery and Turner on each company’s use cases for its Rally media supply chain manager.

· John Ive, IABM Honorary Membership Award. “John Ive has made an enormous, continuous contribution to our industry over more than 40 years and richly deserves this recognition,” said Peter White, IABM CEO.

More information is available on the IABM website.

LIÈGE, BELGIUM—EVS left the IABM Annual International Business Conference and Awards in London with the Peter Wayne Award for Design and Innovation for its X-One live production system.

Billed as an all-in one system, the X-One allows a single operator to handle all the capabilities of a control room from EVS’ contextualized, adaptable touchscreen user interface. The X-One operators can create replays, control audio, cut together a live feed with the built-in video switcher and add graphics to live programming.

The IABM Peter Wayne Award is judged by a panel of industry specialists.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—After a career that has spanned more than 40 years, John Ive—BA, MIET, CEng, Life Fellow SMPTE, RTS Fellow and Silver Medal Holder—is receiving another honor, a Lifetime Honorary IABM Membership.

John Ive

Ive began his broadcasting career at BBC in 1972 and went on to work for U.K. commercial television regulator IBA and Sony Professional Europe, where he would spend 28 years assisting with Sony’s European R&D team. At Sony he headed the European product management team and later was appointed as a director within Sony Professional Europe. Ive also served as an instigator and director of the ProMPEG Forum, as well as working on other standardization activities with SMPTE and EBU.

As an IABM member throughout this career, Ive joined the organization in 2008, eventually serving as the director of technology and strategic insight.

“John Ive has made an enormous, continuous contribution to our industry over more than 40 years and richly deserves this recognition,” said Peter White, IABM CEO, in the announcement. “His energy and drive, combined with his intuitive understanding of our industry and his natural ability to communicate, have also been invaluable in helping to develop IABM into the wide-ranging, authoritative organization that it is today.”

Ive joins past Lifetime Honorary Membership recipients like Alan Brill, Roger Crumpton, Larry Kaplan, Lyle Keys, David MacGregor, Mike Martin, Derek Owen, Peter Owen, John Ross, Martin Salter, Clyde Smith and Roderick Snell.

Ive will be presented with the award during IABM’s annual International Business Conference and Awards on Nov. 30 in London.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—IABM is welcoming broadcasters and media companies to its Annual International Business Conference for the first time this year. The organization is offering complimentary places to broadcaster and media executives on a first come, first serve basis; IABM reports that more than 20 individuals have already signed up.

With the topic of “Elevating Business—Media and Technology Working Together,” the first day of the conference will focus on the effects the rapid changes brought on by IT and IP technology adoption are having on vendors and end-users.

The goal of this, per IABM, is to provide open forums for collaboration on shared interests and opportunities between broadcast and media technology suppliers and their customers.

To sign up for the remaining places, visit www.iabmannualconference.com.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, UK--IABM, the international trade association for suppliers of broadcast and media technology, has announced the results of its biennial election of Board Directors as well as the addition of 53 new members.

The board is responsible for the overall strategy of IABM, setting, reviewing and changing as necessary the policies of the association, which are then implemented by the IABM Team. The Members' Board also exercises overall financial control.

The newly elected members are:

Dr Jörg Pohlman - ARRI
Kevin Usher - Avid
Nicki Fisher - Clear-Com
Muriel De Lathouwer - EVS Broadcast Equipment
Andreas Hilmer - Lawo
Alison Pavitt - Pebble Beach
Tim Felstead - SAM
Esther Mesas - Tedial
Anna Lockwood - Telstra 
David MacGregor - TSL

The newly voted-in members join five remaining members (elected by the outgoing board for continuity): chair James Gilbert of Pixel Power, past-chair Jan Eveleens of Axon, Marco Lopez of Grass Valley Group, Glenn LeBrun of Imagine Communications and Peter Sykes of Sony. In addition, the chairs of the APAC and North America IABM Regional Councils—Dennis Breckenridge of Elevate Broadcast and Michael Accardi of CueScript respectively—also have seats on the Board. Vice chair Graham Pitman, IABM CEO Peter White and Finance Director Lucinda Meek complete the line-up.

The addition of 53 new members brings the 2017 total to 67 in 2017, the fastest growth in membership on record, bringing total worldwide membership to a new high of 495.

The new members are:

Alteros, Inc.

AMH Broadcast

Artel Video Systems

Atende Software

ATHENSA

AVC Group

Barnfind

Broadcast Bionics

Conviva

CRYSTAL

CVideo

Dayang Technology Development Inc.

deltatre

Densitron Technologies Ltd

Digital Anarchy

DMC

Exir Broadcasting

FAL Systems

Glyph Production Technologies

Harbottle & Lewis

High Green Media

INC Systems

JM Broadcast

Juniper Networks

Kane Consulting

Lasergraphics

LCA Lights Camera Action Ltd

MAZ Digital

Mobile Viewpoint

NEC Corporation

NeuLion

Niagara Video Corporation

Platform Communications

ProComSat

ProTelevision Technologies

Scale Logic

SDVI Corporation

Seagate

Simplestream

SintecMedia

Sobey Digital Technology Co.,LTD

Soliton Systems

TeamPeople

Telstra

ThinkAnalytics

Three Media Associates

Unified Streaming

VIDELIO - Media

Visual Research Inc.

Visual Technologies India

Wecom Global

Yospace Technologies Ltd

3D Storm

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—Video Services Forum (VSF) has received an official endorsement from the IABM Industry Collaborative Group (IABM ICG).

VSF aids the development and adoption of open standards for video transport. The company’s activities include forums on video networking technologies; exchanging non-proprietary information to promote the development of technology; and promoting interoperability by contributing to and supporting development of standards by national and international standards bodies.

The IABM ICG Endorsement program is designed to encourage collaboration across a range of industry issues and opportunities, including best practice, standardization and interoperability. IABM states that its goal is a “framework where endorsed collaborative groups will be supported, promoted and encouraged to fulfill their potential and move forward in an open, constructive environment to the benefit of the wider industry.”

LONDON—IABM and BVE are teaming up for 2017 to provide heightened activity and more opportunities for members during the 2017 BVE show, which is scheduled to take place in London from Feb. 28-March 2.

Another part of the this collaboration will see IABM work with BVE to develop a one-day training course to run parallel with the show and created hosted C-Level tours of the show for personalized on-site experience. IABM will also work on a technology feature to add additional value for show visitors.

BVE 2017 will take place at ExCeL London. For more information visit www.bvexpo.com.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—No more yearly renewals for Ole Clausen, founder and CEO of Danmon Group and Dan Technologies, as IABM recently awarded him with lifetime Honorary IABM Membership at the 2016 International Business Conference and Awards.

Clausen established the Danmon Group in 1981, building it up through the Nordic regions during the 1980s. Over the years the group has established partnerships with Avid and Philips BTS and acquired companies like Soudnware/New Music A/S and NTP Technology A/S, ATG in the U.K., and Hiltron in Germany. Since 2012, the company has expanded with the establishments of Danmon Asia, Datos-Danmon Media Technology and Vantec Danmon Technology.

“Ole Clausen richly deserves this recognition for the many years of inspired and dedicated work he has put in to move our great industry forward,” said Peter White, IAMB CEO. “He has also been a long-time supporter of IABM and his input has consistently enriched the Association. I was delighted to be able to present him with Honorary Membership at this year’s International Business Conference.”

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—IABM’s North America Regional Council is under new leadership, as the international trade association has announced a new chair and council members to serve the region’s broadcast and media industry. Michael Accardi, president of CueScript, has been tapped as the Council’s chair, serving a two-year term.

Michael Accardi

Accardi has more than 27 years of experience in management, sales, marketing and product development with companies like CueScript, Sachtler, Anton/Bauer, Autoscript and Vitec Videocom. In addition to his role as chair, Accardi will also serve on the central IABM Members’ Board.

Joining Accardi for the next two years as council members are Joe Commare, marketing manager, Riedel; Brian Cram, CEO, Dejero; George Elsaesser, president, GEA & Associates; Mary Kay Evans, CMO, Verizon; Andy Hurt, SVP marketing and business development, Wazee Digital; Peer Jambor, marketing and comms manager, Vitec; Ted Korte, CEO, Qligent; Brian Olson, VP product management, NewTek; Adam Schadle, VP, Video Clarity; Neerav Shah, senior VP strategic marketing, Grass Valley; Steve Sloan, director sales, Nevion; Thomas Tang, president, Apantac; and John Tkaczewski, president, FileCatalyst.

For more information on the North American Regional Council, click here.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—Schools are getting back underway here in the U.S., but across the pond, IABM is offering some educational opportunities of its own with a new slate on online training courses. In addition, IABM has launched a new “Partner” initiative, which enables IABM members to partner with customers by passing IABM training places to the groups they provide equipment and services.

The online courses available are “Understanding IP and File-based Architecture” and “Introduction to Broadcast Technology.” The courses are available individual for $59, or $90 together. “Understanding IP and File-based Architecture” explores storage and media management, the use of multiple platforms and analyzes different production considerations and delivery requirements. “Introduction to Broadcast Technology” familiarizes candidates with the workings of the broadcast and media technology industry.

The “Partner” initiative allows IABM members to package training sessions with their own products and services to customers. Customers can also purchase courses at discounted rates. The entire range of IABM training courses are available as part of the program.

The online courses from IABM are available to be delivered to users’ desktop or mobile devices.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—The Alliance for IP Media Solutions has received top marks from IABM’s Industry Collaborative Groups Endorsement Program, becoming the first industry organization to receive an endorsement.

Launching back at the 2016 NAB Show, the ICG Endorsement Program is designed to encourage collaboration across a range of industry issues and opportunities. IABM wants a universally recognized framework that can support, promote and encourage endorsed collaborative groups.

AIMS is a non-profit trade alliance that promotes the open standards for movement from SDI to IP. AIMS features a number of broadcasters and technology companies—including Evertz, Cobalt, Net Insight, Dejero and more—that help develop standards for IP.

“AIMS’ objectives, structure and methodology align perfectly with those of our ICG Endorsement Program and we look forward to supporting AIMS in delivering the unifying leadership on IP issues that our industry needs to move forward as we transition from SDI to IP infrastructures,” said John Ive, IABM director of technology and strategic insight.

Our industry has been built on transitions from the early days. From black and white to color, standard definition to high definition, analog to digital and now from SDI to IP, the television industry has never stood still for too long. Some transitions focused more on the technology than the business models (i.e. the transitions to HD or the muchmaligned transition to 3D), while others—including the current move to IP—focus more on workflow and cost efficiencies. But the one element most of us can agree upon is that the changes undergoing our industry right now will have far more impact on the future of television than ever before.

That was among the several conclusions from a new report issued by IABM DC LLC, a joint venture between Internattional Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers and Devoncroft Partners in advance of this month’s IBC Show. The Global Market Valuation and Strategy Report summarizes the financial and technological status of our industry, covering approximately 3,000 technology vendors and service providers. Joe Zaller, CEO of research firm Devoncroft summarized the impact of IP technology on the future of the broadcast industry in philosophical terms: “A butterfly flaps its wings in Silicon Valley and now there’s a tidal wave of change heading towards the broadcast industry.”

Zaller characterizes the rate and influence of such changes as “profound,” adding that customers of broadcast technology products and services are undergoing a simultaneous business transformation that involves both production processes and content distribution, which are upending existing business models. The driver? The move to software-based products and services.

“The transition today is not about changing boxes,” he said. “In fact, in the future, there‘s not going to be as many boxes or they will be different. We are seeing a profound change.”

Looking at the numbers over the last five years, the report values the broadcast and video production technology industry at approximately $48 billion as of 2014, with an average growth rate for all markets and services in our industry of just under 3 percent CAGR (compounded annual growth rate) between 2009 and 2014. This was about average for our industry, according to Zaller. The market for products has experienced a significant slowdown since 2012, which he attributes to growth in service- based revenues, including the influx of software and cloud-based services, driven by new workflows and the increasing use of OTT as a means of content distribution.

This confirms what many of us have already known. The decreased emphasis on dedicated boxes and “forklift” upgrades in favor of cloud and virtualization have been well documented in these pages, with the mantra of “any content anytime anywhere,” driving the business models.

“What we’re seeing with the rise of OTT platforms is that the power has shifted from platforms like the cable or satellite bundle to content,” Zaller said. “And eyeballs follow content and money follows eyeballs.”

DC Police Chief to Keynote GV Expo

NewBay Media has announced that Cathy Lanier, chief of the metropolitan police department in Washington, D.C., will keynote the Government Video Expo on Dec. 3, focusing on the use of video cameras in police enforcement. Lanier has headed up the department since 2007.

The Government Video Expo takes place at the Washington Convention Center, Dec. 1–3. For more information, visit www.gvexpo.com.

Although the report provides a comprehensive analysis of where we’ve been in the past five years, predicting where we’re going is not as easy. Will content management and distribution become virtualized or move to outsourcing? Will IP technology make the market bigger or smaller from a technology perspective?

“It’s a very dynamic time in the market, however, from a forecast perspective, your crystal ball becomes very hazy when you’re trying to determine what comes next because there’s so much in flux,” Zaller concluded.

AMSTERDAM—IABM was on hand at IBC 2015 to announce the winners of its 2015 Design & Innovation Awards, which honor outstanding broadcast and media industry talent. This year, IABM recognized products that offer solutions or new opportunities to the broadcast and media industry in nine categories.

The winners are:

• Acquisition and Production: Suitcase TV – Iphrame Remote
• Post Production: Marquis Broadcast – Edit Bridge
• Content and Communication Infrastructure: EVS – SEA Games TV App
• Audio: AATON – Digital – CantarX3 on location audio recorder
• Storage: Ericsson – Video Storage and Processing Platform
• System Automation and Control: Net Insight AB – Customer Provisioned Networks
• Playout and Delivery Systems: Harmonic – Harmonic Spectrum X Media Server System
• Test, Quality Control and Monitoring: Volicon – Observer OTT Service Monitoring Solution
• Services: Conax – Conax GO Live

In addition, the judges gave a Special Recognition Award to VRT and the collaborators for the Live IP Project.

The winners were honored at a special ceremony held at the Emerald Lounge at the RAI Convention Center.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND—IABM has announced that Stan Moote has been appointed to the position of chief technology officer with the association. Moote will work closely with John Ive, director of technology and strategic insight for IABM, on providing more technology services to members.

Stan Moote

Prior to joining IABM, Moote served as vice president and CTO at both Leitch and Harris. He also a part of the SMPTE Digital Video Standards Committee meetings that created CCIR-601. Moote has also developed several patents, including for scrambling systems, data monitoring, multiviewers, router processors and IPTV systems.

“Stan’s appointment comes at a time when IABM is experiencing growth in both its membership and events delivery,” said Peter White, CEO, IABM. “Stan will contribute to IABM’s technology thought leadership and will assume responsibility for the development and scope of technical boards, committees, technology events and assist and formulate growth strategies in North America and APAC regions.”

IABM is a global organization that promotes the broadcast and media technology supply industry.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND – It may be summer but IABM is bringing back the classroom as the IABM Training Academy will launch online e-learning and virtual classroom courses for training in the broadcast and media technology industry.

‘Understanding File Formats’ will be one of the first virtual classroom courses offered by IABM Training and is scheduled to take place from Aug. 3-7 in the U.K., and Aug. 10-14 in the U.S. The course will deliver five two-hour long modules. Spots for the course are still available.

Steve Warner

“The [virtual] courses are led by highly experienced instructors, and combine all the advantages of a classroom course,” said Steve Warner, head of training, IABM. “Participants will have the ability to interact with other students, put their hand up to ask questions or even go into a break-out room for smaller group discussions.”

IABM is also offering the new e-learning course, ‘Understanding IP and File-based Delivery,’ which is currently in its final planning stages. This self-paced course is delivered through the Academy’s Learning Management System and consists of seven self-contained modules looking at the full spectrum of broadcast infrastructure.

Traditional classroom-based courses are also available, with courses scheduled to take place in Dubai, North America and Canada, running until the end of the year and incorporating the Academy’s full curriculum of classroom-based courses. IABM will also bring a new half-day workshop on HEVC standard to IBC 2015 in Amsterdam; full programs on HEVC will be scheduled in the U.K., APAC and North America following IBC 2015.

GLOUCESTERSHIRE, ENGLAND – The IABM has announced the results for its bi-annual board member elections, headlined by the appointment of James Gilbert, founder and joint managing director of Pixel Power, as IABM chair. Gilbert takes over for Jan Eveleen, who will still sit on the board in the position of immediate past chair.

James Gilbert

Other newly elected board members include Kevin Usher, Avid; Mark Gederman, ChryonHego; Nicki Fisher, Clear-Com; Ben Davenport, Dalet; Marco Lopez, Grass Valley; Tom Favell, Hi-Tech Systems; Glenn Lebrun, Imagine Communications; Paul Nicholls, Phabrix; Roger Thornton, Quantel; Peter Sykes, Sony; David MacGregor, TSL; Mark Osborn, Vitec Videocom; Jordi Capdevila, Espitia, VSN. Four non-elected members were also added to the board – Derek Owen, non-executive director; Graham Pitman, vice chair; Lucinda Meek, finance director; and Peter White, chief executive.

The board is responsible for the overall operations of IABM. It sets, reviews and changes policies, and has overall financial control of the association.

“These are exciting and challenging times for our industry with the rise of multi-platform content delivery and IP-based solutions,” said Gilbert. “Looking forward, I believe IABM needs to play a leading role in this transition, by supporting both the long established and the newer companies.”

Darren Whitehead

PORTLAND, ORE. – The International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers has hired Darren Whitehead at its new director of business development. Whitehead most recently worked for the broadcast trade show and conference, IBC.

Whitehead’s main responsibility will be to lead IABM’s efforts to transition from service-oriented approach to a sales-oriented, customer service model. He will also identify opportunities for growth in existing and new revenue streams.

LONDON—In every broadcast studio around the globe digital technology has revolutionized news from the point of creation, right through to consumption. In the same way that audiences are changing the way they access the news, newsrooms have had to follow suit and change the way they make and break the news.

John Ive

The demand for multimedia and multiplatform has skyrocketed, alongside the popularity of social media networks such as Twitter and Facebook. However, this growth spurt does not extend to broadcasters’ budgets and that is where the challenge lies. The only solution is to work smarter and more efficiently by using the latest technological advancements to future proof the newsroom.

ONE STEP AHEAD

Technology in the newsroom is already making the news production process more and more efficient. Newsrooms around the globe are starting to explore these new technologies both in front of the camera and behind the scenes in a bid to enhance their programming and stay one step ahead of competitors. The pressure on budgets has persuaded broadcasters to turn to innovation, and there are a number of trends emerging as a result.

One key element that is evolving is the newsroom system. Products such as Avid’s iNEWS and AP’s ENPS have led the field for many years and other multiplatform news systems such as Dalet’s News Suite, Ross Video’s Inception News, Octupus’ Octupus 7 or the recently launched Playbox’s NewsRoomBox are now being used to produce content for broadcast news, web, mobile and social media. TV broadcasters are also looking to the growing number of cloud alternatives created specifically for media organizations that have high storage and bandwidth requirements for television and video production.

In the current climate, broadcasters and content distributors have to build platforms that have the flexibility to respond to changing viewer behavior in the most cost-effective way, and the cloud could be the ideal solution. It provides the inherent flexibility, with the ability to rapidly provision new service and infrastructure, and without the large capital outlay. While in the newsroom, it enables employees to edit content on their desktops, laptops, tablets or smartphones instead of in a dedicated edit suite.

Many organizations have traditionally worked in silos with one team responsible for the main program output and a separate one creating content for the Web and other platforms. Newsrooms are increasingly being asked to do more, but with no additional increases in budget allocation, and this means that the costs of having to maintain separate teams for different platforms becomes unsustainable. Putting processes and technology in place that allow greater integration between social media and web platforms—rather than recruiting new staff to manage them separately—is more cost-effective in the long term.

Equally, the ecosystem must be open enough so additional platforms can be supported without having to upgrade the entire infrastructure.

Already on the horizon are a range of private cloud options or public clouds from renowned brands such as Microsoft Azure or Amazon Web Services. In addition, there are a number of broadcasters in the process of developing their own private group clouds to address security concerns. These group clouds have the ability to provide instantaneous private media and data sharing between group stations, and also allow groups to manage assets and metadata more efficiently.

JOURNALISM PORTAL

The increased pressure placed on news broadcasters is already being reflected in the world’s biggest newsrooms and it seems likely that the trend to move away from proprietary newsroom systems and embrace more open environments will continue. Evidence of this can be seen in the BBC, with the corporation creating its own Journalism Portal based on Microsoft Sharepoint, and other cloud-based offerings such as IBM WebSphere offer similar capabilities.

BBC's Journalism Portal

When the BBC first proposed its Journalism Portal in a white paper, it said it aimed to “take the first steps in supporting the growing demands of multiplatform and multimedia production, through the concept of story-based production.” The portal provides a “mashup” point for information and data around which journalists can come together irrespective of their location. It enables users to aggregate information and multimedia content for stories and can also be used for planning purposes.

Advances in technology have seen the role of the journalist change significantly, with more prominence being placed on producing content for multiple screens. Production processes as a whole are becoming more story-led, and new systems, such as the BBC’s, could become the platform where the journalist can plan and author content, as well as aggregate the information and content around any given story. This approach also makes collaboration more efficient, increasing the speed of newsgathering and helping journalists bring greater depth to stories.

The whole area of search and discovery in the newsroom environment is also expected to go through a revolution in years to come. The impact of the Web means that journalists can no longer afford to spend time sifting through reams of information. The systems will become more intelligent and offer the ability to filter content and stories to give journalists swift access to the most relevant and latest information.

In simple terms, the newsroom of the future will incorporate far more automation, in both processes and systems. Journalists will be able to prepare content in a way that can feed out multiple versions automatically without having to craft each by hand. This level of automation will enable broadcasters to achieve multiple outputs without incurring extra costs. Inevitably, there will be fewer staff but they will be working with smarter, more open technology, creating news that can be viewed on the television, the Internet or the latest smart device.

John Ive is the director of business development and technology for the International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers.