BURLINGTON, Mass.—Avid is launching new integrated newsroom capabilities for Avid for News at the 2026 NAB Show, April 18–22 in Las Vegas.

The company said it plans to demonstrate how Avid Content Core connects planning, production, and publishing across MediaCentral, Wolftech News, iNEWS, Avid NEXIS and Stream IO, enabling news organizations “to produce and deliver content within a single, coordinated workflow across multiple digital and linear platforms—without disrupting existing operations.”

With Avid for News now powered by Avid Content Core, Avid says the integration allows its News platform to now connect the full production lifecycle – linking newsroom systems, creative tools, and media infrastructure into a unified, story-centric environment. This approach enables news teams to develop and deliver stories in parallel across real-time digital platforms and scheduled broadcasts.

“Avid Content Core is an intelligent layer that sits across the entire newsroom production lifecycle, linking stories, workflows, and teams – helping organizations get more value from their media assets, while ensuring continuity as they transform their operations,” said Wellford Dillard, Chief Executive Officer at Avid. “With Content Core now available commercially, Avid has delivered a unified foundation that makes news and media organizations faster, more efficient, and better aligned.”

Avid for News provides real-time visibility into content, context, and progress as news stories develop. Unlike point solutions that operate in isolation, Avid integrates stories, teams, and workflows within Avid Content Core’s shared platform. Built with an API‑first approach, Avid Content Core provides an open platform that integrates with existing newsroom systems and third‑party technologies, allowing organizations to evolve workflows while still leveraging current infrastructure.

By linking editorial systems with professional media creation and storage, Avid for News enables:

• Coordinated planning, scripting, editing, and publishing within a single environment
• Visibility into content and story development throughout the production lifecycle
• Faster creation of platform-specific versions for broadcast, digital, and social
• Reduced duplication and fewer manual handoffs between teams
• Streamlined review and approval workflows within a unified workspace
• Advanced browser-based editing and multi-platform publishing for fast content creation and versioning across broadcast, web, and social formats

“At NAB Show 2026, we’re showing how news teams can move from siloed workflows to a unified, story-centric approach – without adding complexity,” said Arne Berven, SVP of Broadcast Strategy at Avid and CEO of Wolftech. “The future of news is not digital-first or linear-first – it’s both. With Avid for News, teams can now work from the same core story, collaborate in real time, and deliver platform-specific versions in parallel.”

Accelerating Production with AI-Powered Content Intelligence
Avid will also demonstrate how AI-enabled content intelligence within Avid Content Core enhances how teams discover, manage, and develop content—leveraging Avid’s deep understanding of media assets and workflows.

Key content intelligence capabilities include:

• Faster content discovery with AI-powered semantic search across newsroom systems, creative tools, and media storage
• Deeper content context by connecting scripts, media, versions, and outputs across the production lifecycle
• Improved access to related content to surface assets, versions, and previously produced materials across systems
• Reduced manual effort through AI-assisted workflows that automate repetitive tasks while keeping teams in control

Connecting Cloud and On-Prem Production Without Disruption
Designed to operate in hybrid environments, Avid for News enables teams to work seamlessly across on-premises or cloud-based systems—without requiring costly migrations or workflow changes.

At the show, Avid is demonstrating how organizations can extend their current environments with cloud-enabled capabilities, including integrations with the Avid NEXIS storage solution and Avid Stream IO—the recently updated video ingest and playout solution. These integrations enable more flexible, distributed production while maintaining the performance, reliability, and control required for professional news operations.

Stream IO also now includes content sub-clipping and trimming, giving operators more control and accelerating fast-turnaround workflows.

Previewing Newsroom Tech Advances

• Visitors to the Avid booth (N2226) will see previews of key Avid for News technology innovations, including:
• Advanced web-based editing with Avid Content Core (powered by CuttingRoom)
• Newsroom and rundown workflows integrating Wolftech News and iNEWS for efficient story-centric collaboration
• A next-generation, web-based Newsroom Computer System (NRCS) with Rundown powered by Wolftech

Avid also announced earlier this month that it will demonstrate Avid Content Core running on AWS, providing a “cloud native” foundation for connected media workflows built on AWS for news organizations, broadcasters, studios, and streaming services. At the same time, Avid said it is “renewing its focus” on Avid NEXIS and Avid Media Composer on AWS.

ATLANTA—As the Gray Innovation Lab celebrates its first anniversary this week, Gray Media’s push to accelerate innovation at the company has already produced some notable advances in the adoption of AI solutions by newsrooms, ad sales and engineering staff.

“The goal [for the Gray Innovation Lab] was really to take a wholesale, fresh look at everything we are doing in a multidisciplinary way,” explained Claire Ferguson, vice president, assistant general counsel and senior technology counsel at Gray Media. “The idea was to take a look at what we are doing, ask why we are doing things the way we do them and think about what we can do to make things better.”

One major focus since the launch of the Lab a week before Christmas in 2024 has been AI solutions. Ferguson estimates that they spent about 80% of their time in the first 10 months developing what they call the “ask grAI” platform. It went live in October.

“It is the biggest thing to come out of our work so far,” Ferguson said. “We have about 10,000 employees and all of them now have a login because we felt it needed to be a very democratic product.”

The "ask grAI" solution leverages LLMs or large language models, but was developed and customized to both protect Gray’s data and take advantage of Gray’s internal data to train the platform.

“It is a product that uses standard LLMs as sort of the meat of the hamburger,” Ferguson said. “But below it, we have our own company data, our own company training materials and any number of proprietary and specialized data that we want it to leverage as well. There's robust data security and protection so that there's no data leakage, as there would be if you were simply using ChatGPT. You can use the GPT LLM within ask grAI, but it will add a filter [to reflect] the Gray way that protects your data and gives you a response that we have spent 10 months really carefully training and honing to help our teams.”

`A LOVING EDITOR'

The launch makes Gray a notable example of how station groups are trying to use AI to both create new business opportunities and strengthen their traditional operations.

Gray’s approach to applying AI tools is particularly evident in the newsroom, which is where the tool has been the most heavily adopted.

Here, one major goal has been to automate menial tasks so that journalists have more time to report stories and interact with the local community. “It can do things like give SEO guidance, things that journalists didn’t claw their way into journalism school to spend their time doing,” Ferguson said. “If we can push some of that work to AI, it will let our journalists get back out into our communities.”

“By allowing our journalists to get back to doing what they want to be doing, we think there is a real opportunity in terms of improving the volume and quality of stories,” she added.

Other notable examples of its use are in reversioning stories for different platforms and in editing.

Its editing capabilities include tools for fixing grammar and adhering to AP Style guidelines, as well as providing feedback for stories.

“It does not rewrite stories,” she stressed. “It might simply say, 'have you considered asking the mayor for a comment on this?’ Or it might say, `the story seems one-sided, have you considered alternative views?’ It acts as a loving editor.”

“It can also assist our news teams with versioning,” she added. “So if you've got an on air script and you're looking to turn it to a digital story, it will assist in changing all the capital letters into standard use.”

Ferguson stressed that they’ve put safeguards in place to ensure that journalists oversee the whole process: “Our journalists are trained to understand that even with light editing touches, the finished product has to be the responsibility of the journalist who is using the tool. It has to be carefully reviewed by the journalist to ensure that there were no changes made to that digital story that they haven’t approved.”

HYPER-PERSONALIZED STREAMING

Looking forward, the use of AI to reversion stories for different platforms is likely to become even more important, as Gray ramps up its digital and streaming efforts.

In early 2026, Gray’s plans to launch a hyper-personalized video streaming platform, for example. The platform is the result of an wide-ranging streaming deal that Gray inked for a full end-to-end streaming solution on Google Cloud powered by Quickplay.

The new platform aims to redefine the streaming experience by combining the power of Google Cloud's AI infrastructure with Quickplay’s flexible, cloud-native platform to deliver deeply personalized viewing experiences, the companies reported in an August 2025 announcemen.

“That partnership goes far beyond the nuts and bolts of distribution and OTT delivery,” Ferguson said. “It will offer some really interesting, consumer friendly and facing capabilities, like using AI in a limited capacity to create YouTube shorts, or, convert video to vertical. Those are important efforts for our distribution strategy going forward to reach larger audiences on more platforms.”

The ability of AI to search through large document dumps and collect data has also been adopted by Gray’s investigative journalists and units. In one case, it is being used to collect data on local arrests, which in the future could help identify trends in the criminal justice system. In other cases, it opens up opportunities to develop stories around large document releases or data sets that might otherwise be too time-consuming to analyze and report.

“I do think it can reignite a spark in folks who feel as though they’re spending too much time on things like SEO,” she said. “We train our people not to rely on it exclusively and write stories based on AI summaries. But it can certainly help them dig into a trend that might not have been covered in the past.”

AI TRAFFICKING

Another major area of focus for AI solutions has been in advertising sales and trafficking. “We think of our platforms as a way to reduce friction,” Ferguson.

In terms of ads sales, many station groups like Gray have already been using AI to create ads and creative for smaller advertisers who couldn’t create their own 30 second or 60 second spots. “We think there is a massive upside for that,” she said.

But can also have an important impact on ad operations. Ferguson noted that “we’re still working through this application but, preemption trackers and tracking which sports ads are approved in different leagues can free up a lot of time.”

Engineering, “is another area where we have a lot of really excited folks,” she added. “We think there is a big opportunity here in terms of uploading manuals and leveraging the information we have at each of our 114 different television stations. We want to see how we can utilize AI to better know that information and leverage it.”

And, while AI and automation is often discussed as a way to reduce staffing levels, Ferguson stresses it can also be a way to avoid burnout by journalists and other employees who are tasked with feeding content to multiple platforms.

“Burnout in newsrooms is an incredibly real thing and something we’re hyper focused on,” she said. “Our ask grAI is very much intended to be a response to that. People don’t burn out from being in their communities and telling stories that are meaningful to them.”

NEW YORK—AccuWeather has announced a multi-year deal with MS Now to provide weather forecasts, content, data, and access to its expert meteorologists to the network's audiences.

Comcast is spinning off its cable networks and other assets from NBCUniversal into Versant, a new company, at the end of 2025 or early in 2026. As part of that, MSNBC is separating from NBC News and rebranding as MS NOW in mid-November.

The new deal makes AccuWeather the preferred weather source for Versant, which will own MS NOW and business-news channel CNBC when the spinoff is complete.

"At such a groundbreaking moment for soon-to-be MS Now, we are proud to continue to expand our reporting capabilities and offerings alongside AccuWeather,” said MS Now senior vice president of newsgathering Scott Matthews. “Our network's mission—embodied through our new name MS Now, My Source for News, Opinion and the World—is to bring our viewers the most-trusted news that they care about. We know, at a moment of unprecedented weather events, that AccuWeather will bring top-quality data and reporting to our audiences.”

“AccuWeather is proud to be the Preferred Weather Provider for Versant, which further enhances AccuWeather’s core mission to save lives, protect property, and help people and businesses make the best weather-impacted decisions,” AccuWeather CEO Steven R. Smith said. “AccuWeather's forecasts and warnings with proven Superior Accuracy from its expert meteorologists will now reach millions more people with this multi-year deal on many new platforms."

MS NOW also said has hired David Parkinson as senior weather and elections data analyst and Moses Small as climate reporter to join the network's growing roster of journalists. Emmy award-winning Parkinson joins MS NOW from CBS News, while Small joins from KGTV San Diego. Parkinson and Small will be working alongside AccuWeather's expert meteorologists to deliver the AccuWeather forecasts on Versant networks.

AccuWeather will support MS NOW, as well as CNBC, including daily on-air segments on “Morning Joe” and “Squawk Box.” The daily spots will highlight AccuWeather's forecasting expertise, while deepening viewer engagement with the most detailed forecasts and powerful weather insights which connect to business, lifestyle and cultural topics.

AccuWeather will also provide the networks with an integrated suite of services, including live and recorded meteorologist appearances, data-driven weather graphics, tailored weather briefings, and editorial content. Versant will have access to AccuWeather's Enterprise API, editorial feed and video content library, enhancing its ability to incorporate weather context and analysis across its news and entertainment programming, the companies reported.

As news organizations and broadcasters face more pressure than ever to capture, verify, and distribute real-time access to breaking news, Reuters and Amazon Web Services (AWS) have announced that they will demonstrate what they are calling a next-generation news distribution system during IBC2025.

The demo involves live content captured from the floor of the United Kingdom (UK) Parliament that is replicated in near real-time to multiple news organizations simultaneously, the two companies said.

Using the open-source Time-Addressable Media Store (TAMS) API specification and AWS services including Amazon S3, AWS Elemental MediaConvert, and AWS Step Functions, Reuters and AWS will showcase how cloud-native collaboration and interoperability can significantly reduce of the time need to share content, lower associated costs, and transform the way news is created, exchanged and monetized. Additionally, AWS will show how TAMS can be integrated with Amazon Bedrock and TwelveLabs video understanding models to enable embedding of news content.

In a live demonstration, Reuters will ingest UK Parliament feeds produced by the Parliamentary Broadcasting Unit, transmitted using TAMS to AWS, and then provide the content near instantly to broadcasting and distribution partners.

“Speed, accuracy, and trust are the pillars of Reuters visual journalism. By working with AWS, we’re turning camera-to-cloud from a concept into a working reality—moving high-quality footage from the field to our producers and customers in seconds,” Mahesh Ramachandran, head of technology, Reuters. “This isn’t just faster; it’s a fundamental shift in how we gather, edit and distribute video. With AWS’s TAMS-based cloud architecture, Reuters producers and Reuters News Agency customers can instantly access breaking news content, getting verified visuals to audiences sooner, at lower cost and with the flexibility to scale for any story, anywhere.”

“Our cost modeling suggests that TAMS can significantly reduce fast-turnaround workflow costs for organizations like Reuters, on top of time savings,” shared Chris Swan, principal solutions architect for content production at AWS. “Since content in these frameworks is moving between Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3) buckets in short segments, transfers can be done in parallel instead of linear. What took two hours can be done in seconds, and metadata updates happen instantly.”

Spearheaded by the BBC Research and Development (R&D) team, TAMS is based on the idea of storing short segments of media in an object storage service like Amazon S3, with an API to describe the segments and how they are inter-related, AWS explained.

AWS noted that TAMS solves the challenges of taking a lift-and-shift approach to running fast-turnaround media workflows in the cloud. Adoption of TAMS means shifting away from file-based workflows that lead to content duplication and are difficult to scale. Using timing and identity as key primitives to describe media in the store allows organizations to build more content-centric workflows.

The solution is also designed to address the fact that when news agencies and broadcasters cover the same big story, they must deploy separate teams and resources. With unified interoperability on TAMS, one reputable organization can be the source of truth for content, increasing efficiency and freeing time and resources for elements that differentiate programming.

The open-source standard can be quickly adopted, with the API-driven functionality shaving weeks if not months off development timelines. It also helps reinforce audience trust and expands reach through broader, faster distribution of verified video content and reliable information. The real-time demonstration from Reuters and AWS marks a significant step forward for practical TAMS applications, which are quickly gaining traction in the broadcast industry, AWS explained.

“With TAMS, broadcasters can make more content available to end users faster, using the same internal resources,” added John Biltcliffe, Senior Solutions Architect at AWS. “TAMS can also help revolutionize the viewing experience by supporting self-serve features and deeper personalization, while making it more intuitive for media organizations to use AI for richer audience experiences.”

TAMS was first implemented by AWS for a fast-turnaround workflow at IBC 2024 as a proof-of-concept supported by the Cloud Native Agile Production (CNAP) project. CNAP is a collaboration between companies (including BBC, Sky, Adobe, Cutting Room, Drastic Technologies, Techex, and Vizrt) to advance the development and adoption of the TAMS open-source framework.

After experiencing the demonstration at IBC 2024, Reuters decided to test out TAMS with its own implementation for real-time intercompany distribution.

Reuters and AWS began collaborating in February 2025, and then enlisted BBC, CNN, Sky, and Elliott Media. The resulting setup enables Reuters to make content available almost instantly to any broadcast or distribution partner.

“News broadcasters record everything just in case, and much of this content will be discarded,” explained Swan. “There will still be a need for live contribution for certain events, but using a TAMS approach with the cloud is much more efficient. Reuters records once, then its broadcast partners can access what they need after the event. Moving this workflow to the cloud also enables Reuters to produce more, or less, content as the news cycle dictates. It brings true flexibility and scalability to fast-turnaround workflows.”

The demonstration will leverage TAMS to store, query and access segmented media over HTTP.

Working closely with the BBC, AWS teams built an interoperable framework that provides a single virtual store for live content. This makes it faster and seamless for creators to craft video highlights clips and packages for integration into live content, social sharing and other applications using their preferred toolsets and the AWS Cloud. Visitors to the AWS stand will be able to see a complete, fast-turnaround media workflow spanning low-latency video ingest through to playout—with file import and export, and web-based editing, AWS reported.

For the demo, live video feeds from UK Parliament, Reuters live feeds and Reuters produced short-form video on-demand (VOD) content will be ingested directly into the Reuters TAMS store. From there, content is instantly and securely federated with an AWS TAMS instance, acting as a customer of the Reuters store.

The demonstration also features AWS Partners Mimir, Adobe, Techex, Matrox, and CuttingRoom. The TAMS on AWS implementation is also integrated with video understanding models from TwelveLabs, in Amazon Bedrock, to create embeddings of news content in real time.

“TAMS is foundational for helping the broadcast industry advance AI understanding for live video,” noted Biltcliffe. “It brings all the pieces together by providing the customer with one ingest for all purposes, whether for social media, content production, archive or syndication.”

On Sunday at 12:45 PM in the AWS IBC Showcase Theatre, Reuters, BBC, Sky, and CNN will be speaking on a panel. AWS said that session attendees can hear from technology leaders about:

• Challenges the TAMS approach solves for their organization
• How they are collaborating with AWS to redefine news workflows
• What new opportunities are being unlocked by adopting a cloud-native, open and interoperable approach

Organizations looking to learn more about the CNAP initiative and TAMS, can find additional resources by reading Guidance for Cloud-Native Fast-Turnaround Media Workflows on AWS. Included are a detailed implementation guide, reference architectures, sample code for use in TAMS workflows, and related content.

Attendees can get more information at the AWS IBC Booth (Hall 5, Stand C90). They can also schedule time with AWS at IBC2025.

Local newscasts don’t exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what’s working, what isn’t and perhaps most importantly, what’s working for the competition.

Many are starting to take note of competitors that have introduced striking camera movements into their news programming—something that more closely resembles what viewers see at the movies, not traditionally on their TV screens.

A good case in point is ABC News’ “Good Morning America,” the morning news staple that’s using more cameras and cuts than ever as well as cinematic camera movement to create drama—even when stories seem run of the mill and not particularly dramatic—and engage viewers more deeply in stories.

Many local news directors have noticed what GMA is doing and are getting serious about adopting similar techniques with the help of next-generation camera robotics from MRMC to help replace the typical lean-back news viewing experience with one that pull viewers into their stories..

Midwestern Mid-Market Station
One mid-sized station group recently deployed three MRMC robotic systems with lift, pan and tilt capability, including one in a studio some 60 miles from the station under centralized remote control to make the most efficient use of station personnel.

The units, which almost always are moving, enable the broadcaster to integrate a wide range of shots into its productions, including those typically associated with studio camera robotics as well as a more dynamic wide shot that emulates one from a traditional jib that is much slower and drifts.

The never-ending stream of shots from this robotic unit as the camera slowly ping-pongs up and down to capture video from different elevations and angles is frequently switched into news programming to hold the attention of viewers. A long-time producer of the show estimates the addition of this setup has enabled 40% to 50% more cuts to heighten viewer engagement than were typically used in the same show 15 years ago.

Large-Market East Coast Station
One large-market station on the East Coast has deployed an MRMC StudioBot XL robotic arm in its news studio to replace a Steadicam rig and operator with a fully automated alternative that can reliably and repeatedly capture interesting moving shots designed to attract and hold the attention of news viewers.

The broadcaster now relies on the robotic arm to integrate camera movements around physical objects, news anchors and reporters and virtual objects into its newscasts, effectively bringing camera movement to its production that were only available in top tier productions a few years ago.

Knowing the camera moves it wanted, the station pre-programmed the StudioBot XL to automate desired movements when launched by an operator who also attends to other duties. At present, the station is at work on integrating the robotic arm into its MOS-driven news automation system and control.

The news studio where the StudioBot is deployed is three studios in one. As multiple StudioBot robotic arms are deployed, the station will have the ability to do so-called “down-the-line” shots from different studios and make it look to viewers as if the talent in the shots are in the same studio.

Large-Market Southwest Station
Attracting attention and engaging viewers doesn’t simply have to be confined to newscasts. A large-market station in the Southwest has deployed an MRMC StudioBot to do double duty. During newscasts, the StudioBot XL robotic arm is used to add striking camera movements to stories to drive viewer engagement.

When sweeps occur, the station pairs the same robotic arm with a high-frame-rate camera to create high-speed whip pans around anchors and other presenters that are used in interstitials and promos.

The station has setup two software profiles for StudioBot XL—one a broadcast profile for everyday work and the other for the high-speed moves—making it fast and easy to modify operation of the robotic arm to match the task at hand.

Cashing in on Robotics
Another call letter station has deployed MRMC robotics and motion control to drive production and commercial revenue. By integrating cinematic camera moves into its production services portfolio, the station is now able to offer local and regional advertisers production techniques typically associated with national spots.

The station has combined its StudioBot robotic arm with an LED stage, making it possible for clients to unleash their creativity. Not only does this mean more billable hours for production services, but it also has given the station a powerful way to incentivize clients to book commercial time and drive higher revenue.

Regardless of a station’s size, local newsrooms face a similar challenge. How can they hold onto existing viewers and encourage those who have left to return?

Adding cinematic camera movement into the mix of shots making up a newscast can set a station apart from its competitors and give viewers a new way to experience the news. MRMC is helping many stations to realize these goals with the addition of the company’s next-generation robotic pedestals, arms and lift systems.

Each delivers the repeatability, workflow integration and performance stations can rely upon to achieve the dramatic visual flair they require to capture the audience without disrupting ongoing operations.

With the help of these next-gen camera robotics and the fluid motion control they deliver, call letter stations are attracting audience, building viewer loyalty and opening up new opportunities to enhance their standing in the highly competitive news marketplace and grow commercial revenue.

MRMC Broadcast is a leading provider of camera robotics systems built on intelligent automation for virtual production and remote acquisition. As the industry shifts toward more agile workflows, MRMC Broadcast continues to deliver solutions aligned with emerging trends to enable greater flexibility, scalability, and creative freedom across studios, live productions, and hybrid environments. Learn more here.

HACKENSACK, N.J.—The European News Exchange (ENEX) added an ad hoc channel to LiveU’s Matrix cloud-native IP video distribution platform, used for the first time in May to boost distribution of the 2025 papal conclave.

ENEX, which has used LiveU Matrix to deliver regular live feeds via three fixed channels to its alliance of more than 50 global commercial news members, wanted to scale distribution capacity for major world news broadcasts.

The news agency can expand its LiveU Matrix on an ad hoc basis at any time to give members a fast, flexible content sharing solution to meet growing demand for more cost-efficient, dynamic live news content, LiveU said.

Millions around the world watched coverage of the papal conclave, May 7-8, in multiple languages. ENEX members were able to grab feeds across the weekend as the cardinals completed the election process, which culminated in the famous white smoke signal from the Sistine Chapel chimney.

The LiveU Matrix makes it possible to share, receive and record high-quality, low-latency live feeds in the cloud. It can be accessed directly from a browser without the need for a satellite or fiber infrastructure, the company said.

The LiveU Matrix expansion follows ENEX‘s recent third two-year contract renewal with LiveU.

“LiveU is a market leader in live delivery. Most of our news media partners have decided themselves to utilize LiveU technology as part of their newsgathering capability,” ENEX Managing Director Adrian Wells said. “It makes perfect sense for ENEX to work with LiveU to leverage their solutions through the Matrix delivery network. LiveU continues to be a highly valued and trusted technology collaborator.”

More information is available on the company’s website.

As mobile-first consumption reshapes the media landscape, broadcasters must transform their workflows to meet the demands of a digital-native audience. Those who innovate today will define the future of news tomorrow.

The news industry is experiencing a profound transformation as mobile-first content consumption takes center stage. Audiences increasingly rely on their smartphones for real-time updates, pushing broadcasters to rethink traditional workflows that were once designed exclusively for linear television. This shift is not merely a change in platform; it's a redefinition of how news is created, distributed, and experienced.

The Rise of Mobile-First News Consumption
Mobile-first consumption has been accelerating for years, and recent data underscores its dominance. In the last quarter of 2024, mobile devices (excluding tablets) generated 62.5% of global website traffic. In the United States, mobile accounted for 65.8% of all digital ad spending in 2024, highlighting the clear shift toward mobile platforms. For news organizations, this represents both a challenge and an opportunity.

Major networks are making significant investments to stay competitive. For example, CNN invested $70 million into its digital transformation, prioritizing mobile-friendly, on-demand content. This trend is driven by a younger, mobile-first generation of news consumers who expect instant access to personalized, bite-sized content.

Meeting these expectations requires more than just repurposing linear TV content; it demands rethinking the entire content lifecycle—an overhaul that prioritizes speed, platform optimization, and audience engagement.

Overcoming Challenges with Legacy Workflows
Adapting to mobile-first news consumption is not a simple task. Traditional broadcast workflows are heavily optimized for large-screen, scheduled programming. In contrast, mobile consumption demands content that is easily reformatted, quickly distributed, and personalized for individual viewing habits.

The challenge lies in transforming legacy workflows that are often siloed and rigid. In the past, content was produced for a single format and distributed to a single platform. Today, audiences expect content to be available across multiple platforms in a variety of formats, including vertical video optimized for smartphones. For broadcasters to remain relevant in this rapidly changing, mobile-first era, they must adapt to efficiently reformatting and delivering content in real-time.

One significant barrier to this adaptation is the segmentation of content across different departments and platforms that exist within news production organizations. Traditional newsrooms often maintain very separate teams and process for linear broadcasting from digital production, resulting in duplicated efforts and slower distribution speeds.

To truly embrace mobile-first strategies, news organizations must break down these silos, enabling seamless content flow from creation to distribution. This approach not only accelerates time-to-market but also enhances audience reach by ensuring the efficient optimization of content for every screen. Broadcasters which fail to transform risk losing their competitive edge, especially as younger audiences continue to embrace mobile-first habits.​

The Role of AI in Modernizing News Workflows
Artificial intelligence is emerging as a critical tool in modernizing news workflows. Through automation, AI enables broadcasters to optimize content for various platforms without the need for manual intervention. This capability is crucial for keeping up with the pace of mobile consumption.

One key area where AI is driving innovation is in content personalization. Machine learning algorithms can analyze audience behavior and preferences to deliver targeted news updates, ensuring that stories are relevant and engaging. Furthermore, AI-driven automation can reformat content dynamically—whether it's vertical video for mobile or curated feeds for personalized viewing experiences.

For example, AI can identify trending topics and automatically curate video snippets from existing longer-form video, optimized for mobile consumption. This reduces the time required for manual editing and accelerates the speed at which breaking news reaches audiences anytime on any device. In an era where immediacy is critical, this capability is redefining what it means to be first with the story.

AI is also instrumental in multilingual distribution, automatically translating and reformatting content for different regions and demographics. This enables global reach with localized precision, ensuring that audiences receive news in their preferred language and format almost instantaneously.

The Shift Toward Vertical Video
One of the most significant transformations in mobile-first news consumption is the rise of vertical video. Traditionally, news content was produced in landscape format, optimized for television screens. However, as mobile devices have become the primary medium for news consumption, vertical video is rapidly emerging as the preferred format.

Vertical video is not just a change in aspect ratio; it represents a shift in audience behavior. Mobile users expect to engage with news content seamlessly as they scroll through social media feeds and news apps. This expectation is pushing broadcasters to rethink content strategies, ensuring stories are not only mobile-optimized but also immersive and interactive.

Leading news organizations are experimenting with mobile-first video formats, creating live streams, interactive news updates, and social-first clips designed for vertical consumption. This evolution marks a departure from traditional broadcast storytelling, moving toward dynamic, real-time engagement with audiences.

The demand for instant, mobile-optimized news is only expected to grow, and vertical video stands at the forefront of that shift. For newsrooms willing to adapt, this format offers unprecedented opportunities to engage viewers directly where they are - on their mobile screens.

Embracing the Mobile-First Era
The mobile-first era is not merely a trend; it is a redefinition of how news is consumed, shared, and trusted. Broadcasters that can seamlessly adapt to these new demands— producing vertical video, personalizing content, and optimizing distribution – will not just remain competitive; they will lead the next wave of media evolution. The path forward requires more than adaptation; it demands innovation, foresight, and a willingness to break from traditional molds.

In this mobile-centric landscape, those who prioritize mobile platform-native storytelling and agile content strategies will set the standard for the future of news. The question is no longer whether mobile-first consumption will dominate, it's about who will lead the revolution. For forward-thinking newsrooms, the opportunity to define the next era of media is here, and the time to act is now.

SEATTLE—LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy’s training simulations, master classes, courses and workshops.

As a result of this partnership, LumaTouch’s LumaFusion, a professional multitrack editing platform for mobile devices, will become the exclusive video editing application taught across CNN Academy training programs.

CNN Academy was established to nurture the skills and talent of the next generation of journalists and content creators, offering advanced training and mentorship across multiple continents.

“This partnership marks a significant step in bridging the gap between media training and practical application in today’s rapidly-evolving digital landscape.” LoumaTouch Co-Founder Terri Morgan, co-founder of LumaTouch.

As part of the agreement, LumaTouch has also worked closely with CNN Academy in a number of areas:

• Co-Developed Course Development: CNN Academy and LumaTouch have jointly developed a course on Mobile Storytelling, featuring best practices and tutorials on using the LumaFusion app. This course will be made available to all CNN Academy Hub users.
• Training Support: LumaTouch is providing LumaFusion training support throughout the CNN Academy programs, including virtual workshops, Q&A sessions and resource materials.
• LumaFusion Free for All: CNN Academy Students: LumaTouch is also providing the LumaFusion mobile video editing app free of charge to all CNN Academy students for the duration of their participation in the program.

CNN Academy is CNN’s international training program, designed to nurture the next generation of journalists by offering hands-on learning, mentorship, and access to real-world newsroom experiences. For more information, please visit https://academy.cnn.com.

For more information about LumaTouch please visit luma-touch.com .

LAS VEGAS—EVS has announced a major deal Al Jazeera Media Network to deploy its live content management solution at five bureaus run by the international news organization in Doha, London, Washington D.C., New York, and Sarajevo.

“We are pleased to work with EVS to bring MediaCeption into our news production ecosystem,” explained Ahmad Al Fahad, executive director of technology & network operations at Al Jazeera Media Network. “EVS’s proven track record of delivering fast and reliable solutions, combined with their global technical support presence, gives us the confidence to meet the challenges of modern news delivery. The deployment of MediaCeption will not only enhance our operational efficiency but also bolster our ability to deliver high-quality, timely content to our viewers around the world.”

As part of the agreement, MediaCeption will provide Al Jazeera with a unified workflow designed to efficiently manage and edit live and near-live news content. Each bureau will have the capability to ingest multiple live feeds, browse, edit, and share news packages from a centralized storage system, and seamlessly playout news as events unfold, EVS reported.

The solution is scheduled to be installed in Q2, with Al Jazeera planning to go on air with the new system in Q3 2025.

The comprehensive solution from EVS includes XS-VIA servers, the new media asset platform VIA MAP, and the high-performance storage system XStore.

The deployment of MediaCeption will enable faster content turnaround, reliable and stress-free operations, multi-site collaboration, and certified integration with tools from leading technology partners, including Avid Media Composer and Media Central, as well as Viz Mosart, EVS said.

“We are honored to have been selected by Al Jazeera as their trusted partner for this transformative project,” Serge Van Herck, CEO of EVS, added. “Al Jazeera is a longstanding and valued customer, and we are excited to deliver a solution that aligns perfectly with the demands of today’s fast-paced news production environment. This partnership highlights our commitment to innovation, reliability, and customer success, and we look forward to supporting Al Jazeera as they continue to set the standard in global news broadcasting."

PARIS—As news organizations struggle to adapt to rapid changes in the way consumers access and digest news, Dalet and Caretta Research have published a new study, “The Future of Newsroom Workflows,” which delves into both the challenges facing newsrooms and some potential solutions.

The study featured input from newsroom professionals worldwide from more than 60 organizations, mainly public and commercial broadcasters.

“This research highlights how news organizations are responding to years of change driven by evolving media habits, multiplatform production, funding pressures, the pandemic, and new technologies,” Rob Ambrose, co-founder and managing director of Caretta Research, said. “The findings reveal that despite acute challenges, there's a remarkable wave of optimism among industry professionals. At the same time, it points to the opportunities to embrace fully 'story-centric' working and updated newsroom workflows and systems.”

The report illuminates the seismic shifts in the news business that are shaping workflows. It covers key topics such as AI adoption and the role of social media, as well as story-centric and multiplatform production challenges.

Study respondents said many news organizations are struggling with traditional workflows and legacy systems. Specifically, one-third say their current newsroom computer system does not meet their needs. While more than half faced budget cuts in the last year, only a small number actively track the cost of covering stories or measure ROI.

The report also reveals a notable trend of adopting AI-enabled tools and rethinking content delivery across platforms as news operations aim to maintain relevance and engage audiences in a highly fragmented distribution model.

“Newsrooms must now create more content for multiple platforms with fewer resources,“ Marcy Lefkovitz, senior vice president of product innovation at Dalet, said “Our findings highlight the crucial role technology and modern toolsets play in supporting journalists to meet the evolving demands of their audiences. Our partnership with Caretta Research enables us to share a current view of newsroom operations. The result not only outlines ongoing challenges but also provides actionable insights for future success.”

Key findings of "The Future of Newsroom Workflows" include:

• 45% of news operations experience significant challenges with legacy systems, limiting access to field content and requiring users to switch between multiple systems to complete tasks.
• Websites are the leading platform for news distribution, but a significant portion of the industry still lacks dedicated digital teams for content production.
• Despite significant changes driven by digital and social media platforms, there’s enormous optimism, with 68% of news people feeling “good” or “very good” about the future of their news operation.
• Further insights into crucial topics shaping the future of newsroom operations include strategies for managing and tracking costs.
• Respondents noted that modernized tools greatly simplify newsroom operations, underscoring the importance of selecting the right systems and implementing timely updates. To navigate the complexities of legacy system replacement, data and workflow migration, Dalet recently introduced a comprehensive Competitive Upgrade Program to maximize transformation benefits, efficiencies and cost savings.

The independent research was commissioned by Dalet and conducted by Caretta Research in July and August among global respondents in a wide range of roles, including newsroom management, editorial and production roles, technical and engineering jobs and craft and operational functions. Participants came from over 60 diverse news organizations, mainly public and commercial broadcasters, as well as local network affiliates across the U.S.

The full report is available here.

PARIS—Dalet has announced that it is expanding its Competitive Upgrade Program to include legacy news systems.

Launched in 2023, the Dalet program provides financial incentives, expert workflow consultation, migration and training services to help customers modernize their media operations and significantly reduce total cost of ownership (TCO). Under the expanded program, organizations with legacy news systems can migrate to Dalet’s story-centric workflow solution featuring advanced automation and AI capabilities.

“In today’s climate of austerity and efficiency, continuing to spend on outdated newsroom systems isn't sustainable. However, simply replacing a legacy system is not enough to drive progress,” Dalet Chief Revenue Officer Tara Bryant said. “News organizations need a partner with deep industry expertise and cutting-edge technology to achieve the best financial and operational outcomes. That partner is Dalet.”

The expansion of the popular upgrade program coincides with Caretta Research’s upcoming report “The Future of Newsroom Workflows,” prepared in partnership with Dalet. The report found 45% of news operations experience significant challenges with legacy systems. Specifically, outdated tools and fragmented workflows limit access to content from the field and require users to jump between multiple systems to complete tasks.

Dalet described the key benefits of the Dalet Competitive Upgrade Program as follows:

• Complimentary news workflow consultation for an operational audit and insights into story-centric news production, collaboration and remote operations.
• Financial incentives for transitioning from legacy solutions to Dalet, along with the resulting operational cost savings.
• Seamless transition for your data and workflows by tapping into Dalet’s expertise in managing hundreds of successful customer migrations.
• A year of free training through the Dalet Learning Hub, supporting change management and adoption.

More information is available here.

SYDNEY—The Nine Network has completed its purchase, installation and roll out of Sony ILME-FR7 PTZ cameras into its remote operated studio in Canberra. The new remote broadcast news studio is particularly unique due to its use of the Sony large sensor PTZ cameras, not traditionally used in studio television.

“This new studio is particularly effective for us as, by using the Sony FR7 cameras, we can remotely control all of the cameras and setup from Sydney,” Nine Chief CTO of broadcast operations David Bowers explained. “This is not only a very efficient workflow, but it also saved us a considerable amount of money when compared to  buying and installing a full robotic setup.”

Sony FR7 cameras are also being used in the Nine Network’s talent operated studio in Canberra.

The new four-camera studio enjoys both fully remote production from Sydney and open plan local control in Canberra. It also comprises production, news exchange and basic edit facilities and capabilities, Sony reported. 

“We wanted to build a multi- purpose studio with full remote capability,” Nine broadcast systems integration manager Mark Rath said. “For that we required the best PTZ cameras that could accommodate varying lens requirements in the studio. We assessed all the PTZ cameras available in the market and found the Sony FR7 met all of our requirements perfectly.”

Sony’s FR7 PTZ camera with its high-performance full-frame image sensor and the expressive scope of Sony’s extensive E-mount lens lineup work with versatile remote pan/tilt/zoom control, high flexibility in zoom capability and wide angle shooting to break through location and space limitations to open up creative possibilities for broadcasters and content creators in studio, live production and filmmaking settings. It also offers versatile connectivity and efficient multi camera workflow support, Sony reported. 

“The FR7 is exactly what we required for our remote operated broadcast studio in Canberra as it provides us with large sensor studio quality cameras - our key requirement,” Bowers concluded. “The picture quality and the ability to interchange lenses with the FR7 is also excellent. In short, by using Sony FR7 PTZ cameras the Nine Network now has the ability to have complete access to the studio in Canberra when needed and the ability to sit talent in a remote location, while we in turn do all the production including audio/video, lighting and comms from Sydney.”

Expanding its already extensive relationship with LiveU, ITV News is deploying technology from across LiveU’s IP-Video EcoSystem across its national and regional newsgathering operations. 

ITV News reported that the deployment aims to greatly increase the sustainability of its newsgathering operations while also benefiting from the latest LiveU developments. The driver for long-term sustainability came from both an environment and a workflow perspective, enabling ITV to produce more content from the source as efficiently as possible with notable cost savings, the two companies said. 

The deployment, which was Initiated in 2022, spans the full video production chain from contribution and production to distribution. Multiple LiveU portable mobile encoders are deployed nationwide for daily newsgathering, including both the LU800 and LU300. Multi-cam LU800 units are used both inside and outside ITV's fleet of sustainable news production vehicles (NPVs), which were developed by NEP as plug-in hybrids with onboard batteries. The LU800s can be easily detached from the NPVs to be used as autonomous units, without traditional broadcast truck limitations. The large deployment of LU300s is used as roving units, growing ITV News’ newsgathering potential to more camera operators with a smaller solution, complemented by the LU-Smart mobile app.

ITV is also using other aspects of LiveU's EcoSystem, including its Video Return capabilities, designed to bring video from the studio to the field. Here it’s being used for studio interactions as well as prompting/cue video when ITV is doing a particularly complex outside broadcast or a presented feed on the road. Audio Connect is also in use, enabling its news anchors and producers in the station to communicate with their team in the field, the two companies said. 

In addition, the broadcaster is using the LiveU Matrix cloud-native IP video distribution platform for sharing and receiving high-quality, low-latency live feeds across the regions and ITN in London, as well as outside the organization.

Steve Teague, head of technical services for ITV News, explained that “LiveU as a platform for this was attractive because it’s fundamentally IP, and all the advantages that brings, rather than DVB-style baseband transmission. It also gave us the opportunity to reframe our relationship with LiveU, moving closer to a service provider model. We wanted a relationship where we could evolve together. This has been fundamental to the success of this project.”

“If we look at any given day, the vast majority of traffic is going out via LiveU,” Teague added. 

It’s when it comes to the comms side that the benefits of this refreshed, collaborative relationship really came to the fore. Teague continued. 

“When we looked at the LiveU EcoSystem, we saw a lot of potential, Audio Connect being a case in point,” he said. “We had a few extra requirements and worked very closely with LiveU, developing a dynamic relationship with us being able to feed back to its developers what was happening in the field rather than in the lab. This greatly sped up the process and made it much more efficient. We always had a good relationship with LiveU but now we have a much stronger one. LiveU’s solutions have developed so much, it has absolutely shaped the way we news gather and the way we go live at ITV. The technology is so flexible and we would really struggle to work without IP bonding now.”

Matt Stringer, sales director, LiveU noted that “As Steve says, this project has seen us further develop the way we work with customers, enhancing both our solutions portfolio and the dynamic way in which we can operate. It has been an energizing and successful process and one which will benefit other broadcasters, too. These are cutting edge workflows that allow ITV to continue to push at the boundaries of what’s possible. "

"Our products evolve and improve daily based on customer feedback and the growth and position of LiveU in the broadcast market ensures we remain best-in-class,” Stringer continued. “The value of this feedback is never taken for granted and means we are always learning what our customers need not just today but for the future."

Contrary to what many believe, virtual studio solutions are not new technology. They have just been neglected. 

CBS tried them at the dizzy heights of the dot-com bubble back in 1999, as did many others. But the combination of expense, complexity, and subpar graphics meant they crashed and burned very quickly. 

As one, the industry quietly turned away and pretended it had never happened.  

But in recent years, we have quietly been helping traditional news broadcasters around the world, from the BBC to NBC experiment with new forms of video production and keep up in the creative arms race that modern media has become.  

Many have found that virtual studio technology offers a significant strategic advantage for modern newsrooms — and can be for yours too. 

Media Consumption Habits Are Driving Change  

Media consumption habits have shifted in the last decade, making the industry more competitive than ever before.  

As audiences are bombarded by the volume and variety of news outlets and media forms available, news broadcasters are rapidly expanding and experimenting with creative elements to keep viewers engaged.

A lower technological barrier to entry and shift of advertising capital towards new advertising platforms (such as social media) has resulted in lower news viewership and budgets — and smaller creative and technical teams for many broadcasters.  

Newsroom directors and their teams must do more with less to produce engaging, accurate content to capture audiences — and are increasingly turning to virtual studio to do that.  

Overcoming the Physical Limits of Traditional Studios 

While the traditional news industry has been reluctant to implement (or even talk about) virtual studio, they have become commonplace in sports broadcasting.  

Their adaptability and ease of redesign make virtual studio a powerful tool for news broadcasters — especially those operating under constrained budgets. That flexibility allows newsroom directors to do more with graphics and creative elements, inject more dynamism and visual intrigue into their broadcasts, and turn the studio into a storytelling tool. It also facilitates much faster set up and tear down times, rapid transitions between segments and shows with a fraction of the budget, time, and resources required by physical sets. 

Virtual Studio in Action – Revolutionizing Broadcast Efficiency 

The advantages of a virtual broadcast studio are threefold: easy set-up, more creative, and reduced broadcasting resources. 

For instance, NBC LX built a virtual set into their new studios, allowing them a lot of flexibility and allowing them to use immersive graphics to grab attention and draw people into the story.  

(See how NBC LX uses their virtual set to tell better stories in this video)

Virtual studios can also make live video production more efficient. They allow for faster transitions between sets and environments, meaning producers can quickly repurpose studio spaces for different programs without having to spend the time and resources building multiple hard studios and sets.

Virtual sets and studio elements are programmed using automated workflows, templates and pre-recorded transitions, meaning they can be used and repurposed for multiple different stories with minor editing. These highly automated workflows are particularly useful for smaller production teams, empowering reporters and creatives to deliver more high-quality content with a fraction of the work involved. 

Elevate Your Newsroom with Ross Video Solutions 

Success in the modern newsroom means doing more with less: more content with less budget, more engagement with less staff, and more “bells and whistles” in less time.  

Modern news broadcasters use Ross Video products like XPression, Voyager, and Lucid to automate and streamline immersive virtual studios. Workflow automation tools, like Overdrive and Streamline Pro, stitch these tools together, accelerating the production process and ensuring brand consistency and quality.  

That frees reporters and creatives to deliver more content, creating and embellishing their own stories — sometimes live on air — without adding to their news directors’ long list of worries.  

To learn more about how Ross Video can help your newsrooms stay competitive in the rapidly changing media landscape, reach out to one of our newsroom production experts here.

Keeping Pace in the Election Race

2024 is a big year for newsrooms with a record number of elections taking place around the globe. For advanced insights on how newsrooms can get ahead in addressing their elections needs with cutting-edge graphics, download our guide. 

HACKENSACK, N.J.—As broadcasters and news organizations look for more reliable connectivity for their coverage of this year’s elections, LiveU is reporting that it is working with private wireless network orchestration and management software company, Pente Networks, to LiveU Private Connectivity. 

As previously reported by TV Tech, the solution gave major news broadcasters access to private network connectivity inside the RNC at the Fiserv Forum.

“Providing a private cellular network solution for major broadcasters covering the RNC and DNC adds a robust and reliable connection to the bonding mix, avoiding public network congestion and the instability of WiFi in the convention arenas,” said Dan Pisarski, LiveU CTO. “In addition, private cellular networks give us another layer of service for our customers – network segmentation, prioritization and greater security – while providing additional capacity for expanded remote production technologies and employee communications.”

As part of its LiveU IP-video EcoSystem of solutions, services, and integrations such as with Pente Networks, LiveU has made it simple to secure the network and deploy a robust connection for broadcasters. At the core of LiveU's EcoSystem is its LiveU Reliable Transport (LRT), the leading IP-video transport protocol designed for wireless networks, giving rock steady reliability, the companies said. 

“Having the ad hoc private mobile network solution means we can provide this service almost anywhere, and deploy it quickly, giving our customers new creative options as they share the stories of the day,” added Pisarski.

Pente’s orchestration solution streamlines the provisioning of ad-hoc private mobile networks, seamlessly handling the nuances required to ensure resilient and reliable broadcast quality connectivity from challenging environments like densely populated convention arenas. The LiveU Private Connectivity solution uses innovative radio and switching configurations to deliver total freedom of camera movement and placement within the locations.

For the RNC, LiveU provided on-the-ground technical support, rentals, and connectivity to ensure reliable, high-quality, and uninterrupted coverage. LiveU Private Connectivity proved so popular with major broadcasters that the initial offering was fully booked within a few days of announcing the solution.

“We expect this US Presidential Election to break records for the amount of continuous simultaneous live transmissions,” said Pisarski.

To learn more about LiveU’s 2024 Election Support, visit https://get.liveu.tv/us-elections-24/. 

ATLANTA—Gray Television has unveiled comprehensive coverage plans for the 2024 Republican National Convention between Saturday, July 13 and Thursday, July 19 that include plans for Gray’s Washington DC Bureau and news teams from multiple Gray affiliates offer coverage from Milwaukee on the local impact of the presidential and vice presidential nomination process and the Republican party platform. 

Coverage will be available on Gray’s local affiliates and Local News Live, Gray’s national news network that provides live streaming coverage on more than 500 Gray station websites, connected TV apps, and mobile apps.

“Our DC Bureau and Local News Live offer a distinctly local take on the nation’s biggest events,” Gray’s COO Sandy Breland said. “We are committed to keeping the viewers in each of our 113 markets connected to their local delegates, candidates, and representatives throughout the 2024 election cycle.”

All Gray-owned Wisconsin news operations will send reporting teams to the convention at the Fiserv Forum, including WMTV in Madison, WBAY in Green Bay, WEAU in Eau Claire, WSAW in Wausau, and KBJR in Superior (Duluth). 

In addition, news crews from Gray affiliates WANF in Atlanta, Georgia, AZ Family in Phoenix, Arizona, WNDU in South Bend, Indiana, KFYR in Bismarck, North Dakota, and KVLY in Fargo, North Dakota will be on site to provide daily coverage.

“By combining the strength of our national team and local affiliates, Gray is uniquely positioned to provide a hyperlocal perspective on the convention for viewers across our footprint,” explained Lisa Allen, GM of Gray’s Washington Operations.

Gray also plans to deploy team coverage to the Democratic National Convention in Chicago next month.

PARIS—Dalet has announced it has completed the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Foundational Technical Review (FTR) for Dalet Pyramid, the company's cloud-native news workflow solution. 

This major milestone follows the successful FTR completion of the Dalet Flex media asset management and supply chain platform in June 2023. The pair of achievements, along with participation in the AWS ISV Accelerate Program, reinforce Dalet’s global relationship with AWS and accelerate its efforts to offer customers who seek to run cloud-native media operations with enhanced performance and security standards, the company reported. 

"Dalet Pyramid enables modern, story-centric news workflows promoting wide-scale collaboration across sites, systems, and teams. With support for cloud, hybrid, and on-premise deployment, it provides customers with full scalability and flexibility," stated Lincoln Spiteri, CTO at Dalet. "Our successful completion of the AWS Foundational Technical Review ensures our customers that Dalet Pyramid provides a secure, resilient, and efficient infrastructure.”

Dalet said that it is working with AWS to offer a whole new way of thinking about news production with 360 storytelling in a virtualized environment. 

The AWS Foundational Technical Review ensures that Dalet Pyramid adheres to the AWS Well-Architected Framework, providing a robust, secure, and seamless cloud experience. Dalet News customers can dynamically scale resources to confidently manage complex, large-scale news events such as the upcoming Paris Olympics and 70-plus elections happening near-simultaneously worldwide. All this can be achieved while maintaining optimal performance and security standards, Dalet reported.

Dalet also stressed that its focus on security and long-standing ISO/IEC 27001 certification, combined with a mature global cloud operations team that’s recognized for its best practices, can keep customers’ data secure and operations online when migrating to the cloud.   

SYDNEY—Sony has announced that the global news agency Reuters has selected Alpha and XDCAM cameras, G Master lenses and audio equipment to equip its video journalists across the world. 

The fleet will be using Alpha 7S III, and PXW-Z280 as their main shooting kit, paired with UWP-D wireless audio. 

The cameras and associated equipment have now started shipping to 23 Reuters locations across the world.

This investment from Reuters builds on a long-standing relationship between Reuters and Sony. Sony’s Media Backbone Hive is already in use at Reuters as its main multi-platform news production system. 

“Sony has designed its cameras to operate to the best of their abilities in high pressure environments such as news gathering,” explained Sony Australia CCS group manager Anthony Kable. “We do this so we can provide the world’s leading media organizations with cameras that are ultimately reliable whilst producing the very best picture quality so they can capture news whenever required. Reuters' decision to choose Sony cameras for its worldwide video group is a great example of that philosophy in action.”

Sony said that the PXW-Z280 has become an industry standard, thanks to its ease of use, electronic variable ND filter and Sony’s Instant HDR workflow, eliminating the need for color grading. Its advanced network features and multiple format support means it can easily, securely and wirelessly fit into a cloud-based news gathering workflow. 

Since its launch, the Alpha 7S III has established itself as a go to camera for on location content creators needing a compact form factor and exceptional picture quality, Sony added.

The advanced autofocus performance for hybrid use, together with its outstanding low light performance were key features in Reuters’ decision making, the company said. Sony’s E-Mount strategy will also provide journalists with the flexibility to capture images in their truest form, when perfectly paired with the vast options of Sony lenses of their choosing, including the SEL2470GM2.

Both cameras benefit from the connectivity features needed to easily connect to the cloud for seamless and reliable content transfer, from the capture location back to the remote broadcast unit, particularly critical for news gathering, with its emphasis on speed.

BERGEN, Norway—Vizrt has integrated Viz Pilot Edge, the company’s newsroom HTML-based templated graphics system, with the Dalet Galaxy five news production and distribution solution, Vizrt said today.

Viz Pilot Edge is designed for the newsroom to help journalists create story-centric, engaging content faster and more efficiently. The recently introduced Viz Pilot Edge 3 features a new web-based interface that makes newsroom graphics production simpler and seamless, it said.  

To ensure efficiency and a fast turnaround of stories, Viz Pilot Edge is now directly accessible from the Dalet Galaxy.

“At Vizrt, we are committed to continuously empowering newsrooms with the tools and technology to boost workflows and succeed in a rapidly evolving media landscape. This collaboration is a step forward to give journalists the independence and power to elevate storytelling with visually compelling content that audiences expect,” said Ionut Pogacean, senior product manager for Viz Pilot Edge. 

The integration brings the templated graphics capabilities of Viz Pilot Edge directly into Dalet’s solution for unified news operations. Journalists and editors can now access the latest Viz graphical elements directly from their existing Dalet newsroom workflows, the company said. 

“News professionals must have a seamless experience throughout their day-to-day operations,” said Aaron Kroger, product marketing lead at Dalet. “Having Viz Pilot Edge integrated within their existing tools creates this experience.” 

More information is available on the Vizrt website. 

MOLINE, ILL—Two TV stations in Idaho and Mississippi have adopted a news production platform based on Blackbird’s  cloud-native video editing platform for digital news production and its partner BLOX Digital, a provider of content management services. This latest deployment is one of multiple expansions of Blackbird by BLOX Digital since the partnership began in 2018.

The Imagicomm Communications stations—KPVI, the NBC affiliate in Idaho Falls, Idaho, and Fox affiliate WABG in Greenville, Miss.—are using Blackbird collaboratively to remotely access, edit and publish news content fast to social, web and other digital platforms. When paired with the BLOX Digital’s BLOX VMS, the latest news stories are delivered to viewers leveraging Blackbird’s professional-grade tool set for advanced video editing in a browser.

Blackbird is deployed across a variety of brands in the sports, news, entertainment and enterprise sectors. Customers include Univision, IMG, Sky News Arabia, BT, NRL, Cheddar news, the U.S. Department of State and 70 local U.S. TV news stations with BLOX Digital.

ALAMEDA, Calif.—Clear-Com has announced that it played a crucial role in the comprehensive upgrade of Tulip Television Co. Ltd.’s intercom system for its new office building in Toyama City, Japan. 

An affiliate of Japan News Network (JNN), the construction of Tulip TV’s new office building in Toyama City required a comprehensive update for the Japanese broadcaster’s intercom system.  

The system was provided by Matsuda Trading (MTC), Clear-Com’s distributor in Japan. The new system included a Clear-Com Eclipse(r) HX digital matrix system with FreeSpeak Edge digital wireless and leverages Clear-Com’s highly flexible mobile smartphone app, Agent-IC, and provides a cutting-edge solution for simplifying and streamlining comms for Tulip TV.  

The system utilizes an Eclipse HX-Delta as a central matrix, which is equipped with an E-IPA card for IP connectivity to connect V-Series Iris Panels, FreeSpeak Edge transceivers, and Agent-IC between different rooms and other locations, with Iris panels located at remote master/news desks. All wireless transceivers are driven through the IP network. Additionally, Tulip has adopted a 5 GHz FreeSpeak Edge system, providing wireless coverage for the beltpacks in their ground floor studio.  

“All endpoints are connected as a single communication system. Numerous Clear-Com Iris key panels are deployed in each sub-table location, with further interoperability includes cameras, radios, announcer talkbacks, and phone lines,” the technical team of  Tulip TV explained.  

In addition to meeting requirements for cost and scale, the system designed for the new space provided Tulip TV with an advanced communication environment that takes full advantage of the Clear-Com system’s high-level functionality. 

In a statement, team at Tulip stated that “Clear-Com’s EHX management software is easy to use” and that they are “satisfied with the ability to create a diverse communication environment."  

The improved ease of use and overall reliability also enhance Tulip TV’s operation experience. The deployment of Agent-IC, which has become a standard for Japanese broadcasters, further optimizes their communication with relay destinations.

Beyond that, the use of Agent-IC and the possibility to license additional capability for the Clear-Com E-IPA card will ensure the system can be expanded should Tulip TV need to scale the system up to connect fluently and reliably with other studios and individuals in the future, the companies said. 

BURLINGTON, Mass.—Avid has announced that it has expanded its long-time relationship with global media conglomerate Al Jazeera Media Network with a multi-year deal that will transition Al Jazeera’s production operation into a cloud-based subscription service. 

The move is designed to enable better multi-site collaboration and remote production, the companies said. 

As part of the agreement, Al Jazeera will use Avid to completely upgrade and expand its news and programming creation workflows and connect teams distributed across its regional hubs – in Qatar, London, and Washington, DC – and its global network of news bureaus and other sites. 

“We’re very pleased to continue our long-standing relationship with Avid,” said Ahmed AlFahad, AJMN’s executive director of technology & network operations. “This new subscription agreement gives us a comprehensive end-to-end solution and all the flexibility we need, so that our journalists can focus on what they do best--telling the important stories of the day.” 

Al Jazeera is one of the largest international news networks in the world. Launched in 1996, it was the first independent news channel in the Arab region, and now broadcasts to more than 450 million homes across 150 countries. 

The new multi-year comprehensive agreement will convert Al Jazeera onto an Avid MediaCentral | Flex subscription model, giving them access to the latest platform tools and Avid NEXIS storage. 

It will also include a transition path in the near future from its existing hardware servers onto Avid’s next-generation software-based and cloud-enabled media ingest and playout platform, Avid | Stream IO, Avid reported.  

In addition, the new agreement comes with subscription licenses to Avid | Edit On Demand, Avid’s complete production environment in the cloud, allowing Al Jazeera to spin up the latest editing capabilities across its entire network of bureaus, while exploring all the possibilities of cloud workflows. 

“We’re delighted to extend our agreement with such a long-time customer as Al Jazeera,” Avid’s chief revenue officer Tom Cordiner explained. “This move to subscription provides them real flexibility and the latest functionality from Avid, while positioning them to take advantage of new upgrades to meet their future requirements.” 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—The Broadcasting Corporation of the Bahamas (BCB) has selected Bitcental’s Core News suite to enhance the value of its content.

The government-run station began working with Bitcentral four years ago at one of its locations in Freeport. Following a tour of the facility by the nation’s prime minister, the station was directed to enhance and streamline BCB operations in other locations, including its Nassau station, the company said.

In October 2022, Bitcentral integrated its Core News suite, including the Precis, Create and Oasis modules, into the station’s workflow. The Core News suite offers redundant playback for play-to-air channels, a separate server and separate playlists for each channel. BCB also uses the suite to playback audio for its radio broadcasts from Zephyr Nassau Sunshine (ZNS), it said.

Precis provides BCB with a reliable news production system that enables a flexible, reliable and efficient workflow. Precis is compatible with third-party news automation systems, Bitcentral said.

Create enables collaboration by distributing channels in a way that allows anyone at the organization to log, edit, collaborate and publish videos, it said.

The Oasis MAM stores content. It can be searched, making it possible to retrieve news content from wherever it is. 

The centralized Bitcentral system allows remote teams to work together and produce stories more quickly. For BCB, it provides tools for production and versioning that can help the broadcaster stay ahead of the curve, it said.

“We are delighted to continue our relationship with Bitcentral by integrating its highly regarded Core News suite,” said BCB acting general manager Andrew Burrows. “As an organization, we pride ourselves on ensuring that the people of the Bahamas receive the best possible content, no matter their location on the islands. 

“Upgrading our system with Bitcentral’s Core News was a no-brainer as it delivers an exceptional viewing experience, is fast and straightforward to use," he continued.

More information is available on the company’s website. 

INDIANAPOLIS—DuJuan McCoy, owner, president and CEO of Circle City Broadcasting, has announced a partnership between JPMorgan Chase, Circle City Broadcasting, Ivy Tech Community College Indianapolis, and the DuJuan and Tina McCoy Foundation to create a one-year degree program for news and media producers.

The program will primarily focus on newscast producing but offer additional guidance and instruction in producing specials and TV show production.

The backers of the program said the partnership will enable Ivy Tech Community College to become the first known college in the country to create a one-year degree program (two semesters; 21-31 credit hours) for news and media producers that will be called a Multicultural Media Producing Program, or MMPP.

As part of the effort, the Circle City Broadcasting news leadership team will become adjunct professors for the program. Circle City is the parent company of WISH-TV and MyINDY-TV 23 and the broadcaster will help offer regular practical educational opportunities to participants in the program via its Statewide News Network facilities located in Indianapolis, Indiana.

“I have been working on this initiative for a few years, and I am so happy to find collaborative partners like Ivy Tech -Indianapolis and JPMorgan Chase to support me in this needed industry program,” McCoy said. “We believe this program can grow to be one of the most effective means to introduce more diverse individuals into the leadership ranks in newsrooms across America as well as become a sustainable program to create a pipeline of qualified news producers for broadcasters and media companies across the country.”

Beginning in January 2023, the first cohort of 20 students will be selected as the program’s inaugural class, and the second group of 20 will follow in the fall of 2023. 

The MMPP will be open to all students of all backgrounds with an emphasis on ensuring multicultural diversity and accessibility for underserved individuals. The DuJuan and Tina McCoy Foundation will provide annual scholarships to selected individuals of MMPP based on need and a one-page essay on why they would like to enter the program.

The program’s curriculum will be customized and align with the Certificate/Associate Degree in Professional Communication. Programming will include courses and electives in the following areas: Humanistic Ways of Knowing, Scientific Ways of Knowing, and Social and Behavioral Ways of Knowing. Students will be part of a program that provides not only the academic curriculum but wraparound support and hands-on practical experiences in partnership with Circle City Broadcasting at the Circle City Broadcasting headquarters in Indianapolis, where the company produces more than 80 hours of live news and programming weekly.

JPMorgan Chase has made a $150,000 philanthropic investment into the Multicultural Media Producing Program that will open up work-based learning opportunities for high school and community college students.

“Diversity in the workforce creates a competitive advantage – and is especially impactful in media organizations where a broad range of ideas and perspectives strengthens our culture,” said Christina Moungey, Indiana & Ohio Region manager for JPMorgan Chase Commercial Banking. “This investment to create the Multicultural Media Producing Program supports organizations that provide young leaders with a pathway toward a successful career, and is an example of how our firm’s $30 billion racial equity commitment to help close the racial wealth gap touches down in Indianapolis.”

The MMPP will be offered at the Ivy Tech Indianapolis campus and anchored by long-time professional communications professor and former broadcaster Charles Gidney. Gidney serves as the Department Chair for Communication and Social Sciences for Ivy Tech Community College in the Indianapolis service area.

Ivy Tech will work in conjunction with the Circle City Broadcasting news leadership team to create a curriculum that satisfies Ivy Tech degree standards and delivers highly trained producers to enter the news producing workforce in America.

“Ivy Tech Indianapolis is not only thrilled but also committed to making the MMPP a huge success in the short and long term,” Dr. Lorenzo Esters, chancellor of Ivy Tech Indianapolis, said. “We are pleased to partner with Circle City Broadcasting and JPMorgan Chase together we seek to prepare individuals for careers as producers in the media business in our region, state, and nation. This is one additional way that Ivy Tech Indianapolis seeks to be responsive to the needs of our diverse communities.”

FREMONT, Calif.—Digital Nirvana has introduced MetadataIQ for News, a new variation of its MetadataIQ SaaS-based automatic metadata generation tool. MetadataIQ for News uses news-specific speech-to-text technology and machine learning capabilities to describe quickly the assets that appear in a news broadcaster's feed. As a result, editors and producers can find what they need and create news shows more efficiently, the company said.

With news providers getting multiple news feeds from bureaus and other providers, such as The Associated Press, there can be as many as 100 continuous feeds at a time, depending on the size of the news organization and making it difficult for humans to tag all that media. According to Digital Nirvana, many speech-to-text engines on the market that can produce decent output on general-purpose language, but they tend to falter when it comes to identifying names and places that are in the news.

Unlike those general-purpose STT engines, MetadataIQ for News handles just news content, ingesting all feeds in real time and applying a speech-to-text engine fine-tuned for news production. Digital Nirvana uses its MonitorIQ automated broadcast monitoring application to ensure MetadataIQ for News continuously improves. Every day, MonitorIQ records multiple news channels, including the audio, which contains the proper pronunciation. Then, using AI, MonitorIQ automatically identifies all names and places, and feeds all the data back into the STT engine's dynamically updated vocabulary. This process is what makes MetadataIQ for News unique and able to generate highly accurate output.

Two major news organizations — one in the United States and another in the Middle East — have been testing these capabilities in their live news operations, according to the company. They have found that applying ML technologies to their workflows yields automatically generated, highly accurate metadata more quickly and affordably than traditional methods, which translates to money, effort, and time savings. It also means better-structured, more detailed, and more accurate metadata and shorter content delivery cycles.

"We designed MetadataIQ to describe content from multiple cameras of a reality show. But news broadcasters needed an application that was built specifically to handle news content, which is constantly changing and therefore doesn't conform to general-purpose speech-to-text engines," said Hiren Hindocha, CEO of Digital Nirvana. "Because the application is continually training the engine to recognize new names and places, MetadataIQ for News ensures news broadcasters always have an accurate description of their content, even though there's something different every day."

Digital Nirvana will demo MetadataIQ at Stand 7.A28 at the 2022 IBC Show at the RAI Amsterdam, Sept. 9-13.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.—Ihlas News Agency (IHA), a Turkish news agency with correspondents in each of the nation’s cities and more than 60 countries, has taken delivery of 30 TVU One mobile 5G transmitters for use throughout the Middle East, Europe, Asia and the Americas.

IHA will deploy the TVU One transmitters in all Turkish provinces and at all of its international offices. Alen Elektronik, TVU Network’s authorized dealer in Turkey, recommended the TVU One transmitters serve as the core of IHA’s remote broadcast systems because the news agency wanted resilient contribution technology that could make acquisition fast, TVU Networks said.

“We’re looking forward to a strong and strategic relationship between TVU and IHA that furthers the news agency’s mission to provide high-quality, late-breaking coverage from anywhere in the world,” said Emad Qawasmi, sales director for MENA at TVU Networks. “We’re confident they’ll see significant improvement in the quality of their newsgathering efforts with the addition of our latest 5G-ready mobile transmission technology.”

The TVU One has a track record of reliably contributing audio and video for broadcast news and live production from remote areas of the world and in unstable conditions, the company said.

It simultaneously aggregates up to 12 data connections from networks in more than 180 countries. Supported bandwidth sources include cellular 3G, 4G, 4G LTE and 5G networks, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, satellite, microwave and BGAN. TVU One automatically aggregates all available network infrastructure to transmit stable, broadcast-quality video from any location, it said.

The company’s patented Inverse StatMux Plus (IS+) video/audio algorithm ensures reliable transmission regardless of the environment, it said.

The TV One delivers video with higher contrast, brighter images, and more vivid colors. It relies on an advanced HEVC/H.265 chip to encode video for delivery of full broadcast-quality 4K, 10-bit true 60fps HDR at bitrates as low as 3 Mbps (or 1080p60 HDR as low as 800 Kbps), TVU Networks said.

The real-time dual encoder simultaneously records a full 4K or HD copy of the live video to be downloaded later. A bi-directional IFB audio feed enables communication between the studio and field operators with nearly zero latency, it said.

“With the TV One, international news agencies like IHA can enter a whole new phase of remote broadcasting, with worry-free operation, anywhere in the world, even in the most unstable network conditions,” said Rafael Castillo, vice president/general manager, EMEA and Latin America, at TVU Networks.

“Today, viewers demand high-quality live news—not just from the studio, but also from remote locations," he continued. "We’ve partnered with major cellular networks around the globe to ensure that broadcasters can take advantage of 5G infrastructure for remote reporting. And we’ve developed next-generation solutions like the TVU One mobile transmitter that can automatically aggregate the best connections available, wherever reporters find themselves covering the latest news.”

BURLINGTON, Mass,—To help streamline distributed TV news and sports production, Avid has announced that it has launched its Avid Media Production in the Cloud solution.

“With today’s distributed workforce, broadcasters are increasingly using the cloud as a production platform to quickly produce content around the world,” Raul Alba, Avid’s director of solutions marketing, media and cloud. “Avid’s Media Production in the Cloud workflows can be stood up right alongside organizations’ existing on-premise platforms. Using familiar tools and workflows, broadcasters are finally gaining entry to cloud production without committing to a forklift overhaul or the need for additional training.”  

Based on the Avid production tools and platforms that content creation teams already rely on, Avid Media Production in the Cloud is designed to deliver the familiar experience of a broadcaster’s high-performance, on-premise workflows to distributed production teams so they can access assignments, assets and media to quickly deliver breaking news across all platforms, from on-air channels to web and social media, Avid said. 

With Media Production in the Cloud, teams can now leverage their existing MediaCentral workflows, along with integrated Avid NEXIS cloud storage and Avid’s MediaCentral | Stream IP ingest solution – all from the cloud, the company reported. 

The combination of these tools enables journalists in the field to quickly access, edit and publish content. Teams can use Avid’s MediaCentral | Collaborate and other iOS and browser apps to plan and contribute to stories remotely while tracking all aspects of story production. 

Avid also reported that MediaCentral’s openness gives editors the flexibility to choose Avid Media Composer or Adobe Premiere Pro to start working immediately on material as it comes in for fast turnaround of stories that are ready to air and stream across broadcast and digital outlets.  

More information is available here.  

LAS VEGAS—News channel NEWSnet has announced plans to invest $50 million in new studios, technology and programming to advance its presence in the broadcast and streaming news markets. NEWSnet is exhibiting for the first time at the 2022 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 24-27.

Launched in 2019, NEWSnet is the first 24/7 news channel available both over-the-air and via OTT streaming. NEWSnet can be found OTA in nearly 60 markets nationwide and online via fuboTV, Roku, Amazon Fire, Apple TV and mobile apps.

NEWSnet was recently purchased by Manoj Bhargava, founder of 5-hour ENERGY and the largest shareholder of Gray Television. For NEWSnet, Bhargava has set aside an additional $50 million investment for content creation and production. Founder Eric Wotila remains as president and part owner. 

In addition to showcasing its 24/7 news product, NEWSnet will unveil "The Weather Report," which provides OTA stations with turnkey localized forecasts presented by the network’s weather team, delivered ready-to-air within stations’ newscasts, lowering an OTA station’s weather costs, the company said. 

NEWSnet also will provide details on a new barter system that will offer more economic options for local over-the-air broadcasters and MVPDs, as well as custom newsroom solutions that provide a cost-effective and quality local newscast for any size market. 

“Having NEWSnet in your OTA or over-the-top (OTT) channel lineup helps attract and keep viewers, and can lower your costs and improve your bottom line,” said Wotila.

NEWSnet recently began construction of additional studios in Farmington Hills, Mich., with plans to significantly expand its news team.

NORFOLK, Neb.—NCN was developed with a vision to be the only in-state, independent television network of its kind. It is part of Flood Communications, honored by Inc. to be listed as one of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies in America this year.

As part of our growth, we’ve become the largest broadcast newsgathering force in Nebraska, with 15 radio stations, seven TV stations, and an active online community. For coverage, we have divided the state into eight zones, currently televise three regional live-sports games at a time and have (so far) two zones of live 24/7 news-sports-weather. News story production feeds quickly into NCN’s regional news portal.

FULL-TIME EFFICIENCY

Since launching in 2015, we’ve consistently pioneered new TV technology and with plans to expand and become more efficient in our operations, we came across Aveco and were impressed with their technology and their people. 

It’s critical to be staff-efficient in full-time news channels. Aveco had co-developed the first NewsWheel automation many years ago with former CNN technology head Ken Tiven and that model fit perfectly with our plans. By combining efficient news production automation, master control automation and media asset management in the same system, we’re able to scale with great efficiency, and continually improve on-air production quality.

We saw what Aveco had accomplished with other major media companies–-ESPN, Fox, Televisa, CNN, TV Today, and ETV--and were especially impressed with their IBC Innovation Award in 2019 for a 24-news channel/24-studio project involving 5,000 reporters. Their type of NewsWheel efficiency was stunning and we’re adapting this to NCN. 

Aveco’s automation system controls Harmonic Spectrum for ingest-and-playout, Aveco Redwood graphics-and-video players, Panasonic 4k PTZ cameras, production switcher, audio mixer, routing switcher, and is designed to maximize news production efficiency through its proxy-based media asset management tied in with our Apple and Adobe editing platforms. Our football and basketball games use TriCasters in vans feeding via LiveU into our centralized Aveco master control. We use AccuWeather for forecast updates every 10 minutes, with our weathermen going live from California and/or Minnesota when needed. It’s a terrific combination. 

While we operate mainly in English, Omaha has the 45th largest Hispanic population in the U.S. and there’s great growth in our Telemundo TV station KOHA and radio station KBBX Lobo. Production and sharing of news in both English and Spanish is a great experience for our team and helps pave the way for future growth.

EVERFORWARD STRATEGIES

We’re honored to have EVERForward Strategies in Lincoln, Ne. as our project management team: Lisa Guill and Mike Fass both have vast experience in new channel launches and innovative TV system designs.

NCN mainly does news-sports-and-weather but our local entertainment programming, such as “Quarantine Concerts,” have been very popular, along with our Nebraska Huskers Football and Basketball shows and live English-and-Spanish coverage. We’ve won numerous awards but what’s most gratifying is our deep daily engagement with the communities we serve.

Our approach is to use the best tools in TV technology, along with a great staff, to serve all of Nebraska in one news operation, while greatly increasing local coverage—and do this with a high level of automation that lets us be solidly profitable. It’s great to see this working!

We appreciate our technology partners, such as Aveco, Harmonic, LiveU, Panasonic and others – we’re poised for meteoric growth and are confident in our ability to scale quickly and efficiently.

For more information visit www.aveco.com. 

TORONTO—Imagine Communications has announced the launch of Nexio NewsCraft, an all-in-one news production solution that is remote production friendly and enables organizations to work smarter and more efficiently so that every news story gets to air quickly. 

Nexio NewsCraft provides a feature-rich and intuitive toolkit in a single, highly automated solution that streamlines news production from ingest and preparation to playout and delivery over multiple platforms, the company said. 

Based on proven open standards, Nexio NewsCraft operates seamlessly in hybrid SDI/IP architectures, interfaces tightly with newsroom computer systems (NRCS) via a fully implemented MOS interface, and allows access to systems on-prem, in the field or from home. 

“In talking to news broadcasters around the world, the message was absolutely clear,” explained Steve Reynolds, president at Imagine Communications. “The overwhelming desire is to be first with an accurate telling of the story ― and our new solution will meet that mission-critical requirement hands down.”  

Nexio NewsCraft incorporates best-of-breed components in highly integrated, virtualized software for implementation on premises, in the cloud, or in a hybrid architecture. 

The solution combines the field-proven performance and reliability of MOS-enabled Nexio production servers and IOX shared storage with the modern, easy-to-use GUI and best-in-class media management capabilities of the EditShare FLOW family, Imagine reported. 

Multiple software tools can be layered on the server architecture, giving wide and fast access to content and empowering journalists by removing technical and operational constraints wherever they access the functionality.  As needed, artificial intelligence tools like automated metadata extraction can be added to facilitate increased productivity and monetization of assets.

As a system purpose-built for speed, Nexio NewsCraft enables crash recording to be started with a single button on the control screen; scheduling a recording is as simple as dropping an event in a calendar. No matter how the content is ingested, material can be played out or edited within seconds of recording starting, Imagine reported. 

For more information about Imagine Communications’ products and solutions, visit https://www.imaginecommunications.com.

Editor’s note: This is an excerpt from a newly published white paper from TV Tech sponsored by Avid Technology. 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Television news has a long history of evolving—from the days when stories in the field were shot on film through electronic newsgathering to wireless network contribution of live and finished packages. The same could be said of newsroom technologies—from reporters on manual typewriters through a newsroom computer system to laptops in the field connected via virtual private networks (VPNs) to the newsroom system.

Each of these news workflow transitions was gradual, giving journalists and their news organizations time to adapt and adopt that in many cases was years long.

However, in March 2020 the Covid-19 pandemic was declared, leaving newsrooms, like the rest of society, in a scramble to maintain a degree of normalcy while the pandemic surged and alternatives to long-established routines were deployed.

Many newsrooms accelerated plans only under consideration prior to Covid-19 to a phase of rapid deployment, such as embedding journalists more deeply in their communities and reducing their presence in the newsroom, or virtualizing common news workflows in the cloud. In other instances, newsrooms turned to new tools, such as video conferencing apps, to replace newsroom meetings.

These changes and others, however, do not seem temporary—tied to some future all-clear signal from a health authority. Rather, Covid-19 appears to have acted as a catalyst for a transformation in workflows touching newsgathering, production and presentation that will be felt for years to come.

This white paper examines how broadcasters adapted their news workflows to the new reality and what they learned in the process that will affect how they gather and produce news in the future. It also looks at changing attitudes among news personnel with respect to technologies like the cloud, virtualized news production tools, and long-held newsroom institutions, such as the daily editorial planning meeting.

Topics discussed include:

• Hyperlocal reporting
• Remote reporting and evolving skill sets 
• The use of video conferencing apps for reporting and internal communications 
• How broadcasters adapted existing technologies and workflows for remote operations 
• The benefits of the cloud, including redundancy and disaster recovery 
• Maintaining collaboration in the process of creating news 

The conclusions reached in this paper are based on interviews with news executives and corporate leaders from eight broadcast organizations, including Al Arabiya, Graham Media, Gray Television, Meredith Corp., News-Press & Gazette Broadcasting, NBCU Telemundo, Sinclair Broadcast Group and TEGNA Media.

THE COVID-19 EFFECT

The World Health Organization declared Covid-19 a pandemic in March 2020, prompting governments and society at large to adopt strategies to limit its spread. Travel bans, social distancing mandates, lockdowns and event postponements and cancellations were implemented.

Television broadcasters, too, responded to the pandemic with steps to limit exposure and maintain operations. Crowded newsrooms in particular were susceptible to the virus, not only because of the proximity of staff but because of the risk that reporters and news photographers in the field, who are exposed daily to a constant stream of people, might return to the station with the virus.

Further, the close confines of production control rooms and the proximity of anchors on a news set demanded change.

A common strategy was to direct as many staff as possible to leave the station, work remotely from home or elsewhere, and adjust the work patterns of those who remained to reduce the likelihood of exposure. 

“I think the initial reaction of newsrooms, including mine, was, ‘Everybody, go!’” said Bob Ellis, vice president and general manager of Graham Media’s WJXT and WCWJ in Jacksonville, Fla. “For photographers, ‘You all take trucks home.’ For reporters, ‘Don’t come to the station.’ Let’s get as few people in here as possible.”

For News-Press & Gazette, which owns 45 TV network affiliates, that meant moving 900 employees, half in news, out of stations to work offsite, says Jim DeChant, NP&G director of Technical Operations. Similarly, NBCU Telemundo Center in Miami initially directed about 850 of its 1,200-person staff to work remotely. In news, 70% were required to work from home, says Jeff Mayzurk, the network’s executive vice president, Operations & Technology.

“Covid definitely changed our workflow in terms of production,” said Ruba Ibrahim, director of operations, at Dubai-based Al Arabiya. “We had to send a lot of our staff to work from home.”

Only those required to be physically present for on-air production stayed; the rest, including those working on packages and documentaries and media managers, were sent home to work. Ibrahim estimates at the beginning of the pandemic three out of four Al Arabiya news staff worked from home.

While a dramatic step, directing staff to work remotely in the initial phase of the pandemic also set in motion a major rethink and retooling of news processes and workflows that promise to leave a lasting mark on how TV news is gathered, produced and presented.

For some newsrooms, like those of Sinclair Broadcast Group’s news-producing stations, Covid-19 served as a catalyst that accelerated adoption of planned changes aimed at improving the quality and growing the number of news stories produced for on-air and digital distribution.

“Covid moved us five years forward in a matter of five weeks,” said Bill Anderson, Sinclair’s director of Change Management—News. “It forced change that was probably inevitable and necessary.”

It demanded change in how news is gathered, meetings are conducted, interviews done, stories edited and newscasts produced and anchored, he said.

CHANGES IN ATTITUDE

To change just about every aspect of the television news process is no small undertaking. Not only did news management and engineering teams have to establish new workflows, but long-held attitudes and institutions in the newsroom had to change.

For example, the morning editorial meeting, a newsroom fixture during which news management and journalists sit around a conference table to set the direction of the day’s coverage, was no longer appropriate at a time when the public was being directed to maintain 6 feet of social distance.

In its place, the in-person meeting was replaced with virtual equivalents leveraging video conferencing apps like Zoom, Microsoft Teams and Slack. What was once a sacrosanct part of editorial operations changed in an instant and in the process revealed where new workflow efficiencies might be achieved.

“The editorial meeting as an institution is very important. However, I think for those of us who have been around the news game for a while, we understand that institution sometimes could be a time waster,” said James Finch, director, News Services at Gray Television.

Participants now come to these meetings more prepared to execute the newsgathering mission of the day than they did when they simply sat around a conference table “tossing out ideas that may not be viable and wasting time,” he said.

“My hope is that if we’ve found efficiencies in shaping content for our audience that we will stay with what we are doing rather than going back to something that is traditional just because we’ve always done it that way,” added Finch. 

A free download of the entire white paper is available online.

WASHINGTON—In today’s TV landscape, it is important that local news stations have the ability to provide high quality programming to strengthen localism. According to the FCC, localism may outweigh other points of consideration when determining if two stations are able to merge.

In a new FCC paper, “Market Size and Local Television News,” the commission has three policy goals when considering local TV station ownership: competition, diversity and localism. The paper analyzes how the FCC’s structural regulation of station ownership affects the achievement of its policy goals.

A 2017 FCC Reconsideration Order, as well as the commission’s 2018 Quadrennial Review Notice of media policy goals, cited that diversity (primarily referring to diversity of voice) and localism could be relevant in an evaluation of a proposed merger of top-four TV stations—a typically prohibited practice—that serves the greater public interest.

The FCC says that in a typical situation, having more stations in a market will likely increase both the diversity of voices, as well as competition and localism. However, if a market is “out of equilibrium,” then the reduction of independent newsrooms could actually increase the quantity and quality of local news because it may help reduce the high costs of news production as revenue is increased and costs are split between the stations, according to the analysis.

To help prove this, the FCC estimated market size thresholds above which a market can likely sustain two, three or four or more local news operations, based on an acceptance criterion of either 50% or 75% to determine entry threshold values. Higher acceptance criterion lead to higher threshold estimates and make it more likely that a market may not be able to sustain the targeted number of stations. In markets below the threshold, mergers may be considered more favorable.

Using data from 2019 and a 50% acceptance criterion, market sizes for two, three and four or more local news stations came out to 35,000, 175,000 and 615,000 TV households, respectively. Using a 75% acceptance criterion, the results were 70,000, 310,000 and 800,000 for two, three and four or more operations.

“We expect our findings to be useful in merger deliberations to better understand the effects of a proposed merger on the Commission’s policy goals,” the FCC wrote in the paper. “In a merger analysis, the regression results and data from the market could be used to assess the likelihood that the market will sustain the current number of local news operations. In some markets, there may be a tradeoff between localism and diversity. A merger that eliminates a source of local news may be optimal, even though it reduces viewpoint diversity, if the merged entity improves the quality or increases the quantity of local news programming, strengthening localism.”

The full FCC paper is available online. 

OTTAWA—When the world went into lockdown last March due to COVID-19, all manner of companies sent their staff home to work remotely via the web. For many sectors, this unexpected move away from the office was difficult to support using their existing software/ IT infrastructures. But for the firms who make multiplatform news production software, it wasn’t— because the pandemic simply accelerated a trend that was already underway.

This is certainly the case at Avid, which is well-known for its MediaCentral media workflow platform. “We have accelerated this transition towards the cloud as an enabler for remote production,” said Raúl Alba, Avid’s director of product marketing for media and cloud. “Everything that we are doing is designed to help our clients move to the cloud, or be deployed on premises and accessed remotely.”

The same is true at Dalet. “Even before COVID, we had already planned to increase our capability to do more with mobility and have a web client that can be used from anywhere with no compromise in functionality,” said Raoul Cospen, Dalet’s director of product strategy, News. The just-announced Dalet Pyramid newsroom system trumpets this precise capability under the slogan, “Create, anywhere, together.”

At the same time, skeptics in the broadcast news business opened up their minds to working remotely after the lockdowns began.

“As long as the delivery of jobs is seen to be safeguarded, news teams are happy to be given tools that enable them to be quicker and more responsive on a widening range of platforms,” said Michael Pfitzner, vice president of CGI Media Solutions. CGI’s OpenMedia enterprise newsroom system (developed by SCISYS, which the company acquired in 2019), allows users to search agency wires, schedule broadcasts, integrate with other broadcast systems like MAM/playout systems, and write and distribute news stories.

“Journalist buy-in is rarely an issue anymore as it was in the early days of moving to nonlinear systems,” Pfitzner added

THE DRIVING FORCE

To distribute digital content to multiple platforms, newsroom software and the content it manages has to be remotely accessible and modifiable over IP networks.

Operating newsroom software over a secure, reliable corporate LAN is one thing; providing this same functionality to remote users via the insecure, unreliable web is quite another. Fortunately companies were addressing this challenge before anyone had heard of COVID-19.

“IP has been a driving force in our product development for many years,” said Gerhard Lang, CTO of the Vizrt Group, whose open standard-based Viz Pilot Edge web client allows newsrooms to create all aspects of newscast production in the cloud, no matter which newsroom computer system (NRCS) they use.

“Initially, the focus was on how IP and the cloud would replace broadcasters’ on-premises SDI infrastructure,” Lang said. “This focus changed during the lockdowns, when remote users took charge of keeping broadcasters’ news and other programming on air.”

The nature of cloud-based NRSC software means that everyone accessing this platform is a remote user by definition, whether they are doing so from a station newsroom, a home office or on the road.

Whatever the location, Bitcentral’s Oasis, a field-centric, browser-based cloud contribution platform is designed to serve all of them equally, according to company CEO Fred Fourcher.

“Remote contribution was already being used by our Oasis broadcast clients prior to COVID-19,” he said. “Now that COVID-19 has resulted in an increase in people working out of the office, our clients are simply using this Oasis capability more.”

MEETING CUSTOMER NEEDS

The rapid increase in use of NRCS systems remotely hasn’t been without its hiccups.

“We had to help a number of our customers enable their users to work away from the office home,” said Dalet’s Cospen. “Not everyone was ready to do so, which is why we quickly created and llaunched our cloud-based Dalet Galaxy xCloud platform for them to use.”

Other vendors have been tweaking their current products to better support remote production, while developing new products that take this capability even further.

CGI pivoted during this period to ensure its products remain relevant in the work-from-home environment, according to Pfitzner.

“We recognize the importance of staying connected, especially when many organizations have no choice, all while remaining cost-efficient and within budget,” he said. “Among other things, this has meant establishing professional tools for delivering platform-agnostic content and establishing these within our current and future feature sets.”

In the same vein, Avid’s MediaCentral was enhanced with the introduction of mobile apps and support for third-party NRCS in November 2020. “The new remote workflow capabilities in MediaCentral give creative teams the capabilities and confidence to create more content in shorter timeframes regardless of location,” said Avid's Raúl Alba.

This kind of flexibility is what customers want. “What they’re asking us to do is to build much more sophisticated editing products that can run in a web browser, where you could make something that’s perfectly good to put on mainstream TV broadcast,” said Trevor Francis, Grass Valley’s business development manager.

Bitcentral has responded to current events by updating its browser-based tools. “Customers can already remotely schedule/edit incoming satellite and other feeds that are recorded at the station,” said Foucher. “In line with the trend to increased remote access, we are adding more features to our timeline tools to be even more powerful from anywhere.”

By sheer good fortune and forward-looking vision, Primestream had its Xchange Media Cloud For Remote Content Creation in development prior to the pandemic, and released it in April 2020. “With Xchange Media Cloud, we’re bringing the robust functionality of our enterprise-grade Xchange MAM right to their remote workstations,” said Claudio Lisman, president and CEO of Primestream. “Before the pandemic, a lot of remote news production was fed using satellite uplinks/flyaways or by microwave. Today, most of the contribution comes from either online video encoders or bonded cellular devices. Xchange Media Cloud can handle all the recording, editing and playout of these IP contribution sources in the cloud.”

WHAT’S NEXT?

Once vaccinations become commonplace and restrictions are lifted, Grass Valley’s Francis doesn’t expect the remote production trend to be reversed. “People may never go back to working five days a week in the office,” he said. “They may work at home most of the time and go to the office some of the time.”

In fact, the logical outcome of this remote production trend is for some or all of today’s physical TV production/facilities to become virtual, with broadcasters simply leasing access to them as needed, working wherever they choose.

For instance, “we believe that technology like teleportation—the capability of placing two individuals from two different locations and greenscreens onto a single virtual set where they can interact as if they were in the same room, and which we pioneered years ago, has found its time,” said Vizrt’s Lang. “It will become a common way of conducting interviews or staging chat shows.”

Last spring, Vizrt demonstrated this “teleportation” type technology using its Vizrt Engine 4.1 platform to make it appear that Lang and Chris Black, Vizrt’s head of brand and content, carried on a live, one-on-one conversation as if they were in the same room—but were more than 1,000 miles apart.

The disruptive nature of the cloud has allowed more people to work remotely with more power and more efficiency than ever before and will continue to reshape newsroom delivery, CGI’s Pfitzner said. “We can see smaller production sites becoming much more central to many organizations as a result, and at some point, in the future, the physical nature of the newsroom as we know it of a contiguous space dedicated to a sole task might end up disappearing too.”

On a larger scale, Grass Valley’s new Agile Media Processing Platform (AMPP), which offers cloud-based playout/master control functions on a subscription basis to broadcasters, can eliminate the need for a physical TV station/network altogether, according to Francis.

“AMPP is all about taking an entire production suite, including switchers and routers, and running it virtually in the cloud.” said Francis. “This will let customers build a TV studio on demand without having to buy tons of equipment and put it in a dedicated facility. They can access it all in the cloud.”

All told, COVID-19 has spurred news production software firms to move even more boldly into the cloud, and to extend the functionality previously reserved for the newsroom to the entire planet via the web.

SEATTLE—While citizens have had to spend much of the past year in place, broadcasters haven’t had that luxury. As a particularly news-filled 2020 gives way to an even busier 2021, well-equipped news production crews are on the constant hunt for gear that will help them cover the news while staying safe. 

LIGHTING

Strict observation of social distancing has had a particular effect on lighting for interviews according to Art Adams, cinema lens specialist at ARRI, who added that the company's new Orbiter is just the ticket for socially distanced interviews.

“Orbiter has the best color, and also gives you the best specs and flexibility,” he said. “It’s kind of a ‘Swiss Army Knife.’ You can use them for quick interviews, or for theatrical and motion picture effects, or for chasing the color of the sun.”

Because the Orbiter is a hard light, it’s necessary to soften its output. “Typically I might try to use Orbiter with a four-foot medium Chimera, even a six foot octagon, which is probably bigger than most people would carry,” Adams said. “You want to create a big, soft source. The smaller the light source is, the more the shadow matters. But the bigger the light is, the more forgiving it tends to be.”

Adams noted that sometimes shooting interviews is a volume business, where there’s no time to tweak lighting between sessions. “People come in, sit down, and 10 minutes later they leave, you don’t have any time in between,” he said. “So the softer the light source is, the better.”

Reporting during the pandemic is forcing ENG crews to spread further apart, according to Litepanels product manager Michael Herbert. “It’s making guys doing these interviews and doing the lighting setups for them, having an increasingly large need for adaptability,” he said. “You’ve got people sitting six or eight feet, or even more in other circumstances. It varies by state, by studio and by building almost.

“When redesigning a lot of our products with the output in mind, you want to have more than you need,” Herbert continued. “That way, if necessary, if you have to move your lights, if you have to move everything further apart, you can always crank the light up to compensate for that.

Litepanels had this in mind when developing the Astra, which looks like a typical panel light except for its Total Internal Reflection (TIR) lens system. TIR puts a lens on each individual LED.

“The lens grabs all the light coming off each LED and pushes it all forward within a 44-degree beam-angle,” Herbert said. "This means that from a relatively low power fixture, you get a really punchy light source.”

CAMERA SUPPORT

Keeping reporters and their subjects apart via social distancing has re-emphasized the importance of tripods when reporting in the field.

The pandemic has also accelerated the trend of the one-man-band reporter, according to David Sheppard, international sales, distribution and channel manager for Shotoku. “[Reporting] has been streamlined down to where one person has gone out with all the equipment, set it up and even done the interview as presenter,” he said. “And with Covid it’s kind of accelerated that trend.”

In response, Shotoku introduced two new lightweight tripods and fluid heads, the SX200 and SX260. “We’re the lightest in class with carbon fiber legs,” Sheppard said. “And it ships in its bag all assembled, so all you’ve got to do really is pop it out of the bag, put the camera on it, adjust the legs and you’re ready to go.”

The heads feature “Viscam drag” (the company’s continuously adjustable fluid drag system) on a stepped system for effortless and speedy drag selection, Sheppard added.

“We’ve engineered that feeling in these heads into the drag system that’s actually continuously adjustable,” he said. “It’s the same as our studio quality heads. There is no ‘1, 2, 3’... it’s infinitely adjustable. It’s got this nuanced control that people like.”

Jose Larios, sales manager for Libec Sales of America, said there’s been a lot of demand for quick deploying tripods, which led the company to redesign their T650 to the 650EX.

“It has a [sic] other features, including the sliding plate range,” Larios said. “You’re able to use the slide plate just like more professional video heads that allow you to counterbalance the weight by moving the camera back and forth.”

It’s also very quick to set up, Larios added. “You literally take it out of the bag; the pan handle is already attached to the head. When you deploy the tripod and head out of the carrying case, the head is already attached and a knob adjusts the pan handle into the position you want before using.”

Libec recently redesigned another of its quick deploying camera support system, yielding the TH-M monopod. “One upgrade is that the quick release can be attached and detached from the side,” Larios said. “And the new model allows the pole to be locked in not only a vertical position, but also on an angle.”

Kyle Dann, product manager at Vitec Production Solutions, part of Vitec Group plc, provided yet another reason to have a camera support system that’s easy to deploy. “Deployment speed is very important because it gives confidence if you’re quick and efficient in setting up the interview,” he said. “And saving time in setting up is important because it gives you more time to work on your lighting and get the interview done as quickly and efficiently as possible, while maintaining distance.”

Among Vitec's rapid deployment solutions is the Flowtec tripod and Sachtler aktiv head. “The SpeedSwap system delivers the fastest way to switch between tripod and slider and other support systems in seconds," Dann said.

POWER SUPPLIES

With fewer places to gather (particularly indoors) between live reports, news crews have also faced increasing challenges in maintaining charged power supplies.

“When Covid hit, we had an onrush of broadcast customers reaching out because they had to adapt to a relatively new workflow from an ENG standpoint,” said Steve Turner, product manager and senior manager of strategic relationships, Vitec Group plc. “What that meant was a lot of refreshing of old kits and ‘How can I make my life easier when I’m stuck in a news vehicle all day, without being able to go back to the station?’”

The company responded with the Anton Bauer Titon 240 battery, its highest capacity onboard battery, at 240Wh.

“Just for a ballpark estimate if your camera runs 25W—which is typical these days, even less—that’s about eight hours per battery,” Turner calculated. “So if you’re able to outfit a photographer with four batteries and a charger, then they are more than set for the day.

"All Titon lines now incorporate a smart USB, so it’s fully compatible with charging of cellphones, as well as the industry standard power tap for Anton/Bauer,” Turner added.

PAG takes a different path toward capacity through its PAGLINK technology, according to Bob Carr, sales director for PAG America. “Because of PAG’s linking technology, we can link up to eight 150Wh battery packs. So you’re talking about up to 1,200Wh of power.”

PAG battery packs are available in three sizes: 50, 99 and 150Wh. The first battery pack clips to the back of the camera, and one after another of the packs clip piggyback on to the one before it.

“You don’t have to put anything between batteries you want to link, just plug two or more batteries together,” Carr said. “The camera draws off the battery with the greatest charge. You always have the ability to hotswap as you shoot, so there’s no need to ever stop shooting.

“You could put a power hub in between any of the linked battery packs, which will allow you to have five more connection points,” Carr added. “They’re switchable so you can have five USBs, five V-taps, five LEMO two pins.”

New PAG batteries going forward will have the ability to be serviced and re-celled by major customers and regional offices.

Many reporters are now doing more of their planning and reporting from home or anywhere than at the station, forcing better preparation, according to Kevin Crawford, vice president for engineering at Frezzi.

To help news crews prep for longer workdays, Frezzi redesigned and retooled its FB240 240Wh battery pack.

“It’s designed to run all day without recharging, and has a power tap and an integrated USB tap to charge cellphones and other USB charged devices,” Crawford said. “They’re pulling other peripherals off of that FB240. It’s good to have that big bucket, because everybody’s going with LiveU's now, and all kinds of extra devices, so it’s good to have that big bucket.”

The new FB series of battery packs has a ruggedized case, which is serviceable and resistant to drops up to four feet, Crawford added. “That means if there ever is a problem, we could swap out the case. That’s a big thing. I think we’re the only ones in the industry to do that.”

DETROIT—Between the 24-hour news cycle, abundance of social media platforms and proliferation of digital technology, the delivery of information is nonstop. From significant current events to live entertainment to a friend sharing their daily activities, a wide range of content is available at the consumer’s fingertips at all hours of the day via the simple click of a button. 

With so much content readily accessible, and so many audio and video streaming platforms, it’s vital for broadcasters to develop a digital delivery strategy that can cut through the noise to capture the audience’s attention and keep them up to speed, and also generate ad revenue. As we’ve experienced at Graham Digital—a Graham Media Group (GMG) team serving seven GMG stations throughout the U.S.—this requires a highly efficient production and delivery workflow and a deep understanding of digital platforms. 

To keep pace with the proliferation of OTT content, we’ve built 24/7 live OTT news channels for each of Graham Media Group’s seven stations that play a combination of live and pre-recorded content. Earlier this year, we were looking to revamp our monetization strategy and gain centralized control of these channels and found our solution in the cloud. 

Having worked with Amazon Web Services (AWS) on a number of projects, we knew they’d be the ideal partner to help transform the majority of our media workload for these channels from on-premises to the cloud. Today, our control and distribution pipeline for these channels includes AWS Elemental MediaLive for broadcast-grade video processing, AWS Elemental MediaStore for live content ingest and origination, AWS Service Manager for remote management of the Elemental Live encoders, AWS Fargate to run applications for SCTE35 monitoring and, through programing data, content aware input switching for MediaLive and finally Amazon CloudFront for content delivery.

Switching from the ground to the cloud has given us the flexibility to drive all of these channels remotely, from live switching to dynamic ad insertion, which has proven essential to operations this year. With AWS Media Services powering centralized control of the workflow for all seven 24/7 content channels, our stations no longer have to manage their individual channels or the hardware driving them. The cloud-based infrastructure and live switching for each channel is all centrally managed here in Detroit in the Graham Digital office, or in the case of the last few months, by our team members working from home.  

Making the switch from on-prem to cloud was ideal, and the beauty of it is that we’re no longer constrained by the local on-premises network and disparate control, so we can manage these channels from virtually anywhere we can get an internet connection. We can easily scale to meet the needs of each station and its audience to ensure the delivery of high-quality video. It’s made the transition to working from home much easier across our teams and stations and is opening up new opportunities to move even more of our workflow into the cloud, such as editing. 

Part of the decision to use AWS also came out of a need to enhance our management and monetization strategy for each channel. With AWS Elemental Live, we can contribute 35 markers from on-premises encoders to AWS Media Live, and use a combination of station programming and the ad markers available in the HLS stream. Leveraging our existing ad platform, this workflow allows us to bring viewers more personalized content at a broadcast quality caliber, while automated reporting allows us to better measure ad impressions and viewer behaviors. It’s been a huge boon to our monetization strategy.  

The media landscape is constantly evolving, and we’re confident that by tapping into AWS services in the cloud, we’ll be able to innovate more rapidly to improve the audience experience as new trends emerge and better monetize our content, while streamlining operations behind the scenes. 

Adam Simpson is the DevOps lead for Graham Media Group.

WAYNE, NJ (Sept. 19, 2019) – JVC Professional Video, a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, today announced KUSI, an independent television station owned by McKinnon Broadcasting that serves San Diego (DMA #29), has purchased 11 GY‑HC900 CONNECTED CAM 2/3-inch broadcast camcorders for ENG and EFP projects. Deployed in August, the new cameras are used to help produce 65 hours of news content per week.

The new cameras replaced 11 JVC GY-HM700 ProHD camcorders that had been in use since the station transitioned to HD production in April 2008. Fred Swift, KUSI chief engineer, said video quality was the main reason why the station upgraded to 2/3-inch camcorders in the field. “It’s substantially better,” he said.

In addition to its regular newscasts, KUSI produces a Friday night high school football wrap-up show, The Prep Pigskin Report, which offers highlights from about 36 games around the area. According to Swift, the GY-HC900 really shines during sports coverage. He also praised its low-light performance.

Another advantage with the new camcorders is the HD-SDI pool feed input, so photogs no longer need to bring an external device to the courthouse and other locations to record footage. “Being able to record a pool feed on your camera is pretty handy, and SD cards make it easy,” Swift added. “JVC really thought this through for news and included a lot of features. It is a professional camera.”

The new camcorders are paired with FUJINON 20x zoom lenses and protected by Porta Brace covers. While KUSI is currently using external video transmission systems in the field, Swift said the camcorder’s integrated streaming “looks enticing” for future use, possibly after 5G technology has been adopted in the region.

Both the GY-HC900 and GY-HC900ST studio model feature three 2/3-inch CMOS sensors to produce full HD images, plus an industry B4 lens mount and four-position optical filter. For ENG and other live applications, the GY-HC900 has built-in Wi-Fi, dual external antennas, streaming/FTP performance up to 20Mbps, and SMPTE 2022 forward error correction and Zixi error correction with ARQ for reliable transmission. Other features include dual SDXC card slots, three XLR inputs, 50 Mbps 4:2:2 10-bit recording, MPEG-2 recording up to 35 Mbps, and slow motion and HDR recording modes.

ABOUT JVC PROFESSIONAL VIDEO
Headquartered in Wayne, New Jersey, JVC Professional Video is a division of JVCKENWOOD USA Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of JVCKENWOOD Corporation. The company is a leading manufacturer and distributor of broadcast and professional video equipment, as well as D-ILA front projection systems. For more information, visit JVC’s website at http://pro.jvc.com or call (800) 582‑5825.

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – June 19, 2019 – TVU Networks, the global technology and innovation leader in live IP solutions, today announced its partnership with Stringr, the premium video marketplace for custom, high-quality, video content. Stringr’s network of professional and amateur videographers is now available through the TVU Global Grid, the Cloud platform for content owners to contribute and pull video, enabling assets to be shared and sold on a global scale. The relationship leverages Stringr’s robust network of videographers and the established global presence of the TVU Grid distribution platform.

TVU Grid is an IP-based switching, routing and distribution system. With TVU Grid, stations can route live video streams over IP networks to one or more Grid-enabled news stations anywhere in the world with sub-second latency. Using its TVU Global Grid platform, users can exchange, share, and sell video content. Users can view public video sources that are available around the world, and request to take the stream and make it available for their own viewing audience. For a demo of TVU Grid, watch here.

Stringr allows users to access its content library and request custom footage from over 90,000 videographers around the world. In addition, broadcasters, publishers and brands in the U.S. and U.K. can access Stringr’s livestreaming function, which launched earlier this year. Users will now be able to put out requests through TVU Grid, and as a videographer in Stringr’s network begins sharing live footage, it will be transmitted directly to TVU Grid.

“The TVU Grid is used by thousands of newsrooms around the world,” said Brian McNeill, COO and Co-Founder of Stringr. “Integrating Stringr will give TVU users all the benefits of our platform, without having to flip between the two, therefore saving time, cutting unnecessary costs and maintaining content quality.”

The Stringr/TVU Grid workflow is seamless. A joint customer requests video from Stringr. When one of Stringr’s 90,000+ videographers goes live with video matching the request, the feed is sent through Stringr, straight into TVU Grid. From there, the joint customer can take the feed just as they would for any other TVU content.

“By incorporating Stringr’s network through TVU Grid, our customers have the best of both worlds – high-quality, low latency live video distributed through TVU Grid with the extensive Stringr videographer marketplace,” said TVU Networks’ CEO Paul Shen. “The combination enables our customers to deliver breaking news faster than ever before and opens up monetization opportunities for their own content. It makes the live production process much simpler with a streamlined workflow while providing greater flexibility and more options for dynamic content.”

A mutual customer brought the two companies in touch with one another, and the opportunity to partner grew from that initial connection. Both TVU Networks and Stringr executives saw the value in a solution combining TVU Grid’s access to global live coverage with Stringr’s ability to source live footage. “The combination of these two products allows our partners to get more live coverage, quickly, cost effectively, and within the same workflow they’ve always used,” added McNeill.

TVU Networks and Stringr are currently working with a major cable network and plan to expand to other partners shortly.

OTTAWA—When the first NewTek TriCaster integrated video production system was introduced in 2005, its all-in-one functionality was limited to conventional SDI video signals, and whatever capability were “built into the box.”

In 2019, these walls have fallen down. Integrated production systems have embraced IP connectivity, and flexibility enhanced by network connections to exterior devices—whether physical or virtual. This can include remotely controlled PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras colocated with the integrated production switcher, or connected by IP anywhere in the world.

WHAT CUSTOMERS WANT

The vastly expanded capabilities of today’s integrated production systems are in sync with customer expectations, which have also grown exponentially since 2005. As a result, the “necessities” of current integrated production systems “include switching with a reasonable number of transition and effects options, clips and graphics search and playback, the ability to build playlists, record a primary mix along with multiple ISO input recording, Chroma-key support, lower thirds and logo keying, and streaming,” said Rush Beesley president of RUSHWORKS, a Dallas-based provider of live production gear.

At the same time, the expanding use of IP-delivered video by businesses, schools, churches, and other non-broadcast users means that “people coming to us these days are asking more about streaming than actual video production,” said Russell Whittaker, worldwide director of channel sales for Broadcast Pix in Boston. “That’s a bit of a seachange for us.”

Because these customers increasingly come from IT rather than TV backgrounds, they tend not to understand the benefit of SDI-based switching. “They live in a world of RJ-45 connectors,” said Whittaker. “For them, it must be good if it’s an IT technology.” This is why integrated production system manufacturers have moved so substantially to IP in their products, even though they retain SDI connections for broadcast users.

INDUSTRY TRENDS

The emphasis on IP connectivity, and the network-based possibilities it supports, is driving design in the development of integrated production systems.

“The biggest thing is flexibility,” said Will Waters, vice president of Customer Success for NewTek in Dallas. “You need to be able to have your production capability evolve in a way that is not locked into the original physical design of your switching equipment. Flexibility is the main thing we keep hearing about from customers.”

To support flexibility, Broadcast Pix, NewTek, and RUSHWORKS all support NewTek’s Network Device Interface (NDI) technology to allow their integrated systems to connect with NDI-enabled cameras, servers, and other video production equipment. By working in IP rather than baseband, “we’re moving forward into the world of virtualization, allowing us to access resources across the network through the integrated production system,” said Waters. “The limits are falling away.”

Beesley agrees. “I think the introduction of NDI has been very impactful, providing much more flexibility and freedom to introduce multiple sources with virtually no quality loss, and a significant reduction in expense and complexity,” he said. “NDI-capable cameras are certainly appropriate for integration into systems.”

The move into IP has also allowed integrated production systems to accept far more video sources than before; including those originating as data rather than signals. “The distinction between signals that had a BNC connection or a three-letter file extension is gone,” said Whittaker. “There is a lot more acceptance that a file is just as valid as a video signal.”

VENDOR ADVANCES

A number of new features have helped spur the market for integrated production systems in recent years.

For Broadcast Pix, the biggest development is data connectivity to the graphic creation systems within its BPSwitch line, according to Whittaker. “We’ve had that before, but we’ve extended the types of video signals,” he said. “Then there’s 3D motion graphics, which we launched in 2017 but started to deliver in force last year.” BPSwitch can now be run using a tablet or smartphone.

NewTek has developed a range of NDI-based tools for its TriCaster integrated production systems. They include NewTek Connect Pro (bridging conventional and IP-based workflows,), NewTek IsoCorder Pro (encoding video from up to 16 NDI sources in QuickTime format with 8-channel audio mixing), and NewTek Telestrator (adding live dynamic graphics to any NDI video source/still image).

Waters adds, “if you have a Windows PC and you can open up our application and connect to our integrated system, we can bring the user interface of our live production device anywhere that network can reach. Meanwhile, our NewTek Premium Access subscription service allows users to render real-time animation into live programming using Adobe After Effects and Photoshop— without using a conventional graphics pipeline.”

RUSHWORKS has added the ability to incorporate NDI and URL inputs and outputs into its products, and tweaked its PTZ cameras to provide a level of granularity and motion that removes the “robotic” look characteristic of the slow moves and zooms on most PTZ cameras, according to Beesley. RUSHWORKS’ VDESK integrated production system is the company’s flagship product in this area, with its portable version being branded as REMO.

COMING UP IN 2019

What can we expect from developers of integrated production system manufacturers in the year ahead?

At Broadcast Pix, “remote control is a big priority,” said Whittaker. “It appeals to people who have production facilities spread out between different locations. We also expect to increase the range of the number of IP inputs that our integrated systems can accept.”

Over at NewTek, “we’re heavily invested in the move to IT within our industry,” said Waters. “Without getting specific, we are looking to integrate into live production from control to advances in graphics and capturing live content for later re-use.”

Meanwhile, RUSHWORKS is completing a turnkey news production system designed to be operated by one person. “It’s an out-of-the-box solution that makes high-quality news production easily manageable and affordable for educational institutions, small TV stations, and the new world of internet TV Station entrepreneurs,” Beesley said.

Integrated production systems will push further into IP and enhanced flexibility in the years to come. In doing so, they will continue their march towards a level of sophistication and power that was once the sole preserve of traditional multiperson video production complexes.

Chelmsford, Mass. – Oct. 23, 2018 – Broadcast Pix™ today announced KTEN, a dual NBC/ABC affiliate with a CW substation serving the Sherman-Ada market (DMA #160), upgraded its control room in August with a Broadcast Pix BPswitch™ integrated production switcher. Mark Farrell, news director for KTEN Media, said the new BPswitch was part of an effort to ready the station for next month’s election coverage.

Owned by Lockwood Broadcast Group, KTEN’s studio is based in Denison, Texas, and produces more than seven hours of local news each weekday across its three channels. News broadcasts begin with morning news starting at 4:30 a.m. and conclude with a 10 p.m. newscast. The studio includes three robotic cameras and a stationary “grid cam,” which is used for bumps and other transitions.

Steven Martinez, assistant chief engineer, said one of the big benefits of the new switcher is its integrated NewBlueNTX multi-layer 3D graphics. Both he and Farrell are also excited about the new BPfusion software, which integrates seamlessly with NewBlueNTX to streamline the creation of data-intensive CG graphics. BPfusion automatically updates graphics using data from RSS feeds, Twitter, scoreboards, and other sources over IP. With simple drag-and-drop operation, BPfusion uses templates to integrate information into customized graphics like multi-layer election maps without re-keying the data.

BPfusion also allows KTEN to import Adobe After Effects projects directly into NewBlueNTX. Previously, the graphics department had to render some graphics as Targa sequences, which added a cumbersome step to the production process. Now, the graphics are simply dropped into the BPswitch Watch-Folders media management system without re-rendering, then transferred to the switcher’s integrated clip store. Martinez said BPfusion has also “really streamlined our scoreboard gathering” for KTEN’s Friday night high school football show.

The new BPswitch, which replaced KTEN’s older Broadcast Pix Granite™ system, has helped the station enjoy more efficient news production with minimal retraining. For example, the station continues to use the built-in BPview™ multi-view, as well as the same control panel from the previous system. However, the station now produces two-box effects directly through the switcher, which Martinez said is much easier than relying on an aging DekoCast during live productions. Plus, instead of using a separate playout server, KTEN now stores and plays its roll-ins directly from the BPswitch.

About Broadcast Pix With a tightly coupled switcher and 3D motion graphics CG, Broadcast Pix provides the most fully integrated live video production systems with patented control and automation technology. From compact units to large-scale, multi-system solutions, every Broadcast Pix features an extensive toolset that makes it easy to optimize and customize your workflows locally and over IP. Plus, its BPNet ecosystem provides secure cloud services and asset management. Founded in 2002, Broadcast Pix has customers in more than 100 countries and is the leader in fully integrated production switchers for government, broadcast, streaming, live event, and visual radio applications. Learn more at www.broadcastpix.com.

Broadcast Pix, BPview, BPswitch, and Granite are trademarks of Broadcast Pix, Inc. Patented. Switchers are made in USA.

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TORONTO & HACKENSACK, N.J.—With the goal of simplifying the path between remote contribution and TV newsroom non-linear workflows, Masstech and LiveU they are teaming up on a new partnership. The two companies will integrate their technologies to reduce time to move live ENG content into production workflows for journalists to access.

Combining Masstech’s media management systems and LiveU’s Bonded Video Transceiver automatically makes recordings of all LiveU-delivered live streams visible and accessible to everyone using the relevant newsroom computer systems and editing systems. In addition, LiveU IP-bonded field transmission units appear in the NRCS as wire stories with linked video files and embedded previews, while Masstech technology allows journalists to use drag-and-drop actions to preview the video, transfer the clip to production systems, archive the video, or share it amongst users and other stations.

As many as 10 stations in the top 50 markets have reportedly already deployed the new Masstech and LiveU integration.

NEWPORT BEACH, CALIF.—Bitcentral is heading across the plains, announcing a four station rollout of its CORE:News production suite for four Raycom Media stations. Located in both Texas and Oklahoma, KFDA, KXXV, KWES and KSWO all now feature the CORE:News platform.

KSWO was one of four Raycom stations to add CORE:News

The modular news production platform combines content discovery, capture, editing, playout, publishing, collaboration, asset management and archiving into a single workflow with systems like Bitcentral Create, Bitcentral Oasis, Bitcentral Remote Contribution and Bitcentral Precis Attach. The CORE suite features ENPS integration with all four of the stations, according to Raycom Media’s David Evans.

Bitcentral is a provider of new production, distribution and aggregation technology.

NEW YORK—KITV is now set to cover Honolulu in full HD as the ABC affiliated station recently completed its station-wide migration to HD newsgathering and production. With automated news content creation technology and systems from Vizrt serving as the base for this transition, KITV’s new HD control room went live on Dec. 5.

KITV production crew

Vizrt’s Viz Opus compact control room was the central technology used in the transition to full HD. Based on the Viz Mosart newsroom automation platform, Viz Opus replaces the video production switcher and DVE with real-time Vizrt graphics engine, as well as providing graphics and two channels of video playout servers.

In addition, KITV also acquired a complementary Vizrt Newsroom package, which works with the station’s newsroom computer system and includes a Viz One compact MAM server and Viz World 3D maps package.

PARIS—Dalet Digital Media Systems has come off the bench to support digital media company Perform and the expansion of its global sports operations. Adding news scripting, production and distribution capabilities from Dalet, Perform is able to increase multimedia content output across its international bases.

Perform is using Dalet primarily as the basis of remote workflow operations between its U.K. operation and other offices in Munich, Amsterdam, and Uruguay. News desk staff in the three locations can access the Dalet web client, browse media and mark in and out points before sending clips to a watch folder. The clips are then sent to the U.K. office through the Aspera FASP fast transfer protocol for additional editing and the routed overseas in the same way.

Additional features Dalet will bring to the expansion include deployment of the specialized Dalet Sports League module, integrated content scheduling with ScheduALL, and deeper integration with Aspera Orchestrator to automate the selection, extraction, processing and distribution of match highlights. Perform will also work with Dalet to become a test site for IP ingest for its newsroom operations with the goal of evolving technologies and furthering global expansion of its platforms.

With headquarters in Paris, Dalet Digital Media Systems is a provider of software-based technologies for media organizations.

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.