U.K. professional audio vendor Calrec has responded to social media chatter that claim the company supports Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, 

“Recently we have received many comments via social media that mistakenly claim Calrec are in some way supporting Russian state aggression,” the company said in a statement. “Calrec, like the rest of the world, continue to watch the unjust situation in Ukraine with utter sadness and disbelief. What continues to occur is completely at odds with the values that we stand for. 

“As a company, we maintain stringent compliance controls and immediately took steps to cease all commercial activities in Russia and Belarus,’ the statement continued. “Whilst we all look to a better future, our support continues to our friends and colleagues in Ukraine.”

While it is unclear as to the basis for such criticisms, the company counts Russia State TV & Radio VGTRK among its customers; the company appears to have taken down press releases regarding its business with the state broadcaster from its website. 

This tweet, in particular, criticizes both Calrec and Ross Video: 

Shortly after the invasion, Ross was among several companies in the M&E tech sector that announced cessation of business in Russia. A statement of support for Ukraine released at the time by President David Ross is now pinned to the top of its Twitter feed.

The Executive Board of the European Broadcasting Union has suspended the membership of Russian broadcasters—RTR, Channel One and Radio Dom Ostankino—for an indefinite period. The decision was made unanimously by the Executive Board at its meeting on May 26 and effectively ends Russian coverage of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. The  EBU had previously suspended Russian ally Belarusian Television and Radio Company (BTRC) last fall over accusations of “politicizing” the annual popular event. 

RTR is the international arm of Russian state media organization VGRTK, which, along with Channel One, resigned from the EBU in late February after the EBU announced that no Russian acts would be allowed to participate in the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. 

The suspension of membership for these media organizations was initiated at a meeting of the Executive Board on April 7. EBU, an alliance of public service media organizations,  said the decision “enters into force immediately and its term will be subject to review. 

“In making its decision, the Executive Board took into account that all three members have the right to appeal the decision of the Council in accordance with the Statute of the European Broadcasting Union, although the suspension of membership will remain in force until the decision on appeal,” the association said.

Mykola Chernotytskyi, Chairman of the Board of Public Broadcasting Company of Ukraine, applauded the EBU’s decision.

“Public Broadcasting welcomes the position of the Executive Council on the suspension of the membership of the Russian media in the European Broadcasting Union. Because, violating journalistic standards, spreading hate speech and misinformation, these broadcasters are waging an information war not only against Ukraine, but also against the entire civilized world,” she said.

Russian subscribers to Netflix have filed a class action lawsuit against the streaming giant, claiming that it unlawfully ceased its service in March after the invasion of Ukraine, according to Reuters. The lawsuit, filed this week on behalf of Russian subscribers, seeks 60 million rubles ($726,000) in damages, according to the RIA news agency. 

A number of streaming services, including Netflix, stopped serving the Russian market in March in response to Russia’s invasion. The suspension included both streaming as well as production activities taking place in the country.

“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia," a Netflix spokesperson said at the time. Russian subscriptions number approximately less than 1 million, a small fraction of Netflix’s nearly 222 million subscribers worldwide. 

“Today, a law firm representing the interests of Netflix users filed a class action lawsuit against the American Netflix service with the Khamovnichesky District Court of Moscow”, RIA attributed to the law firm Chernyshov, Lukoyanov & Partners. “The reason for the lawsuit was a violation of Russian users’ rights due to Netflix’s unilateral refusal to provide services in Russia.”

Netflix has yet to comment.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The broadcast industry lost two veteran members of Fox News on Tuesday with the deaths of video journalist Pierre Zakrzewski, and freelance journalist Oleksandra Kuvshynova. The two were killed outside Kyiv, Ukraine when a vehicle they were traveling in was hit by incoming fire, the network announced.

Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott hailed  Zakrzewski, who was 55 and had covered conflicts worldwide during his career.

"His talents were vast and there wasn't a role that he didn't jump in to help with in the field—from photographer to engineer to editor to producer — and he did it all under immense pressure with tremendous skill," she said.

Scott also praised him for his work in getting Fox's freelancers covering the Afghanistan war get safely out of the country after the U.S. withdrawal last August.

In a separate memo to staff, Scott praised Kuvshynova, also called "Sasha," who was a consultant for Fox News in Ukraine. She was 24.

“She was helping our crews navigate Kyiv and the surrounding area while gathering information and speaking to sources,” she said. “She was incredibly talented and spent weeks working directly with our entire team there, operating around the clock to make sure the world knew what was happening in her country.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists reported that Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs adviser Anton Gerashchenko said that the Fox team was attacked by mortars fired by the Russians and that they were clearly labeled "Press," according to a former Fox News 'fixer.' 

“We are deeply saddened by the deaths of Pierre Zakrzewski and Oleksandra Kuvshynova in Ukraine while they were working with Fox News, and we are hoping that correspondent Benjamin Hall recovers from his injuries,” said Gulnoza Said, CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia program coordinator, in a statement. “Reporting on this war is a vital public service, and it has already claimed the lives of at least two other journalists in just a few weeks. Ukrainian and Russian authorities must do their utmost to ensure safety of all journalists, and to thoroughly investigate attacks on the press.”

The Military Reporters & Editors Association also issued a statement:

"The Military Reporters & Editors Association mourns the loss of Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, who was killed in Ukraine after his vehicle was hit by incoming fire. Fox News correspondent Benjamin Hall was also injured in the incident.

"Zakrzewski was a brave soul, who reported from war zones around the world and also played a major role in getting Fox News’ Afghan freelancers and their families to safety after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban last year. For his valiant efforts, he was awarded an “Unsung Hero” award by his network.

"A Ukrainian journalist, Oleksandra Kuvshynova, was also killed in the incident, according to media reports. 

"Their deaths come shortly after journalist and filmmaker, Brent Renaud, was also killed while covering the war in Ukraine. We once again call for the protection of journalists in Ukraine to be able to do their important work without fear of violence or intimidation. 

The world is a lesser place without these champions for the truth."

WHITE PLAINS, NY—The world's largest organization dedicated to film and television technology is condemning Russia's invasion of Ukraine and suspending the activities of its Russian division. 

The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) issued the following statement this week:

 "We the members of the SMPTE Board of Governors, issue this resolution condemning the unprovoked invasion by Russia of the sovereign country of Ukraine, the slaughter of innocent Ukrainian citizens, the destruction of Ukrainian infrastructure, and the suppression of individual rights of Russian citizens to speak and associate freely. We support and defend the individual human rights of our members in Russia and Ukraine as well as those of all our members. We call on the government of Russia to immediately cease its invasion, withdraw all its troops from Ukrainian territory, and restore the rights of Ukrainian and Russian citizens.

"We call on our partner associations in the television, motion picture, social media, and related industries to join us in our resolve against the actions of the Russian government.

"Therefore, we, the members of the SMPTE Board of Governors are suspending the activities of the SMPTE Russian Section and its members' individual participation in the SMPTE Board of Governors until further notice."

The Hollywood community has effectively ended its association with Russia during the war, as major studios have paused the release of films in Russian theaters. Netflix has suspended operations in Russia and ceased future productions and acquisitions. Discovery, WarnerMedia, and Amazon have also halted their services in Russia. 

Netflix announced Sunday that it has suspended its streaming service to Russia, in light of its invasion of Ukraine. 

“Given the circumstances on the ground, we have decided to suspend our service in Russia," a Netflix spokesperson said.

The move is seen as fairly symbolic for Netflix since Russia accounts for just under 1 million subscribers, a small fraction of its 222 million subscribers worldwide. However, it's not just subscriptions that tie Netflix to Russia. Earlier last week, the streaming service, which just signed an agreement last December to begin carrying  20 Russian federal television channels on its streaming service, announced it would no longer comply with the terms.

The announcement is just the latest in a series of announcements from media giants like Disney, Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, Sony and Universal, who all said they would not premiere their latest movie releases in Russia.  

BURLINGTON, Mass.—Avid has issued an open letter condemning the Russian invasion of the Ukraine and announcing that it has ceased all sales and support for all customers, users and resellers in Russia and Belarus.

“Russia’s political leaders have crossed a line by attacking the sovereign nation of the Ukraine, which has resulted in harm and disruption to her people, including our Avid colleagues,” Jeff Rosica, president and CEO of Avid Technology wrote in the letter announcing that they would stop all sales and support in Russia and Belarus. 

“Much of the world has responded with harsh economic sanctions–and Avid is joining with them to apply pressure on the Russian regime,” Rosica wrote. “We simply cannot make it easier for Russia’s political leaders, through state-run and state-owned news and media organizations to spread propaganda and disinformation….We urge others in our tight-knit Media & Entertainment Industry to also join the International pressure campaign against Russia’s political Leaders.”

The statement also noted that the company was “assisting our Ukraine colleagues and their families to bring them relief on multiple fronts—and intend to do so until peace returns to the Ukraine.”

Ross Video has also halted all sales and support to the Russian market and Russian news outlets have been removed from a number of platforms.  

WASHINGTON D.C.—In the wake of sanctions against Russia over its widely condemned invasion of the Ukraine, RT America has decided to shut down its news channel and lay off the majority of its staff.  

Since the start of Russia’s invasion of the Ukraine and the imposition of sanctions by the U.S. and the European Union, RT America has been dropped by DirecTV, Roku and others. Platforms like Reddit and Facebook had also banned links to the outlet. 

Prior to the announcement that the service would shut down, the National Association of Broadcasters also released a statement urging broadcasters not to air Russia-sponsored content. 

The closure was announced by T&R Productions, which operates RT’s sister channel in the U.S. 

“As a result of unforeseen events and the interruptions of normal business operations, T&R productions, LLC is currently ceasing all television production work at all of its bureaus throughout the United States,” T&R said in a statement. 

The announcement also noted that T&R has laid off the majority of its staff at all locations.

OTTAWA—Ross Video has stopped shipping its products to Russia and voiced its support for humanitarian relief efforts for Ukraine amid Russia’s unprovoked attack. 

Last week, prior to international sanctions being imposed, Ross halted all shipments to Russia and severed support for Ross products already in the country. 

As a concrete act of support, Ross is making a $100,000 donation in support of humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.

“As a company, we rarely comment on geopolitical affairs. However, we are compelled to support the Ukrainian people and their remarkable efforts to defend their homeland,” says David Ross, CEO Ross Video. “Like hundreds of thousands of other Canadians, I am proud of my Ukrainian heritage. I simply cannot sit idly by while President Putin’s forces attack cities, civilians, and democracy itself.”

He adds: “I encourage other Canadian business leaders and anyone who has the means to condemn this invasion and to provide meaningful financial support to Ukraine. Together, we can make a difference and send a strong message to President Putin and those still supporting him.”

Earlier this week, Ross voiced his support for Ukraine on Linkedin:

The Committee to Protect Journalists said that two Danish journalists have been wounded in Eastern Ukraine and that it is "deeply disturbed" by Russia's apparent targeting of television infrastructure in a missile attack that killed at least five people and "knocked some television broadcasts off the air."

The Russian state news agency TASS had reported that the missile strike was to "thwart informational attacks against Russia."

CPJ Europe and Central Asia Program coordinator Gulnoza Said, said that the Russian military was trying to "deprive Ukrainians of information at a time when it is desperately needed" while putting journalist and civilian lives at risk.

CPJ is working to document journalist detentions and and other violations of press freedoms. It is also collecting observations of Ukrainian journalists.

For example, Olga Rudenko, editor of Kyiv Independent, an English-language Ukrainian news site, wrote: “The mood here is rather grim. Even when you make eye contact with strangers in the street, you have this feeling of anxiety and grimness because the general feeling is nobody knows where is safe to be right now.” ■

WASHINGTON—The National Association of Broadcasters is urging broadcasters to refrain from carrying and state-sponsored programming associated with the Russian government or its agents. The call came in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is a fierce defender of the First Amendment and the critical importance of the ability to freely express views, both popular and unpopular,” stated NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt. “While the First Amendment protects freedom of speech, however, it does not prevent private actors from exercising sound, moral judgment.”

LeGeyt’s statement continued: “To that end, given the unprovoked aggression exhibited by Russia against the free and sovereign people of Ukraine, NAB calls on broadcasters to cease carrying any state-sponsored programming with ties to the Russian government or its agents.”

[Related: “Russian Broadcasters Leave EBU”]

The statement ended noting that NAB knows that such programs are extremely limited on U.S. airwaves, but “we believe that our nation must stand fully united against misinformation and for freedom and democracy across the globe.”

The question of how a broadcaster can tell the source of any given programming is timely. The NAB and other broadcast organizations have sued the FCC, opposing a new rule that requires stations to determine the source of foreign-based content. The association has argued that the requirement puts undue burdens on radio and TV stations, that that the rule is unconstitutional and that the problem the FCC is trying to solve is a “phantom harm.”

WASHINGTON—In light of Russia’s attack on the Ukraine last week, FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel has proposed action to help protect America’s communications networks against cyberattacks. Earlier in the week, the Department of Homeland Security warned U.S. organizations at all levels that they could face cyber threats stemming from the Russia-Ukraine conflict; the FCC said Chairwoman Rosenworcel’ss proposal would begin an inquiry into the vulnerabilities of the internet’s global routing system.

If adopted by a vote of the full commission, the Notice of Inquiry would seek public comment on vulnerabilities threatening the security and integrity of the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP), which the FCC says is central to the internet’s global routing system. The inquiry would also examine the impact these vulnerabilities would have on the transmission of data through email, e-commerce, bank transactions, interconnected Voice-over Internet Protocol (VoIP), and 911 calls—and how best to address these challenges.

BGP is the routing protocol used to exchange reachability information among independently managed networks on the Internet. BGP’s initial design, which remains widely deployed today, does not include explicit security features to ensure trust in this exchanged information. 

As a result, the FCC said, a bad network actor may deliberately falsify BGP reachability information to redirect traffic. Russian network operators have been suspected of exploiting BGP’s vulnerability to hijacking in the past.  “BGP hijacks” can expose Americans’ personal information, enable theft, extortion, and state-level espionage, and disrupt otherwise-secure transactions.

Working with its federal partners, the commission has urged the communications sector to defend against cyber threats, while also taking measures to reinforce the nation’s readiness and to strengthen the cybersecurity of vital communications services and infrastructure, especially in light of Russia’s actions inside of Ukraine. 

Chairwoman Rosenworcel also recently shared with her colleagues a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking that would begin the process of strengthening the commission’s rules for notifying customers and federal law enforcement of breaches of customer proprietary network information (CPNI). The inquiry under consideration would build on those efforts, the FCC said.

HEBDEN BRIDGE, West Yorkshire, U.K.—The City TV-Radio Agency in St. Petersburg, Russia, has installed a Calrec Summa console in its first UHD OB truck.

The 16-camera unit was designed and built by systems integrator Broadcast Solutions and is used to cover cultural, political and other events in St. Petersburg. 

“From the outset the customer felt that its new OB truck would use UHD technology," explained Wladislaw Grabowski, COO at Broadcast Solutions in a statement. "As for audio, they looked at many consoles and were open to suggestions, and we suggested the Calrec Summa as the best choice from a technological and economic point of view. The client is very happy with this choice.”

The truck has been used to produce content for both the linear FTA TV channel and streamed on City TV-Radio Agency’s OTT channel. It is also production-ready for football, ice hockey, athletics and other sports.

Neva uses Calrec’s Hydra2 network for connectivity, consisting of multiple I/O boxes, including a stage box, four MADI interfaces and one Dante connection. Additionally, the Summa is used with Broadcast Solutions’ hi human interface universal control system that controls audio cross-points and manages audio signal switching.

ACTON, MASS.—Video solutions provider SeaChange International and Russian-based video operator TotalVideo have entered into an agreement to develop a multi-operator, multi-tenant hybrid OTT/DVB/IPTV platform that will enable video and cable providers in Russia to offer multi-screen services to their subscribers.

TotalVideo has agreed to develop their new service using SeaChange’s PanoramiC platform, and plans to offer this new video platform to service providers across Russia and Eastern Europe. The service platform will provide advanced viewing capabilities for live, linear, and on-demand content across a variety of devices, both fixed and mobile.

“With SeaChange, TotalVideo has the scalable foundation to serve our customers as comprehensively and effectively as possible,” said Mikhail Silin, General Director, TotalVideo. “The combination of software solutions and professional services provided by SeaChange will allow us to deliver a platform that video providers and operators can easily adopt, allowing them to offer their viewers an enhanced user experience. With our new platform, they will benefit with increased viewership and customer loyalty.”

The PanoramiC platform is a cloud-based video management and delivery platform, combining the components of the SeaChange cFlow™ video management and monetization portfolio with complementary streaming solution elements from leading vendors ATEME, ATES Networks, Broadpeak, and castLabs. The scalable platform solution allows providers to quickly and cost-effectively deploy personalized video services across multiple screens and devices, while offering a consistent user experience across their multiple devices.

“As consumers demand access to video on every device, video providers around the world must enhance their existing infrastructures to offer high-quality, premium video across any platform, with optimized and personalized user experiences,” said Ed Terino, Chief Executive Officer, SeaChange. “We are proud to have been chosen by TotalVideo to help them develop a best-in-breed multi-screen platform for video operators and their consumers in Russia.”

MOUNTAIN VIEW, CALIF.—During the Rio de Janeiro Olympics earlier this month, Russia’s national sports channel, Match TV, relied on TVU Networks’ video transmission technology to provide live coverage. The station sent seven ENG crews down to Rio for the Games, each of which utilized TVU equipment.

TVU One mobile newsgathering system

In the lead up to the Olympics, Match TV purchased three new TVU One mobile newsgathering systems that were used to shoot live stand-up videos and interviews during the Games. The units were used in stadiums, press mixed zones, and the beaches and mountains of Rio.

Head Producer of International Broadcast for Match TV, Kirill Kolomyts, says that Match TV’s news department is continuing to use TVU technology daily for its live broadcasts.