This episode of the IBC Podcast, brought to you by Dalet, features a conversation with Barrett Comiskey, who is the founder and CEO of Migo, a disruptive digital distribution service for emerging economies.

Barrett discusses how his company is providing affordable access to premium video content in Indonesia for download over local WiFi hotspots for offline viewing on mobiles and tablets. The company has ambitious plans to expand across Asia, including most immediately in Indonesia and the Philippines.

And we hear from Patricio Cummins, General Manager of Dalet Asia Pacific, who gives us more detail about how exactly Flex helps both Migo and other content providers manage data.

On Episode 15 of the IBC Podcast, Steve Reynolds, President of Imagine Communications, speaks about where the broadcast industry is headed in 2022 and beyond.

Reynolds discusses how the challenges of the past two years led to a rapid acceleration of direct-to-consumer (DTC) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services and have driven demand for video distributed by the cloud.

Is Reynolds sounding the death knell for linear TV? Tune in to find out and get his perspective on:  

• How remote production shifted from conference PowerPoint to mainstream 
• Predicted linear vs. digital TV ad spend over the next decade
• The steps broadcasters must take to maintain margins in an increasingly fragmented TV landscape
• How there’s a lot more to cloud playout than “playout” ― and why it matters

This episode is supported by Imagine Communications and presented by IBC365 editor George Bevir. 

Links:
Cloud Playout
The Future of Broadcast Advertising: A Conversation on Convergence
IP Infrastructure

Episode 14 of the IBC Podcast, supported by Imagine Communications, features a conversation between Malcolm Cowan, Head of Engineering and Technology, Broadcast and Media Services at NEP UK and John Mailhot, CTO, Networking & Infrastructure for Imagine Communications on UHD and HDR production. 

NEP has been using Imagine Communications’ SNP pure-IP media processing platform to support its UHD and HDR productions.

Together, Cowan and Mailhot speak about the unique challenges of introducing HDR (high dynamic range) and UHD (ultra-high definition) into productions which are delivered to a mix of SDR (standard dynamic range) and HDR distribution channels.

During their conversation they discuss:

• Industry adoption of HDR
• How NEP works with Imagine Communications
• The impact of HDR on outside broadcast companies and the content they supply to broadcasters
• How HDR is changing the landscape of sporting events
• Whether different LUTS (look-up tables) work better for different content

Links: 

Imagine Communications

Imagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP) 

NEP Group

Episode 13 of the IBC Podcast features interviews with Barbara Slater, BBC director of sport and the winner of the International Honour for Excellence and Hannes Ricklefs of BBC Research & Development, one of the authors of the Best Technical Paper. 

The IBC2021 International Honour for Excellence, IBC’s highest accolade, was presented to Barbara Slater, in recognition of her role as a pioneer for women in sports broadcasting worldwide.

Barbara was appointed BBC Director of Sport in 2009, and one of her first challenges was to develop the remarkable multi-platform coverage of the 2012 London Olympics. Today, she works closely with other broadcasters and sports bodies, including advising the International Olympics Commission. In 2014 she was made an OBE for her services to sports broadcasting.

The IBC2021 Award for Best Technical Paper was presented to a large team from BBC Research & Development, for their contribution Stronger together: cross-service media recommendations.

As Hannes Ricklefs describes, the aim of the paper is to present consumers with a single portal to multiple media sites, with intelligent references between services. If a consumer frequently listens to a particular singer on Spotify, for example, the service would also send notifications when that performer is available on BBC radio and television content, available online.

Links

IBC Awards Ceremony in full

IBC Digital video interview with Barbara Slater

IBC Digital video interview BBC R&D team

BBC R&D: Personal Data Stores

More on the IBC Awards via IBC365

IBC Digital

Episode 12 of the IBC Podcast features an introduction to the 2021 IBC Accelerator Media Innovation programme with Mark Smith and Muki Kulhan plus an interview with Shibasish Sarkar, group CEO, Reliance Entertainment

The IBC Accelerator programme was set up to support the media and entertainment industry with a framework for a collaborative and project-based approach to solving challenges faced by the media and entertainment industry.

Project leaders Mark Smith and Muki Kulhan speak about:

• Last year’s projects and the 2020 successes
• The 2021 Accelerator projects and why 5G is such a popular topic this year 
• The challenges of live demonstrations
• Creating a safe environment in which to encourage innovation 

Reliance Entertainment chief executive Shibasish Sarkar explains all about the production company which creates content for mobiles, TV, cinema and gaming platforms, including:

• Developing a feature film strategy for creatives and investors
• Restarting production amid Covid-19 restrictions
• Reliance Entertainment’s approach to remote working
• The opportunity presented by the boom in streaming

Links:

IBC Accelerators

Reliance Entertainment

Information about IBC2021

As part of IBC365's Crafting Content themed week, Mama Youth Project founder and chief executive Bob Clarke speaks about his efforts to make media a more inclusive  industry.

As well as speaking about his route into the industry, Bob talks about the origins of Mama Youth Project, including:

• Mama Youth's approach to equipping young people with the skills they need for a successful career in media
• The benefit of employing people from a wide-range of backgrounds
• Why terms like 'diversity' and 'BAME' are problematic
• The importance of long-term commitment to change

Links:

• Mama Youth Project
• IBC visitor survey
• IBC Themed Week: Crafting Content

As part of IBC365's Content Everywhere themed week, ScreenHits TV CEO Rose Adkins Hulse speaks about her ambitious plans for the streaming service and the importance of aggregation.

Links:

IBC365 Themed Week: Content Everywhere
 
IBC365 webinars

ScreenHits TV

IBC2021

IBC Content Everywhere 2021

Episode 9 features:

• Peter Cassidy, Monterosa
• Carrie Wootten, Rise
• John Honeycutt, IBC Council

As part of IBC365's themed week on the subject of 'Engaging Viewers', Peter Cassidy, of Monterosa talks about how broadcasters can boost viewer involvement in content and how that can be used to drive revenue. Carrie Wootten, managing director of Rise speaks about the group’s latest mentoring scheme for women in broadcast. And John Honeycutt, newly appointed chair of the IBC Council, speaks about the role of the Council, the post-Covid challenges faced by the media industry and plans for IBC2021.

Links

IBC365 Themed Week: Engaging Viewers https://www.ibc.org/news/themed-week-engaging-viewers/7390.article

Monterosa https://www.monterosa.co/

Rise https://risewib.com/

IBC365 Q&A: The role of mentoring https://www.ibc.org/trends/qanda-the-role-of-mentoring-in-helping-women-to-rise/7337.article

IBC2021 https://show.ibc.org/

Twickenham Studios managing director Cara Sheppard speaks about investment plans for the film and TV studios, the demand for studio space and shooting productions under covid restrictions.
Professor Adam Beaumont, chief executive of aql explains how the telco will support the Live and Wild 5G for documentary filmmaking project.

For daily news, features, interviews, webinars and white papers visit IBC365

Twickenham Studios: twickenhamstudios.com

The Live and Wild 5G project: liveandwild.com

This episode features:

• Chris Fetner, former Netflix exec and now executive director of the Entertainment Globalization Association (EGA), a body for companies that provide dubbing, subtitling and audio description services. Fetner speaks about the challenges faced by localisation firms, the origin of the EGA and how the trade body plans to raise the profile of localisation.
• Roger Crothers, head of technology at BBC Wales, explains how the BBC went about building its new IP-based broadcast centre in Cardiff. Crothers, who is now focusing on reskilling the engineering team to ensure they are equipped to support an IP broadcast operation, will speak about the changes the challenges of shifting to ST2110 and the impact on the broadcaster’s workflows.

For more content from IBC365's Media Supply Chain themed week visit: ibc.org