In Conversation with Bitmovin & Plume

In this panel discussion with Reinhard Grandl (Head of Product, Bitmovin) & Bill McFarland (CTO, Plume), we hear about their key markets and the differences in each of these markets. We hear how Covid-19 has affected their business along with the biggest challenges they have faced during the crisis.

We address consumer habits and specific consumption trends and behavioural patterns that have been surprising and are having an impact on each company. As we begin to emerge from the pandemic, it is important to discuss technology priorities and how companies such as Bitmovin and Plume are investing in Cloud and AI/ML solutions along with the changing skillsets of their employees.

As digital transformation continues at pace, we hear how these companies relationships with technology partners are changing with different requirements and challenges along with the driving forward of innovation as a result of the pandemic.

In Conversation with Robin Kirchhoffer, Dalet

In this IABM TV interview, Robin Kirchhoffer (Director of Marketing, Operations & Content, Dalet) discusses Dalet Connect and the digital and content experiences media professionals can expect on the platform.

Q1) As physical meetings, shows and events cannot currently take place, how has Dalet managed to keep on engaging with customers, prospects and partners?
Q2) Can you tell us more about Dalet Connect? What kind of digital and content experiences can media professionals expect on the platform?
Q3) How do you establish new connections or strengthen existing ones in this troubled period?
Q4) Talking about marketing and customer experience (CX), what changes and improvements have you made? Would you say that the crisis has accelerated these?
Q5) What’s next? Can you tell us more about your upcoming marketing initiatives?

In Conversation with Broadcast Pix and Switchboard Live

In this session, Graham Sharp (CEO, Broadcast Pix) & Rudiger J. Ellis (CEO, Switchboard Live) discuss the recent news of Broadcast Pix & Switchboard Live’s integration partnership. We find out what the partnership enables users to do, which products are involved and how they work together.

In Conversation with Telestream

In this IABM TV interview, Scott Murray (SVP Corporate Marketing at Telestream) discusses the impact of the recent event cancellations such as NAB and IBC due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Scott also discusses the importance of putting a strategy in place for customer engagement without physical events to attend.

The Switch Case Study: NFL/Super Bowl

NFL Network and other broadcasters score a big win with The Switch in Super Bowl 50

Live time

■ The Switch needed to meet the needs of the NFL Network, along with a range of broadcasters and rights holders, for Super Bowl 50 – one of the world’s biggest and most iconic sporting events
■ To meet various requirements, The Switch supplied transmissio and/or at-home/remote services for the game feed and relayed live content from Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California
■ NFL requirements included video and Ethernet to enable scores of individual services, with support for ‘big data’ a key driver

Always there

■ The Switch enabled massive bandwidth and infrastructure integration
■ Supported more than 28 HDI-SDI, JPEG2000 and ASI video paths and 24 data connections ranging from 50 Mbps to 10 Gbps, totalling more than 7,500 hours of video and data transport
■ Built a backbone allowing clients to migrate to file-based workflows via fully diverse and low latency transport service
■ Two Point of Presence (POP) service trailers allowed a flexible way to extend the reach of The Switch’s network, matching the capabilities and features of fixed location facilities: diverse signal paths and redundant equipment

Always on

■ The Switch reinforced its position as a ‘trusted transmission partner’ of the NFL with its support for extensive connectivity – as it had from NFL stadiums throughout the US during the full season
■ Its Super Bowl operations offered a hybrid approach, enabling clients to leverage best-of-breed at-home/remote production and centralized operations to ensure consistently high-level productions in terms of workflows, personnel and technology
■ Clients were able to conduct all data business seamlessly for applications that included centralised graphics and editing, adding more value in terms of managing remote operations
■ Super Bowl 50 exemplified a continued move toward at-home/remote production operations that connect robust onsite facilities with production teams hundreds, even thousands of miles away

The Switch Case Study: Graduate Together

The Switch makes ‘Graduate Together’ a reality for Class of 2020 during lockdown

Live time

■ LeBron James Family Foundation, XQ Institute and the Entertainment Industry Foundation needed to deliver seamless feeds of ‘Graduate Together: America Honors the High School Class of 2020’, a mass virtual graduation ceremony for high school students across the US in the face of lockdown due to COVID-19
■ For the event, hosted by LeBron James with special addresses from former President Barack Obama, Malala Yousafzai, the Jonas Brothers and others, delivering premium quality, low-latency feeds was the only option
■ Done and Dusted Events, the television production company behind the broadcast, trusted The Switch to ensure delivery to all US TV networks and major social media and streaming platforms after the show was assembled at Sim’s post-production center in Hollywood

Always there

■ The Switch provided critical support for successful delivery of the event, including encode, record and playout services, and satellite distribution
■ Handled pre-feed, primary and back-up feeds for the ‘live to air’ broadcast, and over-the-top (OTT) encode and distribution for online affiliates
■ Supplied temporary HD-SDI connections from Sim to The Switch Los Angelesand AT&T’s Hollywood Hub

Always on

■ Enabled show to be broadcast simultaneously as a ‘live to air’ primetime program on ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC, as well as streaming on multiple platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Complex Networks, People, YouTube and more
■ Show was watched by 7.35 million viewers across the four major networks, the highest rated program that night
■ Event helped families and students across the US mark the occasion with the fanfare and gravitas they deserved, including the dream virtual commencement speaker that hundreds of thousands of would-be graduates had petitioned for: Barack Obama

The Switch Case Study: Global Citizen

The Switch powers delivery of One World: Together at Home

Live time

■ Organizing the first and biggest global event during the COVID-19 lockdown, Global Citizen needed the One World: Together at Home broadcast to faultlessly reach
networks and channels in the US, Canada, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific and other markets
■ Working on a tight timeline, Global Citizen turned to The Switch for its extensive experience and expertise in live event delivery to ensure the ‘as-live’ show, in support of frontline healthcare workers, would come off seamlessly
■ The Switch was tasked with delivering the ‘live to air’ broadcasts, incorporating pre-recorded performances and interviews with Lady Gaga, Taylor Swift, Elton John, The Rolling Stones, Billie Eilish, Paul McCartney and many more once these were assembled at Sim’s post-production center in Hollywood

Always there

■ The Switch handled ingest of the US domestic and international shows; playout for pre-feeds and the ‘live to air’ broadcast shows; critical domestic fiber and satellite in North America; and international fiber and satellite distribution to EMEA, APAC and South America.
■ Provided temporary HD-SDI connections from Sim to The Switch Los Angeles and AT&T’s Hollywood Hub
■ Made sure the broadcast reached networks across the globe, including ABC, CBS and NBC in the US, CTV and TSN in Canada as well as Canal+, Sony Pictures-Latin America, Sony Pictures-India, RAI Italy, TVE-Spain, NOVA-Bulgaria, Dubai-TV, Rede Globo and many others internationally
■ Versions of the show were also streamed on a wide array of over-the-top services, with The Switch delivering the feeds to Vista Worldlink in Miami to encode and distribute them globally

Always on

■ Leveraging The Switch’s production and delivery capabilities, One World: Together at Home reached 270 million viewers worldwide
■ Hosted by US late-night network presenters Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert for the US domestic program and many international feeds, the event made headline news across the globe
■ Celebrating those fighting COVID-19, the show did not solicit donations on air but still raised $128 million for coronavirus relief efforts – split between World Health Organization and other charities

The Switch Remote Production White Paper: Unlocking The Smarter Remote Production Opportunity

Live TV events, especially sports, create an unrivalled buzz, anticipation and excitement among viewers the world over, but there are three major trends that the live production sector needs to recognize and address to ensure continued success. The rise in popularity of Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD) services is the first, underlining that consumers want more content – and more choice. The second is a greater focus on improved sustainability and employees’ wellbeing. Traditional live production set-ups require huge amounts of equipment and a large crew to be transported to the live location – not to mention several days’ worth of set up and take-down time. Finally, consumers are prepared to pay for fresh content, principally live sports. The trouble when it comes to live content – particularly sports – is that, as the cost of producing more live coverage is driven up by surging demand, it is not being met by the price that consumers are willing to pay. When you add in the rising outlay for hotly contested rights, the pressure is on broadcasters to find ways to produce more content more affordably – without compromising on quality.

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In Conversation with Bitmovin & Plume