In May 2019, the French Pay-TV giant, Canal+ announced that it had acquired the Luxembourg-based Pay-TV operator, M7 Group, from a private equity firm Astorg Partners for €1bn. The transaction is expected to close in September 2019. As noted by the CEO of M7 Group, Hans Troelstra, the acquisition is mutually beneficial; it will provide M7 with access to the content creation and channel publishing capabilities of Canal+. M7 Group will continue to manage all of its operations from its Luxembourg headquarters.

Global economic growth is forecast to slow to weaker-than-expected 2.6% in 2019 before slightly improving to 2.7% on 2020, according to the World Bank’s latest estimate published in June 2019.

Executive Summary from The IABM Business Intelligence (BI) Quarterly Digest (Q3 2019)

New! IABM Technology and Trends Roadmap©

With the industry in steady flux given the many ‘spinning plates’ of emerging standards, technologies, workflows and business trends, the new ‘IABM Technology and Trends Roadmap©’ can be a highly valuable resource to assist both internally and externally in business endeavors.

The hot season is in full swing in the region and business activities have slowed down as people travel outside the region looking for cooler weather…

The UK Members’ Council has been refreshed for another two years and I’m pleased to announce has grown slightly in size with a small increase in the number of members.

Asia = 4/5/A

We have just come off the back of BroadcastAsia 2019 (Singapore) and the BIRTV Conference and Exhibition (Beijing). The presentation slide that summed things up in terms of the technology focus was one that said 4/5/A. Of course, all the conference participants were wondering what it all meant? It refers to 4K, 5G and AI. BroadcastAsia in June and BIRTV at the end of August had their differences of timeline between the two regions of what it all meant and the urgency of roll out of the three topics.

Gain fresh perspectives, first-hand insights and new connections at this year’s flagship event

The 2019 IABM Annual International Business Conference & Awards will take place this year at the Royal Garden Hotel, Kensington, London on Wednesday 4th and Thursday 5th December. Bookings are now open – visit the events section on the website to reserve your place.

The broadcast and media technology sector achieved 2.5% growth
in 2018, according to the recently released 2019 Global Market
Valuation and Strategy Report (GMVR), published by IABM DC
LLC, a joint venture between IABM and Devoncroft Partners. This
headline number builds on the modest 1.2% growth reported in
last year’s Report.

There are a number of warning signs that a company is in financial distress and action is required.

Insolvency isn’t always avoidable but the chances of doing so are always improved if action is taken early and rapidly to give the company the greatest opportunity of trading its way out of difficulty. The warning signs can be singular but usually accumulate in a financially poisonous cocktail and it is important that directors and company accountants are prepared to recognise them.

Malorie Delaporte (Solutions Manager, Pixel Power)

I want to talk about my vision of the relationship between broadcaster and supplier. So first, here are my qualifications to talk on the subject….

The evidence of industry change is all around us and the Broadcast and Media (BaM) Content Chain® has been developed to reflect those changes and to be inclusive of emerging new products and services. IABM is perfectly positioned to observe these changes with its various activities such as market research and biannual BaM Awards® at IBC and NAB. But more than that, IABM can act as a catalyst and support for change, helping existing organisations to adapt and new ones to flourish.

Business Transformation – Embracing SaaS

IABM Executive Summit, London – July 2019

What are the challenges, issues and potential benefits for both media companies and vendors as they transform to a software-as-a-service based mode? George Jarrett reported on IABM’s July 2019 Executive Summit for IBC365, reproduced here with the kind permission of IBC.

IABM has released a new Audio Business Report for members, looking at the current state of the industry and identifying the key drivers of change as the audio market goes through a radical transition.

Broadcasters have always been at the forefront of new technologies because our industry has constantly pushed the boundaries with innovation and change. Since its inception with JL Baird in 1927, whether it be Colour, HD, Digital, Smart, VOD, Ultra HD, Cloud, AI or state of the art graphics, new developments in broadcast have demanded new skills.

Chris Osika (Chief Marketing Officer, Telestream), Kevin Callahan (VP, Field Operations & Engineering, Fox Sports), Mark Barnes (Project Manager, dB Broadcast Ltd) & James Unitt (Principal Consultant, BT)

Scott Puopolo (CEO, Telestream) hosts a press conference to discuss what Telestream have been up to, and what’s in store for the future.

Maarten Verwaest (CEO & Founder, Limecraft) and Chiara Raucci (Research Analyst, IABM) discuss Supply Trends.

Margaret Craig (CEO, Signiant) discusses the demand for SaaS.

Tim Shoulders (President, Grass Valley, a Belden Brand) discusses the state of the industry and consolidation with Peter White (CEO, IABM)