SVG Sit-Down: Telstra Broadcast Services CEO Karen Clark on the Challenge of Live Global Distribution The company aims to be one-stop shop for fiber/satellite/internet solutions' By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Monday, April 21, 2025 - 11:27 am
Print This Story
At the NAB Show, the LVCC's West Hall has become the hottest spot for transmission-related services of all types, and Telstra Broadcast Services stands out in transport providers' evolution from being about pipes and transport to being about signal management and quality control. Karen Clark, who was appointed CEO last November and is an eight-year veteran of the company and 25-year veteran of the industry, sat down with SVG to discuss the show, industry trends, and the evolution of managed services.
Karen Clark was named CEO of Telstra Broadcast Services last November.
What was your focus at NAB 2025?
Our focus is on doubling down on our managed media networks because our customers really like that we are that one-stop shop for fiber/satellite/internet solutions. The opportunity for us has been to expand that global reach, and, since last year, we have dozens more points of presence on our networks, with additional monitoring tools that leverage some of the newer AI technologies around operational efficiencies and automation on our internet delivery network. In addition, we're leveraging our global telco backbone to provide increased reliability and security over the public internet, and that is resonating well.
Of course, a key focus, particularly in the Americas, is live sport, and I think we are punching above our weight, because there are so many incredible events over the next couple of years that we're absolutely delighted to play a role in. We're doubling down on our investments in this part of the world.
How does Telstra look to stand apart from other service providers in the market?
The market is under much pressure, and there's much disruption, fragmentation, consolidation, and change. Coming into the role of CEO, it has been very important to consider who we are, where we want to be, and where we want to play. You can't be everything to everyone and spread yourselves too thin, so I think it comes back to our DNA as a wholly owned subsidiary of a global telecommunications and technology company that has 400,000 km of sub-sea cables, dozens of cable landing stations, hundreds of data centers, and five satellite teleports.
As the B2B arm in media and entertainment globally for Telstra, we're in a unique position to leverage that investment and that infrastructure - and those investments continue to grow. We just need to stay quite close to who we are and what we've been doing so well: providing trusted transmission capabilities with our managed service. Yes, we have value-added services around the connectivity using our bookings and master control, but you are not going to see us go off in a completely different direction and try to be everything to everyone. I think where we play very, very well is in live global connectivity. That's our sweet spot: being a global player.
What's new here at NAB?
Our recent announcement of a partnership with Unique Feed, the Swiss virtual-advertising-software provider, is a nice partnership for delivering contribution distribution of live sporting events globally. We love their technology as it doesn't require anything onsite and is truly a remote operation that we can spin up in our broadcast centers around the world. That's a perfect example of the value-add that we can make.
It has been fascinating to watch how Telstra has evolved over the years to become more than just the company to contact for transmission services in Australia and the Pacific. What was the trick in changing customers' perception of what Telstra is about?
From a go-to market perspective, we focused quite hard on live and region-to-region and then on leveraging our networks as well as partners in specific regions. And our recruitment practices over the years have helped us develop an incredible team that provides those managed services, particularly in the major-events field-operations space. That has helped us build the trust to deliver massive Tier 1 sporting events and show that we're a safe pair of hands for premium workflows. We've been able to build momentum off that.
The nature of sports events today is that not only are global events more globally distributed but smaller leagues are looking to expand their global presence. What do you see as the opportunity in all the leagues' looking to expand their global presence?
As we continue to grow our media networks and bring on more and more partners and broadcasters and platforms, there's the network effect: once you have your content on our network, you've got access to 2,000 different media organizations around the world. That makes global distribution easier. While we don't get involved in any content-rights deals, we are very good at facilitating introductions and are always keen to open our little black book and help some of those emerging leagues to get more eyeballs on their content globally.
That's one of the reasons we've invested so heavily in a portfolio of fiber plus satellite plus internet. A lot of the deals we're doing now are hybrids. For example, we'll do a major sports league going to 20 different takers, and every taker has different format requirements. Some of them want an SRT delivery, some of them want their own edge device, some of them want a premium fiber delivery, and some of them want a satellite uplink. We're able to bundle that into one managed service, and that makes it easier for the client. They can rate-card it and pay just for what they use.
It wasn't too long ago that open internet became a viabl
North America Stories
09/05/2025
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Studio Technologies said the Harvard University athletics department has integrated Dante-enabled equipment from the vendor into its broadcast ...
09/05/2025
NEW YORK ITN, a provider of a local linear supply side platform, and Magnite, a independent sell-side advertising company, have announced that they working toge...
09/05/2025
LEEDS, U.K. Nugen Audio has launched a new speech intelligibility plug-in, DialogCheck and offered up quotes from technologists working at places like Netflix p...
09/05/2025
AJA I/O Gear: The Heart of Broadcast Solutions' VEGO Mobile Editing Solution
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
When working remotely on broadcas...
09/05/2025
What do they teach in an Advanced Adobe After Effects Course?
Roland Kahlenberg May 8, 2025
0 Comments
There aren't many advanced After Effects co...
09/05/2025
Larry Jordan Sits with Trevor Morgan of OpenDrives at NAB 2025
Brie Clayton May 8, 2025
0 Comments
Trevor Morgan, COO of OpenDrives, shares how the co...
09/05/2025
Berklee Popular Music Institute Announces UK Festival Debut and Tour Dates For the first time, BPMI will bring Berklee-affiliated artists and students to the ...
08/05/2025
A sinister fairy infiltrates a desperate family in Kenneth Dagatan's In My Mother's Skin, which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Photo co...
08/05/2025
For skyward-bound operators, training focuses on the unique aspects of flying ISR missions, including the management of onboard surveillance equipment and the e...
08/05/2025
The cable industry has told the Federal Communications Commission it supports the National Association of Broadcasters' proposal to allow broadcasters to us...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Consumer Technology Association has continued its opposition to mandates requiring that NextGen TV/ATSC 3.0 tuners be included in new TV sets, sa...
08/05/2025
TAG Video Systems, the leader in software-based IP end-to-end workflow monitoring, deep probing, and real time visualization, has named Paul Maroni as Vice Pres...
08/05/2025
This year's UK Pavilion in hall 5, once again managed by Tradefair, will provide visitors with the unique opportunity to discuss and be involved in cutting ...
08/05/2025
Rohde & Schwarz will showcase its latest energy-efficient transmitters and 5G Broadcast technologies, designed to support network operators and content provider...
08/05/2025
IRVING, Texas Nexstar Media Group has tapped Bill Nardi as vice president of station operations, responsible for overseeing the day-to-day broadcast operations ...
08/05/2025
SEATTLE LumaTouch is partnering with CNN Academy to improve mobile storytelling techniques and support training across all of CNN Academy's training simulat...
08/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Society of Broadcast Engineers has filed comments with the Federal Communications Commission that support a proposal by the National Association ...
08/05/2025
Senior adviser to the United States Agency for Global Media Kari Lake has announced that One America News Network (OAN) will provide newsfeed services for fre...
08/05/2025
EdMon Expands as AI-Driven Post Production Workflows Gains Traction in Sweden an...
08/05/2025
Using Luma Mattes in Adobe Premiere Pro
Graham Quince May 7, 2025
0 Comments
This very quick tutorial shows you how to take an RGB clip and apply its ...
08/05/2025
OpenDrives Unveils Free Your Data' Initiative with New Astraeus Cloud-Nativ...
08/05/2025
Student Spotlight: Grigori Balasanyan The Armenian composer, who was named Boston Conservatory at Berklees 2025 student commencement speaker, talks about his ...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Unveils New Premieres Spanning Film and Music
Slick Rick's Victory with Idris Elba a...
08/05/2025
May 8th, 2025 Press Materials Available Here
Tribeca Festival 2025 Announces Lineup for Inaugural Storytelling Summit
11-Day Industry Event Launches with Tal...
08/05/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Vizrt's Nicholas Jameson on AI in Workflows, Pushing Boundarie...
08/05/2025
Creating Alternative Brand Experiences: Live Sports in the Age of Fortnite, Meta...
08/05/2025
PGA TOUR's David Piccolo: Advanced Graphics and Virtual Production Tools are...
08/05/2025
Tech Focus: Advancing Immersion in Sports Broadcasting with AR and Virtual Produ...
08/05/2025
Back to All News
Now in Production: Comedy Action Film Husbands in Action'...
08/05/2025
Artificial intelligence is helping identify and treat diseases faster with better results for humankind. Natural disasters like wildfires are next.
Fires in th...
08/05/2025
Calling all wiseguys - 2K's acclaimed Mafia franchise is available to stream...
08/05/2025
As AI use cases continue to expand - from document summarization to custom software agents - developers and enthusiasts are seeking faster, more flexible ways t...
07/05/2025
Warsaw, Poland - April 28, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, has released its latest March All Screens Video Landscap...
07/05/2025
LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...
07/05/2025
MECCA, Saudi Arabia Saudi Broadcasting Authority (SBA) has selected Grass Valley to provide a major technology upgrade of its broadcast facility here....
07/05/2025
Sony and Nevion provide guidance on IP network architecture options for live pro...
07/05/2025
Media Pioneer Publishing AG Expands Editorial Capacity
Brie Clayton May 7, 2025
0 Comments
Pioneer 2 boat production environment powered by Blackmagic...
07/05/2025
LONDON Movie fans hoping to save money by waiting until their favorite new films appear on streaming services will have to wait a bit longer now, according to a...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission's Media Bureau is seeking public comment on a Petition for Rulemaking from HC2 Broadcasting Holdings asking...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON Following a decision by U.S. Department of Education to terminate its 2020-2025 Ready To Learn to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, CPB has in...
07/05/2025
NEW YORK Fox's ad-supported streaming Tubi made a series of product and partnership announcements during IAB NewFronts in New York, including the launch of ...
07/05/2025
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. Google Fiber (GFiber) has announced a redesigned app that the company said will simplify how customers set up service, manage devices, and...
07/05/2025
WASHINGTON NASAs on-demand streaming service, NASA+, has launched a FAST (Free Ad-Supported Television) channel on Prime Video....
07/05/2025
NEW YORK The WNET Group, parent company of the PBS station Thirteen, has announced the appointment of Randall T. Decker to senior director, technology, effectiv...
07/05/2025
Atomos announced an executive leadership transition as the Company continues to evolve and expand its strategic focus.
Peter Barber, currently serving as Chie...
07/05/2025
Steve Wagner, Jerry Holway and Robert Orf at the 2024 Scientific and Technical Awards at the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures on Tuesday, April 29, 2025.
The ...
07/05/2025
nxtedition, the Swedish company behind the leading integrated platform for news and program production, and TASCAM, the iconic Japanese manufacturer of professi...
07/05/2025
Signiant is bringing its Camera-Raw-to-Any-Cloud workflow to the UK for the first time at the Media Production & Technology Show 2025 (Booth# M69) with a live d...
07/05/2025
MNC Software Inc., a global leader in software and network solutions tailored to the broadcast and media industry, has appointed Gencom Technology as an officia...
SVG Sit-Down: Telstra Broadcast Services CEO Karen Clark on the Challenge of Live Global Distribution The company aims to be one-stop shop for fiber/satellite/internet solutions' By Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director 
