
TVBEurope interviewed Alex Micallef, Vizrts General Manager, UK and Ireland, about the state of the media industry and Vizrts NAB 2018 plans.
Originally published by TVBEurope.
What are the greatest technological challenges in your area of the market?For Vizrt, as well as for our customers, the need to publish content to a steadily growing list of new platforms is a real challenge for allocating personnel and technology to accommodate these platforms. There is a real need in the market for fast, efficient, and automated tools to make multi-platform publishing a reality.
What changes/trends/developments in the industry are having the most dramatic impact on your business? The conversion from traditional SDI workflows to IP-based workflows is on the radar of broadcasters everywhere. It's not a question of if they will make the conversion, it's when. When the change happens it affects their entire infrastructure, from video ingest, to live production and distribution. It forces broadcasters to make a choice on what will be their new standard . Do they choose SMPTE 2110, NDI, or a new format that might pop up next week? Vizrt has built its systems to be agile in this respect, so that we can work with any standard that arises, this ensures that the broadcaster's investment in our software is well protected.
How much of your business is non-broadcast? Are you seeing a growing demand for your expertise from different industries? Non-broadcast customers make up close to 10% of our business. We've seen that grow in a relatively short time, with the number of media companies that are now producing video content for online and digital. Media companies such as newspapers and digital publishers face, in many ways, the same video production needs as a traditional broadcaster, but without having the legacy of traditional production tools. This means we are able to adapt for them the very latest IP tools for live video production and publishing without being held back by legacy workflows. What's been really interesting is to see new workflows and ways of working that we're learning from outside of broadcast and being able to implement these ideas and ways of working into the changing broadcast landscape.
What do you believe will be the main talking points emanating from NAB? NAB is going to be all about publishing or broadcasting your content anywhere and adapting for every channel (i.e. broadcast, online, OTT, social media, etc.) where viewers consume content. From a tools perspective we expect to see a continuation of the themes from recent years - cloud computing, higher resolutions and HDR as well as the increased use of Augmented and Virtual Reality in storytelling.
What are you showcasing at NAB? We will be demonstrating the latest tools for media companies to create and share their stories on-air, online, and OTT with local and cloud-based production systems. We are also going to highlight the latest capabilities of augmented reality tools in the studio as well as how media companies can use videowalls for powerful storytelling. 2018 is also a major sports year with the Olympics and the World Cup, so we are highlighting how to captivate and engage audiences with high-quality sports analysis while generating new revenue streams from sports rights.
What is your business focus for the remainder of the year?As the market leader for broadcast graphics and enhancements, we will continue on our path to bring more powerful, automated tools that deliver visually compelling stories to TV audiences. We will also provide broadcasters with automated tools for branding their content on digital video platforms. Since it is a big sports year, we are also debuting a new tool for advanced sports analysis in the studio, showing efficient tools to drive content in stadium screens, and giving sports rights holders new ways to monetize their live games.
Tead the full interview from TVBEurope.
Related articles
NAB 2018
Vizrt brings immersive football analysis to the studio with the new Viz Libero AR
Vizrt's Viz One MAM now available on AWS at NAB 2018
Related articles
NAB 2018
Vizrt brings immersive football analysis to the studio with the new Viz Libero AR
Vizrt's Viz One MAM now available on AWS at NAB 2018
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
05/06/2026
MRI-Simmons and S&P Global Mobility are expanding advanced audience capabilities...
05/06/2026
New Nielsen data shows insurance ad spend grew 11%, while consumers remain highl...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
ASG Promotes Joe Marchitto to Western Regional CTO
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
Appointment to Support Engineering Alignment and Client Experi...
05/06/2026
Stargate Studios Colombia Uses DaVinci Resolve Studio for Vertical Microdramas
Brie Clayton June 5, 2026
0 Comments
End to end post in one platform al...
05/06/2026
People Need to Come First When We Use AI
Andy Marken June 5, 2026
0 Comments
It's just surviving. Life's very existence requires destruction....
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
05/06/2026
Frequency, the engine powering many of the world's leading streaming television channels, today announced the launch of In-Scene Advertising, a new monetiza...
05/06/2026
Berklee Study Reveals Video Has Become Essential to Music Careers Survey findings show social platforms have become the primary source of music for video cont...
05/06/2026
RT Radio 1 Folk Awards to take place on Tuesday 10th November 2026, Vicar Street, Dublin
Moya Brennan, D nal Lunny, Mary Black and Christy Moore among previou...
04/06/2026
Sony Electronics is introducing the SRG-AS10, a 4K 60p-compatible PTZ auto-frami...
04/06/2026
This recent grad from Spring, TX, led creative-video output for the Aggies' men's basketball team last season and has been producing video and creating ...
04/06/2026
For the first time at a women's golf major, every player in the field will r...
04/06/2026
Three Panasonic PT-RQ45 40,000-lumen 3-Chip DLP projectors made their first live...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin and Akamai have announced a collaboration with NRJ Group, a French mult...
04/06/2026
Telestream will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N7952), demonstrating media work...
04/06/2026
Sony has announced the development of RIALTO 65, a 65mm format image sensor block for the VENICE 2 digital cinema camera, targeting release in the first half of...
04/06/2026
KOKUSAI DENKI Electric America will exhibit at InfoComm 2026 (Booth N8025, June ...
04/06/2026
Bell Media's TSN and RDS are the exclusive Canadian broadcasters of FIFA Wor...
04/06/2026
The Challenge: Receiving Heavy Media Files From Road Games Quickly and ReliablyT...
04/06/2026
MASV, a managed file transfer platform used in broadcast and live sports product...
04/06/2026
NESN has announced the appointment of Fahad Haider as Vice President of Operations and Engineering. Haider returns to NESN, where he previously served as Vice P...
04/06/2026
David J. Halberstam, who spent almost 50 years in sports as a broadcaster and an executive, died June 2 after a years-long battle with brain cancer.
Over his l...
04/06/2026
Although collegiate production programs are tasked with delivering high-quality ...
04/06/2026
California studio, two production trucks, global distribution system are combine...
04/06/2026
New global program empowers and supports storytellers through scriptwriting course and access to industry experts
TikTok and Sundance Institute today announce...
04/06/2026
Steinberg DAWs now boast in-depth Tonalic integration
Celemony's innovative virtual session musician plug-in has just received an update that brings ARA...
04/06/2026
Get Hands-On With Over 20 Mic Brands
GearExpo UK is fast approaching, and if you've been looking for a chance to check out some new mics, then you'r...
04/06/2026
Combos feature new Amplifier Intelligence engine
Positive Grid's latest release sees the company introduce two new combo amplifiers that promise to offe...
04/06/2026
Is Your Job Making You Work this June?
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS Launches the World Cup Watchers' Rights Association to Stand Up For Australians&...
04/06/2026
Statement regarding unauthorised use of SBS logos on third party social content
4 June, 2026
Media releases
SBS has become aware of social media posts in c...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Bitmovin, a leading provider of video streaming infrastructure, and Akamai, the cybersecurity and cloud computing company that powers and protects business onli...
04/06/2026
American Underground (AU), the Startup Hub of the South and a community of mor...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
04/06/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...