Hackthorn Innovations Steve Sharman explains why AI is set to move up the value chain to increasingly help optimise and automate parts of production workflows
By Contributor
Published: July 1, 2021
Hackthorn Innovation's Steve Sharman explains why AI is set to move up the value chain to increasingly help optimise and automate parts of production workflows
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies are gradually being deployed by media companies mainly to drive process efficiency through automation. As part of this year's MediaTech Outlook report, TVBEurope invited Steve Sharman, director at Hackthorn Innovation, to guide us through the latest thinking.
Prior to the pandemic, what sorts of AI/machine learning deployments were we seeing by media companies?We were seeing gradual adoption of AI and machine learning in the media industry, particularly around automated content analysis. We had a couple of years of high profile public demonstrations; Sky's live tagging for the Royal Wedding for example. We had wider real deployments starting to quietly happen, typically to support the cataloguing and consolidation of archives in order to exploit them on streaming services; or reduce the time taken in compliance. At high volumes, saving operators a few minutes per piece of content starts to add up to significant overall reductions.
Again pre-pandemic, what were the biggest areas of challenge in terms of technology development or deployment?Boring but important stuff: legacy infrastructure. The use of AI to process content at production scale typically requires hefty resources; it takes a lot of content and processing power to train the kind of deep neural networks typically used for video or sound processing, and then more compute plus easy access to the content to carry out the analysis. Typically, you want your content on the public cloud, and that's been a big step for media companies. Legacy workflows typically assume that content is readily to hand, so they're not just moving content to the cloud, but some pretty significant workflows as well. Transformative projects can be hard work in difficult commercial environments.
Points of view: 5G and broadcast
What effect has the pandemic period had in terms of accelerated technology adoption/deployment, or any other significant areas?On the one hand we've seen mass adoption of public cloud-based and remote workflows almost overnight. It became almost a matter of survival to move production and distribution workflows into the cloud, and once there, using AI to support archive, compliance and other workflows becomes an incremental transformation. We've also seen some AI-powered production solutions be adopted far more quickly than the norm - for example the automated sound mixing and virtual crowd solutions from Salsa Sound have seen rapid take-ups to keep a high quality premium sports experience going in a world of empty stadia.
What would you say are the areas of AI that are going to have the most profound impact in the coming years, and why? The non-flashy applications of AI will continue to have a significant impact; using AI to significantly reduce data-centre cooling costs at Google is a great example of this. We're already seeing the impact of AI on compliance, archive, QC and some VFX workflows (e.g. Rotoscoping), and this will become increasingly packaged and widely available. Aligned to this we're also going to see AI move up the value chain to increasingly help optimise and automate parts of production workflows, making it possible for smaller and less experienced storytellers to compete on production values. The wide availability of AI technologies in the public cloud also means that our industry can take advantage of new techniques almost as soon as they are released, which is a refreshingly new pace!
data-src=https://www.tvbeurope.com/wp-content/themes/tvbeurope/library/images/tvbe-subs.jpg width=729 height=90>
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
01/05/2026
January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...
01/04/2026
January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION
Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...
08/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
08/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
08/01/2026
Maxon's new release of Cinebench features performance enhancements and adds support for the latest Nvidia and AMD GPUs as well as Apple Silicon.
Maxon is t...
08/01/2026
Zixi, the industry leader in IP-based video transport and orchestration, today announced the appointment of Heather Mellish as Vice President, Global Sales.
In...
08/01/2026
Pebble, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, has provided a complete update of its installation at Canal Sur in Spain. ...
08/01/2026
iWedia, a global leader in software solutions for connected TV devices, proudly announces the success of its collaboration with Panasonic on the Z95B OLED TV, o...
08/01/2026
Secuoya Chile, a leading provider of television content creation and supporting services, has invested in Ikegami UHK-X600 and UHL-X40 broadcast cameras as the ...
08/01/2026
Kiloview, a global leader in AV-over-IP solutions, will showcase its latest innovations at ISE 2026, highlighting the continued evolution of its complete, light...
08/01/2026
iWedia, a global leader in software solutions for connected TV devices, and Realtek, a leading global SoC design house, today announced the next phase of their ...
08/01/2026
CJP Broadcast has completed a new pitch-side media installation for Cinderford RFC, creating a flexible production setup that supports match coverage, coaching ...
08/01/2026
PlayBox Neo further drives momentum in Playout, Streaming, Media Management and Delivery
"With a brand new year at PlayBox Neo already off to a flying start, I...
08/01/2026
Boston Conservatory at Berklee Presents Second Annual Commercial Dance BFA Conce...
07/01/2026
SVG Summit 2025: All General Sessions Now Available to Watch on SVG PLAYThe SVG Summit celebrated its 20th edition with a loaded agendaBy Brandon Costa, Directo...
07/01/2026
NBCU's Brings Rinkside Live' and Courtside Live' Features to Peaco...
07/01/2026
Spotify is launching a week-long celebration spotlighting creators at the center...
07/01/2026
We know people use Spotify not just to listen, but to share the songs, podcasts, and audiobooks they love with their friends and family. When we launched Messag...
07/01/2026
This week, all eyes are on the podcast industry as the Golden Globes recognizes ...
07/01/2026
Podcasts are stepping onto a new stage this week as the Golden Globes recognize the medium for the first time. To mark this milestone moment, we're hosting ...
07/01/2026
The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), in collaboration with a distributor, is commissioning new micro-budget fiction feature films and invites eligible...
07/01/2026
NASA's Space Launch System rocket carrying the Orion spacecraft launches on the Artemis I flight test, Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, from Launch Complex 39B at ...
07/01/2026
For the first time ever, new C' variants allow international users to interoperate with U.S. personnel via NSA-certified cryptography....
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Share Share by:
Copy link
Facebook
X
Whatsapp
Pinterest
Flipboard...
07/01/2026
Abu Dhabi, UAE 7, January 2026 - Abu Dhabi Police and Space42 (ADX: SPACE42), ...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
The Trailer of Paparazzi King: The 5-Episode Docuseries Coming...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
Netflix Supports Warner Bros. Discovery Board's Commitment...
07/01/2026
Back to All News
What Next? Netflix Reveals Series, Films and Games Coming in 2026
Entertainment
07 January 2026
Global
Link copied to clipboard
Download ...
07/01/2026
AI has transformed retail and consumer packaged goods (CPG) operations, enhancin...
06/01/2026
Peacock Bringing Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos to Live Sports ContentPeacock is the first streamer to embrace Dolbys full suite of advanced picture/sound innovat...
06/01/2026
SVG Europe Audio: Listening to the sounds of powder and ice at Milano Cortina wi...
06/01/2026
Quintar Meta Spatial SDK Integration Promises Next-Level XR ExperiencesBy Ken Kerschbaumer, Editorial Director
Tuesday, January 6, 2026 - 9:41 am
Print This...
Hackthorn Innovations Steve Sharman explains why AI is set to move up the value chain to increasingly help optimise and automate parts of production workflows
