
Hiren Hindocha in conversation with TM Broadcast International about AI and Big Data for M&E organizations
Author:TM Broadcast International Answers supplied by Hiren Hindocha, CEO, Digital Nirvana
What does Big Data bring to this sector?
When we talk about big data in broadcast, we're talking about the hundreds of terabytes or even petabytes of data that a system gathers during direct interaction with end users. Typically that happens when broadcasters make their content available through VOD or streaming options. Broadcasters can analyze this big data to understand customers' preferences, which in turn helps them serve better content to viewers and serve the right demographic to advertisers.
Besides the massive amounts of data exchanged between broadcasters and end users, big data also refers to the many content feeds most broadcasters ingest continuously and simultaneously. For example, the volume of incoming video feeds for a news organization is huge -several hundred gigabytes to terabytes on a daily basis.If broadcasters can make sense of that big data, they can use it to help make content.
What are the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence in the broadcast industry?
Applying artificial intelligence across audio and video opens a world of possibilities for the broadcast industry. For example, speech-to-text technology has reached a point where it is better than humans at understanding specific domains. A well-trained speech-to-text engine can provide a very accurate transcript and captions of incoming content. At the same time, other well-trained engines can extract facial recognition, perform on-screen text detection, detect objects in the background, and more.
In the case of multiple and continuous incoming video feeds, artificial intelligence can help describe what is in the feed and make it very easy for editors to find what they're looking for. AI capabilities can also generate metadata that makes the content easily searchable and retrievable, leading to easier content creation and better content publishing decisions.
How can all these technologies enrich the content consumer experience?
Once content providers become more familiar with user preferences,they can bubble up content within their archive that is better-suited to those preferences. They can also use AI to quickly access data that will inform their content feeds, such as in social media channels. Take World Cup soccer, for example. Rightsholder Fox Sports could use AI technology to identify moments in the game that are worthy of viewing, and within a few minutes of the game ending, they can put up those highlights on YouTube. Before AI, this process would have taken a human many hours.
And of course, the more consumers watch content that is in tune with their preferences (action, drama, certain news topics), then the better the system gets at predicting and serving similar content. That's an example of tailoring the content for a better consumer experience.
How should traditional broadcasting adapt to these technologies to get the most out of them?
Broadcasters need a website or platform where users can search, find, and consume content. The smaller the chunks broadcasters produce, the greater the consumption,which means they need to be able to capture all of that consumer information and make it useful. (See examples mentioned before.) To be able to do that at scale, broadcasters have to adopt technologies that can process the information faster and better than employing an army of people.
From what perspective does Digital Nirvana approach the use of technology associated with Big Data?
We don't do anything with big data at this point.
From what perspective does Digital Nirvana approach the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence?
Digital Nirvana believes AI has great potential to accelerate media workflows and make life easier for our clients. To realize that potential, we're always looking for new and better ways to help our clients use artificial intelligence tools like speech to text and facial or object recognition to describe what is in their audio and video.
Digital Nirvana is doing a lot of work on training speech-to-text engines to automatically recognize who is speaking and what they are saying - such as distinguishing one media personality from another and identifying different topics.
How does Digital Nirvana intend to take advantage of the confluence of both technologies?
Our focus right now is to leverage AI technologies in the audio, video, and natural language processing sectors. Natural language processing is the ability to understand what is being said in the content. Not only can we provide a verbatim transcript of what is being said, but then we use natural language processing to figure out who is doing the talking and what the topic and context are.For example, our Trance application uses multiple technologies, including automatic speech to text and an automated translation engine. Our goal is to make sure those engines keep getting better and better.
It has not yet become main stream technology, but there are already many developments and pilot projects. Which ones would you highlight as the most challenging and interesting?
One pilot project we've been working on with a major U.S. broadcaster is automatic segmentation and summarization of incoming news feeds. Suppose the programming in the feed lasts 60-90 minutes and contains multiple segments on different topics. Today in production, we are generating real-time text of that content, but in the future,we'll automatically be able to figure out which people and places are being discussed in that feed, then provide a headline and summary of each of the segments.We'll also be able to detect changes in topics and categorize accordingly. This is not an easy thing to do.
A similar use cas
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
07/10/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced the latest Long-Term Supported (LTS) release of Dalet Flex. Build...
06/09/2026
June 9 2026, 23:00 (PDT) Dolby and MagentaTV Bring Fans Closer to the FIFA Worl...
06/08/2026
The broadcaster's 14-race schedule begins in Iowa and ends in November with ...
06/08/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
06/08/2026
As media organizations consolidate teams, technology platforms, and content libr...
06/08/2026
Firmware updates introduce Dolby's next-generation picture engine, content-aware optimization, and new motion and ambient-light tools...
06/08/2026
TNT Sports will have wall-to-wall coverage of the upcoming FIBA Women's Bask...
06/08/2026
swXtch.io (Stand 5.MR13) has unveiled groundSwXtch for Audio over IP (AoIP), a software application that lets broadcasters and media organizations move audio in...
06/08/2026
At IBC2026, Riedel Communications (Stands: 10.A24, 10.A31, 10.A38) will bring modern media production to life with the Live Production Experience - a connected ...
06/08/2026
The first live-sports director to receive the prestigious honor, eight-time Emmy...
06/08/2026
NBC Sports will continue to present the Preakness Stakes on NBC and Peacock thro...
06/08/2026
Cobalt Digital (Stand 8.F90) continues to reinforce its commitment to delivering...
06/08/2026
Wave Central has promoted promotion Jeff Daubert to Director of Sales, Americas.
In his expanded role, Daubert will lead Wave Central's sales strategy and ...
06/08/2026
KMH Integration is expanding its ability to serve media, broadcast, and IT organizations by adding Keith Hanadel, an accomplished architect with decades of indu...
06/08/2026
Advanced Systems Group (ASG) has promoted Michele Ferreira from Vice President of its Systems Integration team to the newly created position of Chief Business O...
06/08/2026
Demonstrations will include new JPEG XS, Dolby audio, cloud-gateway, stream-processing, and distribution capabilities...
06/08/2026
The deal includes three premium mobile units, engineering personnel, existing br...
06/08/2026
Broadcast Management Group produced Amazon Prime's inaugural Obsessed Fest a...
06/08/2026
Exhibit will feature new variable-ND functionality, OLED viewfinders, remote-camera tools, and UHD production monitors...
06/08/2026
Compact full-frame E-mount lens targets sports, wildlife, and other long-range shooting applications...
06/08/2026
Live broadcast will honor Roger Federer and Mary Carillo on Aug. 29, with onsite...
06/08/2026
End-zone board receives higher-resolution LED technology and an updated Show Control system ahead of the 2026 football season...
06/08/2026
New 16- and 32-pad MIDI controllers now available
Fender have just announced that the two new performance-focused controllers that were unveiled at NAMM 202...
06/08/2026
Standalone version, performance improvements & more
Lewitt have just released a significant update for their speaker and room virtualisation software, intro...
06/08/2026
Combines celeste samples with synth engine
After launching earlier in 2026 with deFORM, ebbandflow have returned with their first sampled acoustic instrumen...
06/08/2026
SGL Carbon's consolidated sales in the first half of 2026 totaled 394.2 million, down 13.0% from the prior year (H1 2025: 453.2 million). On the one hand,...
06/08/2026
The BBC has announced casting for the forthcoming six-part series Hercule from Mammoth Screen and Agatha Christie Limited.
Joining Bluemel are Henry Ashton (A ...
06/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/08/2026
Proven offering builds on more than 20,000 live sporting events with greater automation, flexibility, and operational control
LTN , the industry leader in tran...
06/08/2026
Hornets Tech, a specialist in broadcast connectivity and IP video, is bringing a new range of encoders, decoders and an IPTV platform to IBC2026.
Broadcast in...
06/08/2026
Introducing Adobe for ChatGPT: Create, edit and get work done - all in ChatGPT
Deepti Pradeep August 6, 2026
0 Comments
The Adobe plugin in ChatGPT br...
06/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
06/08/2026
At IBC2026, MediaKind will make its first major appearance as a unified global powerhouse in video, showcasing one of the world's most comprehensive video i...
06/08/2026
Big Blue Marble (#5.A63) will demonstrate how its integrated technology and operational expertise help media companies scale premium services with less complexi...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research has received more than $500,000 in first-year fund...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Viruses are masters at invading our cells thanks to specialized proteins that coat their surfaces. When scientists design vaccines, they often crea...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The brain has its own immune system, which detects threats and mounts a defense. A growing body of evidence has shown that in Alzheimer's disea...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research chemist Jin-Quan Yu has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), one of the highest honors a scientist can achieve....
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Scripps Research ranked third in the inaugural 2026 Cure Innovation Index recognizing the top-performing institutes and centers across the United S...
06/08/2026
Benjamin Cravatt, the Gilula Chair of Chemical Biology and a professor of chemis...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Dennis Burton, professor and the James & Jessie Minor Chair in Immu...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Inside every human cell, proteins are constantly being tagged with small chemical modifications after they're produced. Known as post-translati...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA-Scripps Research has established the Ian Wilson Endowed Chair, a new fa...
06/08/2026
Scripps Research's Skaggs Graduate School of Chemical and Biological Science...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Professor Jin-Quan Yu of Scripps Research has been elected to the Fellowship of the Royal Society, the U.K.'s national academy of sciences and ...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-For years, researchers have been hoping for vaccines that protect people against not just one strain of HIV, but every strain of the quickly mutati...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-The Calibr-Skaggs Institute for Innovative Medicines, the nonprofit...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Building the complex 3D molecules needed for new medicines has alwa...
06/08/2026
LA JOLLA, CA-Fentanyl and related variants of the synthetic opioid kill more Americans each year than car accidents and gun violence combined. In too-high doses...