Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

A View from the Front Line: How Coronavirus Impacts the Media Industry

31/03/2020

A View from the Front Line: How Coronavirus Impacts the Media Industry By Fergal Ringrose, SVG Europe

Tuesday, March 31, 2020 - 11:41 am

Print This Story | Subscribe

Story Highlights

IABM and the DPP collaborated to host an international webcast on Thursday, March 26, responding to the thirst for experience and knowledge regarding the impact of COVID-19 on the media industry.

The event began with IABM CEO Peter White analysing results from its new Coronavirus Impact Tracker. Summarising the early research, White noted that, from a supply chain perspective the area for growth is in connectivity, not surprisingly, with a high demand for bandwidth and connectivity as people move to remote working and remote production.

That which is growing: virtualisation, remote production and the use of AI and machine learning. These are the three areas with key investment in the transition from SDI to IP, said White.

All of these will help the new paradigm shift we're seeing, an irreversible tech move that is going to be accelerated by this [coronavirus] event. The pandemic will have the impact of accelerating these changes.

The cancellation of live events is putting pressure on the sports industry, and a major source of advertising revenue of course in what was a quadrennial year. We're seeing a shift towards solutions that enhance fan engagement as a result.

The cancellation of productions is putting pressure on the post side of the industry and may spur creative innovation and new programming ideas. And obviously there's a hunger for live news currently, even more so than normal, leading to a higher demand for collaborative new solutions such as the use of consumer video technology in the news.

Finally, the surge in demand for on-demand streaming consumption due to our lockdown measures is leading to a pressure on connectivity resources and to Netflix and others cutting streaming quality. Obviously these solutions are good for those providing compression products, noted White.

DPP managing director Mark Harrison

DPP managing director Mark Harrison hosted a discussion among companies in the television and video production space, and wondered what lessons we can start to learn about the impact of coronavirus on the way we work and the nature of work.

Nutopia chief operating officer Helena Tait said, I've long been an advocate of people having the flexibility to work. I dislike presenteeism' intensely.

I also think that with budgets getting tighter and advertising shrinking, especially after this crisis, broadcasters are going to be looking for us to cut our overheads. And we're going to have find sensible ways of working.

We need flexibility in terms of ways of working. It helps somewhat in terms of transport if over the next months we can put into place that we not only work remotely within the same city, for example, but that we can start remote shooting and getting that data back.

Luckily the backbone of our business is pretty much based in the cloud, said Nemorin chief executive officer Pete Ferguson, so we did have contingency plans and do use a lot of online software. But at the same time we did see some productions cancelled. We were right on the brink of shooting in Europe, Mexico and Los Angeles, all back to back for a big client but unfortunately that got pulled.

Some shoots have been postponed, unfortunately, but post production is very much happening, using a mixture of online services and hard drives that are being collected from the office. We sent an email around to our staff about a week before [UK] lockdown, asking them just to be ready to keep working in the event that London was shut down. I remember thinking at the time, gosh that's a scary scenario', but of course it's the new normal now.

Yes we have gone through a real feeling of panic - but also there's a certain feeling of excitement about the future, said Ferguson. I think there's a real spirit of collaboration now.

Obviously we're going to see a sharp dip to the economy in general, but I think once everyone starts to feel healthy again it's going to go the other way very quickly and money will be made available. But people are shocked by this - it has scarred the industry, I believe.

Keith Scholey, co-CEO of Silverback Films said, I think we saw this thing coming in the middle of January. We did make some contingency plans in terms of our shoots and people working from home - but the speed of this thing has been shocking.

I remember the moment when Donald Trump said that Europeans can't go to America. That was the point I thought ah ok, this is all going to happen a lot faster'.

We had crews in Indonesia, Uganda, Hawaii, Australia - all over the place. We had plans to try to keep them going, especially in places where it seemed relatively safe. But it quite quickly became clear that we needed to bring everyone back - and we got them all back in time.

Now the question is: how long does this go on? When does the world open up again? Obviously Donald Trump is promising to open up by Easter - let's watch that one! When can we get back to business and when can we start travelling again?

The reality is, we're probably all going to have to get it at some point. How do we manage that long tail of this disease, and the duty of care? - Keith Scholey

I think the interesting thing about this whole disease is it seems a lot of people can go through without being affected but some are terribly badly affected. What we're going to get into is a process where lots of people have had it, and the lockdowns are going to open up - but you're still going to get it. The reality is, we're probably all going to have to get it at some point. How do we manage that long tail of this disease, and the duty of care? he
LINK: https://www.sportsvideo.org/2020/03/31/a-view-from-the-front-line-how-...
See more stories from svg

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 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...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

03/04/2026

TNT Sports and CBS Sports To Reunite Michigan's Iconic Fab Five' for Special NCAA Men's Final Four Altcast on truTV and HBO Max

Michigan's Fab Five will reunite for an alternate presentation of the Mich...

03/04/2026

NAB 2026: Avid To Showcase Content Core and AI Workflow Innovations

Avid will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (April 18-22, Booth N2226, Las Vegas Convention Center), demonstrating its Content Core platform and new AI-driven workflow c...

03/04/2026

MRMC Appoints Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) has announced the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer. The announcement follows MRMC's transition fro...

03/04/2026

Elite Media Technologies Selects Interra Systems' BATON for File-Based QC

Interra Systems has announced that Elite Media Technologies has selected its BATON file-based QC solution for media workflows. Elite Media Technologies speciali...

03/04/2026

Moldtelecom Deploys Ateme Technologies Across Full Streaming Workflow

Ateme has announced that Moldtelecom has deployed Ateme technologies across its streaming workflow, covering encoding, delivery, operations, and analytics. Mol...

03/04/2026

NAB 2026: Grass Valley To Demonstrate Framelight X Content Management

Grass Valley will demonstrate Framelight X, its content management platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform connects capture, ingest, editing, and publishing in...

03/04/2026

NAB 2026: Encompass Digital Media and Techex Launch Cloud-Based Master Control Service for Live Events

Encompass Digital Media and Techex have announced a cloud-native Master Control ...

03/04/2026

Peacock Debuts Its New Vertical-Video Experience for Live NBA Games on Monday

Live Vertical Video automatically track the action on the court via AI technology and delivers a fully optimized, 9 16 live feed for viewers...

03/04/2026

Illinois Creative Team Captures Men's Final Four Run With Trust, Timing, and a Few Water Guns

As the Illini make their first trip to college basketball's biggest stage si...

03/04/2026

Hook 'Em: University of Texas Athletics Produces Digital Content for a First-Person Experience

After last summer's Softball National Championship victory and last week'...

03/04/2026

Don't Be Lame: Arizona Men's Basketball Social Team Aims To Catch the Attention of Wildcat Fans

The University of Arizona's Men's Basketball team has only loss twice th...

03/04/2026

During Packed Weekend, Van Wagner Covers In-Venue Shows for Championships Across Indianapolis

Eight games across four tournaments will be played in three venues; accommodatio...

03/04/2026

Ottawa Senators and Bell Media Extend Regional Broadcast Rights Agreement

The Ottawa Senators and Bell Media have announced a long-term rights extension for regional Ottawa Senators games on TSN and RDS. TSN Radio 1200 remains the exc...

03/04/2026

ESPN's Women's Final Four Playbook: Bigger Compound, Bigger Trucks, Biggest Production Yet

Massive production in Phoenix running out of Flagship Mobile unit, Features 50+ ...

03/04/2026

Electro-Harmonix release EHX Classics Bundle

Iconic guitar pedals now available in plug-in form Guitar effects experts Electro-Harmonix have teamed up with MixWave to turn a collection of their most pr...

03/04/2026

FAC launch Bandit 2

New multi-band AUv3 plug-in announced Fred Anton Corvest (FAC) offer an extensive range of AUv3 plug-ins and iOS/iPadOS Apps, and their multiband effects pr...

03/04/2026

Pulsar-23: 1984 from SOMA Laboratory

Just 84 units to be released in the US Experimental synthesizer and sound-machine extraordinaires SOMA Laboratory have revealed an upcoming special-edition ...

03/04/2026

Iconic Instruments release Model 350 Tube Preamp

Emulates the input section of an Ampex 350 One of the latest arrivals to the Iconic Instruments range delivers a new tube preamp plug-in inspired by the cir...

03/04/2026

TelevisaUnivision and Nielsen Agree to New Media Intelligence Deal Covering Streaming, National and Local TV, and Radio

New York April 2, 2026 TelevisaUnivision, the world's leading Spanish-la...

03/04/2026

2026 NAB Show Exhibitor Insight: Techex

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

TelevisaUnivision Signs New Nielsen Media Intelligence Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

The WNET Group, JIB Launch NHK World-Japan in New York

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

NAB Leadership Foundation Welcomes New Board Members

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

EverPass Media Expands Distribution Deal with Netflix

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

Versant Acquires AI-Data Platform StockStory

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

03/04/2026

CVP Grows European Footprint with Strategic Expansion in...

CVP, one of Europe's leading suppliers of professional video and broadcast solutions, today announces the launch of its new German operation and the formati...

03/04/2026

MRMC Announces Appointment of Chief Operating Officer

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) today announces the appointment of Nick Barthee as Chief Operating Officer, strengthening its leadership as the company conti...

03/04/2026

Net Insight Introduces Programmable Trust Boundaries for...

Net Insight introduces programmable Trust Boundaries that make live media interconnection predictable as traffic moves between facilities, networks and cloud en...

03/04/2026

Winning in the new media economy: Avid showcases AI-powered, connected intelligence to unlock media value at NAB Show 2026

Winning in the new media economy: Avid showcases AI-powered, connected intellige...

03/04/2026

NUGEN Audio CEO Dr. Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About Dialog Intelligibility and Loudness at NAB 2026

NUGEN Audio CEO Dr. Paul Tapper to Lead Presentation About Dialog Intelligibilit...

03/04/2026

NAB Show 2026: PlayBox Neo Highlights Workflow, Security, and IP Advances

NAB Show 2026: PlayBox Neo Highlights Workflow, Security, and IP Advances Brie Clayton April 2, 2026 0 Comments PlayBox Neo will showcase the latest i...

03/04/2026

For Taku Hirano, Everything Is Connected

For Taku Hirano, Everything Is Connected From touring and composition to teaching and instrument design, the in-demand percussionist sees it all as one body o...

03/04/2026

Berklee Honors Humberto Ramirez with Master of Latin Music Award

Berklee Honors Humberto Ramirez with Master of Latin Music Award The alumnus and acclaimed trumpeter is honored for his influence as a performer, composer, an...

03/04/2026

VIZ Media Lands Rumiko Takahashi's MAO, Sets April 4 Premiere on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ in Select International Markets

VIZ Media Lands Rumiko Takahashi's MAO, Sets April 4 Premiere on Hulu in the...

03/04/2026

Competition Heats Up with Intrigue and Spices: Netflix Unveils Trailer for New Drama Made with Love'

Back to All News Competition Heats Up with Intrigue and Spices: Netflix Unveils...

02/04/2026

HBO and NFL Films Announce Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Seahawks, Debuting August 11

HBO and NFL Films have announced Hard Knocks: Training Camp with the Seattle Sea...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Unveils Makito ONE Video Transport Platform

Haivision has announced the Makito ONE, a single-blade video encoding and decoding platform, at NAB Show 2026. The platform combines dual-channel video encoding...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Introduces UP.Lens Cloud-Based Multiviewer and Monitoring Service

Telestream has introduced UP.Lens, a cloud-based multiviewer and monitoring serv...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: MRMC to Showcase Robotic Camera Technology and Mark 60th Anniversary

Mark Roberts Motion Control (MRMC) will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5220, April 19-22, Las Vegas Convention Center), marking the company's 60th anniver...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Net Insight Introduces Programmable Trust Boundaries for Live Media Interconnection

Net Insight has introduced programmable Trust Boundaries, a feature integrated i...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: Bitmovin Adds SGAI Support to Playback Products

Bitmovin has announced support for SGAI (Server-Guided Ad Insertion) in its playback products, using HLS interstitials. SGAI combines elements of client-side an...

02/04/2026

Binghamton University Athletics Adds Riedel SimplyLive RiMotion R12 for Student-Run Productions

Riedel Communications' SimplyLive RiMotion R12 replay system is supporting B...

02/04/2026

NAB 2026: LTN and Ateme Announce Integration of Video Processing with IP Transport

LTN, a managed IP video transport company, and Ateme, a video compression and de...

02/04/2026

TDF Expands Channel Capacity on Terrestrial Broadcast Network with Harmonic

Harmonic has announced that TDF, a broadcast infrastructure operator in France, has deployed Harmonic's XOS Advanced Media Processor and ProStream X Video S...

02/04/2026

United Rugby Championship Reports First-Year Results with Eluvio Streaming Platform

Eluvio and the United Rugby Championship (URC) have announced first-year results...