Broadcast industry confidence highest in two years

The IABM (International Association of Broadcasting Manufacturers) concluded its annual two-day International Business Conference on Friday 6 December. The event brought together many of the most respected figures from the broadcast technology arena in a series of keynotes and panels debating the future of the broadcast sector.

The conference commenced with key findings from the associations latest business intelligence reports from Peter White, director general of the IABM. He said: Although the market is in growth year on year at around 4.5 per cent, this conceals some wildly divergent performances. SMEs in particular seem to be struggling with shrinking sales year on year at about 5 per cent. Profits are also shrinking overall at a rate of minus 24 per cent.

White went on to say: Set against these figures it was something of a surprise to see that business confidence was at its highest level for over two years. So, hopefully, we will see significant overall market performance improvements in 2014.

The overall theme of the conference Navigating through the changing media landscape focused on transformation and convergence in the industry. The tone of the event was set by its first keynote speaker, Charlie Vogt, president and CEO, Harris Broadcast. Vogt suggested greater collaboration is a necessity if the incumbents are to present a coherent response to emerging threats from new entrants to the market.

John Ive, conference chairman and director of business development and technology at IABM expanded on the idea of more co-operation in the industry: For too long the established players in the broadcast sector have been focused on protecting their individual interests, which are all-too-often are tied up in proprietary systems. In the meantime a new wave of competitors from the telco space have shown they have both the ambition, and as illustrated by recent developments, the means to disrupt the status quo.

The traditional broadcast industry has become very fragmented and as such, doesnt offer a strong position from which to consolidate its position. This conference offers a real opportunity for former rivals to put aside their differences and to work towards transforming the market by placing a greater emphasis on co-operation and partnership across the ecosystem.

Many of the issues raised by Vogt, including SDN, IP and virtualisation, were further explored in a panel discussion, featuring Dominic Stone, broadcast solutions executive, IBM, Emma Riley, head of business development, dock 10, Brian Cabeceiras, chief strategy officer, Harris Broadcast and Eric Dufosse, vice president marketing live solutions, Grass Valley.

The highlight of day two was a presentation from Mark Gallagher detailing how people drive change, set against the backdrop of Formula 1 and his experience with the Jordan and Red Bull Grand Prix teams. The event closed with a panel debate, chaired by Dr William Cooper, founder and chief executive, informitv, and featuring Andy Quested, head of technology BBC HD & UHD, BBC; Dominic Stone, broadcast solutions architect, IBM; David Peto, CEO, Aframe; and Chris Johns, chief engineer, BSkyB. The discussion proved particularly popular and the views of the protagonists and antagonists raised insightful, controversial and sometimes pointed feedback from the audience, who ultimately decided that specialist technology suppliers to the broadcast industry would still be prevalent by 2020.

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