
The industry is at breaking point in the midst of seismic change but it can survive if stakeholders act collectively starting now, urged Jeff Rosica, President and Chief Executive Officer, Avid Technology.
Presenting a keynote at the HPA Tech Retreat in Palm Springs this month, Rosica was frank about the uphill task faced by everyone involved in media and entertainment. As industry leaders we need to come to grips with the fact that we're standing at the precipice of breaking an industry' and are facing an industry-wide mess, he said.
I am truly worried that we could be heading for a disastrous time. Some things are already breaking and some we will have to break in future, but we can avoid disaster if as an industry we look carefully at what is hitting us, we all get aligned on the same page and we collaborate better.
Rosica is a widely respected media technology leader who has spent nearly four decades at the top of the industry for companies including Phillips, Grass Valley and Avid. In that time he said the industry has encountered change and always managed transitions effectively.
I'm worried that we're in an unprecedented time where we're facing significant headwinds from what feels like all directions North, South, East and West at once. We are in danger of breaking apart, but I believe we can also unbreak this trend.
Rosica essayed four areas of change that are impacting the industry globally. These include the wholesale disruption to business models as traditional production and distribution is forced to adjust to streaming and access to content by consumers anytime, anywhere on myriad digital devices.
We are in the midst of this change which is creating a lot of angst and pressures on each business, Rosica said. But if that wasn't enough there are three other areas coming at us fast.
We are also witnessing significant change in operating practices, he said: Processes and workflows developed and proven over decades are being ripped and replaced. Those practices have tended to be incremental to a linear approach of creating content, from script to production through post, that have barely changed in a century. The evolution to digital tools and IP networks has paved the way for a change in that methodology, the pace of which is now being accelerated by automation.
A third headwind comes from changing technologies and deployment patterns. Covid irreversibly altered the expectations of workers when it comes to the flexibility of being able to work from anywhere and caused the industry to rethink how content is created, he said. Remote, collaborative and hybrid production models are the new norm.
We must get much more drastic in our efficiencies, Rosica urged. We are still inefficient as an industry. We need to do more.
On top of this, Rosica expressed concern about the industry's talent drain. When the skills required of innovators and technologists in the M&E industry are no longer purely engineering and electronics - but also computer programming and software-based skills from adjacent industries in professional AV, video gaming and IT, the M&E industry must fight harder to recruit and retain talent.
Our industry is running out of people, he warned. We have to be very careful about leveraging global talent.
The fourth area of change Rosica identified is within the ecosystem of providers and service providers. Few companies are not facing financial challenges, which were only exacerbated by the strikes last year. In addition, companies face the existential threat of disintermediation. The nature of who is doing what with whom is changing dramatically.
Technologies like Cloud, IP and Artificial Intelligence are game changers in their own right but the tech revolution isn't stopping there. There are issues of data security and data integrity and combatting deepfakes to contend with. Interactive media and new depth-enhanced immersive experiences to be embraced.
There have always been technology shifts in our industry, but we've never seen this many happening in parallel, Rosica said. Across the board, technology is creating substantive change. It is unprecedented.
No-one is immune and everyone should be involved in navigating the industry's future.
No matter if you are a technology supplier, a postproduction house, a production company, studio, freelance artist, content creator or content owner everybody in media and entertainment needs to unite in discussion. If the industry can't function effectively we will all suffer.
He urged attendees and the wider community to talk. We've all got so much going on at once and so much coming at us that we have to spend more time talking about how we are going to prioritize, get aligned and stay aligned, and avoid a more difficult situation in future.
His speech wasn't all gloom and doom. There is light at the end of the tunnel, he said. The good news is consumers have a raging appetite for compelling content and they will pay for it. We are not making something as an industry that people don't want.
The other good news is that we have very fine organizations and bodies like HPA, MovieLabs, SMPTE, DPP, ACES and more who can be the vehicle for organizing collective discussion and change. But we still have to get aligned between them all. Each organization has its own prioritization, messaging and agenda. Not that that's a bad thing but there's so much going on we've got to make sure everybody realigns on the same path.
He added, I know that we all see these things from our own perspective but I'm not sure we are all internalizing them and really understanding the profound nature of what we are facing. We need to start talking about how to navigate change. We've got to realize that we cannot tackle all these headwi
North America Stories
11/08/2026
Weekly immersive broadcasts will feature 8K 3D video, a 180-degree field of view...
11/08/2026
By Briana Brady, Social Media Manager, Production Hub
Sports content is having ...
11/08/2026
She addresses why media organizations need more than asset storage, how sports t...
11/08/2026
Remote commentary has improved significantly on these broadcasts
At a clip of ...
11/08/2026
A pair of LANTIME IMS M2000 PTP Grandmasters deliver resilient timing infrastruc...
11/08/2026
LTN has announced expanded capabilities for its Live Event Master Control offering, providing sports broadcasters, leagues, rights holders, and content owners w...
11/08/2026
WTA Ventures has appointed IMG as its managed production services partner in a multi-year agreement commencing with the 2027 season. The partnership is the late...
11/08/2026
The New York Jets and CBS New York have agreed to a multi-year extension of their partnership, keeping CBS New York as the official broadcast home of the team. ...
11/08/2026
Nielsen Holdings and DoubleVerify have announced a definitive agreement under which Nielsen will acquire DoubleVerify in an all-cash transaction with an enterpr...
11/08/2026
The Audio Engineering Society has announced the results of its 2026 Board of Dir...
11/08/2026
The CSN co-founder details its network and affiliate' model, how creator wi...
11/08/2026
Gravity Media is providing host broadcast operations for the Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026, supporting ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) in delivering the tournament to glo...
11/08/2026
TAG Video Systems has released a memory usage optimization for its MCM software that reduces the cost per channel by up to two-thirds for compressed workflows. ...
11/08/2026
SMT is expanding its technology partnership with the Cincinnati Open this year, adding new LED displays, production capabilities, and fan-facing experiences at ...
11/08/2026
The Pac-12 has announced that home Olympic sports broadcasts throughout the fall season will be available free on the conference's YouTube channel at youtub...
11/08/2026
Spreading a message of faith requires both widespread accessibility and uncompromising visual quality. Real Life Network (RLN), a free, faith-based digital stre...
11/08/2026
Taking the synergy of sports and entertainment a step further, the NFL venue in Nashville will house iterations of two iconic music clubs
The marriage of Taylo...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
farmerswife and Cirkus will return to IBC 2026 to showcase new tools designed to help broadcast, media and post-production teams manage workflows with greater s...
11/08/2026
LiveUs LU900Q intelligent production unit played a central role in the host broadcast operation for the Games in Glasgow (July 23 to August 2, 2026). The host b...
11/08/2026
Jigsaw24 has appointed James Morse as Client Director, Media Sales, as it deepens its focus on sports, live events and integrated production. His appointment co...
11/08/2026
Net Insight today announced that DMC Production Norway has selected its Open Live Media solution to centralize the production of Blinkfestivalen 2026. Combining...
11/08/2026
Modular HEVC and JPEG XS workflows enabled resilient, ultra-low-latency delivery for leading linear and digital media platforms across all 104 matches
Appear A...
11/08/2026
Homecoming Artist Spotlight: Fabiola M ndez The first cuatrista to graduate from Berklee talks about the community that shaped her career ahead of her Homecom...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
11/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, today announced Dalet Solution Suites, a new portfolio of cloud-native solutions ...
11/08/2026
Mediagenix, a global leader in smart content solutions to profitably connect the right content to the right audience, will showcase how media companies can prep...
11/08/2026
Every new generation of accelerated computing demands more from the infrastructure underneath it - more compute performance, higher rack density and more effici...
11/08/2026
As AI shifts from chatbots to autonomous agents, open models are serving market ...
11/08/2026
The open source ecosystem is making it easier for AI enthusiasts and developers to build, customize and run increasingly capable agents locally.
Throughout Au...
10/08/2026
Weekly immersive broadcasts will feature 8K 3D video, a 180-degree field of view...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
Students in the Technology and Applied Composition (TAC) program at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (SFCM) gain rare, real world experience in professio...
10/08/2026
FOR-A is using its presence at IBC2026 (stand 2.B53, Amsterdam RAI, 11 14 September) to show how its products deliver the answers to the real challenges faced...
10/08/2026
Frontier EU, official Peplink distributor for Europe, will exhibit at IBC 2026 in Amsterdam from 11 to 14 September, presenting live demonstrations of how Pepli...
10/08/2026
Remote Editing Without Cloud Storage Premiere Pro
Michael Cioni August 10, 2026
0 Comments
This is a step-by-step guide that demonstrates how to setup...
10/08/2026
Stunning Pixelated ASCII Effect for Apple Motion
Simon Ubsdell August 10, 2026
0 Comments
Apple Motion is perfect for building this popular ASCII unic...
10/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
10/08/2026
A major unconventional operator increased monthly pumping hours by more than 30% by automating critical frac completion processes and eliminating common sources...
09/08/2026
COW Jobs: Documentary Editor - Remote
Brie Clayton August 9, 2026
0 Comments
Documentary Editor
July 31, 2026COW Jobs: Lead Generation Representativ...
08/08/2026
Star Wars Hyperspeed Tutorial: The No-Echo Method in After Effects
Graham Quince August 8, 2026
0 Comments
The Echo Effect to create long streaks is n...
08/08/2026
Chyron Releases AXIS 4.0 With Expanded News Workflows and Richer Map Storytellin...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
08/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...