The IBC Podcast

This episode of the IBC Podcast, brought to you by Dalet, features a conversation with Barrett Comiskey, who is the founder and CEO of Migo, a disruptive digital distribution service for emerging economies.Barrett discusses how his company is providing affordable access to premium video content in Indonesia for download over local WiFi hotspots for offline viewing on mobiles and tablets. The company has ambitious plans to expand across Asia, including most immediately in Indonesia and the Philippines.And we hear from Patricio Cummins, General Manager of Dalet Asia Pacific, who gives us more detail about how exactly Flex helps both Migo and other content providers manage data.

On Episode 15 of the IBC Podcast, Steve Reynolds, President of Imagine Communications, speaks about where the broadcast industry is headed in 2022 and beyond.Reynolds discusses how the challenges of the past two years led to a rapid acceleration of direct-to-consumer (DTC) and free ad-supported streaming TV (FAST) services and have driven demand for video distributed by the cloud.Is Reynolds sounding the death knell for linear TV? Tune in to find out and get his perspective on:  How remote production shifted from conference PowerPoint to mainstream Predicted linear vs. digital TV ad spend over the next decadeThe steps broadcasters must take to maintain margins in an increasingly fragmented TV landscapeHow there’s a lot more to cloud playout than “playout” ― and why it mattersThis episode is supported by Imagine Communications and presented by IBC365 editor George Bevir. Links: Cloud Playout The Future of Broadcast Advertising: A Conversation on ConvergenceIP Infrastructure

Episode 14 of the IBC Podcast, supported by Imagine Communications, features a conversation between Malcolm Cowan, Head of Engineering and Technology, Broadcast and Media Services at NEP UK and John Mailhot, CTO, Networking & Infrastructure for Imagine Communications on UHD and HDR production. NEP has been using Imagine Communications’ SNP pure-IP media processing platform to support its UHD and HDR productions.Together, Cowan and Mailhot speak about the unique challenges of introducing HDR (high dynamic range) and UHD (ultra-high definition) into productions which are delivered to a mix of SDR (standard dynamic range) and HDR distribution channels.During their conversation they discuss:Industry adoption of HDRHow NEP works with Imagine CommunicationsThe impact of HDR on outside broadcast companies and the content they supply to broadcastersHow HDR is changing the landscape of sporting eventsWhether different LUTS (look-up tables) work better for different contentLinks: Imagine CommunicationsImagine Communications’ Selenio Network Processor (SNP) NEP Group

Episode 13 of the IBC Podcast features interviews with Barbara Slater, BBC director of sport and the winner of the International Honour for Excellence and Hannes Ricklefs of BBC Research & Development, one of the authors of the Best Technical Paper. The IBC2021 International Honour for Excellence, IBC’s highest accolade, was presented to Barbara Slater, in recognition of her role as a pioneer for women in sports broadcasting worldwide.Barbara was appointed BBC Director of Sport in 2009, and one of her first challenges was to develop the remarkable multi-platform coverage of the 2012 London Olympics. Today, she works closely with other broadcasters and sports bodies, including advising the International Olympics Commission. In 2014 she was made an OBE for her services to sports broadcasting.The IBC2021 Award for Best Technical Paper was presented to a large team from BBC Research & Development, for their contribution Stronger together: cross-service media recommendations.As Hannes Ricklefs describes, the aim of the paper is to present consumers with a single portal to multiple media sites, with intelligent references between services. If a consumer frequently listens to a particular singer on Spotify, for example, the service would also send notifications when that performer is available on BBC radio and television content, available online.LinksIBC Awards Ceremony in fullIBC Digital video interview with Barbara SlaterIBC Digital video interview BBC R&D teamBBC R&D: Personal Data StoresMore on the IBC Awards via IBC365IBC Digital

Episode 12 of the IBC Podcast features an introduction to the 2021 IBC Accelerator Media Innovation programme with Mark Smith and Muki Kulhan plus an interview with Shibasish Sarkar, group CEO, Reliance EntertainmentThe IBC Accelerator programme was set up to support the media and entertainment industry with a framework for a collaborative and project-based approach to solving challenges faced by the media and entertainment industry.Project leaders Mark Smith and Muki Kulhan speak about:Last year’s projects and the 2020 successesThe 2021 Accelerator projects and why 5G is such a popular topic this year The challenges of live demonstrationsCreating a safe environment in which to encourage innovation Reliance Entertainment chief executive Shibasish Sarkar explains all about the production company which creates content for mobiles, TV, cinema and gaming platforms, including:Developing a feature film strategy for creatives and investorsRestarting production amid Covid-19 restrictionsReliance Entertainment’s approach to remote workingThe opportunity presented by the boom in streamingLinks:IBC AcceleratorsReliance EntertainmentInformation about IBC2021

As part of IBC365's Crafting Content themed week, Mama Youth Project founder and chief executive Bob Clarke speaks about his efforts to make media a more inclusive  industry.As well as speaking about his route into the industry, Bob talks about the origins of Mama Youth Project, including:Mama Youth's approach to equipping young people with the skills they need for a successful career in mediaThe benefit of employing people from a wide-range of backgroundsWhy terms like 'diversity' and 'BAME' are problematicThe importance of long-term commitment to changeLinks:Mama Youth ProjectIBC visitor surveyIBC Themed Week: Crafting Content

As part of IBC365's Content Everywhere themed week, ScreenHits TV CEO Rose Adkins Hulse speaks about her ambitious plans for the streaming service and the importance of aggregation.Links:IBC365 Themed Week: Content Everywhere IBC365 webinarsScreenHits TV IBC2021IBC Content Everywhere 2021

Episode 9 features:Peter Cassidy, MonterosaCarrie Wootten, RiseJohn Honeycutt, IBC CouncilAs part of IBC365's themed week on the subject of 'Engaging Viewers', Peter Cassidy, of Monterosa talks about how broadcasters can boost viewer involvement in content and how that can be used to drive revenue. Carrie Wootten, managing director of Rise speaks about the group’s latest mentoring scheme for women in broadcast. And John Honeycutt, newly appointed chair of the IBC Council, speaks about the role of the Council, the post-Covid challenges faced by the media industry and plans for IBC2021. LinksIBC365 Themed Week: Engaging Viewers https://www.ibc.org/news/themed-week-engaging-viewers/7390.articleMonterosa https://www.monterosa.co/Rise https://risewib.com/IBC365 Q&A: The role of mentoring https://www.ibc.org/trends/qanda-the-role-of-mentoring-in-helping-women-to-rise/7337.articleIBC2021 https://show.ibc.org/

Twickenham Studios managing director Cara Sheppard speaks about investment plans for the film and TV studios, the demand for studio space and shooting productions under covid restrictions.Professor Adam Beaumont, chief executive of aql explains how the telco will support the Live and Wild 5G for documentary filmmaking project.For daily news, features, interviews, webinars and white papers visit IBC365Twickenham Studios: twickenhamstudios.comThe Live and Wild 5G project: liveandwild.com

This episode features:Chris Fetner, former Netflix exec and now executive director of the Entertainment Globalization Association (EGA), a body for companies that provide dubbing, subtitling and audio description services. Fetner speaks about the challenges faced by localisation firms, the origin of the EGA and how the trade body plans to raise the profile of localisation.Roger Crothers, head of technology at BBC Wales, explains how the BBC went about building its new IP-based broadcast centre in Cardiff. Crothers, who is now focusing on reskilling the engineering team to ensure they are equipped to support an IP broadcast operation, will speak about the changes the challenges of shifting to ST2110 and the impact on the broadcaster’s workflows.For more content from IBC365's Media Supply Chain themed week visit: ibc.org

This flexible production-themed episode of the IBC Podcast features:Gordon Castle, senior vice president, Technology, Eurosport on the broadcaster’s technology transformation project to build a private cloud for live production (2.30)Patricia Doherty, project director of Live & Wild explains how Candour Productions will lead a project testing 5G connectivity for use by documentary makers (18.36)Extreme E head of broadcast and technology operations Dave Adey on the race series’ production operation (36.31)Visit ibc.org/features/themed-week for more features and case studies on flexible production. And follow the Live & Wild 5G project on Instagram @live_and_wild, Facebook: Live and Wild and Twitter @liveandwild

IBC365 editor George Bevir is joined by journalists James Pearce and Ann-Marie Corvin and IBC Accelerator project leaders Muki Kulhan and Mark Smith for a discussion about some of the highlights of IBC SHOWCASE, IBC's virtual event that took place in September.  The podcast contains clips of some of the IBC SHOWCASE sessions featuring:Matt Frost, Google, during Intel's panel on AV1Eva Norry, Fifa, as part of Synamedia's discussion on piracyDeborah Turness, NBC, in the IHFE Award presentationTim Davis, ITV, as part of a look at the object-based AcceleratorRafi Nizam, creative consultant on CG animationTo watch all of the sessions discussed during the podcast visit: https://www.ibc.org/ibcshowcase 

The latest episode of the IBC Podcast takes a look at the impact of coronavirus on production services, with NEP SVP technology and asset management Scott Rothenberg explaining what clients are now asking for, and why robust and fast connectivity is more important than ever. He also reveals what NEP has invested in during the pandemic."Some investments have been to do with conversion of control signals and video signals to IP; ways to get signals over the public internet in a reliable, fast matter. We’ve done that with a number of different vendors and we continue to look at different different options out there. We’ve also seen increased demand for small robotic cameras.”BBC Studioworks chief executive Andrew Moultrie speaks about the impact of Covid-19 and how BBC Studioworks is helping productions get up and running after the pandemic“Covid has provided a chance to review the supply chain and look at the approach to creating content. There’s a partnership between production companies and commissioners and facilities and operators, who all now have to work collectively in order to deliver the content in a safe way that’s Covid friendly.”And IBC Accelerator project lead Rafi Nizam and head of Sky’s XR Technology department Matt McCartney explain how the CG animation Accelerator could make the animation process more efficient and why it is focusing on the use of extended reality tools.

Sky Studios CEO Gary DaveyUKTV chief technology and operations officer Sinead GreenawayIBC Accelerator: Live Content Moderation“We couldn’t see Covid coming - we had to shut down 29 productions and we’ve got nine back in production now, but we couldn’t have done it without a really sophisticated set of safety protocols.”On the second episode of the IBC Podcast, Sky Studios chief executive Gary Davey speaks about the impact of coronavirus on the Sky division’s production output. And while some productions have restarted, he explains how Sky Studios is braced for a second wave of coronavirus.“It’s been a really interesting exercise to rethink the editorial of a lot of the shows, especially the bigger shows. So for example, we've rethought the number of episodes and had a good look at the editorial to figure out, if there were another crisis, is there a way of managing the script in such a way that you could get out after only a few episodes?”And one of the most significant outcomes of the restrictions imposed following the spread of coronavirus has been in post-production, Davey said. “Out of necessity the whole industry has moved to remote editing and post-production, and it has worked brilliantly. As a result, I think that will become much more business as usual.” The issue of reacting to coronavirus and the lessons learnt because of the industry’s response to the pandemic is also a key theme of the interview with UKTV chief technology and operations officer Sinead Greenaway. She speaks about the need for resiliency and reassurance from suppliers, and about how the need for greater remote working has hastened the shift to the cloud. And we hear from two of the Champions leading an IBC Accelerator Live Content Moderation project, with Grant Totten from Al Jazeera and Ian McLaren from Thompson Reuters discussing the use of AI to ensure live content adheres to regulatory standards. 

"The industry needs to look at itself and ask who is making these programmes and films and telling these stories. Have we got fair representation of the population, yes or no?"In the first episode of the IBC Podcast, chair of the RTS Diversity Committee Angela Ferreira speaks about the challenges of creating a more inclusive industry. And she explains why its important to go beyond headline figures. "For too long people have been able to muddy the waters about who they are employing...it is important to have representation but who is making the decisions? I am not interested in hearing endlessly about mentoring and shadowing schemes. Where is the  retention and growth and who is climbing the career ladder?Also on the first episode, Avid chief executive Jeff Rosica explains why he thinks coronavirus has changed the way people make film and TV for good. And he speaks about Avid's shift to a subscription model and reveals the firm's top selling subscription products before sharing his thoughts on the barriers to adopting cloud-based infrastructure. And Mark Smith and Muki Kulhan provide an introduction to the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme and explain why the likes of the BBC, Reuters and Al Jazeera have signed up to some of the problem-solving projects. 

The IBC Podcast is launching on Thursday 16 July.The fortnightly show will give broadcast and media professionals insight into the big issues faced by the content and technology industry. Hosted by IBC365 editor George Bevir, it will include discussions with technologists, conversations with creatives and in-depth interviews with industry leaders as well as the inside track on IBC. On the first episode:Avid chief executive Jeff Rosica RTS diversity committee chair and Douglas Road Productions managing director Angela Ferreira  IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme leaders Mark Smith and Muki Kulhan