Spotlight - Edition #12
BT Media and Broadcast
BT M&B is the digital solutions arm of BT, dedicated to serving the media and broadcast industry.
Discover the latest news and views from the BT Media and Broadcast team in our latest edition of Spotlight.
Last time around, we were in the middle of a packed summer of sports and looking forward to being part of IBC 2024. Now they’re both over, we have a chance to reflect on it all. Although English football fans didn’t get the result they were hoping for in Germany, we’re proud to have been part of broadcasting the Euros. Our networks and teams were also instrumental in delivering HD and UHD broadcasts to screens around the world – a feat we repeated for the Paris Olympics soon after. And then it was over to the Netherlands for this year’s IBC. As well as linking up with the rest of the industry, we showcased the benefits of our end-to-end portfolio and got involved in the latest IBC Accelerators. We even got a few awards in the process. Speaking of awards, we’re pleased to have been shortlisted in several categories at the Rise Awards too. This reflects the hard work of the many talented women in our team, as well as the efforts we’re making to increase female representation in the industry. Congratulations to all our nominees. Yes, it’s been a busy few months, but there’s still plenty to come, including more live broadcasts and sports content, with the domestic football leagues and international calendar in full swing. As always, we’re here to support you, helping you deliver high-quality, memorable experiences to your viewers. If you need anything, please get in touch.
Dominic Wall
Director of BT Media and Broadcast
Powering the Euros with cutting-edge connectivity
Football didn’t quite come home, but plenty of action from the UEFA Euros 2024 did – and our state-of-the-art infrastructure and team of dedicated experts played a pivotal role in making that happen. Providing the managed network service behind the BBC’s coverage, we brought nearly a hundred HD and UHD contribution feeds from Germany to the UK. Through our intelligent media platform, Vena, and our International Media Centre in London, we maintained uninterrupted connectivity throughout the tournament. Then after wrapping up in Germany, it was over to Paris to deliver a similar network for the 2024 Olympics. Again, our network team were on the top of their game, so many thanks to them for their hard work.
Award-winning performances at IBC 2024
Linking up with the rest of the industry at IBC is always a treat. It’s great to meet new people and catch up with friends, to learn more about your challenges and what you hope to achieve in the future. We were also fortunate enough to pick up two awards at the event. TVB Europe gave us Best of Show for our stand exhibit “From Track to Screen: Vena in action, live and in real-time”. This demonstrated the role our intelligent media platform plays in getting live action from the source to the screen. We also got the Innovation Award from the IBC Stand Design Awards, which was the first time it’s gone to an outdoor stand.
Addressing the challenges of tomorrow
Another highlight of IBC was getting involved in this year’s IBC Accelerator programme. This time around, we were involved in two exciting projects.
Connect and Produce Anywhere, Phase II
If you’re working from a venue with limited connectivity, you still need a full production truck to create a produced feed to send to the cloud. But there’s an easier way – as this accelerator demonstrated. Using a small amount of compute at the venue, you can support entirely software-based production, with shots cut and audio mixed as part of a seamless remote workflow.
Scalable Ultra-Low Latency Streaming for Premium Sports
Currently, internet streaming distribution involves much higher latency than traditional TV – a poor experience for sports fans. This accelerator explored the possibilities of open and interoperable low-latency solutions that can deliver live video and audio in under two seconds, from glass to glass.
Moving over to Vena
The migration from the UK Media Network (UKMN) to Vena, our intelligent media platform, is underway as planned. This move will ensure that broadcasters are well equipped to meet the ever-increasing demands of the industry. All the orders for the changeover have been received, and our teams are working closely with our customers to map out their Vena deployments and finalise their migrations.
Why Vena?
Vena is the obvious successor to UKMN, as it provides great flexibility and scalability; best-in-class resilience; and 99.999% service availability. This ensures the consistent delivery of high quality content. It’s also helped by the platform’s high bandwidth core and low latency. This ability to provide high speeds, low latency and consistent reliability was highlighted in Vena’s ‘Track to screen demo: Vena in action, live and in real-time’ at IBC 2024, which won the Best of Show award.
The platform is future-proofed and supports advanced media standards such as H.265 / H.264 / JPEG XS. So why Vena? Simply because it will always enable you to deliver excellence in every broadcast.
Broadcast Tech Awards finalist
We’re delighted to have been shortlisted for this year’s Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards, along with BFBS, as finalists in the ‘Tech Team of the Year’ category. The nomination cited our companies’ joint efforts to improve the morale and wellbeing of our armed forces overseas.
New award nominations
A bumper set of shortlistings this time…
Tasha Jones - Technical Specialist
Congratulations once again to Tasha. Earlier this year, she was shortlisted in the Inspiring Technologist category at the RTS Technology Awards. Now she’s up for the Influencer Award from the Rise Awards, which celebrate the amazing achievements of women across media and broadcasting.
Bobby Warner, Specialist Technical Delivery
Bobby has also been shortlisted by Rise. She’s in the mix for the Project Management or Delivery Award, which celebrates women who have delivered transformational projects, thanks to their exceptional organisational and leadership skills.
Yvonne Picken, Business Manager
Another shortlist from Rise, this time for the Sales Award, which recognises outstanding sales performance from women in broadcasting – whether they work for a manufacturer, service provider, broadcaster, publisher or trade show.
That’s not all. We’ve also been shortlisted for the Company Award for Investment in Women.
领英推荐
Our experts have got your back
Big shout out to everyone at our International Media Centre (IMC). In today’s busy media landscape, they perform a vital function for our customers, preventing issues and keeping broadcasts on the air. Working from our London Switch, this team of network and broadcast trained experts operates 24/7, proactively monitoring more than 24,000 hours of content a day. Speak to your account manager if you’re interested in our managed monitoring services.
Looking Beyond Broadcast at IBC
There’s always lots to see at IBC, including innovations with the potential to transform our industry. However, it’s also a time to reflect, to consider the challenges and opportunities we all face. That’s why we launched our Beyond Broadcast show at the event. Our Head of Futures, John Ellerton, and Product Development Manager, Phoebe Swaby, sat down to discuss some crucial industry topics like innovation, flexibility, skills and security.
IBC Accelerators: Learn about the two projects we championed this year and how they could help shape the future of live production and consumer distribution. Watch now >
Talking innovation: See how our glass-to-glass portfolio will help you deliver the future of media and broadcasting. Watch now >
Rising to the skills challenge: Attracting fresh talent is critical if the industry is to thrive. In this video, Phoebe talks about her own experience as a BT graduate and how businesses can attract the right people. Watch now >
Security solutions: Cyber threats are on the rise, and in today’s increasingly connected world, they can come from practically anywhere. How can media companies stay ahead of the hackers? Watch now >
Flexibility in action: John and Phoebe discuss the potential of dynamic and flexible production, using permanent and occasional use media services. Watch now >
Expert insights from our blog
Earlier this year, we held a business summit at our London HQ. Exploring key industry topics with an eye to the future, it raised many important questions about the immediate and long-term direction of broadcasting. Following on from the success of that event, we asked some of our experts to tell us more about these issues. Check out these blog posts and see what they had to say.
Linear TV isn’t dying – it’s just going online - Duncan Sims, Product Manager
How to ensure the internet will support the switch to streaming - Ian Parr, Director of Broadband Operations
Sharing the biggest moments in history
Our TV outside broadcast service recently celebrated its 80th birthday. That’s eight decades of bringing the nation’s greatest moments to audiences throughout the UK and beyond. It all started in 1937, when our network was first used to connect Alexandra Palace and Broadcasting House, letting viewers watch King George’s coronation procession. From then on, it’s just got better and better.
Another big milestone for FacilityLine
Our FacilityLine service will shortly be celebrating 30 years of content sharing. Formed to provide uncompressed video and audio transmission, it rapidly made its mark. In its first ten years, it added new digital switching options and increased capacity and reach, becoming the backbone of British broadcasting.
The achievement of being one of the very first wide-area networks that used SDI over optical fibre was recognised in 2017, with an Emmy award for ‘Pioneering and productisation of Supporting Digital Video Using SDI Over Fibre-Optic Networks’. More recently, it’s been upgraded to support HD, UHD and multichannel transmission over a single circuit and HD-SDI transmission with global connectivity. Look out for more information coming soon.
Securing the future of media
October is Cyber Security Awareness Month, so it’s a good time to think about your digital defences. As in all sectors, media and broadcast businesses need to take security seriously and invest in the right technology to keep their systems and their content safe.
The threat of breaches is constant and always evolving. New technologies like artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and quantum computing offer exciting business opportunities, but they can also be weaponised by hackers.
That’s why we have a dedicated cyber security team. They make sure we stay up to date with the latest developments, so our systems – and your content – are safe at all times.
For the latest cyber security insights, check out the replay videos from BT Business’s recent Secure Tomorrow festival at Adastral Park. Featuring talks from BT, Cisco, Palo Alto and more, it explored many of the most important security issues you need to know about.
An efficient solution for energy management
As in other industries, sustainability is a hot topic in media and broadcasting. Many businesses are now factoring environmental considerations into their decision-making and looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint.
IT systems are right at the forefront of that thinking. They’re already a major contributor to energy use, and that’s set to rise as AI technology becomes more widely used.
However, AI can also an important part of the solution. The BT Smart Energy Optimiser combines smart cameras and cutting-edge software to automate and optimise energy usage in your premises. By shutting down systems that aren’t in use, it can significantly reduce how much energy your business uses – reducing your carbon emissions and saving you money.
Let’s talk
If you’re interested in any of the technologies or services mentioned in this newsletter, please let us know. Get in touch with your account manager or use the contact form on our website.