EDITORIAL

Content is more important today than ever before. With the M&E industry continuously and exponentially evolving beyond its borders, the ways of serving the precious infotainment have surpassed all the limits we have always been used to.

The techniques for each of the production stages are evolving in a continuous and also completely disruptive way. Virtual production techniques that merge audiovisual, film and video game worlds, distribution methods that parallel the telecommunications industry, infrastructures based on the benefits of computer networks and ondemand consumption platforms where content is available 24/7. This, in fact, already sounds like water under the bridge.

Now, the horizon towards which the broadcasting world is looking is that of immersive and virtual reality. More specifically to all those possibilities that would provide “living” content in the already known metaverse. And yes, we said it right: live. Because it is no longer a matter of consuming the content, but of feeling it, experiencing it and enjoying it as if the viewer were living it in his own skin. Can you imagine the possibilities?

At TM Broadcast International we wanted to bring these concepts down to earth through two experts in the field. On the one hand, we have talked with the EBU, specifically with Grace Zakka, Senior Project Manager at EBU; to know the projection that

European public broadcasters are making on these new modes of immersive consumption. On the other hand, we have contacted Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández, Metaverse & XR Senior Advisor, to show us his vision on the capabilities of the metaverse.

On the other hand, we also wanted to focus our attention on one of the technological evolutions that our industry is experiencing. Much more plausible and commonplace is the introduction of 5G in Broadcast. Advances are constant and the integration of telecommunication in our media, both to produce and distribute content, is much more real and everyday than the development of immersive consumption in the metaverse. While it’s time to move on from experimentation and get down to work, we wanted to find out if 5G networks are ready to deliver everything they promised. In our magazine you will find the most cutting-edge 5G Broadcast developments in which the Technical Universities of Madrid and Valencia, two of the world leaders in this technology, are involved. You will also learn about the current status of the 5G network with respect to broadcasting from the 5G MAG association.

In addition to these highlights, we also bring you the BBC’s experience of broadcasting the European rugby tournament Six Nations Championship; a full report on Setanta Sports, the OTT sports distribution platform operating in the Baltic States, Eastern Europe and Asia; and Fujifilm’s X-H2S camera lab.

Metaverse EBU

Interview with Grace Zakka, senior project manager at the European Broadcasting Union, with a passion for platforms - specifically public broadcasters’ own platforms; 3rd party platforms (aka big tech); and how those worlds collide. Lebanese based in Geneva; a metaverse explorer, novice gamer, and an ex-ad woman.

Metaverse and broadcasting

Interview with Carlos J. Ochoa Fernández, founder of One Digital Consulting, to understand all that we can achieve if the technological industry of immersive realities goes the way that remains to be done.

V-Nova