TV Tech 522 - June 2026

DO U G L U N G R EVIEWS NA B • CLOU D A ND AI • 3.0 A N D CABL E E TH F ?

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www.tvtech.com | June 2026

Coming to Americas

How U.S. broadcasters will cover the FIFA World Cup

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contents

June 2026 volume 44, issue 6

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14 26

20 U.S. Broadcasters Ready for Most Complex FIFA World Cup Ever Fox Sports, Telemundo pull out all the stops for world’s biggest sporting event

By Max Slater-Robins

14

Broadcasters Hit by Mounting AI Costs in Shift to Hybrid Cloud Production

Enterprises are discovering their existing infrastructure strategies aren’t designed for AI’s demands

By Fred Dawson

18

Will Must-Carry Make It To Next-Gen TV? does it matter anymore?

By Gary Arlen

20 Broadcasters Prepare for

Nation’s 250th Birthday Bash

Networks, station groups roll out special programming and advanced tech

By James E. O’Neal

22

Agentic AI and the Future of the Byline

equipment guide

How technology could transform the journalist’s role­—a thought experiment

By John Footen and Micky Silverman

24 Securing the Hybrid Cloud in the Age of AI

Challenges grow as cloud environments become more complex

By Karl Paulsen

26 ATSC 3.0 at NAB Show Focused on Brazil, Low-Cost Receivers

While the industry awaits a 1.0 shutoff date, buzz revolved around Brazil’s TV 3.0 spec, BPS and affordable consumer devices

By Doug Lung

30

user reports transmitters & rf equipment

6

• Dilectric • Haivision

in the news

28

eye on tech

Credit: Getty Images (2); CBS Philadelphia; © NAB

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people

30 @tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

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Vol. 45 No. 6 | June 2026 FOLLOW US

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The last World Cup final held in the United States attracted 94,194 fans to the Rose Bowl on July 17, 1994, to watch Brazil defeat Italy in a dramatic penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw. This year’s final will be held at MetLife Stadium (officially referred to during the tournament as New York/New Jersey Stadium), which holds an estimated 82,500.

Credit: Mike Powell/Getty Images

The World Will Be Watching As football fans worldwide stream into North America this month for the world’s biggest event (sporting or otherwise), let’s look at some of the eye-popping statistics fueling the FIFA World Cup—and yes, for now, we’re going to refer to it as “football.”

In a country that likes to brag about the Super Bowl’s global cultural impact, we Americans are used to superlatives in sports. But the World Cup operates on an entirely different level; everything about the 2026 version is mind-boggling in terms of scale.

This year’s tournament is the largest in its 96-year history, with 48 teams playing 104 matches over a 39-day window. This makes it the biggest not only in terms of matches and duration, but also in geographical footprint, with games spread across the United States, Canada and Mexico.

The longest distance between match venues is a massive 2,800-plus miles between Vancouver and Miami, crossing three time zones.

According to the World Economic Forum, the event is expected to draw up to 5 million overseas fans, generate nearly $41 billion in global GDP and support 824,000 jobs worldwide.

In terms of media, FIFA anticipates a global viewing audience of approximately 5 billion people, with broadcasting and media rights expected to surpass a record $4.2 billion for the first time. While the vast majority of viewers will still watch on traditional television—with Fox Sports and Telemundo serving as the U.S. host broadcasters—that baseline audience will be significantly augmented by an unprecedented surge in streaming.

Naturally, this shift raises major piracy concerns. Revenue losses due to piracy costs professional sports an estimated $28 billion per year, and FIFA is aggressively ramping up its efforts to combat the issue. For this tournament, FIFA will utilize “Dynamic Blocking Orders.” This enforcement mechanism leverages the courts to force internet service providers (ISPs) to automatically block new IP addresses and domains associated with illicit streams on the fly, right while the match is happening.

The last time the World Cup was held in the U.S. was in 1994, and the media landscape back then was downright primitive compared to 2026. Digital video was still in its absolute infancy (DirecTV had just launched), and high-definition was little more than a blueprint. This year, viewers can consume the action in 4K, HDR and immersive audio across a myriad of devices, anywhere, on their own schedules. Brazil, for its part, will even use the tournament to conduct live pilot tests of its next-generation DTV+ over-the-air broadcast standard.

Supplemental programming, dedicated FAST channels, endless podcasts and highly personalized viewing options will combine to make the 2026 World Cup a watershed moment—not just for sports history, but for the evolution of modern media consumption.

Enjoy the (beautiful) games!

Tom Butts Content Director tom.butts@futurenet.com

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@tvtech.bsky.social

CONTENT Content Director Tom Butts, tom.butts@futurenet.com Content Manager Michael Demenchuk, michael.demenchuk@futurenet Senior Content Producer George Winslow, george.winslow@futurenet.com Contributors: Gary Arlen, James Careless, Fred Dawson, Kevin Hilton, Phil Rhodes and Mark R. Smith Production Managers: Heather Tatrow, Nicole Schilling Art Directors: Cliff Newman, Steven Mumby ADVERTISING SALES Managing Vice President of Sales, B2B Tech Adam Goldstein, adam.goldstein@futurenet.com Publisher, TV Tech/TVBEurope Joe Palombo, joseph.palombo@futurenet.com SUBSCRIBER CUSTOMER SERVICE To subscribe, change your address, or check on your current account status, go to www.tvtechnology.com and click on About Us, email futureplc@computerfulfillment.com, call 888-266-5828, or write P.O. Box 254, Lowell, MA 01853.

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in the news

Brazil, S. Korea, U.S. Sign Pact to Advance ATSC 3.0 Development On May 12, the ATSC, Sistema Brasileiro de TV Digital Terrestre (SBTVD) Forum of Brazil and South Korea’s Telecommunications Technology Association (TTA) inked a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to establish a formal framework for cooperation on the development, harmonization and worldwide promotion of next-generation terrestrial broadcasting standards.

“This agreement represents an important milestone for the global broadcasting industry,” ATSC President Madeleine Noland said.

“By aligning efforts across North America, South America and Asia, we are creating a stronger foundation for interoperable next-generation broadcasting technologies that will benefit broadcasters, manufacturers, developers and viewers worldwide.”

The agreement reflects a shared com-

mitment to strengthening global interoperability for advanced broadcasting services and to accelerating international collaboration around the evolution of ATSC 3.0 and related technologies.

The collaboration was made official at a signing ceremony in Seoul.

“A harmonized standards ecosystem enables greater innovation and creates new opportunities for broadcasters and technology providers globally,” Raymundo Barros, president of SBTVD Forum, said.

Under the MOU, the organizations will collaborate on the development of broadcasting standards and recommended practices, support testing and certification activities, exchange technical and strategic information and coordinate joint industry-engagement efforts across key global markets.

Parks: Tubi, Roku Channel and Pluto TV Are the Top U.S. FAST Platforms Tubi, The Roku Channel and Pluto TV are the three top-rated U.S. free ad-supported streaming television (FAST) platforms by monthly users, according to Parks Associates’ just-released Top 10 U.S. FAST Services list, as the category shows continued momentum in subscriber growth and engagement.

Parks released its ranking as its quarterly surveys of 8,000 U.S. internet households finds 46% of those homes regularly use FAST services to watch long-form video content.

Dominant FAST service Tubi has a strong head start among category players, the rankings showed, significantly outpacing its competitors. The Roku Channel secured the second position, followed by Pluto TV, highlighting strong engagement across leading platform-backed services.

Other notable performers include Samsung TV Plus and Xumo Play,

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which continued to scale their audiences amid growing consumer demand for free streaming options.

“FAST services are no longer a secondary viewing option; they are a central part of the streaming landscape,” Parks Director, Entertainment Research Michael Goodman said. “The gap between leaders like Tubi and the rest of the market underscores the importance of content breadth, distribution partnerships and user experience in driving viewer engagement.”

@tvtech.bsky.social

Congress Urged to Protect Live Sports on Broadcast TV The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) is applauding a resolution adopted by the 50 state broadcasters’ associations, along with the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, urging Congress to reexamine the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 to preserve broad fan access to sports programming as more games move behind streaming paywalls.

“Across the country, broadcasters are standing with fans frustrated by the rising paywalls and growing confusion surrounding live sports,” NAB President and CEO Curtis LeGeyt said. “For generations, free, over-the-air broadcast television has brought Americans together for the games that define our communities and our culture. That access should not depend on a household’s income, broadband connection or ability to juggle multiple streaming subscriptions. “[The] Sports Broadcasting Act was enacted nearly seven decades ago to govern the relationship between major sports leagues and the nation’s broadcast networks, which were and remain freely available to all Americans,“ LeGeyt added. “More than six decades later, Congress should examine whether today’s increasingly fragmented sports marketplace is still serving fans.”

The resolution reflects growing concern that sports programming is increasingly fragmented across exclusive digital platforms, NAB noted, forcing fans to purchase multiple subscriptions, maintain reliable broadband access and navigate a maze of services just to follow their favorite teams. The broadcaster group called on Congress to assess whether these evolving distribution practices are covered under the law, serve the public interest and preserve broad fan access to sports programming.

The unified action from state broadcasters’ associations also comes amid rising bipartisan scrutiny of sports rights deals that move games away from free, over-the-air television and an ongoing Federal Communications Commission probe into sports rights.

in the news OPINION

Gayle Benson to Receive NABLF Leadership Award

Broadcasters Reveal What Makes C-Band Alternatives Right for Them for comparison with C-band. “The With the Federal Communications primary challenge there is, it’s not Commission rules for an auction five 9s,” said Johnson. “When you of at least the congressionally think about five 9s compared to mandated 100 MHz of C-band four 9s, that’s four minutes difspectrum expected as soon as ference in a 30-day period.” That July, many broadcasters had a translates into a “significant differlaser-beam focus on how best to ence in quality and reliability that proceed with signal contribution we need to solve for.” and distribution alternatives Packet recovery via the internet during the 2026 NAB Show. is concerning. Some alternatives A breakfast event organized Phil Kurz to C-band involve multiple transby The Hive Group, a public relaport paths, such as Ku-band with internet tions and creative agency headquartered in backup for dropped packets. After looking McLean, Va., on behalf of LTN, shed a great at nearly 200 major markets, Fox found ISP deal of light on the issues and alternatives internet outages to be “quite alarming,” said from both the broadcaster and vendor points Hamilton. “Some major markets were down of view. For the purposes of this column, I’ll for hours and hours.” focus on the former.

Distribution to small MVPDs will be a Brad Cheney, vice president of field operachallenge. Taken together, Disney, Fox, Partions and engineering at Fox Sports, moderamount/CBS, Warner Bros. and other major ated a panel discussion about the challenges broadcasters deliver more than 10 Gbps of of living with less C-band spectrum. Panelists content to MVPD partners. That’s not a probincluded David Johnson, senior vice president lem for the largest players with fiber connecof technology at The Walt Disney Co., Alastair tivity. But the 10% of MVPDs that are smaller Hamilton, senior vice president of distribuoperators is “the bit that worries me,” said tion, engineering and architecture at Fox, and Hamilton. “I think we are going to have to get Ken Fuller, vice president of distribution and creative to service those.” technology operations at Paramount/CBS. Opex reimbursement will be key. Unlike While video of the event posted to YouTube the last C-band is available, panelauction, maintainists made several ing service won’t points worth calling simply be a matter attention to here. of replacing capital There are multiequipment. Recurple ingredients to ring operational success, including expenses for alterquality, reliability natives to C-band and availability, will be a major that must match factor. “The blanket what broadcastDuring an NAB Show breakfast event, representatives statement…is you ers have today in from Fox, ABC and CBS discussed the challenge of [government reimC-band. What each finding alternatives to C-band. bursement funds] broadcaster ultiwill have to pay for our Opex for 10 years,” mately chooses to do will include a mix of Fuller said. “Now, what does that mean? We technologies. “There is not one silver bullet don’t know yet.” solution that gives us what we have today,” Fuller said. Finding what’s right will require We will be holding a TV Tech Talk webinar “a testing curve” and a “learning curve.”

July 29 on the ramifications of the C-band Matching C-band reliability is a big job. As auction and available alternatives. Rebecca things stand today, broadcasters have 99.999% Hanson, director-general of the North American C-band reliability. Disney has a lot of experiBroadcasters Association, will be our featured ence using non-satellite fiber IP and the public speaker. I am moderating. internet. That provides it with a good basis

Philanthropist and businesswoman Gayle Benson will receive the 2026 Celebration of Service to America Leadership Award from the National Association of Broadcasters Leadership Foundation (NABLF).

Benson is being recognized for her civic and humanitarian contributions during the Celebration of Service to America Awards gala, presented by Bonneville International and Hearst Television, June 9, at The Anthem music venue in Washington, D.C. One of the most powerful women in sports according to Forbes, Benson is a community investor, advocate and corporate citizen who is focused on growing and enriching the Gulf South region and improving lives through her initiatives in health and wellness, cancer care, education and the arts.

As the owner of the New Orleans Saints and Pelicans, Benson has made giving back to the city a hallmark of her leadership. She gives millions of dollars annually in financial support, in-kind donations, charitable appearances and goods and services to those in need.

Benson is the steward of the Gayle and Tom Benson Charitable Foundation, carrying forward her husband’s vision and passion for helping others.

She works closely alongside organizations like the Greater New Orleans Foundation and the Archdiocese of New Orleans.

“Gayle Benson truly embodies the values of philanthropy through her work to support, educate and care for others, especially in her hometown of New Orleans and surrounding areas,” NABLF President Michelle Duke said. “We are thrilled to be honoring Mrs. Benson and her legacy of long-term, positive and sustainable impact with the Foundation’s Leadership Award, our highest individual commendation for service.”

@tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

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sponsored content

Pictured from left to right: Tim Canary, VP Engineering, NBC Sports; Mauricio Felix Vasconcellos, Executive Director of Technology, Globo; Luke Wheeler, Chief Technology Officer, Encompass Digital Media, Inc.; Francois Legrand, Senior Director, Innovation Hub, CBC Radio Canada

Snapshots From GV Forum The GV Forum offers broadcasters and other media professionals the chance to address the pressing issues of day.

At this year’s forum, April 18 at the Renaissance Hotel in Las Vegas, those issues ranged from software-defined workflows and new operating models for live and linear media production to artificial intelligence and aligning business and tech strategies.

The following snapshot from GV Forum offer a glimpse into some of the insights and experiences of media pros who spoke at the event.

Dynamic Streaming The 2026 Winter Olympics in Milano-Cortina, Italy, offered CBC/ Radio Canada a chance to see if the concept of a Dynamic Media Facility could deliver on its promises of agility, flexibility and scalability, said Francois Legrand, the broadcaster’s senior director at its Innovation Hub. “We wanted to find a way to improve the production value of our digital streams without increasing the cost and maybe at the same time generate additional revenue,” said Legrand.

For its streaming coverage of curling, CBC replaced an entire production control room with a Grass Valley AMPP-based softwaredefined production workflow running on a server and an operator controlling the production from a laptop via a custom, CBC-built interface.

“We wanted graphics, video, audio—everything—in the same tool to have the same unified interface, not multiple windows and multiple screens,” he said. The operator could also add commercial breaks via the interface.

CBC found it to be much easier to build the interface than

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@tvtech.bsky.social

expected due to the “great API,” said Legrand, adding the interface enabled the operator to do bumpers and stings, add graphics, lowerthirds and perform squeeze backs.

The broadcaster targeted operational simplicity when creating the interface, providing only “the right amount of tool to do the job assigned,” thereby minimizing the amount of training time needed and operator expense, he said.

The software-defined workflow proved to be a success. Not only did it support insertion of 676 branded promos during multiple games, production of 144 hours of content and delivery to some 500,000 streaming viewers for some matches, but it also proved to be quite agile and flexible, said Legrand.

Automation, Orchestration and AI Globo, like other broadcasters, is being asked to address the appetite of viewers for more live sports coverage without significantly larger budgets, creating the need “to do more with less,” said Mauricio Felix Vasconcellos, Globo executive director of technology.

The first step in achieving that goal is to have the right technology in place. “We need a platform that can guarantee that we can orchestrate it and change quickly,” he said.

“We believe we can reduce the operational requirements a lot with automation, orchestration and using artificial intelligence,” said Vasconcellos.

While technology costs money, it can also enhance the efficiency of staff to enable Globo to do more with less. “Today we operate in a control room with six or seven people,” he said. “How can we reduce that to two multi-skilled people so we can do more events at the same time?”

sponsored content The right technology can make workflows more efficient, transforming the business to achieve this productivity goal, he said.

Getting to a platform that can unlock these workflow benefits, however, will require Globo to transition to IP to leverage the benefits the IT world brings to the table, he said.

“With IP, we can have the flexibility to use the network and infrastructure as we want,” said Vasconcellos. “This is where we want to get, and that is why it is important we keep focusing on our partners.”

The technical component to workflow efficiency also involves an orchestration layer with the intelligence to enable production of multiple sports at the same time or multiple newscasts simultaneously while accommodating the specific capabilities and characteristics of different operators, he said.

The cloud, too, will play an important role going forward. “I see that three years from now, we are going to improve the interoperability between cloud and on premise. MXL is coming. I think in two or three years things are going to get simplified and streamlined.”

Software-Defined Live Production Enhancing production efficiency is a priority at Warner Bros.

Discovery, said company vice president, operations, Chris Brown, and the media giant’s “integration rooms,” the production control rooms sitting between multiple sites, game sites and its studios, have been a great place to start.

“We looked at where we could save a little bit of money, become a little bit more efficient because of all of what it [software-defined production] promises as far as the reduction of staffing,” he said.

Deployed for “some time now,” the GV AMPP-based softwaredefined live production workflow is enabling Warner Bros. Discovery to run those rooms consistently with no engineering.

To a casual observer, the Warner Bros. Discovery’s integration rooms look a lot like a traditional control room. But upon second glance, there are only control surfaces and some monitoring—no other equipment. “There are just HEVC streams coming from the

cloud or on-prem, depending on where you’re running it,” he said.

Production teams simply enter an integration room, decide what they want to do and provision the room as required via GV AMPP’s API orchestration, he said.

Pressing a single button provisions the room to the production requirements of a specific live show. “It will spin up an AWS machine, deploy the GV workspace, spin them all up and wire them all together,” he said. “Then what you see are monitors light up and pictures appear so you can do the production.”

“What we’re hoping to be able to get to is a place where we can then begin to realize an economy of scale with the [Elgato] Stream Deck [control surface] in conjunction with AMPP,” said Brown. “Ideally, we are hoping to keep it that simple.”

AI and simplification: It’s not so easy One of the biggest challenges facing Sky is the complexity of delivering content across multiple platforms via IP, said Dave Travis, group director of content, broadcast and platforms, at Sky. “That puts a lot of pressure on our team,” said Travis. “So, our biggest priority is managing that demand and trying to simplify. Simplification is absolutely critical, not just to Sky but to the industry at large. I think in the future, we need to make it easier across the board.”

Artificial intelligence holds the key to simplification, but it is not without risk. Noting Sky would like to introduce AI to address a range of issues, including its software development lifecycle where it could accelerate how Sky develops code, Travis said adopting artificial intelligence remains a challenge due to concerns over security and corporate compliance.

“It is a real big challenge. Some are doing AI really quickly,” he said. “If you’re a small organization and don’t seem to have the same corporate compliance obstacles, that may be possible. But we’re a big organization, and we want to protect ourselves.”

One path forward may be promoting collaboration among various stakeholders in the industry. Still, he fears even these collaborations could lead to “an arms race patching” vulnerabilities—something he is unsure about managing. “I think our CTO conversations and technology leadership calls are going to be very much focused on that properly for the foreseeable future. We have to really learn together and find a solution for that problem.”

@tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

9

world cup

Argentina’s Lionel Messi and his teammates are coming to North America to defend the 2022 World Cup title they won in Qatar.

U.S. Broadcasters Ready for Most Complex FIFA World Cup Ever Fox Sports, Telemundo pull out all the stops for world’s biggest sporting event

Credit: Julian Finney/Getty Images

By Max Slater-Robins

The FIFA World Cup, the pinnacle of live sports excitement for hundreds of millions of fans who watch from every corner of the globe, is coming to North America this month, arriving at a scale broadcasters have never before had to handle.

Between the opening games on June 11 and the July 19 final at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J., participating countries—from defending champion Argentina to heavyweights France, England and Spain to Iran, Haiti and New Zealand—will play 104 fiercely contested soccer (aka “football”) matches in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, spread across 16

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host cities and several time zones.

For fans, that means more than a month of football that will roll from city to city, stadium to stadium and screen to screen.

For Fox Sports and Telemundo, the two host U.S. broadcasters, it means building coverage that can follow the tournament wherever it goes.

That’s the fun of this World Cup, and also the challenge: The coverage needs to feel close to the action in each city, with commentators and presenters plugged into the atmosphere on the ground while managing vast scale and maintaining consistency.

For American viewers, the end result should feel pretty simple: turn on the TV, open the app, catch the highlights and follow

@tvtech.bsky.social

the story. Behind the scenes, it will take one of the most complex live sports production operations ever mounted.

To help make sense of this mammoth broadcasting event, TV Tech spoke with two key operators—Kevin Callahan, senior vice president of field operations and engineering for Fox Sports, and Miguel Lorenzo, senior vice president of sports for NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises—about their plans and their vision for how the World Cup can run smoothly.

THE BROADCAST CHAIN Before Fox Sports and Telemundo add their own presentation, the World Cup tournament starts with the host broadcast.

For this World Cup, that role sits with Host

world cup without having to replicate the same full-scale setup in every city. Commentators and hosts can remain close to the action, while core production staff work from a consistent base.

For viewers, the result should be a broadcast that still feels rooted in the stadium, while relying on centralized workflows to keep the overall operation manageable across more than a month of matches.

In a win for those who love high-fidelity TV, Fox said all studio and match content will be produced in 1080p and available via 4K distribution.

Broadcast Services (HBS), FIFA’s appointed host broadcaster, which is responsible for the core match coverage that global media partners receive and build upon, a role it has held for the last six men’s tournaments.

The central hub for that operation will be the International Broadcast Center in Dallas, which acts as the tournament’s broadcast nerve center from as early as January through the end of July.

To step back for a moment, HBS provides the shared foundation: the match pictures, the stadium coverage and the technical backbone that allows broadcasters to follow the tournament from city to city.

Rightsholders, such as Fox and Telemundo in the U.S. or BBC and ITV in the U.K., then turn that feed into their own coverage, adding commentators, graphics, studio shows, interviews, streaming output, digital clips and the editorial voice their audiences expect.

Across a tournament of this size, that shared foundation keeps the operation coherent as matches move between 16 host cities.

The IBC gives the broadcast chain a central point of coordination, while rightsholders use their own hubs to shape the final program.

For Fox, the English-language rightsholder, that means connecting Dallas with production facilities in Los Angeles; for Spanishlanguage broadcaster Telemundo, it means linking match operations with Telemundo Center in Miami alongside its teams on the ground across North America.

FOX’S REMOTE PRODUCTION MODEL The scale of the tournament has shaped Fox Sports’ editorial plan and its production model.

“The size of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is unlike anything else we have done,” Callahan said.

“The distances covered in the tournament—as well as the number of hours of programming— have forced us to shift the way that we’re thinking and how we’re producing this event.

“All 104 matches will have commentators in-venue, which in and of itself is a feat,” he said. “But our studio show will be traveling to venues across the three countries as well.”

Taking this approach gives Fox a presence inside each stadium while keeping much of the production engine in familiar facilities.

“Fox Sports is leaning on our HRP workflows for both our match and studio coverage,” Callahan said. “The matches themselves are produced by HBS on behalf of FIFA. Fox will pick up that feed at the International Broadcast Center in Dallas and send it to production facilities in L.A.” Upgraded for the monthlong event, Fox Sports’ HRP (Home Run Productions) REMI

TELEMUNDO’S LOCAL AND PLATFORM APPROACH

Kevin Callahan

infrastructure is a standards-based IP workflow that uses Appear’s X platform to support both JPEG XS and low-latency HEVC on a single platform.

“The commentator audio from the venues will also travel through the Broadcast Contribution Network to the IBC and then to our production facilities in L.A.,” Callahan said.

In Los Angeles, Fox will bring those pieces together for its final match coverage: commentator audio and Fox graphics will be combined in a match control room, while studio programming will be produced from two control rooms as presenters move between venues.

The technical bridge between those traveling studio teams and the L.A.-based hub will include Fox’s BRISK systems, which Callahan describes as ST 2110-based flypacks that integrate with the company’s permanent facilities, with JPEG XS encoding from Appear used to support low-latency feeds from venues back to the control rooms.

In practical terms, the model allows Fox to keep the live feel of a stadium production

For Telemundo, the scale of the tournament is tied closely to the communities hosting it.

“The scale is unlike anything we’ve seen before,” Lorenzo said, echoing Fox’s Callahan.

“With 104 matches across three countries, this is the largest World Cup ever, and our production reflects that.

“For Telemundo, it means a significantly expanded footprint...more matches, more cities, more talent, more resources and more content across every platform,” he added.

“We will have a presence at every match and a much broader operation overall, but the focus remains the same: delivering an authentic, expert, entertaining and high-quality experience for fans.”

Telemundo’s approach is built around making that expanded footprint feel local.

Lorenzo describes 2026 as “the most local World Cup ever,” with on-site teams and commentators capturing the atmosphere inside stadiums and across host cities.

“Being on-site is critical for us,” he said.

“This historic World Cup is taking place in our country, our cities and communities.

It’s the most local World Cup ever and our coverage needs to reflect and tap into that local excitement.

“We want audiences to feel the energy throughout all our coverage and for our commentators to channel the atmosphere in the stadium directly to audiences,” Lorenzo added. “That’s a big part of what makes our coverage unique.”

Telemundo Center in Miami gives the Spanish-language broadcaster’s on-the-ground operation a central base. Lorenzo said the facility allows the broadcaster to connect studio shows, digital and streaming while keeping teams close to the action at the venues.

Lorenzo said Telemundo Center also allows the broadcaster to “scale efficiently” while connecting “studio shows, digital, and streaming,” with NBCUniversal’s wider

@tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

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world cup Managing World Cup’s Massive RF Challenge

Telemundo Center in Miami gives the network’s on-the-ground operation a central base.

resources used to “ensure quality, speed, reliability and scale.”

“It’s a hybrid approach that gives us the best of both worlds: authenticity on the ground and the ability to deliver comprehensive coverage across platforms,” he said.

The mix of platforms is a major part of Telemundo’s World Cup plan: Every match will be available across broadcast, streaming service Peacock and the Telemundo app, with FAST channels, social and companion formats extending coverage around the live games.

“The goal is simple: deliver more games, more content, more access, and a seamless viewing experience across every screen,” Lorenzo said.

TEST CASE FOR FUTURE LIVE SPORTING EVENTS The 2026 NAB Show provided a preview of how broadcasters will handle World Cup coverage, with sessions covering live production, streaming scale, platform resilience and the next wave of digital fan experiences.

For Fox and Telemundo, those ideas are already moving from conference talking points into production plans. The World Cup needs people close to the action, with commentators in stadiums, presenters moving between host cities and coverage that picks up the noise and personality of each venue and moment.

Importantly, it also needs centralized control rooms, remote links, IP workflows, and platform teams capable of serving TV channels, streaming apps, digital clips, social feeds and highlights across 104 matches.

That balance makes the upcoming World Cup a useful test case for the next phase of live sports production under an increasingly

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hybrid model: Enough on-site presence to keep the coverage alive and enough centralized infrastructure to make a geographically scattered tournament feel joined up.

As Lorenzo rightly pointed out: “In the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, all stadiums were basically within a 35-mile radius. In 2026, the closest two stadiums are between New York [East Rutherford] and Philadelphia. The largest distances are between Miami and Vancouver.

“The size of the 2026 FIFA World Cup is unlike anything else we have done.”

KEVIN CALLAHAN, FOX SPORTS

“That is a lot of ground to cover but it’s also an amazing and unique position to be in because of the incredibly diverse storytelling opportunities,” he said.

For viewers, the best version of that future should feel straightforward. The match is on, the app works, the highlights arrive quickly and the coverage feels connected to the city where the game is being played.

Behind the scenes, the production chain will be doing far more work than ever to make the biggest World Cup yet feel easy to watch from anywhere in the world. ● Whoever you are rooting for, have a fantastic World Cup. Your author will be in Guadalajara to see South Korea vs. Czechia on opening day and cheering on England to the final.

@tvtech.bsky.social

One of the most critical components of ensuring reliable coverage of the FIFA World Cup is coordinating the limited spectrum to support all of the wireless mics, IFBs, cameras and other devices used to bring all the action to viewers.

To manage it all, the FCC has appointed Louis Libin, vice president of spectrum policy and engineering at Sinclair, as special frequency coordinator and RF spectrum manager for the tournament.

Libin will serve as the single point of contact for coordinating Broadcast Auxiliary Service (BAS) operations during the World Cup, with matches staged in 11 U.S. cities, as well as cities in co-host nations Canada and Mexico.

BAS stations, licensed under Part 74 of the FCC rules, allow TV and radio stations and networks to transmit program material between various locations (e.g., from remote sites to television studios, from studios to broadcast transmitters for delivery to consumers and between broadcast stations).

FWC 2026, a subsidiary of FIFA, said it anticipates using more than 2,700 pieces of equipment, such as interruptible foldback systems for real-time communication, wireless intercoms and talkbacks for production crews, and RF audio links for sound mixing and audio routing, to support over 300 media agencies.

Libin’s team will include an estimated 50% of RF engineers from local chapters of the Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE). “I work with the people who are going to be at the venues,” he said. “There’s a structure created.

Any kind of RF problems are handled by a local manager who deals with the frequency coordinators. If a problem needs to be escalated, then a regional manager gets involved.

“Hopefully, we have an organization in place that will work sort of automatically,” he added. “We tried something like this for the FIFA Club World Cup tournament last year.”

Tom Butts

cloud adoption

Broadcasters Hit by Mounting AI Costs in Shift to Hybrid Cloud Production Enterprises ‘are discovering their existing infrastructure strategies aren’t designed for AI’s demands’

Credit: Getty Images

By Fred Dawson

As new advances in efficiency and vendor interoperability fuel momentum behind broadcasters’ reliance on production in the hybrid private/public cloud domain, cost challenges posed by AI resource scarcities are moving to the top of industry suppliers’ to-do lists.

The latest, frequently AI-enhanced solutions that came to light at April’s NAB Show have made the hybrid cloud model more attractive than ever amid waning enthusiasm for exclusive reliance on either public cloud or proprietary hardware resources.

In the case of Grass Valley’s customers, for example, “whether broadcasters choose to host aspects to their production workflows on premises or in the cloud can be decided on the basis of architectural complexity and what makes sense for the tasks at hand,” Chief Product Officer Adam Marshall said.

“That’s what they’re looking for.”

Like just about everywhere else, AI is playing an ever-greater role at Grass Valley.

Marshall said the company uses AI “to accelerate our ability to deliver what our clients need” and to provide a “third-party front door” that allows customers to add their own AI application layers.

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director for cloud solutions at Ross Video, said.

Businesses are adjusting to the new realities “incredibly fast,” he said, but for now, “it seems largely the case that to get benefits from AI, we need to connect the media environment to the [public] cloud” where processing is “gobbling up GPU capacity and prices are getting INFERENCE COSTS Adam Marshall, chief product higher and higher.”

Ross Video’s latest cloud- and officer for Grass Valley A late 2025 report from AI-related contributions include Deloitte Insights underscored support for its XPression real-time browserthe immensity of the AI usage challenges based graphics creation and monitoring tools facing all industries. That report found via a scalable on-demand service called enterprises everywhere “are discovering their XPression.cloud, which can be used instead existing infrastructure strategies aren’t deof local XPression hardware. XPression.cloud signed for AI’s demands,” Deloitte said. uses AI to identify appropriate XPression The mismatch results from “inference,” templates and expedite graphics-related asset or the incessant processing required as AI retrieval, creativity and generation. models generate new information based on XPression.cloud offers customers “a more changing conditions. “While inference costs sophisticated way to manage graphics on have plummeted, dropping 280-fold over the their own” without “shipping boxes around,” last two years, explosive growth in overall AI Gryckiewicz said. spending… has dramatically outpaced cost Matrox Video is also riding the market reduction,” Deloitte said. surge toward hybrid cloud-optimized con“Dependence on high-performance comverged production solutions. For the past pute in the public cloud can get expensive,” two years, Matrox has promoted its ORIGIN Jonathan Gryckiewicz, business development The need to secure cloud operations, including vulnerability analysis of the type delivered

by Anthropic’s new Mythos AI model, has added to AI processing requirements. Grass Valley will make the technology available if and when Anthropic lifts current restrictions on its release, Marshall said.

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cloud adoption media-aware content transfer fabric as a way to control high-performance multiprotocol transport and scalability without dedicated hardware. ORIGIN was again a big focus for Matrox at this year’s NAB Show, but with a different emphasis this time, Product Manager Daniel Robinson said.

“We hadn’t seen very many use cases emerging until now,” Robinson said, noting uptake this year involves the likes of industry suppliers Amagi, EVS and TSL, as well as the Canadian multiservice giant Rogers Communications. The difference lies with Matrox’s success in using AI to make it easier for customers to put ORIGIN to work in their products and services, Robinson said.

“We’re not running AI on the software but using AI tools to build things quickly,” he explained, which means executing on projects that might have taken days or longer in a

matter of hours. “It’s about shortcutting discovery of information. If you didn’t do that, you’d have AI searching through thousands and thousands of lines of documentation with outcomes that may or may not be the right ones.”

AI SUPPLY CHAIN Such uses of AI on the build side of supplier innovation are fueling acceleration in product development for cloud- and hardware-based solutions alike. While these applications don’t incur the ongoing inference processing costs associated with AI applications used in live production workflows, they are vulnerable to hardware capacity and cost trends, noted Stephan Stadler, chief product officer at Appear.

“Being a hardware manufacturer, the AI supply chain is top of mind,” Stadler said,

“Dependence on high-performance compute in the public cloud can get expensive.”

JONATHAN GRYCKIEWICZ, ROSS VIDEO

citing Appear’s use of AI not only in “how we plan and build things” but in discovering new opportunities and creating sales messaging.

“The big challenge is memory chips for everyone who builds hardware products in this industry,” he added.

Appear has moved into the hybrid cloud production space with the recent introduction of the VX Media (VXM) Gateway, which uses open-source interfaces to enable interoperability with other vendor solutions in commodity cloud support for the dispersed REMI production versatility enabled by its hardware-based X Production portfolio.

“VXM doesn’t replace XP,” Stadler noted.

“It’s just an extension of that.”

The company’s release of VXM—even as it registered another big hardware win, with Fox Sports using its X platform to deploy its REMI production workflow for the 2026 FIFA World Cup—reflects the growing pull of the virtualized hybrid cloud opportunity across the traditional broadcast-production hardware supply chain.

Another case in point is the expanded support for cloud production introduced by Sony Electronics’ Nevion unit. Nevion has integrated

Maxiva™ Transmitters with PowerSmart® Plus

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Single-engineer maintenance, seamless on-air serviceability

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cloud adoption

Credit: Fred Dawson

Support Grows for New MOQ Streaming Protocol WebRTC-based streaming Mounting demand for a platform, is throwing its next-generation video weight behind MOQ, acstreaming solution that cording to CEO Chris surpasses the latency and Allen. unidirectional limitations “WebRTC was designed of the currently dominant as a peer-to-peer protocol, streaming architecture is which means there’s no generating strong support standard for scaling the for a new standard known way we do by building out simply as “MOQ” (Media clustered cloud resourcover QUIC). es,” Allen said. “MOQ was By all accounts, it will designed from the get-go take few more months for AWS and Red5 teamed up at as a scalable broadcast the Internet Engineering NAB Show to run side-by-side technology for the interTask Force to finalize the comparisons of MOQ, WebRTC, HLS and Low-Latency HLS on net, which we believe will MOQ specifications. But live video captures delivered accelerate adoption of multiple projects testing from the show floor via Red5’s next-generation streaming.” this new multi­directional, streaming platform.

The foundational set of multilatency approach to MOQ specifications, known as MOQ Transstreaming are now underway. “There’s port (MOQT), marks an incompatible break a buzz and excitement in the air about with conventional streaming modes like MOQ we’ve never seen before,” said Will HLS and MPEG-DASH, which are based Law, chief architect for the cloud techon the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP). nology group at Akamai and a leader in As a so-called connectionless platform, the IETF MOQ initiative.

MOQT employs a simple publish/subscribe approach to streaming by signaling INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT the start and end points of a session while This was evident at April’s NAB Show, avoiding the thousands of request/rewhere MOQ demos abounded on the exsponse exchanges that transpire between hibit floor and an overflow crowd filled the clients and servers in HTTP streaming. large meeting room devoted to the show’s first-ever session on the standard.

Entities announcing infrastructure LATENCY TUNE-UP support for MOQ included public conThe new standard also provides a way tent-delivery network operators Broadto automatically tune end-to-end latenpeak, CacheFly, Cloudflare, CDN77 cies to whatever levels meet user requireand Vindral, as well as cloud-compute ments, including real-time latencies of platform providers Akamai, Amazon 200 to 400 milliseconds that are imperWeb Services (AWS) and Oracle Cloud ceptible to humans; what Law calls “interInfrastructure (OCI). Streaming software active live” at 2 seconds for use in sports system suppliers demonstrating delivery betting, online casino gambling, banking of payloads and advanced features over and similar applications; and “conservative MOQ-enabled facilities included Ant live,” supporting ironclad HD, 4K and evenMedia, Ateme, Bitmovin, EZDRM, Nomad tually 8K quality persistency at 5 seconds.

Media, Norsk Media, Oracle Media SerParalleling MOQT development, there vices, Synamedia, Red5 and Wowza. are other initiatives within IETF and the While proprietary real-time streaming OpenMOQ Software Consortium, a closely systems supporting video conferencing affiliated ad hoc organization aimed at and a host of other applications have been creating a practical operating environaround for several years, MOQ is meant ment for the transport protocol. They to satisfy the need for a standardized, include media-layer streaming formats ubiquitously available two-way superhighemerging from IETF, a new client player way where video flows in any direction template developed by Red5 and enand at any scale, with latencies attuned dorsed by the consortium, and several to specific use-case requirements. That’s ready-to-deploy players. why Red5, a provider of a highly scalable Fred Dawson

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MOXELA, a new cloud-native software platform, with its cloud-based VideoIPath media orchestration layer to transport, process and monitor production workflows encompassing output from cameras and other equipment supplied by Sony and by other vendors.

“The big problem we’re solving with MOXELA is producers’ need for flexibility to adapt to different workflows by running various processing functions for different streams in parallel across on-prem and public cloud clusters,” Nevion Head of Product and Solutions Jan Helgesen said.

THE IMPACT OF MXL MOXELA aligns with common frameworks like SMPTE ST 2110 and NDI, as well as the emerging industry guidelines shaped by the European Broadcast Union’s open-source Digital Media Facility (DMF) initiative, including the Media eXchange Layer (MXL) specifying containerized microservice support for real-time, in-memory exchanges of uncompressed audio, video and metadata across multiple vendor software applications. This is a big step toward enabling cloud-based live sports and other productions, but there’s much more to come, Helgesen said.

“We’re currently on a cloud production journey from Tiers 3 and 2 to Tier 1,” he explained, noting that getting to Tier 1 still “requires some technical development that’s not completely there yet.” It’s a staged road map that will also bring AI into play to automate the complex troubleshooting, planning and setups that big cloud productions will require, he added.

Implementations of MXL in vendor product lines—facilitated by the Linux Foundation’s release of the first MXL Software Development Kit (SDK)—are fast becoming the norm.

This is because the shift toward hybrid cloud production has made just-in-time activations of COTS resources with cross-vendor interoperability essential to cost containment.

Sony, along with a new commitment to the protocol by Ross Video, adds to a list of MLX

Jan Helgesen, Nevion head of product and solutions

Daniel Robinson, product manager for Matrox Video

supporters that includes Appear, AWS, Grass Valley, Imagine Communications, Intel, Lawo, Matrox, NVIDIA, Riedel Communications and Telos Alliance.

PAY AS YOU GO For Lawo, the growing consensus around the hybrid cloud approach to broadcast production is right in stride with its longstanding promotion of the Lawo HOME management and orchestration platform. HOME runs on commodity servers in private or public clouds to enable discovery, authentication, security management and monitoring of all production-connected devices from a single user interface.

To address cost uncertainties as the hybrid cloud production model takes hold, Lawo has introduced Flex, a payment system built on credits that makes it easier for customers to adjust to changing dynamics in private vs. public cloud resource usage.

“You can buy and use Flex credits like chips in a casino to spend on any HOME app,” Chris

Scheck, head of marketing content for Lawo, said. The hybrid cloud model “is where we’re heading,” he added, but uncertainties mandate offering customers as much flexibility as possible in choosing how to spend on cloud resources.

For example, while customers would rather maximize use of private resources, “right now, servers have almost tripled in price because of chip shortages, and it can take six months

Evertz’ ENX powers a unified media core that seamlessly connects live production, processing, and distribution across any infrastructure. Simplify operations, scale instantly, and deliver more personalized content from every live event.

to get them,” Scheck said. At the same time, as Grass Valley’s Marshall observed, in the public cloud space “we’ve seen processing costs rising at record rates, up 40% during the first part of the year and now up 80%.”

Factor in the complications added by the AI squeeze and it’s clear the hybrid cloud model might not be the cost-saving slam dunk it once appeared to be. But in a live-production environment that needs to accommodate fragmented workflows delivered through ST 2100, NDI, SDI and other pipelines while enabling browser support for executing editing tasks across dispersed locations, the advantages of cloud-based accessibility, agility and efficiency are too compelling to be ignored.

This puts a premium on cloud cost-containment know-how. As Marshall noted, at a moment of growing confusion among producers, figuring out what will work for each customer has much to do with knowing which questions to ask. ●

Credit: Getty Images

cloud adoption

cable carriage ATSC 1.0 signals, which do have must-carry requirements. A slew of other factors, such as the absence of a tuner subsidy (as was available in the digital transition nearly two decades ago), add to the complexity—and are familiar themes in the current examination.

When it opened its latest rulemaking, the FCC said it was seeking “to support and accelerate the nation’s ongoing transition to NextGen TV (also known as ATSC 3.0),” which it claims “represents the future of broadcasting and promises to modernize the nation’s free and local over-the-air television service.”

‘CHICKEN AND THE EGG’ REDUX

Will Must-Carry Make It to NextGen TV? Does it matter anymore?

By Gary Arlen

“We’ve been here before” stands out among the profound rhetoric that poured into the FCC as it revived its rulemaking exploration of NextGen TV. Those words, from a filing by cable TV industry groups, captured the frustrating dilemma as regulators try to figure out what to do about the retransmission of ATSC 3.0 broadcast TV signals via cable systems and other multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs).

More than 1,600 comments (including formal submissions, replies to other parties and ex parte letters) have deluged the Federal Communications Commission since October, when it issued its docket on “Authorizing Permissive Use of the ‘Next Generation’ Broadcast Television Standard,” according to a spokesperson.

The arguments came from “broadcasters, MVPDs, equipment manufacturers and retailer groups, consumer groups/advocates, accessibility groups, policy groups, technology/ software providers, content producers, other interested parties and individual consumers,” the spokesperson added.

This vast array of opinions refrains the

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familiar arguments of broadcasters vs. cable operators—with substantial input from equipment and software and content suppliers allied with one side or the other. As is increasingly common in such proceedings, there is also an extensive cadre of publicinterest organizations and a dollop of Silicon Valley and wireless communications ventures with an appetite for spectrum.

FEW INNOVATIVE IDEAS Relatively few innovative ideas seemed to emerge from the reams of formal filings or in conversations with TV Tech, although analysts offered perspectives on what’s ahead.

The FCC hasn’t set a deadline to resolve the ATSC 3.0 retransmission issue. The agency’s only response to a query about a possible timetable: “This is an active proceeding.”

Independent analysts do not expect a quick resolution. As one inside observer said, “The ball is in FCC Chairman [Brendan] Carr’s court.” Another FCC watcher opined that NextGen TV is not a high priority, despite the agency’s public statements.

To complicate the deliberations, the NextGen TV migration also includes uncertainty about if, when or how to turn off the current

@tvtech.bsky.social

In its filing, the National Association of Broadcasters contends the dissent about must-carry and other familiar issues repeats a “problem [that] is circular.” Stations won’t transmit until carriage is assured and receivers are available, and hardware makers won’t make equipment until rules are in place for distributing the enhanced content, NAB asserted.

Moreover, there is the question about the migration from ATSC 1.0 to 3.0.

“Broadcasters cannot offer the full benefits of NextGen TV service until they can stop simulcasting in ATSC 1.0,” according to NAB’s filing—but there is widespread concern about the problems that would surface if simulcasting ended without viewers able to receive ATSC 3.0 signals.

NAB urged the FCC to adopt a “datecertain ATSC 1.0 sunset” and to “ensure continued MVPD carriage of stations’ primary ATSC 3.0 signals and associated program-related features.”

In its initial comments to the FCC, NAB insisted “extending must-carry to ATSC 3.0 is essential to an efficient and timely transition.” Broadcasters contend stations should be allowed “to assert mandatory carriage rights for their ATSC 3.0 signals.”

“Broadcasters are not looking to expand must-carry obligations but preserve the same framework that applies today as broadcast technology evolves,” NAB said. “As stations transition to ATSC 3.0, must-carry should continue to attach to a station’s primary programming stream regardless of transmission standard…

Technical standards are already in place to support MVPD carriage of ATSC 3.0 signals,” pointing to an ATSC Recommended Practice on Delivery of ATSC 3.0 Services for Redistribution.

Alison Martin, NAB’s vice president of innovation and strategy, said ATSC 3.0 broadcast streams contain content-related data that is essential for viewers and should be subject to must-carry rules. Weather reports, emergency evacuation routes, accessibility

cable carriage information and similar local data must be part of the retransmission package, she said, alluding to the support broadcasters have received from social service agencies.

Martin acknowledged that some of the data ventures that broadcasters envision for ATSC 3.0 fit into what the FCC’s Carr calls “the broadcast internet,” Alison Martin which NAB contends is totally separate from the must-carry issues involved with traditional video programming. She said licensees see services such as BitPath, the wireless platform built on ATSC 3.0 architecture developed by Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group, as an extension of broadcasters’ capacity for data delivery.

Blair Levin “They look at it as a supplement for private wireless networks, so must-carry is not necessary,” she said.

That said, cable retransmission is “the most important thing” to assure broadcasters “are able to innovate” and develop enhancements such as “more immersive audio” and sports enhancements, according to Martin.

CREATING UNCERTAINTY The Advanced Television Systems Committee added its endorsement to NAB’s arguments. Although the group insists that its focus is strictly on technical issues, “any regulatory framework must preserve local broadcasters’ ability to innovate, serve their communities and fully use ATSC 3.0’s capabilities,” ATSC Vice President of Standards Development Luiz Fausto emphasized.

“The absence of clear rules governing the treatment of ATSC 3.0 services in retransmission scenarios could create uncertainty,” Fausto said. “Conversely, a framework that recognizes the technical realities of ATSC 3.0, including its IP-based architecture and support for new services, can help broadcasters and distribution partners plan investments with greater confidence.”

He stressed: “Cable retransmission is part of a larger transition. ATSC 3.0’s value lies in enabling local broadcasters to use a flexible, scalable, IP-based platform to reach viewers and communities in new ways.”

The “been here before” sneer came from NCTA–The Internet & Television Association on behalf of a cadre of cable TV and broadband providers and their collaborators.

In its filing, the group took aim at NAB’s claim that the cable industry opposes broadcasters’ use of new technologies. “We simply believe that broadcasters’ transition to a new standard should not come at the expense of MVPDs, equipment manufacturers, and consumers, with no guarantee of meaningful benefits,” NCTA said.

“Requiring cable operators to carry ATSC 3.0 signals— despite the substantial costs involved and the uncertain consumer value—would further intensify the serious constitutional concerns associated with the must-carry regime,” NCTA Senior Vice President of Strategic Communications Brian Dietz told TV Tech.

“Allowing broadcasters to discontinue ATSC 1.0 transmissions at this stage of the current market-based transition would impose real costs on consumers without any assurance of meaningful benefits.”

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, the agency’s sole Democrat, said the new rules would trigger “additional thorny questions” over matters such as “encryption technologies [i.e.] digital rights management.”

She voiced concerns about whether audiences “will be able to continue to enjoy free, over-the-air television as they do today.”

“Technology should not be a bottleneck to innovation,” Gomez said, noting that the “significant costs of the transition” will extend to consumers who must pay for new “equipment to…receive the new signal over the air or potentially pay higher prices for new televisions.”

DOES WALL STREET CARE? Blair Levin, a former FCC chief of staff and longtime telecom policy expert, identified several barriers to the must-carry requirements for NextGen TV. “The value to consumers is completely different” from the original DTV transition nearly two decades ago, Levin said. “The streaming networks, which didn’t exist then, are a much bigger factor than alternative content at the time of the earlier transition.

“There will be a point when the MVPDs say ‘It’s over,’” Levin predicted, suggesting that the necessity to retransmit broadcast content may become irrelevant.

Levin, now a policy and regulation adviser at New Street Research, headed the team that

wrote the U.S. National Broadband Plan (20092010) and was deeply involved in the 1996 Telecommunications Act while at the FCC. Several barriers will impede the must-carry efforts, Levin told TV Tech, especially the lack of a tuner mandate and a specified turn-off date for the current ATSC 1.0 signals. The transition also lacks momentum because there is no pressure from Congress or the White House, he noted.

Would Wall Street care about such a break with historical models?

“Not really,” Levin said, noting that investors now care more about actions “that affect wireless carriers and Silicon Valley,” citing increasing efforts to open up different spectrum bands to auction for nonbroadcast purposes.

From his Washington perspective, Levin noted, “NAB has been unable to elevate this on Carr’s agenda.” He acknowledges that broadcasters have traditionally been big defenders of the First Amendment, but said NextGen TV does not fit into that category.

FOCUS ON OTHER OPPORTUNITIES Rick Ducey, managing director at BIA Advisory Services, expressed optimism about TV stations finding a role in the emerging environment.

“I think broadcasters would still offer enhanced services over-the-air even if MVPDs wouldn’t provide the service enhancements,” Ducey said. “That might both hasten video subscriber drops from MVPDs and drive more OTA viewing.

“Broadcasters are leveraging ATSC 3.0 to create an enhanced consumer OTA experience, and [they] would love to see that experience also offered via MVPD retransmission of must-carry if necessary.”

Equipment makers are wary of new expenses for an unproven market and don’t like the government telling them what their bill of materials should be, Ducey acknowledged.

Wall Street is paying attention to the NextGen TV situation, Ducey said.

“They’ve been listening to ATSC 3.0 plans, forecasts, expectations, and market signals for years,” he said, noting that investors are “waiting to see what happens as we get closer.”

Nonmedia ventures for data delivery provide “very promising signals that there may yet be an emerging and scalable market for broadcasters,” Ducey said, citing ventures such as EdgeBeam Wireless. That joint venture, involving E.W. Scripps, Gray Media, Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, plans to use ATSC 3.0 technology for multipoint data delivery.

Meanwhile, the must-carry diatribes continue with no decision date in sight. ●

@tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

19

event production

Broadcasters Prepare for Nation’s 250th Birthday Bash Networks, station groups roll out special programming and advanced tech

By James E. O’Neal

When the Declaration of Independence was signed in 1776, the only way to get the news out to the new nation’s 2.5 million citizens was via fledgling newspapers, with dispatches carried on horseback and by ships traversing coastal ports. Compare this to today’s United States, with 330-plus million inhabitants and the technology to instantaneously reach almost anyone with HD video.

To get ready for the event called by a name few people will probably use—”Semiquincentennial”—TV networks and station groups are offering hundreds of hours of special-event programming and taking advantage of 21st-century technologies to deliver it to anyone within reach of a TV or mobile device.

PLENTY OF CELEBRATORY FARE ALREADY UNDERWAY ABC’s “Good Morning America” is running “50 States in 50 Weeks,” a yearlong series where a “GMA” anchor or correspondent will visit different states in order of their admission into the Union, a network spokesperson said. The feature showcases a state’s history, notable landmarks, culture and traditions.

Station group Sinclair initiated special event programming last December with the first installment of “Amazing America 250: From Neighborhood to Nation,” which aired in connection with the annual Army-Navy football game.

Additionally, Sinclair stations are featuring stories spotlighting American innovation, U.S. heroes, and everyday Americans making a difference in various communities where Sinclair has a presence. This series, “The National News Desk…America’s News Now,” airs weekly through July. “‘Amazing America 250’ is a reflection of Sinclair’s mission to enrich local lives in every community we serve,” Sinclair President and CEO Chris Ripley said. “From national specials to local stories, from everyday heroes in our neighborhoods to defining moments in our shared history, this campaign honors and celebrates America’s journey.”

NBCUniversal Local’s NBC and Telemundo stations began a 100-day celebration of the 250th in March, with the initial airing of “Our 250th” (“Nuestros 250” in Spanish), featuring news coverage, historical vignettes and other

Credit: Disney/ABC

ABC’s special U.S. 250th birthday programming includes origination of the network’s “Good Morning America” from each of the 50 states..

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@tvtech.bsky.social

programming celebrating the 250th anniversary of the nation’s independence. The final segment airs July 4th with six hours of live coverage of the “Sail4th 250” event from New York Harbor.

“We’re excited to launch this special initiative to inform, entertain and support our communities as we count down the final 100 days to our national celebration on Independence Day, which we’re proud to commemorate by presenting Sail4th 250’s festivities to audiences nationwide,” NBCU Local Chairman Valari Dobson Staab said.

Fox News Media is also celebrating the country’s 250th birthday in a big way.

“Fox News Media will be the place for Americans to experience the celebration of America’s 250th—with comprehensive coverage designed to meet audiences wherever they are,” Fox News Media Senior Vice President of Politics Jessica Loker said. “Viewers can count on Fox News to be on the ground for the signature celebrations in Washington, such as ‘Rededicate 250’ on the National Mall, the National Observance of Memorial Day, the Great American State Fair and Salute to America on the Fourth of July. (And) Fox News will broadcast live from Sail4th in New York and the opening of the Teddy Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota.”

‘MY AMERICAN STORY’ Nexstar Media Group has also been commemorating the country’s birthday event with its share of special programming, including a cross-platform initiative, “My American Story.”

“As America prepares to celebrate its 250th birthday, Nexstar and our new content studio are uniquely positioned to tell the nation’s story—not from one city or one network, but from every community across the country,” said Dan Lanzano, Nexstar’s president of national advertising sales, adding that the content initiative “reflects the heart of who we are” and is “deeply connected to the people and places that make this country extraordinary.”

The series is available on the group’s national and local outlets as well as a website, myamericanstory.tv. Other special Nexstar programming includes “Main Street USA,” which highlights the revitalization of small communities, and “Celebrating Main Street on Route 66,” which honors the nation’s 100-year-old “Mother Road.”

Although CBS hadn’t finalized its coverage plans at press time, it did reveal what its

event production

owned-and-operated stations had in store.

Special coverage in the New York market served by WCBS-TV began in April with “Tri-State 250: Our Legacy of Liberty,” a series spotlighting Revolutionary-era sites and stories across New York, Connecticut and New Jersey.

KYW-TV, CBS’s Philadelphia operation, is airing programming focusing on that region’s role in America’s founding and its continuing influence. The series “Founded in Philly” includes historic neighborhoods, civic institutions and community events.

In Detroit, CBS’s WWJ-TV is featuring historical and cultural subjects including the city’s automotive industry, Motown Records and the Underground Railroad.

stories and share them far beyond a single newscast or market,” Tegna Chief Content Officer Adrienne Roark said. “Rather than focusing on a single, national, over-the-top production that showcases new technology, we’re using our streaming and mobile resources to meet audiences where they are and using these tools to make local stories national in scope.”

Additional tech that was unthinkable 50 years ago is also enhancing viewing experiences.

“Our field operations and production teams are taking advantage of HDR technology when appropriate,” noted Fox News Media’s Loker, adding that drones will play a major role in that network’s July 4th coverage. “If there

21ST-CENTURY TECHNOLOGY Our country’s last big birthday celebration was in 1976. While television played a large role in making Bicentennial events accessible to the general population—save for the use of some early minicams and a few satellite-delivered remotes—there was little in the way of “high tech.” Things have changed a lot in 50 years.

All coverage of the 250th will be delivered in high definition, and most programming will be available over-the-air and streamed to smartphones and tablets in formats customized for those devices.

With such a multiplatform approach, “we have the ability to lift up smaller, deeply local

Nexstar Media Group’s commemoration of the nation’s 250th birthday includes a yearlong initiative, “My American Story.” The series features personal narratives related by a wide cross-section of Americans, including farmers, athletes, artists and individuals living with disabilities.

is one technology that truly elevates these broadcasts, it is the use of drones. The Fox Flight team will be deployed to capture sweeping aerial views and showcase celebrations from unique perspectives across the country.”

Sinclair stations will use ATSC 3.0 over-theair broadcasts to “to deliver enhanced visual storytelling and immersive viewing experiences [to ensure] audiences can engage with the cele­bration of America’s 250th anniversary across multiple platforms,” Bellucci said.

CBS O&Os are even leveraging augmented and virtual reality in their coverage.

“Many of our stations are unique in the sense that they are the only station group that has augmented reality/virtual reality technology-driven studios,” said Elita Fielder Adjei, senior vice president of communciations at CBS Stations. “Viewers will be able to see special programming that is produced within this environment.”

CBS’s KPIX San Francisco will be using AR/ VR “to tell historical stories, giving viewers an immersive look at life for Indigenous communities in 1776,” Adjei noted, while KYWTV will also tap AR/VR “in connection with its ‘Founded in Philly’ initiatives, including ‘Philly Is Proud,’ ‘Philly Is Innovative,’ and ‘Philly Is a Vibe.’”

This year is certain to be remembered as a very special one for our country and for the special television coverage that’s being made available to viewers. ●

@tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | May 2026

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Credit: CBS Philadelphia

This “Founded in Philly” set provides a sample of how CBS O&O stations will be using virtual and augmented reality in connection with their Semiquincentennial programming initiatives.

media matrix

Agentic AI and the Future of the Byline How technology could transform the journalist’s role— a thought experiment

The evolution of agentic AI will change what machines can be trusted to do. The newsroom could be one of the clearest places we will see agentic technologies playing out in our industry.

The argument that follows rests on a specific assumption: that news will increasingly be assembled dynamically for each user, rather than consumed as static content. To be clear— not fabricated—assembled intelligently from trusted sources in response to what a user needs, when they need it and in the context of that moment. Whether that assumption proves correct or even desired is genuinely uncertain, but if true, it will change many roles.

There is already directional evidence of the possibility. AI-powered tools are generating summarized, citation-linked news experiences today. Users of search interfaces receive synthesized answers that draw from multiple publishers without directing them to any one source.

This is not entirely new—search engines have surfaced news snippets for years. What is changing is the sophistication of the synthesis and the degree to which audiences are satisfied without clicking through. The path toward dynamically assembled news is already being walked.

HOW NEWS IS ENCOUNTERED NOW

Credit: MF3d/Getty Images

T

he only constant is change.

For the past several years, much of the conversation around artificial intelligence has centered on generative systems—tools EXPERTISE that can produce JOHN FOOTEN text, images, audio and video. These have captured the public imagination and, understandably, generated both excitement and concern across the industry. But a potentially more consequential shift is now beginning to take shape: the rise of agentic AI. Before going further, let’s be clear about what this article is and is not. This is a thought experiment, not a forecast. The future described here may be a decade away, may look entirely different in practice or may not arrive at all. The value of the exercise is not prediction, but rather the perspective it can give about what is possible. As the saying goes: All models are wrong, but

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some are helpful.

With that framing in place, here is the central argument: the journalist of the future won’t directly write the story — they’ll train the agent that does. If that idea sounds like EXPERTISE science fiction, read MICKY SILVERMAN on. The pieces are already in motion.

WHAT MAKES AGENTS DIFFERENT Generative AI systems respond to stimuli (prompts). Agentic systems “act” and seek to accomplish broader objectives. Unlike a generative model, which responds to prompts, an agentic system can pursue goals, make multistep decisions and interact with other systems or agents on behalf of a person, organization or system. It is not so much a tool as it is a delegate.

Understanding this matters because it tells us where the real disruption lies. Generative AI changed what machines could produce.

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If news is increasingly assembled by agents rather than read as discrete articles, then the journalist’s job cannot remain centered on writing those articles. And the current trends in how audiences consume news means that this future is more plausible.

Not everyone goes looking for news.

Younger audiences, in particular, tend to encounter it while doing something else— scrolling through short-form video, moving through algorithmic feeds. News finds them; they do not seek it out. Push notifications and platform algorithms have become the primary editorial voice for a significant and growing share of the audience.

This matters because it means editorial control is already shifting—not to AI agents, yet—but to technology platforms and their recommendation systems. An agentic future would be an extension of a trend already underway. The cultural conditions for this shift are already forming.

One further implication would be that as news becomes more individually assembled, shared cultural experience erodes further.

Monoculture—the common reference points that once came from everyone watching the same broadcast—have already shrunk dramatically. Agentic personalization would accelerate

media matrix that fragmentation. The thesis we discuss carries consequences that are arguably negative.

WHAT CHANGES IN THE NEWSROOM If the journalist of the future trains the agent rather than writes the story, what does that look like?

The fundamental activities of journalism—interviewing sources, attending events, obtaining documents, verifying facts—are not going away. These are what give journalism its credibility, and they cannot be automated.

What changes is that rather than assembling every story manually, a reporter feeds their gathered knowledge into a system trained on their expertise, voice and editorial standards.

Over time, that system—a digital extension of the reporter—responds to queries, synthesizes developments and surfaces context using what it has learned. The human journalist remains the source of credibility. The agent becomes the mechanism that scales it.

The implications ripple outward. The editor’s role shifts from revising individual pieces to governing the parameters within which agent systems operate. The news organization becomes less a publisher of discrete

articles and more an operator of a trusted information system—one whose quality is determined not by today’s headline but by the integrity of everything that trained it.

This is not a reduction in the need for human expertise. It is a redirection of how expertise is applied. And it places an enormous premium on the thing that has always mattered most in journalism: the quality and credibility of the reporter behind the byline.

If agents are assembling and delivering information to users without directing them to the original source, the traditional advertising and subscription models face obvious strain.

How publishers get paid in this world does not yet have an obvious answer.

Emerging ideas around usage-based or token-based compensation for content access are being discussed, but none has yet gained traction. These are not technical problems.

The economic and governance problem may take longer to solve than the underlying technology takes to mature.

WHY THIS MODEL MATTERS NOW The reason to think through this scenario today is not to prepare for an imminent

transformation. It is to avoid being surprised by a gradual one. Technology shifts in media never arrive all at once—the transition from tape to file-based workflows took the better part of two decades—but the organizations that engaged early tended to fare better than those that waited for certainty.

The journalist of the future may not directly write the story; they’ll train the agent that does. If that future arrives, what will matter most is not whether AI is telling the news.

It is who shaped the agent doing the telling, what they fed it and what standards they held it to. These are human decisions. They always will be. And the time to start making them thoughtfully is now. ● John Footen is a managing director who leads Deloitte Consulting LLP’s media technology and operations practice. Micky Silverman is a senior manager in Deloitte’s M&E practice who has worked for the past decade across traditional linear television providers, over-the-top media services, and major social media platforms, advising companies on their content strategy, product development and business operations.

Both authors can be reached via TV Tech.

cloudspotter’s journal

Securing the Hybrid Cloud in the Age of AI Challenges grow as cloud environments become more complex

Credit: mustafaU/Getty Images

L

gence that the marketplace conet’s review some of the tinually promotes, irrespective of important feature sets the reference or workplace. Fig. 1 typically found in a cloud depicts a workflow inside a cloud solutions provider. that could aid in preparing data First, the cloud provider should for AI-ready states or actions— almost always store or process ideas shown in Fig. 2 generally your data in multiple locations, feed back into systems, as shown aka data centers. These data in Fig. 1. centers provide the physical AI-ready data means that your elements for connecting all of information has been systemyour data, anywhere. Data access EXPERTISE atically prepared, evaluated, will generally include cloud apps, KARL PAULSEN managed and governed to meet databases and hundreds to thouthe needs of AI projects. With financial-resands of both on-prem and off-prem systems, lated data, expectations are that transaction using “prebuilt” connectors that integrate the records are properly prepared before that solutions handling your data and allow it to data is fed into an AI model. be processed through established services.

Assume certain checks that your (cloud) A cloud provider should be able to effecservices provider can include or package tively leverage your existing infrastructure can identify patterns (or repetitive series of with an ability to query or analyze your data characters that could flag harmful routines with features including replication, movement/ that might represent fraudulent transacmigration and “rework.” tions, loops or means to generate a code sequence that would alter, falsify or get a ‘AI-READY’ DATA back door to an unwanted action).

Given the global emphasis on artificial In retail applications, your cloud prointelligence, one would almost expect this vider might offer “AI prep” capabilities and service-level statement—“all our data is AIreadiness for applications such as “demand ready”—given the levels of artificial intelli-

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forecasting,” which uses historical data on sales volumes and costs, as well as comparative product details that can be shared across hybrid and multiple cloud providers located regionally, globally or both.

For organizations (like original equipment manufacturers) storing preventative or predictive maintenance for industrial purposes such as aircraft maintenance, the cloud services provider should be capable of tracking and cataloging short-term and long-term historical data, plus real-time data derived from sensors and performance variables. Applications for the cloud-storage systems would leverage and train AI models to accurately predict equipment repair times, schedules and relative downtime.

Sometimes referred to as a “digital vault,” immutable storage is a paradigm where information, once written, cannot be modified, overwritten or deleted for a specified retention period. It is also referred to as WORM (write-once, read-many) storage or object-locked storage. The opposite term is “mutable storage,” which can be edited, replaced, modified or destroyed at any time.

Unlike mutable values, an immutable value or content cannot be changed without creating an entirely new value. For example, in JavaScript, primitive values are immutable—once a primitive value is created, it cannot be changed, although the variable it holds may be reassigned to another value.

SUPPLY-CHAIN SECURITY In an “open source” age, malicious activities are common and almost expected in nearly every software and data system—and especially in cloud services. In e-commerce services (such as eBay or Etsy), users place assurance expectations on their vendor’s services, who in turn rely on the respective e-commerce company to “pre-protect” the data and services of their customers and clients, using industry best practices and some of the services listed in the following: •F or an in-depth understanding of how certain software is protected, Software Composition Analysis (SCA) emphasizes control over inventory, dependency mapping via Common Vulnerabilities and Exposure (CVE) and license tracking, as well as enforcement policies in pull requests (PR) and continuous integration (CI) before release.

Note that SCA also stands for Strong Customer Authentication, a regulatory requirement under the European Union’s Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2), designed to reduce fraud in online payments. Strong Customer Authentication

cloudspotter’s journal tools. The lack of a centralized view of health increases the risk of application disruptions due to expired certificates. In the AI and open-source era, vulnerabilities in opensource dependencies expose applications leading to unwanted attacks.

Ignoring production usage of open-source packages can lead to breaches and disruptions. Malicious bad guys often weaponize disclosed vulnerabilities quickly, shrinking your remediation window at each cloud source transition (e.g., in hybrid or multi­ cloud). You’ll need regular, thorough monitoring to be sure your access control is tight. And you must improve management by limiting access to individual components in the network.

A FLEXIBLE AND FORWARD-THINKING APPROACH

Fig. 1: Real-time data management in the cloud.

There’s segmentation, and then there’s ZTS (“Zero Trust Segmentation”). You can be certain of some things—the big ones include: • Cyberattacks are unavoidable: Statistics show this to be true, yet for many organizations there’s a surprising lack of preparedness.

• Cybersecurity mindsets are often outdated: Even with continued investment in perimeter controls, organizations still get breached. When you recognize and accept that breaches are inevitable and start to assume breach, you can focus on isolating them and stopping their spread. ZTS is by far the fastest and easiest way to do that.

ZTS is a flexible and forward-thinking approach that is “AE strengthened” by default.

“AE strengthened” refers to key applications, including structural health monitoring using Acoustic Emission (AE) monitoring or, contextually, the bolstering of organizational or technical capabilities (e.g., AE engineer, Advanced Energy—refer to Fig. 2 for example details).

Fig. 2: Remote/in-field data management—in the cloud—for reinforced concrete and bridge structure.

requires at least two of three elements— knowledge (password), possession (phone) or inherence (fingerprint)—for payment validation.

• CVE is a standardized, international dictionary of publicly known cybersecurity vulnerabilities in software and hardware.

Managed by the MITRE Corp. with U.S. government support, it provides a unique ID (e.g., CVE-2024-1234) for tracking flaws.

It facilitates fast, secure communication about threats and feeds the National Vulnerability Database. There are currently over 330,000 CVE Records accessible via download or keyword search.

SECURING AGAINST RANSOMWARE A “zero-trust” architecture does not implicitly mean “don’t trust anything,” but it does signify an architecture that is harder to breach and is an upgrade to your access control and much more. Zero-trust often demands multifactor authentication at all access points and insists that all connected devices are regularly updated and well-maintained.

HYBRID CLOUD VULNERABILITY In today’s hybrid cloud world, enterprises struggle to keep track of the slew of certificates managed by different siloed teams and

WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Essentially, it is the duty of the cloud service provider and end user management to ensure appropriate safety factors are in place and routinely updated before opening the door to widespread public use of cloud-service capabilities. In a future discussion, we’ll look at cloud egress fees and egress payments, an area that’s becoming a bigger part of modern cloud operations. ● Karl Paulsen, CPBE & SMPTE fellow, is a retired CTO and a longtime contributor to TV Tech on media technologies, workflows, IP networking and cloud. He can be reached at karl@ivideoserver.tv or at TV Tech.

@tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

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rf technology

ATSC 3.0 at NAB Show Focused on Brazil, Low-Cost Receivers While the industry awaits a 1.0 shutoff date, buzz revolved around Brazil’s TV 3.0 spec, BPS and affordable consumer devices

H

3.0 dongle with the Sony chipset. ere’s a short summary of I was able to get perfect this year’s NAB Show in reception of ATSC 3.0 stations, Las Vegas: Fewer people, including protected content, in smaller booths and not Honolulu, Reno, Nev., and Los much new on the RF and transmisAngeles with just a whip antenna. sion side. However, there was a lot The other dongles had problems of excitement around the launch with KCOP’s Channel 13 signal in of TV 3.0 in Brazil, with some Los Angeles, even with a better products designed specifically for antenna. that market. In addition, there was EXPERTISE One problem that likely apan obvious urgency to complete plies to any device that doesn’t the transition to ATSC 3.0.

DOUG LUNG provide an HDMI output is that In addition to the lack of a the device it is connected to must support defined date for the end of ATSC 1.0, the major AC-4 audio, HEVC video and Widevine Level impediment to an ATSC 3.0 switch is a lack 1 content protection (DRM). It worked great of viewers, due to a relatively small number on my Samsung S24, but not on my recent of compatible TV sets and limited low-cost Lenovo M11 tablet (which has Dolby Atmos options for receiving ATSC 3.0 on existing and Widevine L1, but not AC-4). This redevices. quirement also rules out compatibility with A quick search on walmart.com revealed any Apple device. pages of TV sets, including a “55-inch class” This problem has been recognized and Hisense model for under $200. None show work is underway to support multiple digital ATSC 3.0/NextGen TV capability. A search for rights management (DRM) formats, like “nextgen” gave no broadcast-related results, but a search on “ATSC 3.0” did list the HDHomerun Flex and the ADTH dongle. Set-top boxes or dongles are an option, but reviews indicate that viewers find them complicated to use if they require a separate remote control.

Apple’s FairPlay Streaming, as well as to provide options for devices that do not support AC-4 audio. Ideally, this can be accomplished with firmware updates instead of hardware replacement.

TRANSMISSION REQUIREMENTS While Brazil’s TV 3.0 is based on ATSC 3.0, there are some major differences in transmitter and antenna requirements. TV 3.0 uses MIMO, which splits the signal into horizontally polarized and vertically polarized components, increasing capacity. It requires a dual-polarized antenna with dual feed lines, two individual high-power amplifiers, and a modified exciter. Both Rohde & Schwarz and GatesAir had TV 3.0 transmitters available and Dielectric was showing antennas for TV 3.0.

Another major difference in TV 3.0 compared to U.S. broadcasting is Brazil has opened up new spectrum around 300 MHz for TV, which requires unique antennas. Dielectric was exhibiting its designs on the show floor. Due to

RECEPTION PROGRESS The good news from the ATSC exhibit this year was that the low-cost dongle ($70) from ADTH, along with other low-cost devices, supports reception of stations with content protection and also enables broadcast applications.

When combined with a compatible streaming box, like the Onn. 4K Pro, the ADTH dongle allows a viewer to move between NextGen TV and streaming content with the same remote. I bought one and so far, I have been happy with it.

The dongle’s off-air reception of ATSC 3.0 signals via its Saankhya Labs chipset was better than that of my Airwavz Redzone receiver with the original LG chipset, and even better than my GTMedia HDTVMate ATSC

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KHNL Honoulu’s encrypted signal as received via the KHII-TV ATSC 3.0 lighthouse using the ADTH tuner from Daniel Inouye International Airport.

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rf technology

NEW GEAR AT NAB SHOW Back in the U.S., D2D was showing new firmware/software for its advanced Flex video gateway. Flex can convert an ATSC 1.0 transport stream into an ATSC 3.0 STL-TP output.

The device handles transcoding, scheduler and gateway functions, providing a low-cost (under $10,000) way for an LPTV or translator operator to transmit ATSC 3.0. D2D is also working on a box to receive an ATSC 3.0 signal and retransmit it as ATSC 1.0.

This is more complicated, given that ATSC 3.0’s HEVC compression and modulation provides much greater capacity than ATSC 1.0 and MPEG-2. This will likely require either reducing the resolution of the ATSC 3.0 stream when converting HEVC to MPEG-2 or dropping some program streams.

Avateq showed a line of products to support

the ATSC 3.0 Broadcast Positioning Service (BPS). (I’ll have more on BPS in part two of my NAB Show review, which will look at the Broadcast Engineering and IT Conference sessions). It is difficult to conduct mobile reception studies with ATSC 1.0 due to Doppler and multipath preventing receiver sync.

That isn’t a problem for many ATSC 3.0 configurations, and Avateq showed software that took signal data from the Avateq AVQ-200 receiver and combined it with GPS data to plot signal strength on a map. I had some suggestions on how to improve the map display, which should appear in an update.

Anywave Broadcast was hoping to show its new liquid-cooled, low-to-medium power transmitter at NAB Show, but it didn’t arrive in time. Looking at photos, the design is interesting in that it doesn’t use an outdoor heat exchanger but one incorporated into the transmitter rack. Anywave said liquid cooling is better than air in removing heat from amplifiers.

Even with the liquid-to-air exchanger, fan and pump, the new transmitter is more energy-efficient and much quieter than forceair-only cooling. Anywave also showed its exciter line, which supports both ATSC 1.0 and 3.0. It can be configured as an ATSC 3.0 translator, using either an ATSC 3.0 or ATSC 1.0 input signal.

TRedess updated me on its exciter and

transmitter, which are capable of simultaneously transmitting ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast signals in a manner compliant with ATSC 3.0 standards. Castanet also showed ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast in the ATSC booth (see story, page 17). The system uses time-division multiplexing and ATSC 3.0’s bootstrap to identify segments with ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast content.

The demonstration used all but 10% of the channel capacity for 5G Broadcast. TRedess showed me an application that calculated data capacity and bandwidth for different ratios of ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast time.

As I’ve written before, I have not seen any 5G Broadcast phones, dongles or receivers for sale to the public in the U.S. As with ATSC 3.0, the success of 5G Broadcast in the U.S. will depend on the availability and cost of receivers.

The flexibility of the ATSC 3.0 standard, which allows for interleaving with other standards like 3GPP, presents new possibilities for broadcasters. In my next column, I’ll review sessions covering these opportunities and what broadcasters will have to do to take advantage of them. I’ll also have a short report on the National Translator Association (NTA) conference in Reno. ● As always, comments and questions are welcome. Email me at dlung@transmitter.com.

@tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | May 2026

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© NAB

the dual polarization, each transmitter will require two mask filters in addition to two HPAs, including new designs for the 300 awkward alignmentMHz channels.

While my focus is on RF, Brazil’s TV 3.0 not only requires new antennas, transmitters and exciters, but new baseband gear. Enensys Technologies showed a complete baseband solution, from encoder output through the exciter. Triveni also showed support for TV 3.0 in its Streamscope analyzer and Guidebuilder scheduler/gateway product line.

eye on tech | products and services Lawo Edge One

Telos Alliance Axia Pulsar AOIP Console

Edge One is a new device that provides combined, expandable connectivity and functionality for both video and audio in a compact footprint. It features SMPTE ST2110 native support with a bandwidth of up to 25 Gbps and is equipped with RJ45 ports, including PoE++ and SFP ports. For applications that don’t require a network connection, Edge One matches and surpasses previous still-popular Lawo solutions for audio de-embedding, shuffling and embedding.

One side of the device is equipped with 8x bidirectional HD-BNC connectors for SDI signals that can function as inputs or outputs, and 4x HDMI outputs, two of which can alternatively be used as inputs. SFP ports for MADI I/O, GPI I/Os, an audio interface via USB-C and Sync, Reference and Wordclock connectors are also available. On the other side of the device, three audio interface modules cover a variety of I/O applications:. Users can easily swap audio interface modules for agile utilization scenarios. https://lawo.com

Axia Pulsar is a compact mixing console that supports AoIP and is designed for situations where a hardware console would be preferred but space is limited,. Its main service has eight motorized faders and a touchscreen-based monitor section. The console can be expanded to as many as 16 faders with the optional eight-channel expansion unit that can be joined to the main surface or installed in a split configuration.

The optional, browser-based Axia StudioCore integrated console engine combines the console power supply, a dedicated five-port AoIP network switch, a comprehensive array of inputs and outputs and the Pulsar mixing engine into a single, 2RU rack-mounted package. The Pulsar mixing engine adopts Axia GEN2 technology, first introduced in Quasar Engine 4.0, to deliver the same performance and audio-processing quality as the flagship Quasar XR and SR models. www.telosalliance.com

EVS Choreon

Mavis Mavis Studio

Choreon is a next-generation robotics controller for media production that is part of EVS’s T-Motion solution.

Choreon introduces a unified orchestration layer that brings various robotic systems together under a single intelligent platform, supporting setups that range from compact, single-operator workflows to complex, largescale environments with multiple robots and operators, EVS said.

Choreon represents a major shift in how indoor and outdoor multi­ robot environments are managed. Where operators previously relied on separate interfaces for each device, the platform enables simultaneous control of multiple robotic systems within a single workflow. The platform supports T-Motion’s full robotics portfolio, including PTZ cameras, robotic heads, tracks, elevators, rovers, jibs, gyro systems and the Cablecam for smooth on-air movements, as well as third-party devices for off-air positioning. https://evs.com/na

Mavis Studio is a new live production iPad app that gives creators, broadcasters and production teams a new way to build and deliver professional multicamera content affordably, with a highly portable setup. Mavis Studio combines multicamera video switching, playback, integrated graphics, audio mixing, recording and streaming in a single iPad app. It’s positioned as a portable, mobile-first platform for live video workflows, with Mavis Camera integration, NDI-certified with HX3 support for high-quality IP video workflows, internal recording and streaming output to all popular social platforms, including YouTube, Facebook, Twitch. For custom streaming, RTMP and SRT protocols are also supported.

Mavis Studio’s touch-first interface makes live production feel immediate and intuitive, with interactive multiviews for fast source selection, revealable control panels for extended functionality and support for professional codecs such as Apple ProRes. https://mavis.cloud

OpenDrives OpenDrives Edge

ARRI Omnibar

OpenDrives Edge is a new hybrid cloud-edge performance accelerator product that gives distributed teams reliable, “local-speed” data access to their data from wherever they work— all without the latency, high costs and complexity that comes with managing traditional hybrid workflows or ineffective cloud-only workflows.

OpenDrives Edge provides a bridge between the data that is normally beyond the reach of widely distributed teams working across vast distances and the creative users who need access. However, OpenDrives Edge is not just hybrid edge storage and compute­—it’s a hybrid cloudedge performance accelerator that provides fast data movement and orchestration, delivering local-speed 4K/8K workflows for distributed teams while reducing overall costs. https://opendrives.com

Omnibar is a new compact, battery-powered multicolor LED linear lighting fixture from ARRI built for motion pictures, live entertainment and content creation. Omni­ bar combines full-spectrum output, modular scalability and durable IP65 weather protection for reliable indoor and outdoor use, whether on set, on stage or in a small studio.

Omnibar is available as the 2-foot Omnibar 2 and 4-foot Omnibar 4, each with a black or blue-and-silver housing. Its modular design supports a wide range of users and applications, from an online content creator using the single bar in ARRI’s Creator Set, to a high-end gaffer using dozens of units on a feature film. Daisy-chaining bars is easy, as the Omnibase hub provides a single power and data source, reducing setup time and simplifying cable needs. Up to 12 feet of Omnibar 4 and Omnibar 2 fixtures can be connected in a single daisy chain, with a total of up to 24 feet of bars supported across two or more daisy chains. www.arri.com/en

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eye on tech | products and services Bolin Technology Range

Clear-Com FreeSpeak Cell

Bolin Technology has introduced Range, which it bills as the first PTZR camera built to function as an anywhere camera, allowing production teams to use the same camera across both indoor and outdoor environments.

While most outdoor cameras sacrifice the size and usability expected from indoor production systems, Bolin said, Range maintains the form factor and visual presence of a professional indoor PTZ while adding the durability required for outdoor operation. With 4K60 video and 25x zoom powered by a 1/1.8-inch Sony sensor, Range is suited for applications ranging from studios and performing arts venues to sports production and live events. Its IP65 rating, concealed rain wiper and operating range from -40 C to 60 C allow the camera to operate reliably in changing weather conditions. https://bolintechnology.com

FreeSpeak Cell is a new cellular-based wireless intercom system that uses LTE and 5G infrastructure to support large-scale production communications. It is designed to operate over public and private LTE and 5G networks, enabling full-duplex wireless intercom across wide areas without relying on radio frequency coordination. FreeSpeak Cell addresses increasing congestion in UHF, DECT and Wi-Fi bands, particularly in large venues and high-density live event environments.

Unlike traditional wireless intercom systems constrained by local spectrum and physical coverage boundaries, FreeSpeak Cell leverages cellular networks to support communications across much larger areas with fewer on‑site components. It supports deployments of 100 or more beltpacks and can scale to hundreds of users depending on network configuration. Because it operates over LTE and 5G, coverage can extend beyond a single building or compound. https://clearcom.com

swXtch.io swXtch.ai/swXtch AI Router

Haivision Falkon X4

swXtch.io has announced a new brand, swXtch.ai, and the swXtch AI Router, a platform that brings AI into live media production through a simple chat-driven interface. The AI Router acts as a virtual broadcast engineer by translating operator intent into fully deployed, production-ready AI pipelines without requiring AI or networking expertise. The platform integrates with Microsoft Fabric and NVIDIA AI infrastructure to connect enterprise data and real-time AI inference directly into live workflows.

In launching the new brand and production, swXtch.io noted that the gap between AI experimentation and production deployment remains the central challenge for media organizations and that the AI Router is designed to solve that challenge. Using a natural language prompt, operators can route live audio and video from on-premises or cloud environments into AI models from any provider and deliver processed outputs globally in the formats their workflows require. www.swxtch.io

Falkon X4 is the newest addition to Haivision’s Falkon family of 5G mobile video transmitters.

Purpose-built for remote production of live sports and news, Falkon X4 delivers robust, uninterrupted connectivity, even in congested network environments, making it the ideal solution for capturing content with dynamic camera angles from virtually any location.

Falkon X4’s four-modem architecture, each with 2x2 MIMO for eight total cellular antennas, is designed to provide exceptional connectivity, throughput stability and multinetwork resilience. When operating on private 5G networks, Falkon X4 delivers end-to-end ultralow latency, a critical requirement for live sports productions that require interactivity and responsiveness. Haivision’s advanced SST technology also enables bonding 5G, 4G, Wi-Fi, Ethernet and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite connections, ensuring continuous, reliable transmission even in the most challenging environments. www.haivision.com

MediaProxy AI Tools for LogServer

wTVision R³ Engine on macOS

Mediaproxy has introduced a new suite of AI-powered tools integrated into the company’s LogServer compliance logging and analysis platform. The feature set is based on advanced machine-learning models that can automatically detect logos and visual identifiers associated with companies and products. It allows customers to gain deeper insights into brand exposure and sponsorship performance while also ensuring the accuracy and integrity of the digital information connected to the content or production does not change during distribution.

Key to the feature is an AI-driven detection engine that identifies brands as they appear across multiple channels and regions. Broadcasters can now streamline reporting and reduce manual reviewing and ensure more comprehensive compliance coverage. The solution scales effortlessly and seamlessly to support high-volume environments where rapid, reliable analysis is essential. www.mediaproxy.com

wTVision has announced that its R³ Engine now runs natively on macOS, making it the first real-time on-air graphics rendering engine running natively on macOS and extending high-performance real-time graphics into Mac-based production environments. Developed as a native macOS implementation leveraging Apple Metal, the R³ Engine macOS edition is designed to operate alongside Macnica’s MEP100 SmartNIC 2110 I/O, enabling SMPTE ST 2110 connectivity within software-driven environments. Together, these technologies form a flexible Mac-based ecosystem supporting distributed live production architectures built on standard compute platforms.

By combining Apple’s graphics framework, broadcast-grade media I/O and R³ Engine running natively on macOS, wTVision brings the Apple ecosystem into the center of modern live production. www.wtvision.com @tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

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equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment

Big Lift Brings Dielectric Antennas to the Top of Chicago’s Willis Tower

The original triple-stack system dated back to the industry’s digital transition in the late 1990s. It served Chicago viewers well for more than two decades, but evolving operational requirements and long-term infrastructure planning made it time for an upgrade. The new configuration includes a Dielectric TFU double-stacked slot antenna system for WLSTV and WFLD-TV, along with a separate single-slot antenna UHF installation for WMAQ-TV. Both systems feature vertically polarized design elements to improve building penetration.

Projects of this scale begin long before anything leaves the ground. Planning alone took roughly one year and involved structural analysis, engineering

reviews, fabrication work, Federal Aviation Administration and Federal Communications Commission coordination, city approvals and extensive lift planning. On a structure as prominent as Willis Tower, every component must meet rigorous engineering and Chicago building code requirements. Multiple engineering teams and thirdparty reviewers evaluated every detail to ensure the systems would meet performance expectations for decades to come.

Before installation could begin, we first had to remove the existing 18,500-pound triplestack antenna system. Using Helicopter Express’ heavy-lift aircraft, we dismantled the legacy system into sections and safely lowered it from the tower. Preparation work included replacing aging hardware with new bolts ahead of the lift to ensure smooth field operations during the critical removal window.

The replacement systems required substantial site preparation as well. We removed and replaced the original top plate assembly atop the tower with a newly engineered structure designed to current standards.

That alone required a separate helicopter lift and additional reinforcement work beneath the mounting structure to properly tie everything into the tower.

Once the site was prepared, the real installation work began. The WMAQ-TV installation included a massive, fabricated transition section—what we refer to as the “wedding cake”—which serves as the primary support structure for the antenna above it. We also installed rigid transmission line systems to extend multiple floors down into the transmission facilities below.

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USER REPORT

By Jim Vogel President and Owner Installation Services

CHICAGO—For more than four decades, Installation Services has been synonymous with RF atop Chicago’s Willis Tower.

From early collaboration with the late and esteemed broadcast engineer Jeremy Ruck to coordinating antenna systems and transmission lines to helicopter lifts and structural upgrades, our team has worked on nearly every major broadcast installation on the building since the 1980s.

Most recently, we completed one of the most complex projects in the tower’s history: replacing an aging Dielectric triple-stack antenna system with two new UHF systems serving WLS-TV, WFLD-TV and WMAQ-TV.

Credit: Installation Services

THE IMPORTANCE OF ADVANCED PLANNING

June 2026 | www.tvtech.com |

Lifting the new Dielectric Antennas into place involved closing more than a dozen city streets and was one of the project’s most demanding aspects.

THE BIG LIFT Coordinating the helicopter lifts is one of the most demanding aspects of projects like this. We shut down more than a dozen city streets, halted pedestrian traffic and coordinated with dozens of workers, engineers and public safety personnel. During lift operations, virtually every major TV and FM station on the building had to temporarily power down. It’s an enormous logistical undertaking that started before sunrise and requires precision from everyone involved.

Once the antennas were installed, the work shifted toward final optimization. Our crews spent weeks torquing hardware, verifying structural integrity and preparing the RF systems for operation. Third-party inspectors reviewed the completed work, after which transmission lines were connected and tuned.

Dielectric engineers then

performed system sweeps and final RF optimization to ensure peak performance across the entire transmission system.

These are extremely highpower broadcast facilities serving one of the nation’s largest television markets, so every detail matters. Seeing the new Dielectric systems successfully installed and operating atop Willis Tower is something that brings tremendous pride to our entire team. Projects like this remind you how much planning, engineering and teamwork go into keeping over-the-air television operating reliably for millions of viewers every day. ● Jim Vogel joined Installation Services in 2001 and took ownership of the company in 2012. He can be reached at jvogel@installationservices.com.

For more information, visit www.dielectric.com.

equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment buyers briefs MultiDyne VersaFrame Series RESTful API Dejero Titan Command Featuring three independent 5G modems, integrated antennas and GPS with Dejero Smart Blending Technology, Titan Command delivers unmatched network resilience for command centers, emergency operations, remote or mobile operations and critical infrastructure.

Purpose-built for extreme environments and certified for priority networks, Dejero TITAN Command combines enterprise-grade performance with military-grade reliability.

This compact yet powerful platform ensures superior uptime for public safety agencies, government facilities and enterprise deployments that require absolute connectivity confidence, the company said. In addition to delivering unprecedented network reliability, it offers intelligent packet-level optimization and is engineered to operate from -40° C to 70° C (-40° F to 158° F), in disaster zones, remote locations and harsh industrial environments. Built today for tomorrow’s mission-critical demands, its software-defined architecture is ready for 5G Advanced, 6G migration and emerging CBRS capabilities. www.dejero.com

GatesAir Maxiva XTK Exciter

The VF-9100 is the latest model from MultiDyne’s VersaFrame Series for high-density signal transport, wavelength shifting and format flexibility.

Like its predecessor, the VF-9100 supports high-density signal multiplexing, enabling users to transport up to 18 signals over a single fiber—or 36 signals in dual configurations—while maintaining full flexibility across SDI and IP workflows.

A new hardware controller introduces RESTful API support for seamless integration with modern network-management and control systems.

Engineers can now monitor status, manage configurations and automate control through a single interface, regardless of vendor, making the VF-9100 an ideal choice in IP-based environments. The VF-9100 also introduces new modular cards for audio, serial data, GPIO and genlock/timecode, expanding its role as a comprehensive signal transport platform. www.multidyne.com

GatesAir’s Maxiva XTK features a modern FPGA-based platform that reduces the costs of achieving efficient ATSC 3.0 broadcasting through the exciter. Now shipping, the 1RU exciter is a fully productized version of the company’s ATSC 3.0 modulation software introduced at the 2025 NAB Show.

The Maxiva XTK comes standard in GatesAir’s latest high-efficiency TV transmitter models, including the UATK-OP and UATK low-power UHF series announced earlier this year. In its now-productized form, the XTK also extends ATSC 3.0 capability to GatesAir’s VATK-OP and VATK low-power VHF transmitters.

As with the XTK, the exciter’s software-defined architecture optimizes signal performance and accelerates the transition between digital standards through firmware updates in the field. www.gatesair.com

ERI ALP Series UHF Television Antenna ERI ALP Series II antennas deliver the versatility, power and reliability that are the keys to success in today’s competitive broadcast marketplace. For full-power stations transitioning to DTV, ALP antennas offer field-proven solutions. Broadcasters with medium power requirements can benefit from this antenna’s light weight, low wind loads and easy installation, which provides reductions in installation time and costs.

For low-power television (LPTV) stations the new, higher power handling capabilities of the ALP UHF antennas make them the ideal choice for the higher ERPs allowed for LPTV stations and TV translator facilities. ALP antennas offer the quality and performance needed to improve coverage and maintain competitiveness in today’s broadcast marketplace. Other key features include: all CCIR bands IV/V channels available; lightweight/low wind load; model for horizontal, circular and elliptical polarization; power ratings up to 20 kW average power; and more. www.eriinc.com

Rohde & Schwarz R&S BroadcastShield R&S BroadcastShield, launched at the 2026 NAB Show, is a specialized service designed to meet the rigorous demands of U.S. broadcast network operators. At its core, BroadcastShield is a highly secure transmitter monitoring service that gives broadcasters real-time access to experienced Rohde & Schwarz system engineers. The service provides continuous oversight of a transmitter network, utilizing local support centers for the early identification of potential issues. By moving away from reactive “break-fix” scenarios to a preventative maintenance model, operators can ensure the highest possible uptime for broadcast operations with more stable, planned workflows.

The R&S Secure Application Gateway manages connectivity while maintaining the highest IP security standards to ensure the security, integrity and confidentiality of transmitter data. Integrating secure access allows Rohde & Schwarz transmitter experts to make remote repairs or coordinate the rapid dispatch of spare parts through the global Rohde & Schwarz network, in line with clearly defined service-level agreements (SLAs) for consistent and fast response times. www.rohde-schwarz.com @tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

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equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment

Haivision Delivers Live Remote Rugby Coverage From Dubai to Manchester USER REPORT

By Colin McKevitt Managing Director Badger & Combes

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates— At Badger & Combes, we specialize in delivering high-quality live production for sports and broadcast, focusing on scalable, remote workflows that support complex, multilocation events.

Our team regularly works on fast-paced productions where reliability, flexibility and efficiency are critical to success.

One example of that is the Dubai Rugby Sevens, an international tournament featuring top men’s and women’s teams from around the world. During the 2025 event (Nov. 28-30), 664 competitive matches were played across a large multisport venue.

Every game was captured and streamed live on YouTube, the Dubai Sevens official website and the official event app.

Remotely producing a live global sporting event on the scale of the Dubai Rugby Sevens is no small feat. With hundreds of matches played across multiple locations, a production hub thousands of miles from the venue and zero tolerance for downtime, delivering uninterrupted live coverage to a global audience is a major challenge.

For the 2025 tournament, we took on the challenge of live­ streaming every single match using a fully remote production workflow built for seamless worldwide distribution.

A Haivision-powered workflow, designed for high scalability, efficiency and rock-solid reliabil-

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June 2026 | www.tvtech.com |

gineering station, ingesting feeds from additional pitches alongside an RF camera, enabling real-time bidirectional communication between teams in Dubai and Manchester.

Across the remaining pitches, we deployed seven Haivision Air mobile transmitters and a Falkon X2 transmitter at individual camera positions, providing reliable, low-latency live video contribution from each game, along with return feeds so engineers could monitor activity across all pitches.

A Haivision Air unit was also

Havision’s contribution and workflow solutions were used to produce and stream hundreds of matches during the Dubai Rugby Sevens.

videostreaming over unpredictable networks, enabled the live production to be driven from a central hub in Manchester, England, while postproduction infrastructure operated live in Dubai.

On-site in Dubai, we deployed 12 cameras connected to a range of Haivision mobile video transmitters across eight pitch locations. The main stadium was supported by a Haivision Pro460 mobile transmitter, handling multiple camera feeds through its multiview feature. A second Pro460 was positioned at the en-

LIVESTREAMING EVERY MATCH

Credit:Badger & Combes

ity, formed the backbone of our production. With Haivision’s contribution solutions and the SRT (Secure Reliable Transport) protocol, we delivered a resilient, continent-spanning broadcast network built to meet the intense demands of live, fast-paced sports.

Rather than deploying a largescale broadcast setup at the venue, we relied on a flexible and lightweight contribution model using Haivision live video contribution solutions powered by SRT, a protocol developed by Haivision for low-latency, secure and reliable

used to support audio communications and file transfer. Our team in Manchester communicated directly with the on-site team in Dubai through the Air, allowing roaming crew members to coordinate production from over 3,000 miles away. This same infrastructure supported file transfer, consolidating workflows into a unified Haivision ecosystem.

All camera feeds were sent over the internet using SRT with latency as low as 1.5 seconds, arriving at Haivision StreamHub receivers in Manchester. From

there, feeds were sent to EVS for replay, graphics, and postproduction before delivery to digital platforms.

The system proved highly reliable. Every incoming feed was recorded as it arrived, creating a backup archive of all camera footage for post-event use. The flexibility of the Haivision solutions allowed full visibility of the entire production across both locations.

REALLY REMOTE WORKFLOWS Despite the distance between Dubai and Manchester, the camera-to-production workflow enabled effective live switching, replay and real-time communication across continents.

What would once have required large crews and significant onsite infrastructure was achieved through a centralized workflow built on Haivision technology and SRT. By the end of the weekend, we successfully delivered live coverage of all 664 matches with no major technical issues, using a production footprint small enough to fit into just three cases.

The equipment was lightweight, easy to deploy and highly cost-effective, enabling us to deliver fullscale production with a minimal on-site footprint and significantly reduced operational costs. ● Colin McKevitt is the managing director of Badger & Combes, a production company specializing in live sports and remote broadcast workflows. With extensive experience delivering large-scale international events, he leads the company’s technical and operational strategy, focusing on scalable, efficient and reliable live-production solutions. He can be reached at colin@bcombes.com.

More information is available at www.haivision.com

equipment guide | transmitters & rf equipment buyers briefs LiveU LU900q The LU900Q is designed to redefine what’s possible in live field transmission. Powered by LiveU IQ (LIQ), offering AI-driven cellular operator switching with integrated eSIMs and optimized 5G modems with a MIMO antenna array, it delivers reliable transmission from even the most challenging locations. The 2026 Milan-Cortina Winter Olympics proved its potential at scale: it achieved over 36% higher average bitrates and consistent 4K and HDR coverage.

Designed as a modular production unit, the LU900Q seamlessly integrates with SDI, HDMI and IP production equipment, from ENG cameras and PTZ systems to drones and beyond. The unit supports high-end productions delivering HD/4K resolution over 10-bit HDR 4:2:2 encoding, with up to 32 audio channels and dual camera input/output. www.liveu.tv

Vislink CLIQ With a compact design, uncompromising RF power and engineered for 4K UHD, Vislink bills CLIQ as a next-generation, ultra-compact RF wireless camera transmitter designed for the toughest live broadcast and public-safety environments.

Delivering pristine 4K UHD or dual HD video with ultralow latency, CLIQ allows users to capture the most dynamic angles and transmit with total confidence.

Whether mounted on a camera, drone, vehicle or body-worn rig, its tiny form factor, advanced HEVC compression and wideband frequency agility make it the go-anywhere choice for mission-critical video.

Key features include: compact, flexible design; single 4K or dual HD feeds; broadcast-quality HEVC compression; 10-bit 4:2:2 encoding, ultralow latency and high frame rates; wide frequency agility operating across 1.4–7.5 GHz (with licenses) to adapt to different environments and regulatory requirements; COFDM modulation, ensuring resilient, reliable performance even in congested RF conditions; and seamless remote control. www.vislink.com

TVU Networks MediaMesh TVU MediaMesh is a cloud-first, modular infrastructure for live media that couples asynchronous microservices with a remote shared memory fabric, enabling high-performance, low-latency media transport and processing. It removes the biggest obstacle to cloud adoption by making live signals instantly accessible anywhere, as easily as opening a shared file. This gives teams the freedom to produce from anywhere, using the tools they want without worrying about the back end.

As the foundation that powers TVU’s SaaS applications for the world’s largest live events—from routing and AI indexing to production and playout—MediaMesh enables customers and partners to build, innovate and shape the future of live production. Whether building the next generation of live apps, running remote production or uniting multiple vendors into one workflow, MediaMesh provides the infrastructure to move faster and maximize existing resources. www.tvunetworks.com

Company Name Product Body www.website

@tvtech.bsky.social | www.tvtech.com | June 2026

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people on the move For possible inclusion, send information to tvtechnology@futurenet.com with People News in the subject line.

DANG LY

BILL VERNON

BEN ARDEN

CARRIE HEALEY

Operative

Draper Media

NAB

NAB

Operative has named Dang Ly chief product officer. Ly, former senior vice president and CTO at Universal Destinations & Experiences, is tasked with leading Operative’s product strategy and road map across a portfolio that includes AOS, Operative.One, Adeline AI and STAQ; deepening its dataunification capabilities; expanding its omnichannel intelligence layer; and accelerating AI integration across its product suite.

Bill Vernon has been named president of Draper Media, a broadcast group that owns seven TV stations and 12 radio stations across the Delmarva Peninsula region of Delaware and Maryland. Vernon had served as vice president of the company since December 2024. Previously, he was general manager of the Delmarva Sports Network. He later served as station manager, adding oversight of Draper’s radio group to his duties.

Ben Arden, formerly special counsel in the Federal Communications Commission’s Media Bureau, has joined the National Association of Broadcasters as senior vice president and deputy general counsel.

Arden will lead NAB’s policy and legal advocacy before the FCC, advocating broadcasters’ priorities.

He will report to Rick Kaplan, NAB chief legal officer and executive vice president of legal and regulatory affairs.

Carrie Healey has joined the National Association of Broadcasters as vice president of communications, serving as primary spokesperson and media relations strategist to advance broadcasters’ policy priorities. She comes from public affairs firm Purple Strategies, where she was a client engagement lead, and is a former senior director of external communications and media relations for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

BRIAN GRAHN BEN TURNWELL

Clear-Com

Clear-Com has named two new managers for its international sales team. Brian Grahn, who joined the intercom and communications system provider in 2022, has been appointed market outreach manager, Americas. Formerly regional sales manager, Southwest U.S., Grahn will work across sales, marketing and product management and engineering teams to support system design conversations, refine messaging and help translate real-world workflows into future product direction across such markets as themed entertainment and cruise lines. Ben Turnwell has been tapped as business development manager across the live production sector in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA). He brings to the company more than a decade of experience in live sound, system design and technical sales. Turnwell will also work closely with Clear-Com’s internal teams to ensure alignment on commercial strategy, product capabilities and customer expectations.

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@tvtech.bsky.social

CHRISTIAN SIEBENECK

ANDREA CUMMIS

PMM

ASG

Christian Siebeneck has joined Public Media Managenent as vice president, technology and innovation, tasked with advancing the adoption of its PMM Cloud and PMM Classic Joint Master Control services. Most recently CTO at Twin Cities Public Television in St. Paul, Minn., Siebeneck has also worked as chief technologist at Ideastream Public Media in Cleveland and as an adviser on PBS’s Enterprise Technology Committee.

Andrea (Andy) Cummis has joined Advanced Systems Group as vice president of systems design and engineering. Cummis, the first woman to serve as president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers’ national board, has also served as senior vice president of engineering and operations for Oxygen Media during the cable network’s launch and was the founder of a broadcast integration firm in New Jersey.

9000