1. ›The rapidly progressing transformation of media business
was the main focus of the first executive roundtable discus-
sion of 2014, hosted by the MEDIEN BULLETIN magazine
together with Avid Technology. The discussion concerned intel-
ligent, cost saving processes and efficient collaboration for pro-
gram production. Today the motto for most media companies is
“Create once, repurpose many”. The goal is the improved
monetization of media content in the digital environment, which
is undergoing increasing diversification in terms of distribution
channels and media platforms. Content distribution is beco-
ming more and more difficult and complex. In light of this sce-
nario, it is now more important than ever for all market forces to
find shared solutions. For this purpose, MEDIEN BULLETIN is
providing an open platform for the industry, with its executive
roundtable discussions. On February 20, management repre-
sentatives of public service and private broadcasting, from the
moving image platform, distribution and consulting areas, were
invited to the editorial offices of MEDIEN BULLETIN (see list of
participants at the end of the article).
Avid Technology used the event to present its Avid Everywhere
market initiative, which has the goal of employing enhanced
collaboration to connect creative media producers as well as
media organizations better, more efficiently and more profitably
with their target groups. In addition, the Avid Customer Asso-
ciation was founded at the 2013 International Broadcasting
Convention (IBC). This initiative aims to provide significant
momentum in the area of strategic industry issues, and to pro-
mote cooperation between opinion leaders and creative visio-
naries. In close collaboration with its customers from the
broadcasting, creative and media sectors, through its Custo-
mer Association, Avid wishes to promote strategic approaches
and innovative technologies, in order to provide solutions for
the most important challenges of the media industry. At the
MEDIEN BULLETIN executive roundtable discussion, Avid was
represented by Dr. Christopher Brennan, Managing Director for
the regions Central and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and
Turkey; Dr. Peter Thomas, Senior Director and Chief Solutions
Architect; and Jochen Pielage, Senior Director of Product
Development.
Dr. Marcus Hochhaus, Managing Director of Goldmedia Con-
sulting Munich, gave a presentation to introduce the topic. He
outlined previous technological leaps in the media world as well
as development scenarios of disruptive innovations. He also
ventured to provide an outlook on future developments, and
considered the questions: What are the driving elements for the
future of media? What opportunities for added value will arise?
Dr. Hochhaus urged discussion participants to adapt quickly
and flexibly to changing market conditions, with new business
models, and argued that to wait and see is the wrong
approach. In the absence of rapid adaptation, television organi-
zations must run the risk of being overtaken and left behind by
new market players such as Netflix, Amazon and Google.
It is likely that new technologies will more than shake up
today’s markets by gaining market relevance at an increasing
pace, and replacing previous techno-
logies. This will place special
demands on market players. Dr.
Hochhaus stated: “Only those who
adapt the fastest will survive. The key
advice that we media organizations
always give is therefore: New deve-
lopments will take place with or wit-
hout you. It is better to cannibalize
your own business, before this is
done by others.”
28 MEDIENBULLETIN 2.2014
ON FEBRUARY 20, MEDIEN BULLETIN AND AVID
TECHNOLOGY HELD AN EXECUTIVE ROUNDTABLE
Efficiency through
David Schartner and Roman Steuer
Dr. Christopher Brennan
3. 30 MEDIENBULLETIN 2.2014
video servers. Ultimately, in order to set up an
overall solution, it is necessary to carry out an
incredible amount of integration work and repea-
tedly construct new solutions. This is a waste of
time for us, and a waste of money for customers.
We would like to design such projects more
effectively, so that in a competitive situation we
could then realize a project faster and more effi-
ciently, at a lower cost. This would enable all of
us to execute more projects in the same time
frame, thus increasing turnover.” The motivation
for the Avid initiative is the endeavor to work
together with all market players to overcome the
central problems of integration work, and to simplify the value
chain and collaboration among people, so as to ensure that
money can be earned with the materials that have been crea-
ted.
Avid also combines the Avid Everywhere initiative with the intro-
duction of a platform on which different producers could use
iterative technologies, in order to concentrate more intensively
on the development of applications with specific added value.
This would be better for value creation. Greater flexibility and
functioning tools would create additional advantages.
In the light of his earlier work in the IT industry, Avid Managing
Director Dr. Christopher Brennan stated, “In those days we
also had these discussions about open standards, middleware
and common platforms. In the IT area this change occurred
long ago. We also need this – urgently – in the broadcasting
sector.”
MANY SIMILARITIES
At the MEDIEN BULLETIN executive roundtable discussion, it
was ultimately evident that although the organizations repre-
sented by the participants are concerned with different tasks
and objectives, they are nevertheless confronted with more or
less similar problems and workflow hindrances. All the partici-
pants emphasized the importance of open platforms and com-
mon standards. However, it also repeatedly became clear that
standardization processes usually take much too long, and
before they are concluded they are often already confronted
with entirely new developments. In other words, anyone who
waits for standards will have difficulty bringing new services or
channels quickly and flexibly onto the market. “I value stan-
dards highly, but they should be coordinated by a neutral par-
ty,” explained Mido Fayad, Director of Broadcast Operations of
the Cologne Broadcasting Center (CBC), with regard to Avid’s
platform proposal. Although today there are many standards for
codecs, and file and container formats, at CBC there is a daily
struggle with these. “Everyone at this table has surely had the
same experience,” he said, “even if you decide on a format, a
codec, a container, and the simplest profile, nevertheless it
takes years, and manufacturers continue to interpret these
standards differently.” For CBC this is still one of the greatest
problems. In Fayad’s view: “It is not becoming easier. In fact,
we are constantly trying to catch up with developments.”
Dr.-Ing. Rainer Schäfer, General Manager of Television at the
Broadcast Technology Institute (IRT), stated: “I like the idea of a
common platform. However, there are still unanswered questi-
ons. We are also struggling with many different standards in the
consumer sector, and are not in a position to combine them.
Providers bring new standards and devices onto the market so
quickly that one cannot keep up with them, in either the pro-
duction or distribution area. Another important question is:
Who will perform integration work in the future, the user or the
manufacturer? After all, here it is a matter of money.” Dr. Tho-
mas replied: “It is very valuable for all media companies to have
inhouse integration expertise. These capabilities must be re-
established.” Dr. Schäfer pointed out that in the case of new
technologies and ser-
vices, until now, speed
and flexibility have
been the primary con-
siderations. “It is often
easier to carry out
integration work by
starting with a quick
solution.
Such solutions have
increased, and are
Critical questions concerning Avid’s platform idea
From the left: Peter Thomas, Jochen Pielage, Christopher Brennan, David Schartner Constructive discussion at the first MEDIEN BULLETIN
Dr. Marcus Hochhaus
4. BUSINESS / ROUNDTABLE z
being offered by a growing number of small companies. Many
of these have already disappeared from the market, and others
have migrated. I do not wish to evaluate this in a negative way
at all, or to say that we must get away from such an approach.
Ultimately we must always see what solution is faster and what
the lifespan of the system will be. By now everyone is familiar
with the disadvantages of the complex complete systems that
exist today, and knows that these are often very difficult to
maintain and that the system integrators often can no longer do
the work involved to attend to various customer requests simul-
taneously.” In Dr. Schäfer’s view, of course standardized plat-
forms are very desirable, but introducing them requires too
much time. Quick solutions are often easier to execute. “And if
this has greater advantages overall, then that is simply the way
it is. In this case no platform initiative is required. However, if
we find that the opposite is true, and that there are areas of
application here where such an approach definitely has advan-
tages, where we can implement our installations on time, in
order to generate added value for all users, then this is where
the focus should be.”
Dr. Schäfer pointed out that there are already many other
approaches to the open specification of interfaces. “Here too
we must ask ourselves whether these interfaces fulfill all of the
requirements that will perhaps arise. I think not. It is a great
challenge to define interfaces that are capable of development,
that also give producers the opportunity to provide added
benefits relative to
competitors, but that
nevertheless are not
once again proprieta-
ry solutions. It is diffi-
cult to find the right
middle course here.”
Roman Steuer of
Sky Sport News HD
reported the advan-
tages that Sky
Deutschland was able to realize with Sky News
Sport HD, a completely automated broadcaster
with highly efficient workflows. However, he con-
ceded that even in the case of the presently exis-
ting good structures, it is not always possible to
distribute news items over various channels and
platforms without problems. “Video production
itself, including editing and graphics, is easy to
achieve. However, it is difficult to make the items
from the newsroom accessible to our users on all
platforms, when we wish to do so without major
additional steps, and preferably with the same
personnel,” he explained. According to Michael
Eberhard, Head of Technology and Production of SWR, with
the construction of the SWR broadcasting center in Stuttgart,
SWR has also benefited from the possibility of being able to set
up entirely new technological structures in order to realize tri-
media production processes. “Today our work is completely
file-based, however of course we also deal on a daily basis with
performance and editing problems, or with corrupt files,” he
reported, adding: “We are having to change processes radically
in order to work more economically and efficiently.” Here it is
particularly important to involve the employees concerned. This
has succeeded well at SWR so far. “We are also fighting inten-
sively for the standardization of technologies,” stressed Eber-
hard.
ZDF Production Director Dr. Andreas Bereczky reported on
the MINT IT platform. ZDF is working on introducing the plat-
form across the broadcasting facility. “The purpose of MINT is
to ensure that all content which arrives at the broadcaster can
immediately be made available to all editors. Technically this is
not a big problem, but it is a problem to place the system in the
editorial offices.” The platform has already been successfully
set up in the areas of current events and sports in Mainz. Con-
necting to other studios and editorial offices lies ahead. The
close collaboration of the IT and production technology areas
will also be further intensified. Dr. Bereczky is a founding mem-
ber on the Executive Board of the Avid Customer Association.
He explains his involvement as follows: “We are one of Avid’s
largest customers in Europe. Over the past 20 years we have
already invested a great deal of money in the solutions of the
company.
31MEDIENBULLETIN 2.2014
Wilfried Wüst
executive roundtable this year
Dr. Martin Emele, Sophie Lersch
5. MEDIENBULLETIN 2.2014
In my opinion it is
important for large
customers to enter into
closer cooperation with
suppliers.” It is not
unusual for companies
to do this. Dr. Bereczky
continued: “I anticipate
two things from this:
One is improved com-
munication which leads
to Avid giving greater
consideration to the requirements of its major customers, and
the other of course is enhanced networking with other Avid
customers.” David Schartner of Laola.1 explained that his
company must now handle the preparation and playout of con-
tent for 30 to 40 platforms. “Here the difficulties are associated
not with the technical systems or editing facilities, but rather
with the management, distribution and contribution of large
amounts of content.” It is a considerable challenge to combine
the metadata with the various formats.
Sophie Lersch of SES Platform Services has a similar view.
Recently the playout company has also been increasingly offe-
ring Internet services in the areas of streaming and video on
demand (VoD), services driven by customers, as Lersch
emphasized. Here Media Archive is used, a media asset
management system of the Blue Order company that was taken
over by Avid at the beginning of 2010. “We are in a position to
create added value for our customers, because we only have to
deal once with the specifications of the requested streaming
formats or devices, and we can then use the results for all cus-
tomers,” stressed Lersch. In the video on demand area, today
there are around 50 specifications. Since the file formats and
metadata sets are often different, constant repackaging is
required for delivery. “For this reason, together with a partner
we have now built a platform – with the working title VoD Mana-
ger – which we offer to our customers for material uploading,”
reported Lersch. She also stressed: “Naturally I would like to
save our engineers the trouble, by having a provider supply me
with a machine that can deliver any desired format.”
Wilfried Wüst of Deutsche Telekom foresees ongoing expansi-
on of the diversity of formats. “Market fragmentation is conti-
nuing. New players will enter the market, and to a certain
extent we will experience a drop in prices. The market require-
ments must lead to increased efficiency,” he commented. The
standardization required for this is very important. Wüst conti-
nued: “However, like Rainer Schäfer, I ask myself to what extent
the time factor plays a role here. In the media industry today,
less attention is being paid to standardization. Instead, new
services are simply being generated. However, of these, only a
few will be successful, as has already been seen in the music
industry with music streaming services,” he stated.
CAUTIOUS RESERVATIONS
Some round table participants evaluated the Avid Customer
Association with cautious reservations. It became clear that
they did not wish to be dependent upon individual manufactu-
rers.
Although Dr. Martin Emele welcomed the endeavor to achieve
closer collaboration, he also explained: “We are proceeding
more via the market, and are attempting to create processes
that make us less dependent on suppliers. I also do not foresee
a single big solution, but rather solutions that are in competition
with one another.” In addition, the Managing Director of ProSie-
benSat.1 Production sees a trend
toward still greater diversification in
technological developments. “This
applies particularly if we go in the
direction of low-res editing and consu-
mer applications,” he said. Today Pro-
SiebenSat.1 Production has around
400 employees, but serves almost twi-
ce as many broadcasters and other
platforms as in earlier times, when the-
re were 1,000 employees. “This also
Michael Eberhard (SWR) and Christel Jaeckel (Avid)
Bavarian breakfast preceding the discussion: Dr. Christopher Brennan, Wilfried Wüst,
Dr. Andreas Bereczky
32
From the left: P. Thomas, D. Schartner, M. Fayad, M. Emele, A. Bereczky, W. Wüst
6. illustrates the clear trend toward smart production. At ProSie-
benSat.1 we have been concerned with this issue for at least
the past ten years,” he emphasized. However, he likewise poin-
ted out: “For us smart production is first and foremost a pro-
cess, and not so much a technology issue.” Before calling for
technology, one should look at the associated processes. This
is the only way to meet the constantly changing requirements
efficiently. When new solutions are introduced, it is often much
more important to focus on time-to-market factors than on
questions of standards.
With regard to the Avid Customer Association, Fayad was also
of the opinion: “If it tends in the direction of dependence, then I
say no.”
Jochen Pielage attempted to allay these concerns. “We are
also occupied with questions of standards, and would like to
know which issues are the most crucial,” he explained. Avid is
well aware that companies themselves cannot prescribe new
standards for the industry. In this respect, Avid has completely
changed. “We have been talking about openness for years.
Now we will finally start to deliver,” he stressed.
The Avid Customer Association provides a clear political signal
for this, and the Avid Everywhere platform is the technical
basis. It functions not only with Avid products but also with all
competing products. Moreover, this was also an important
requirement in the case of the ZDF pro-
ject MINT, in which Avid solutions play
a central role. “In principle, Avid’s plat-
form is constructed so that all compe-
ting products can run on it. Naturally
we would also like to place our own
products, however of course we under-
stand that a customer who has a non-
Avid product will not immediately give it
up to change to our platform. Therefore
we implement the platform purely as a
communication plat-
form, without a core
system, so that Avid
products can be put in
place as modules, or
other products such as
a solutions4media or
ANNOVA news system
can be used. That is
the goal of the Avid
Everywhere strategy,”
emphasized Dr. Tho-
mas likewise. In contrast to many other companies, Avid has a
very large installed system base worldwide. For this reason alo-
ne, there is a tendency for other systems to need to interact
with Avid products. These circumstances naturally lead to
development toward a common platform and closer collaborati-
on. We are therefore anticipating that the Avid initiative will gain
momentum. “We know what we are talking about, because over
the past 25 years, our company has grown in this market. With
our solutions we serve a wide range of areas and forms of pro-
duction, and thus have a relatively broad understanding of the
workflow processes that exist in the broadcasting industry. This
also enables us to construct a complete solution,” emphasized
Dr. Thomas.
However, for Avid this approach is associated with considera-
ble investment. More than half of the Avid development team is
currently involved with work on the new platform. Pielage said
that the new CEO, Louis Hernandez Jr., has nevertheless clear-
ly determined the strategy, described in poker as “all in”.
❮Eckhard Eckstein
BUSINESS / ROUNDTABLE z
33MEDIENBULLETIN 2.2014
Sophie Lersch, Dr. Peter Thomas, Dr. Andreas Bereczky, David Schartner
Roman Steuer, Mido Fayad, Martin Emele, Michael Eberhard
Dr.-Ing. Rainer Schäfer
MEDIEN BULLETIN-Videos
of the roundtable can be found at www.mebucom.de
EXECUTIVE ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION PARTICIPANTS
Dr. Andreas Bereczky, Head of Production Direction, ZDF,
Michael Eberhard,Head of Technology and Production Department, SWR,
Dr.-Ing. Rainer Schäfer, General Manager of Television, Broadcast Technology Institute
(IRT, Institut für Rundfunktechnik),
Dr. Martin Emele, Managing Director of ProSiebenSat.1 Production
Roman Steuer, Director of Sports Production, Sky Sport News HD
Mido Fayad, Director of Broadcast Operations, CBC Cologne Broadcasting Center,
David Schartner, COO/CTO Loalo1,
Sophie Lersch, Head of Sales and Distribution, SES Platform Services,
Wilfried Wüst, Senior Manager of Business Development Content and Media Partnering,
Deutsche Telekom,
Dr. Christopher Brennan, Managing Director for the regions Central and Eastern Europe, the
Middle East and Turkey, Avid,
Dr. Peter Thomas, Senior Director and Chief Solutions Architect, Avid,
Jochen Pielage, Senior Director of Product Development, Avid; Moderator,
Eckhard Eckstein, Editor-in-chief of MEDIEN BULLETIN.
