BURLINGTON, Mass.—Avid has announced improvements to its software-defined storage solution, Avid NEXIS that are designed to help users meet the most demanding audio workflows. “Our customers need to find ways to become more efficient, removing friction from their workflows while dealing with increasingly complex projects," explained Avid chief product officer Tim Claman. “Avid NEXIS is already the most trusted shared storage platform in the industry. With the latest enhancements to NEXIS software, Avid has now set a new standard for audio performance, for both audio-only facilities and mixed audio/video environments, enabling fluid content sharing without performance compromises.”“While this ground-breaking innovation has...

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.—Bitcentral has announced that its ViewNexa platform is being used by AZA Group Management and BlaCon Media will launch a new streaming channel, Politics In Color, which is dedicated to election news and political analysis.The Politics in Color platform will cover the US Election campaign trail from Presidential candidate debates to the RNC and DNC Conventions, election, inauguration, and the first 100 days. Covering significant political events, Politics in Color will be able to reach diverse domestic and international audiences.ViewNexa enables clients to quickly and efficiently build live and linear FAST channels powered by innovative server-side ad insertion...

SAN JOSE, Calif. and CULVER CITY, Calif.—Roku has concluded a streaming deal with Sony Pictures Television (SPT) to bring NFL Media’s series “GMFB: Overtime.” The agreement, which is part of Roku’s ongoing expansion of sports programming, will bring a new two-hour daily NFL sports show to The Roku Channel. SPT handles distribution for the NFL Media series. “It is an honor to be the launch partner for ‘GMFB: Overtime,’ the perfect addition to our Roku Sports offering,” said Joe Franzetta, head of sports, Roku Media. “This is an exciting milestone in our evolving partnership with the NFL. We look forward to working with...

COLLEGE PARK, Md.—The Library of American Broadcasting Foundation has announced that Hearst Television will be honored with the 2nd Annual Library of American Broadcasting Foundation’s (LABF) Excellence in Broadcast Preservation Award in recognition of the company’s outstanding dedication and commitment to preserving broadcast history.The presentation will take place during the Annual “Giants of Broadcasting” luncheon celebration on Tuesday, November 12th at noon at Gotham Hall in New York City.The honor is awarded to an individual, organization, or company, who exemplifies the essence of preservation and collection within the broadcast industry.“Hearst is leading the way in preservation among media companies across...

Traditional news media is under increasing scrutiny, critique, and often attack from administrations on both sides of the aisle and an ever-more distrusting and distracted populace.  Even small mistakes are highly visible, but news directors don’t have the luxury of slowing down. Not unlike riding a motorbike across a tightrope, broadcast news production requires speed, efficiency, and accuracy — and now more creativity than ever. Ross Video works with some of the top news producers around the world to produce engaging, immersive, highly efficient news productions.  These are the top three strategies we use to help top-tier media studios like NBC and Fox...

Fox News Media is deploying massive tech and production resources for its coverage of the Republican National Convention, with over 400 people on site, 24 plus cameras and over 9,000 feet of fiber connecting broadcast locations around the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisc. where the event will take place. One staple of political event coverage will, however, be missing. For the first time, Fox News won’t have a mobile production unit on site. It plans to send back all the feeds and content from its cameras and operations back to its New York control rooms using 45 transmission lines. “This is the...

Missed any of our recent product news? Here is TV Tech's weekly wrap-up of new products, services and deployments we published in our newsletter between July 8 and July 12. The stories are listed from the newest on Friday July 12, day by day back to our stories from Monday July 8. RAI Moves up Launch of DVB-T2 HEVC BroadcastsThe Italian public broadcaster RAI will start broadcasting on Multiplex B in the DVB-T2 HEVC standard on August 28.France Télévisions Will Use Haivision's Private 5G Video Transmission Ecosystem for Olympics CoverageIt will use the private 5G transmission solution to provide exclusive UHD...

The Italian public broadcaster RAI will start broadcasting on Multiplex B in the DVB-T2 HEVC standard on August 28, according to Marco Rossignoli, president of Aeranti-Corallo, an Italian association representing around 150 local television broadcasters. In particular, Rai Storia, Rai Scuola and Rai Radio 2 Visual programs channels will be broadcast exclusively in this new standard. Within this mux, Rai 1 HD, Rai 2 HD and Rai 3 HD will also be broadcast in simulcast (in DVB-T2 HEVC) on channels 501, 502 and 503, the association said. The August 28th transition marks the first move towards DVB-T2 transmissions, which will provide increased...

PARIS—Haivision Systems Inc. has announced that France Télévisions will provide UHD coverage of the pre- and post-competition activities of the surfing event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games using Haivision’s private 5G video transmission ecosystem. The surfing competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games will take place over four days during a 10-day window from July 27 to August 5 from Teahupo'o, Tahiti as part of an initiative to expand the Games across France. To provide engaging behind-the-scenes coverage and ensure maximum freedom of camera movement, the France Télévisions team will leverage the latest 5G broadcast transmission innovations from Haivision and Obvios....

NEW YORK—VideoAmp has announced a wide-ranging collaboration with Snap Inc. that will see the social technology platform integrate its first-party data, video, and augmented reality (AR) inventory into VideoAmp’s cross-platform planning solution. The integration will enable advertisers to make strategic budget allocations to efficiently reach audiences across linear TV, streaming and digital platforms.In addition to leveraging VideoAmp's big data and tech engine VALID, Snap Inc. gains the ability to independently run supplemental measurement and planning alongside its core advertising. As AR adoption grows, VideoAmp's existing video planning capabilities will also offer a valuable solution for advertisers looking to explore and test...

PASADENA, Calif.—Hallmark has unveiled Hallmark+, a subscription streaming television service that will combine the company’s brand of lifestyle experience with new membership program benefits that reward members for streaming and shopping at its retail stores and web destinations. The new service will bow in September. The company, which announced Hallmark+ at the Summer 2024 Television Critics Association press tour in Pasadena, Calif., is offering Hallmark+ as a one-stop destination for people to immerse themselves in the brand, it said.“Hallmark+ marks a seminal moment for Hallmark,” said Mike Perry, president and CEO of Hallmark. “By intertwining new, rich content experiences with tangible rewards and premium Hallmark gifts, we are delivering a unique, new program that reflects our commitment to spreading joy through our deeply beloved brand touchpoints.”Available for $7.99 per month or$79.99 annually, the subscription service will offer original titles in new genres and formats, including: Hallmark’s first foray into holiday-limited series, such as “Holidazed” and “Mistletoe Murders"; unscripted, aspirational series with an emphasis on heart, home and community; a new movie trilogy called “Groomsmen,” which is inspired by the success of “The Wedding Veil"; a new scripted series adaption of the best-selling novel “The Chicken Sisters.”  More information is available online. 

TYSONS, Va.—Tegna Inc., the Seattle Kraken and Gray Media have announced that Gray’s KAUU in Anchorage and KYEX in Juneau will expand the Kraken broadcast network into Alaska. The deal follows the recent announcement that Tegna will broadcast all locally available Kraken games, approximately 70 regular season games each year, on KING 5 and KONG in Seattle, KGW in Portland and KREM and KSKN in Spokane. Additional broadcast partners in Washington and Oregon are expected to be announced in the coming weeks.“Our partnership with the Kraken is all about their passionate fans and delivering more games to more people in more...

CAMPBELL, Calif.—Fox Sports and YBVR have announced that they will be creating an immersive virtual reality experience for the Copa América Final on Meta Quest, revolutionizing how fans engage with sports broadcasting.More specifically, Fox Sports will bring the Copa América Final to virtual reality (VR) on YBVR's Xtadium platform, which is exclusively available on Meta Quest.Produced in an immersive 180-degree format, the VR experience will enable fans to experience the excitement and intensity of the match from multiple perspectives within the stadium.Fox Sports and YBVR said that this groundbreaking collaboration combines cutting-edge VR technology with extensive coverage, providing viewers with...

LONDON—The All England Lawn Tennis Club and Sony’s Hawk-Eye Innovations have announced a new multi-year agreement that will see Hawk-Eye continue to provide its ball tracking and officiating services at The Championships. In addition to providing data tracking and officiating services at The Championships using its player and ball tracking technology, the Hawk-Eye solutions will also be used for officiating systems and to power advanced performance analytics solutions.Hawk-Eye first debuted at The Championships in 2007, and each year has brought improvements, efficiencies and innovations to their services. This year during the tournament, which will end on Sunday July 14, players, media...

The DNEG Group has completed acquisition of Prime Focus Technologies. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. PFT was a subsidiary of DNEG’s parent company, Prime Focus Limited. It has offices located across North America, the United Kingdom and India. The acquisition, which was previously announced with the issue of a memorandum of understanding last year on April 13, 2023, boosts the DNEG Group’s technological capabilities with PFT’s media workflow and automation software suite, CLEAR, and CLEAR AI, a multi-modal Gen AI platform powered by patented ‘Machine Wisdom’ technologies. Purpose built for the M&E industry, CLEAR and CLEAR AI offer streaming platforms,...

PARIS—Ateme will feature technologies pushing the boundaries of transformation, monetization and experience at IBC 2024, Sept. 13-16, at the RAI Convention Center in Amsterdam, the company said today.Ateme is helping to transform video delivery with infrastructure-neutral solutions that offer a choice between optimized on-premises and scalable cloud-centric options, including SaaS offerings. The company is tearing down the barriers between on-the-ground and cloud operations, creating seamless, cost-effective workflows. Its integrated approach slashes infrastructure investments and operational costs, the company said.Ateme’s Free Ad-Supported TV (FAST) monetization efforts are focused on AI-managed workflows that take Dynamic Ad Insertion (DAI) to the next level by...

In recent years, as TV companies and producers pushed to launch streaming services and deploy IP infrastructures, Zixi has been at the center of that tectonic tech change, offering end-to-end software solutions to more than 1,400 customers as well as providing 400 plus integrated partner offerings that enable reliable broadcast-quality video delivery over IP networks.Founded in 2006, Zixi’s growth has been backed since 2011 by Schooner Capital, who helped it capitalize on a growing demand for streaming and IP technologies and expand its client list to include Amazon Prime Video, AWS Elemental Media Connect, Fox, Fubo, MLB, Net Insight, NHL,...

Technology, expertise and viewer expectations continue to push audio for live sports

NBCUniversal has released new details of its 4K HDR coverage plans for the Paris Olympics with the announcement that USA Network’s 24/7 coverage of the games will be available in 4K HDR with Dolby Atmos audio and that it will be providing a record 400+ hours of 4K content. Partners exhibiting USA Network’s 4K programming include Altice, Comcast, Cox, DirecTV/DirecTV Stream, Dish, Fubo, Verizon, YouTube TV, and select participating NCTC members, NBCU reported. Olympic programming on USA Network will focus on Team USA and team sports like basketball, soccer, beach volleyball, volleyball, and water polo. Other sports like track and field, 3x3...

ESPN is using the lighting setup for player interviews