By Michael Palmrose
Gone were the rows of cameras, tripods, lights, and microphones. This year’s National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) conference in New York was all about streaming. Sure, there were still a few of the stalwarts like Panasonic, JVC, and Black Magic, but they were joined by companies Videon, DigitalGlue, and Padcaster. All of them were featuring new and innovative ways to deliver video to audiences around the world.
A standout example was the eSports content production studio. Often absent and forgotten at previous shows, video games and their ability to provide video entertainment were on full display here. Interestingly, the only thing that appeared to be for sale was the idea that people playing video games is entertaining. And for those of us who have watched the meteoric rise of games like Fortnite and PUBG, or the consistency of League of Legends and Counter Strike, all of which draw hundreds of thousands of viewers to a single broadcast, it seemed like a long time coming.
Aside from the vendors, streaming was also the subject of the additional information available at NAB New York. There was an entire premium presentation room devoted solely to streaming as well as a networking mixer ending the first day targeted to those in the industry interested in streaming. The main stage even closed with the President and COO of CBS Interactive, Marc DeBevoise, discussing the future of direct-to-consumer video.
Although it lacked in many of the traditional vendors of past NAB New York shows, there was still a lot of interactive tools on display this year. Streaming was clearly the focus with many events and vendors educating attendees on that subject. This ensures that video live streaming is an important part of the future of video broadcasting. Video creators and broadcasting entities will need to learn and adjust to find audiences that are no longer willing to sit in front of TV to watch their favorite program.
One of the surprises at this year’s show was the lack of hardware for attendees to peruse. There were no audio companies like Sennheiser or Shure. There was also no sight of of video industry drone companies. And the few hardware companies that were in attendance only had two or three products to showcase. It appears that NAB’s focus at the New York show was to highlight what to do with the video that you already have and now how you get it.
Stay tuned for part two of the blog that explores the three of the most eye-catching products we saw at the conference.