AIB Member update - February 2018

Dear Colleague

There is lots happening at the Association for International Broadcasting and I wanted to let you – as one of our Members – know about the latest developments.

AIB Executive Committee

Friday 23 February is the final day for Association Members to vote in the election for our Executive Committee , the six-member body that provides governance and strategic direction to the organisation. If your company has not yet cast its votes, please ensure that you do so by the close of play on Friday 23 February.

The AIB continues to work on the vital topic of cyber security . The constant threat of successful cyber-attack is a daily worry for companies everywhere and it’s something that’s increasing in intensity.

We have been working on this mission-critical subject for the past two years and we have a very active Working Group that shares intelligence, develops strategies and assists broadcasters in ensuring that they can limit the possibilities of attack, or mitigate risks after an attack.

Our Cyber Security Working Group met this week at the European Playout Centre of AIB Member Arqiva and we discussed a wide range of key topics. The Working Group is about to launch a major initiative that will encourage equipment manufacturers and service providers to engage with the AIB in developing better, more practical and more robust security.

The Working Group is aware of many, many flaws in security on key pieces of equipment in the broadcast chain and wants manufacturers to shut down these potentially disastrous access points for hackers. As part of the Working Group’s actions, a major problem has been identified with one European supplier whose equipment is used in many broadcasters. Members of the Working Group have shared this intelligence and have taken action to protect their systems from the weaknesses in the equipment.

Is your company using this equipment? Unless you are part of the Working Group, you won’t benefit from this key knowledge-sharing. As a Member of the Association, you can join the Group as part of your company's membership benefits and take part in all the initiatives we are putting in place which include liaison with national security agencies , establishing a cyber security centre of excellence and more.

Please talk to us about taking part in this vital work – and read our updated briefing note here .

Morand Fachot joins the AIB

I am pleased to announce that journalist Morand Fachot has joined the Association. Morand will be developing the AIB’s news service that is delivered to you, as a Member, and to the wider media industry through our e-mail industry briefings. He will also contribute to our Member-only Market Intelligence briefings.

Morand brings with him a wealth of experience gained in organisations such as the European Broadcasting Union , BBC and IEC . He has a great deal of knowledge about key issues in broadcasting, covering production, distribution, technology and cyber security, among other subjects.

Morand will be in touch with colleagues in AIB Member organisations responsible for press and PR to ensure that we’re covering your organisation’s news on the AIB website and in the public industry briefings that reach well over 27,000 people in media and related industries around the world.

European channel licensing

As you may have seen, the AIB is actively working on the situation of pan-European television channel licensing in view of the impending departure of the UK from the European Union.

The UK licences a significant majority of the international channels that are distributed across EU Member States, and there are questions about the status of these licences once the UK is no longer an EU Member.

The Association has been researching the issue to ensure that AIB Members understand the situation and can take appropriate action. We’re talking with the UK government, and with regulators from a range of EU Member States to map out possible solutions to the licensing issue. In early March, we are meeting the Luxembourg government, building on the work we have already done in jurisdictions including Estonia, Poland and a range of other EU Member States.

We will be providing a detailed briefing for Association Members in the coming months. In the meantime, if you have questions or concerns about post-Brexit TV channel licensing, please contact the AIB Secretariat.

Visits to Members

In February, I was privileged to travel to SE Asia to meet our Members in the region, and others involved in media and regulation in a number of markets. I was delighted to be able to meet key staff at Mediacorp in Singapore, Phoenix Television in Hong Kong, RTI in Taiwan and NHK World in Tokyo. I briefed Members on the AIB’s ever-increasing range of activities and work, and heard about the challenges they face and explored opportunities where the AIB can offer help.

As a result of the meetings, there will be a number of new opportunities and initiatives which I will brief Members about shortly.

The AIBs 2018

Our 14 ^th annual competition for factual television, radio and online productions will be launched at the beginning of April. This week, our informal Awards Advisory Group meets, hosted by the UK’s Channel 4 Television . This international panel will discuss the way in which the annual contest operates, what the best categories are and a range of other issues. You can see who has joined the Advisory Group on our awards website at http://theaibs.tv .

We’re gaining the first sponsors of this year’s competition – if you’d like to align your brand with the world’s best factual story-telling and journalism, read the Partnership Opportunities brochure here – and watch highlights of the 2017 AIBs here .

And we are delighted to announce that Mark Barton ( pictured ) , presenter on Bloomberg Television, will return to host the AIBs 2018 on Wednesday 7 November. Save the date!

Celebro Studios in Washington DC, Moscow and Los Angeles

AIB Member Celebro Studios is growing its international locations, and now can offer AIB Member live backgrounds from rooftop and/or studio positions at its locations in Washington (White House & Capitol), Los Angeles (Hollywood sign) and Moscow (Kremlin/Red Square). From these prime city centre locations Celebro offers fully-automated spaces with robotic cameras and digital newsroom systems, ideally positioned and equipped to provide bases for news organisations needing to cover events in Washington DC, occasions like the Oscars in LA, and the forthcoming World Cup in Russia.

For more information about the facilities that Celebro are offering, contact Wesley Dodd, Celebro CEO via email at: wesley@celebromedia.co.uk or phone +44 (0) 7918 843 240.

There is much more going on at your Association and we will continue to brief you about the latest developments over the coming weeks. In the meantime, if you would like to know more about any of the subjects in this note, or discuss other areas where we may be able to help, please contact my colleagues and I – we always looking forward to talking to our Members!

Regards

Simon Spanswick

Chief Executive

AIB – Association for International Broadcasting

PO Box 141 | Cranbrook | TN17 9AJ | United Kingdom

T +44 20 7993 2557

F +44 20 7993 8043

M +44 7802 936 786

www.aib.org.uk