NAB EVP/CTO Kevin Gage challenged engineers to gaze beyond the traditional broadcast horizon – to “look closely at the landscape and seek out technology to foster a vision of connecting more closely with consumers.”
We’re now operating in an environment of rapid deployment and constant development, Gage said as he opened the 66th NAB Broadcast Engineering Conference.
Broadcasting is experiencing the impact of disruptive technology that began with the Internet and streaming media, said Gage. Broadcasting has always been wireless and can scale instantly from a few hundred to thousands of consumers without breaking. The industry “has always been a social medium,” radio and television stations have always been tuned to their local markets, and are now joined by FaceBook, Twitter and other social media players, he added.
He warned that competitors are creating other methods to reach listeners and viewers. While “some are saying we are reaching the end of traditional broadcasting, I disagree. Opportunity is right in front of us. The time is right for innovation,” said Gage.
However broadcasters must become proactive, and take the lead, warned Gage, “or someone else will.”