Stéphane Tésorière, CEO of WinMediaAs IBC2015 gets closer, we continue our series of short Q&As with manufacturers about their plans and offerings, to help you get the most out of the annual trade show. Stéphane Tésorière is CEO of French-firm WinMedia.
Radio World: How has business been for the company since last year’s IBC Show?
Stéphane Tésorière: Business has been good — we’ve been doing well in all our markets with major wins in Europe, Asia, Europe and Africa. We have implemented complete WinMedia solutions at JDFI in Asia, MFM in Morocco, CHGA in Canada and Grenoble TV in France to name just a few. Our continuous effort to develop a strong network of subsidiaries and partners boosts our presence worldwide and it is beginning to show encouraging results. Local and thematic channels have been a major part of our business this last year.
RW: What do you anticipate will be the most significant technology trend at IBC2015?
Tésorière: It is definitely IP video. As we have seen with AoIP, the technology offers significant flexibility and provides cost-saving opportunities. And this also affects radio stations as they are delivering more and more video content — through visual radio for example — on multiple platforms. Moving video delivery over IP presents enormous benefits. It means that content can be delivered over unified networks that reduce capital and operational expenses; less cabling results in easier to setup systems and added reliability; intelligence can be added to the delivery network to enhance the end-user experience; and new relationship and revenue opportunities can be established with content owners and advertisers
RW: What new products will WinMedia be showing?
Tésorière: We will have a full demo of our latest updates to WinMedia 2015 (V2.15). These include new versions of WinMedia Radio, WinMedia Web and WinMedia Visual Radio. WinMedia 2015 enables broadcasters to manage radio, TV, Web and social media activities from a single platform. The latest version of WinMedia Radio offers a revised graphic user interface, optimized audio quality, improved visibility, time zone management, and automatic sound clip creation. WinMedia Web includes fully customizable Web and mobile application templates, intuitive CMS, and easy insertion of ads, podcasts, stream players and more. Also, WinMedia Visual Radio enables broadcasters to turn radio shows into visual productions. We will also be showing WinBizz, which optimizes business management and real-time online ad booking as well as WinPublish, a cost-effective suite of CG graphics.
RW: How do these products differentiate from other products available on the market?
Tésorière: WinMedia 2015 proposes cutting-edge technologies that lead to more efficient workflows. By sharing the same database and the same media asset management core, it emphasizes collaboration and creates a truly unified environment. There is no longer the need to piece together applications and accept the shortcomings of integration workarounds since WinMedia 2015 covers the entire production chain and facilitates fast content delivery to multiple devices. Furthermore, it is completely scalable, enabling businesses to start small and expand to an enterprise-grade solution.
RW: Why should attendees visit your booth?
Tésorière: All WinMedia solutions will be on display at our booth and this unique setup allows our top-level technical staff to offer personalized demonstrations based on each customer’s requirements.
RW: How has IP technology affected you?
Tésorière: First of all, it has drastically simplified on-site deployments and allowed us to further improve workflows, deliver greater quality and offer unprecedented reliability. It also gives us the ability to imagine an increasing number of connected solutions to revolutionize tomorrow’s radio.
RW: The Internet has changed the way people do business. Some would say that it has rendered shows such as IBC obsolete. Is this true?
Tésorière: For manufacturers and customers nothing beats face-to-face communication. For customers it provides an opportunity to actually see the products in action and to fully understand their respective features. Shows are also an effective way to meet new distributors and to organize training sessions for our current distributors.
