Industry veteran Tom Wragg has joined the Association for International Broadcasting (AIB) as its director of development, and after a two-year break from IBC, he said: “There are a lot of new players, and quite a few of the old companies have changed considerably to stay relevant.”
AIB is made up mainly of broadcasters, plus some media companies and vendors. It was founded in 1993 around broadcasters who, at that time, had international services.
“Over time technology has changed so radically that every broadcaster is now a potential member,” said Wragg. “We have a lot more broadcasters than technology companies but I am trying to get more vendors involved with AIB. We were also hoping to partner with the IABM on training and we are involved in talks.”
AIB has a qualified list of 26,000 contacts. It offers market intelligence to members, and lobbies on campaigns like journalistic issues.
What does Wragg take from IBC this year?
“We work so much with members we realise that they do not want to think about the technology. Interoperability is about making it easier.
“Content producers face enormous challenges dealing with fragmented markets and fragmented financial structures and broadcasters now have direct relationships with consumers. Technology needs to be easy and IP offers that.At IBC, I have had a lot of conversations with vendors who really understand that.”
