Looking back on 2025, what stands out across the EMEA broadcast and live production landscape is not a single breakthrough technology, but a shared shift in mindset. After years of experimentation and disruption narratives, this was the year the industry became decisively practical again. The focus moved away from “what’s next” and toward “what works” under real budget pressure, real staffing challenges, and real audience expectations.
If there is one word that captures where EMEA broadcasters are heading, it’s optionality.
Software-defined, but sensibly so
Software-defined production continued its steady rise in 2025, but not in the dramatic, all-or-nothing way some once predicted. Instead, broadcasters across Europe, Africa and the Middle East have taken a measured approach, adding software tools where they deliver immediate value rather than replacing trusted foundations.
Where flexibility and speed matter most we’re seeing increasing interest. But these investments are iterative. Software is being introduced to enhance workflows in remote productions, distributed control environments, fly packs, and smaller roadshows, where agility is essential and risk is easier to manage.
This bolt-on approach reflects the realities of EMEA markets. Public broadcasters face funding pressure and regulation, commercial operators are competing in crowded markets, and everyone is being asked to do more with fewer people. Incremental adoption isn’t caution, it’s common sense.
Hybrid isn’t a phase, it’s the end state
If 2025 confirmed anything, it’s that hybrid production models answer today’s challenges. Is that likely to change? Perhaps. But the idea of choosing between cloud or on-premises has largely been replaced by a more nuanced view: cloud for what scales, on-prem for what counts.
This thinking is already shaping investment decisions, particularly around IP-based media transport and control. Over the next 12 to 24 months, many teams will be working through what control, orchestration, and I/O management really mean when the technical director is hundreds of miles away from the show. As that reality settles in, hybrid workflows are becoming normalised.
The result is innovation: better integrations, smoother handoffs, and systems designed to flex rather than force change.
AI gets out of the spotlight and into the workflow
AI may have dominated headlines in previous years, but in 2025 it did something far more valuable: it became invisible.
The most effective uses of AI in live production today often work quietly in the background. They help with metadata, captioning, highlight creation, and quality control, making workflows faster and more consistent.
We’re not launching ‘AI-powered workflows’. We’re using tools that continue to improve and support how people already work.
This subtle evolution fits well with the EMEA market, where trust, reliability, and predictability often outweigh novelty.
Graphics move upstream
Another clear trend this year has been the continued elevation of graphics. In fast-moving, data-rich environments like sport and news, graphics are no longer secondary outputs, they are part of the editorial conversation.
Tighter integrations between rundown systems, data feeds, and graphics engines mean visual storytelling starts earlier in the production process. As audiences expect richer context in real time, graphics will continue to move upstream, becoming central to how stories are told, not just how they’re displayed.
Reliability still rules
For all the talk of flexibility and innovation, one thing has not changed: live production still demands absolute reliability. Five-nines confidence, proven failover strategies, and control surfaces that don’t need rebooting mid-show remain non-negotiable.
What is evolving is how resilience is designed. In hybrid environments, redundancy isn’t just about hardware, it’s about network architecture, topology, and intelligent orchestration across locations.
A practical path forward
2025 will be remembered as the year EMEA broadcasters embraced reality without losing ambition. Optionality, building systems that can adapt without forcing rebuilds, has become the guiding principle.
The industry hasn’t slowed down. It’s become more deliberate and more agile. In a region as diverse and demanding as EMEA, that may be the most important trend of all.
