EBU Technical Review : No. 264 (Summer 1995)
The winds of change
The past decade has probably been the most tempestuous in the history of broadcasting. The winds of change have blown through our industry, driven by unprecedented advances in the communications technologies.
The keywords of the 1990s are deregulation, competition and convergence. The significance of these three words should not be underestimated, because they have brought about profound changes to the climate in which broadcasters operate today.
The effect has been to encourage Members of the EBU – the traditional public service broadcasters - to reassess their objectives and activities and, in general, to become more business-like in their approach.
With these corporate changes has also come a change in the technological base of our industry. Not too long ago, the Research and Development Departments of the larger EBU Members were engaged in major self-financed study programmes; in many cases, they were coordinated by the EBU Technical Committee and its vast web of highly-specialized Working Parties and Sub-groups. There is no doubt that the result of this extensive effort was an essential element in the success of the radio and television services offered to the public by EBU Members. Indeed, the EBU has many international standards and now three Emmy Awards to its credit, in witness of the worldwide appreciation of its achievements.
However, increasing pressure on the corporate resources of EBU Members has forced change. A large proportion of the research and development effort has been abandoned, been hived off to the private commercial sector or has been diverted to satisfy more urgent needs within the individual organizations.
Despite these changes in direction, the EBU still plays a leading role in the evolution of technology, now more through collaborative projects with the electronic manufacturing industry. Many such projects are funded under European programmes such as RACE, ACTS and Eureka, as oulined in the article starting on page 32.
In today's climate, the level of resources needed to develop television and radio broadcasting systems extends far beyond that available to any individual organization. The collaborative approach is therefore essential.
The time scale of technological development has also changed. Gone are the days of the leisurely approach. Now, time is of the essence lest the technology becomes obsolete before the application is implemented.
All this has led to a reorientation within our member organizations and, as a result, the Permanent Services of the EBU have had to reexamine their objectives and adjust their structures to meet the new demands.
On page 22 and subsequent pages of this issue, we describe the changes that are taking place within the Permanent Services and, in particular, the new structures of the Technical sector.
Hopefully, when the new structures are finally fully-operational, we will be in a good position to meet the challenges of today and, indeed, the even more daunting challenges of tomorrow.
George T. Waters
Director
EBU Technical Department
European Broadcasting Union
