Broadcast leaders from Asia and beyond gathered in Seoul last week for key ABU (Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union) and WBU (World Broadcasting Unions) meetings. Among the hottest topics discussed were spectrum, terrestrial broadcasting and hybrid platforms. With broadcasters globally having similar priorities, against the backdrop of the same technical developments and challenges, the need for collaboration and a unified position and voice was strongly evident.

The meetings taking place in the South Korean capital included the ABU General Assembly and various committee meetings, the WBU Directors General meeting and the WBU Technical Committee. The EBU's Director of Technology & Innovation, Lieven Vermaele, was invited to contribute to a number of sessions.

The ABU Technical Committee opened on Friday and included a presentation from Mr. Vermaele on the evolution of smart TV, second screen and broadcast platforms. He called for joint action in the defence of spectrum for broadcasting worldwide and proposed that the DigiTAG organization might be an ideal forum for such cooperation. The issue of spectrum was also on the agenda of the WBU-TC the previous day, when a recommendation on spectrum use was agreed.

Saturday's ABU Programme Committee included a forum on social media and social networks. In his contribution to this session Mr Vermaele focused on questions around identity and brand for broadcasters, emphasising the need for cooperation at a national level on user identity management.

As a sister union of the ABU, there was an opportunity on Sunday for the EBU to provide an update to the Technical Committee on its current priorities and activities in the technical domain. Later that day Mr. Vermaele participated in the ABU's CTO Forum, which discussed the new industry environment. There he again stressed the importance of stronger worldwide collaboration between broadcasting organizations to defend and optimise their position in the value chain.

Photos: Above - Lieven Vermaele taking questions during a presentation to the ABU Technical Committee; Below - Lieven Vermaele speaking during the ABU Programme Committee. (Source: ABU 2012 Seoul photostream)