Five years on: the impact of Covid on the broadcast industry (part 2)

Five years since Covid-19 first arrived, TVBEurope hears from leading figures from across the media and entertainment industry to find out what has changed in the intervening period

By Matthew Corrigan

Published: March 25, 2025 Updated: March 26, 2025

Five years since Covid-19 first arrived, TVBEurope hears from leading figures from across the media and entertainment industry to find out what has changed in the intervening period

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In the concluding part of TVBEurope's article marking the fifth anniversary of the first pandemic lockdown, more figures from across the industry share their insights.

How has the media and entertainment industry changed since the Covid-19 crisis?

Ronen Artman, VP Marketing, LiveU Live IP-video production underwent a major transformation during Covid, accelerating the transition to remote production workflows. The demand for live streaming, mobile apps and the sharing of live feeds increased significantly as journalists and commentators covered live news, sports and virtual events from home or other locations using mobile devices.

Broadcasters and content creators scrambled to adapt on-site working practices to adhere to strict Covid protocols whilst keeping the industry moving. Live streaming became an essential tool for other virtual events, such as live music, with the minimum number of personnel required on-site with just a camera or cameras and field units with everything else handled back in the studio. In terms of live sports, the pandemic also innovated the at home fan experience with IP-based remote production playing a central role.

In May 2020, Sky News produced the world's first fully-remote news programme This evolutionary approach to live production has since become the standard for high profile and other events, opening up new revenue streams, reducing costs and complexity, whilst increasing resilience and flexibility.

Prior to Covid, connectivity was regarded as one of the main expenses and risks of remote production. Advancements in IP bonding technology and 5G changed that by removing the industry's dependency on expensive and inflexible fibre or satellite delivery. Remote production workflows increased the number of live sporting events and created opportunities for diverse and minority sports to affordably create and deliver high-quality content to fans from anywhere, increasing engagement and revenue. Broadcasters and other content producers can save up to 70 per cent off their costs with the wireless remote production set-up, removing the need for costly SAT/OB trucks, and reducing equipment, travel and accommodation costs. This has also facilitated the move to sustainable live productions. The introduction of AI has further increased the industry's remote production connectivity capabilities.

Peter Thompson, CEO of LucidLink Back in early 2020, LucidLink was an emerging player in the cloud storage collaboration category. But cloud-based workflows were still a tough sell in M&E. Then the pandemic hit. Overnight, companies like Viacom, A&E, and Vice were scrambling to keep teams working remotely. They quickly found that traditional storage tools and VPNs couldn't handle media workflows, and shipping drives was not sustainable.

That's where LucidLink came in. While others focused on temporary solutions, we provided teams with exactly what they needed - instant, secure access to media files from anywhere, without downloads, delays, or workflow disruptions.

Fast forward five years, and cloud-native workflows have gone from a crisis response to the backbone of M&E production. An industry once hesitant to embrace the cloud, now thrives on its scalability, efficiency, and flexibility. The future of production isn't just cloud-compatible, it's cloud-first and we're excited to be partnering with our customers to lead the way.

Francesco Scartozzi, VP of sales & business development, Matrox Video The crisis dramatically reshaped the media and entertainment industry, accelerating the adoption of cloud-based live productions. While cloud workflows offered essential continuity, they often compromised broadcast quality. This has sparked a critical debate: in live sports, good enough is no longer acceptable. Viewers expect high-quality graphics, replays, and seamless coverage, and advertisers demand premium production value.

The industry's move towards COTS (Commercial Off-The-Shelf) equipment and cloud infrastructure presents challenges. The cloud's asynchronous nature conflicts with real-time broadcast needs, raising concerns about latency and redundancy. Maintaining broadcast principles in these environments is paramount.

Budget constraints and increased content demand further complicate matters, requiring cost-effective solutions that uphold high production standards. Matrox Video's focus on providing this essential media framework is vital for the industry's future, enabling broadcast-quality cloud production.

Michael Geissler, CEO of Mo-Sys Engineering Audience behaviour has shifted drastically since the Covid-19 crisis, with soaring viewer expectations for more engaging, high-quality content. That same viewership, who were profoundly dependent on remote conferencing tools during the pandemic, now takes that communication technology for granted. Virtual meetings and live broadcast interviews are frequently interrupted by pets and family members, as the lines between professional and personal life are blurred. This lasting behavioural impact has presented a new opportunity, as businesses across many other sectors are now eager to harness broadcast-quality and advanced immersive technologies to reinvigorate remote work and build stronger, more connected teams. The challenge is to make these advanced broadcast t

LINK:	https://www.tvbeurope.com/business/five-years-on-the-impact-of-covid-o...
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