TVN To Present Live Production In The Cloud Webinar

Technology executives from Warner Bros. Discovery, Sinclair, Tegna, TAG Video Systems and Ross Video will unpack the latest developments and drivers for live cloud production in a TVNewsCheck Working Lunch Webinar, Live Production in the Cloud, at 1 p.m. ET on June 22.

Panelists will discuss the benefits of cloud for both live news and sports production. They’ll delve into issues including mixing cloud and on-prem production workflows and the role of graphics therein and integrating archived content into live productions. Speakers will examine drivers for live cloud production as a cost-effective way to enable more REMI productions for niche sports and emerging networks and they’ll consider ongoing challenges like latency and egress costs.

Register here.

Speakers:

Peter Abecassis, Director of Product Management for Production Workflow Solutions, Ross Video — He has held several broadcast vendor roles in R&D, product management, professional services, sales operations and marketing and is a regular contributor to many industry events and publications.

Robert Erickson, VP of Live Production and Sports, TAG Video Systems — He has been a member of the TAG team since 2023 and boasts more than 24 years of experience in the broadcast and IT markets with previous roles covering systems engineering, IT network design and RF transmission systems.

Recently, Erickson’s focus has been on designing and implementing adaptable, software-centric workflow tools that can scale from on-premises solutions to worldwide, cloud-based infrastructures. Throughout his career, Erickson’s focus has been on designing and maintaining live production systems based on both traditional and emerging technologies for broadcast customers.

Erickson is an active participant and frequent presenter in many of the major industry associations, including the Society of Broadcast Engineers, Society of Television Engineers, Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers and Hollywood Professional Association.

Renard Jenkins, SVP, Production Integration & Creative Technology Services, Warner Bros. Discovery — Jenkins joined WarnerMedia in early 2020. He oversees teams that support hundreds of global television and feature film productions annually, providing production technologies including studio, post and remote applications, IT and IP solutions, production pipeline services, software defined workflows and more. His teams also manage the strategic direction, content acquisition, IP infrastructure and onsite connectivity for major live events including sports, entertainment and news for all WarnerMedia brands.

Jenkins has more than 30 years of experience in the television, radio and film industry. Before leaving PBS in early 2020, he was the VP, operations, engineering and distribution. He was responsible for the strategic direction and operational management of PBS’s entire media-supply chain. He also created and lead PBS’s Advanced Format Center. The mission of the AFC was to explore and develop procedures and standards for the creation, processing and worldwide distribution of advanced formatted and enhanced media, content and metadata through traditional as well as digital distribution platforms. Jenkins was awarded the Innovator of the Year award in 2017 for his cutting-edge work and accomplishments.

Prior to joining PBS in 2010, Jenkins helped design, build and then lead TV One’s Production Facility which services their marketing, programming, production management, graphics and post-production departments. Prior to that, he refreshed and updated Discovery Communications’ Technology Center, where he also managed five departments and supervised more than 100 employees. While at Discovery, he also served as the operational lead for the implementation of what was then the largest file based Avid Editing/Interplay/ISIS system installation in the U.S.

Jenkins joined Discovery after more than 16 years with CNN. During his tenure, he received two National Emmy Awards, two National Headliner Awards, a Peabody, a DuPont and a Bronze Broadcast Design Award, as well as many other industry accolades. Jenkins was responsible for helping move CNN into the file-based editing/delivery/archive environment through his R&D/Training work with industry leaders such as Apple, Autodesk, Avid, Adobe, Leitch, Pinnacle, and Sony.

Today, Jenkins serves as VP, membership, for the Society of Motion Picture & Television Engineers and was named as a SMPTE Fellow in 2018. He is also on the board of MovieLabs, the Hollywood Professionals Association and the UltraHD Forum. He is also a member of the CTA Technology Committee. He is a past Board Member of AMWA, Former Co-Chair, of the UltraHD Forums’ Interoperability Working Group and the NABA Technical Committee.

Jenkins is a champion and advocate for diversity, equity and inclusion in the technology and media industries. He is a strategic advisor to the board of directors of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the National Association for Multi-Ethnicity In Communications and the chair of the WarnerMedia Technology and Operations Diversity and Inclusion Council. He is also a recipient of the 2020 Broadcasting and Cable Technology Leadership Award.

Mike Kralec, SVP and CTO, Sinclair Inc. — His focus is on transformation for media operations and ATSC 3.0 commercialization. Prior to that he served as deputy CTO, and from 2014 he served as VP- Data Systems and Information Technology Services where he focused on capturing technology value through advances in enterprise mobility, program/service delivery, security, governance and data management.

From 2010, he was director, data systems development and from 2005, he served as systems development manager. From 2000 to 2005, he was a software developer.

Kralec received his Bachelor of Science in computer science from Towson (Md.) University and his Master of Business Administration from Loyola University Maryland. He is a veteran of the United States Navy.

Kurt Rao, SVP and CTO, Tegna — He is charged with working across Tegna to drive the development and implementation of the company’s next-generation client and customer technology solutions in the areas of content, advertising, data and insights and media distribution.

Previously, Rao was chief information and technology officer for Time Inc., where he led the transformation and growth of the media publishing organization into a digital content platform company. In addition, he optimized technology operations across the organization and built platforms to support content across video and digital while enhancing consumer data analytics.

Glen Dickson, Contributing Editor, TVNewsCheck (moderator)