The NAB Show continues to be one of the most important moments each year for understanding where the media and broadcast industry is heading.
This year, several themes stood out across conversations, product demos, and meetings with partners. To get a clearer picture, we asked a few members of BMG’s leadership team to share what stood out most to them.
Broadcast and Streaming Are No Longer Competing
Mohammad Ataya, Director of Media Asset Management
One of the clearest takeaways from this year’s show is that broadcast isn’t going anywhere; it’s evolving.
As discussed in multiple sessions, including insights from leaders like Jon Miller at NBC Sports, broadcast remains the primary engine for content distribution. Streaming platforms are increasingly positioned as complementary, extending reach rather than replacing traditional models.
At the same time, the industry is shifting toward fully connected media supply chains.
Instead of relying on isolated tools, organizations are building end-to-end workflows that connect ingest, metadata, processing, editing, and distribution into a single system. The goal is speed, scalability, and reducing friction across the entire content lifecycle.
Another noticeable shift is the move toward operator-light workflows. With AI-driven metadata, automated QC, and orchestration tools, systems are being designed to run with minimal manual intervention, with teams stepping in only when needed.
AI is also no longer experimental. It’s becoming a core layer of operations, powering tagging, searchability, and decision-based workflows across the media supply chain.
Key blog: What to look for in a media asset management company. Ataya highlights how organizations that use Media Asset Management (MAM) can leverage AI to accelerate metadata creation while still requiring human oversight and deep integrations into production workflows.
The Push Toward a “Single Pane of Glass”
Sean Wybourn, Chief Technology Officer
A consistent theme across NAB 2026 was the industry’s push toward a “single pane of glass.”
Manufacturers are working to unify multiple systems into a single interface, allowing teams to manage complex production environments more efficiently.
This shift is changing how shows are prepared and executed.
Instead of triggering individual actions, production environments are becoming fully orchestrated. A single command can configure an entire workflow, including video routing, audio paths, intercom, and transmission outputs across multiple protocols.
There’s also continued momentum toward software-defined infrastructure.
Rather than investing in fixed, single-purpose hardware, organizations are moving toward flexible compute environments, both on-premises and in the cloud. This allows teams to spin up switching, encoding, and processing resources as needed for each production.
At the same time, traditional infrastructure is still very much in play. Despite growth in IP-based systems like ST 2110, SDI remains dominant, with the majority of routers still being deployed in SDI environments.
The result is a hybrid landscape where flexibility and efficiency are improving, but complexity continues to increase.
Key blog: Why planning your video infrastructure matters before launching a studio or channel. This post explains how Broadcast Management Group provides expert consulting to help organizations design scalable, efficient video infrastructures before they invest in equipment or facilities.
Automation Is Growing, But So Is Complexity
Karen Landry, Director of Channel Playout and Transmission
Linear television continues to play an important role.
Despite ongoing predictions of its decline, the lean-back viewing experience that linear provides still complements on-demand and streaming platforms instead of being replaced by them.
Manufacturers are focusing on building proprietary, end-to-end solutions. While these platforms aim to simplify workflows, they can be difficult to differentiate and create higher stakes when selecting a long-term technology partner.
AI is becoming more embedded across broadcast workflows, but it introduces new considerations.
Governance, oversight, and ongoing management are becoming critical, creating demand for new types of operational expertise.
In addition, as systems become more automated and integrated, troubleshooting becomes more complex.
The takeaway is clear: while automation improves efficiency, experienced technical teams remain essential to keeping systems running reliably. Having a managed service provider to help navigate the changing landscape is a shortcut to success.
Key Blog: How Cloud-Based Broadcast Managed Service Providers Are Transforming Channel and Network Operations. Broadcast Management Group (BMG) acts as a cloud-based managed service provider that streamlines channel operations by replacing traditional hardware with unified, scalable workflows for linear playout and VOD.
Orchestration Is the Next Layer of Complexity
Todd Mason, Chief Executive Officer
Across nearly every conversation at NAB, one concept kept coming up: orchestration.
As systems become more software-based, cloud-native, and distributed, the complexity of managing them is increasing rapidly.
For BMG, that complexity is amplified by the environments we operate, including our Network Operations Center, mobile units, and client facilities across North America.
A unified orchestration layer that brings all of this into a single system would significantly improve efficiency.
While there are promising solutions emerging, none are fully mature yet for environments at this scale. It’s an area we’re watching closely.
Beyond orchestration, a few additional trends stood out:
- AI is being integrated deeper into products and development cycles
- Supply chain challenges are still impacting costs and timelines
- New strategic partnerships are emerging across the ecosystem
The biggest value of NAB continues to be the in-person conversations with partners and clients.
From private working sessions to facility tours and on-site meetings, those interactions shape how systems are designed, built, and evolved moving forward.
Key blog: 5 Ways the Cloud Is Changing Enterprise Video Production. Todd explains how Broadcast Management Group (BMG) provides cloud-based remote production systems that enable organizations to produce high-quality video without large on-site crews or expensive physical infrastructure.
Looking Ahead
Across all perspectives, a few themes are consistent:
- Broadcast and streaming are converging into a unified model
- Workflows are becoming more connected and automated
- Infrastructure is shifting toward software-defined and cloud-based systems
- Complexity is increasing alongside efficiency
For organizations operating in this space, the challenge is no longer just adopting new tools.
It’s building systems that bring all of these elements together in a way that’s scalable, reliable, and aligned with long-term goals.
Leave a Reply