BES Expo 2023 concludes

The three-day international conference and exhibition on broadcast and media technology, BES Expo 2023, has concluded with a vision to build a roadmap for the broadcasters to meet the challenges posed by OTT and digital platforms, which are bringing rapid changes in broadcasting.

Emphasising on the need for the broadcasters to remain future-ready, in his welcome address Shri Sunil, President, BES and ADG-Technology, Prasar Bharati, said that the focus of this year’s BES Expo and Conference was on 5G and OTT, which are rapidly bringing paradigm shift in broadcasting.

“Next challenge for the broadcasters is the content. Shifting from analogue to digital has opened up many opportunities. Today consumers are using more and more digital content on a daily basis, on mobile phones, laptops, desktop and other devices. Broadcasters are recognising this need in order to stay in the business and changing the pace. For this the business models have to be changed,” Sunil explained.

Reflecting on content regulation in the digital age, Vikram Sahay, Joint Secretary, Ministry of I&B said that the digital world allowed interactivity creating the challenge for the permanence of content.

The government is also planning to launch an OTT platform for Prasar Bharati to increase its footprint in the rapidly changing broadcasting industry. The government also aims to take FM radio to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities this year with more auctions for new FM radio stations.

In his inaugural address Shri Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Ministry of I&B, said that Prasar Bharati should have its own OTT platform as it has its own archival content which will serve as priceless content for its audience.

“In a bid to increase its footprint, the government is planning a fresh auction of FM radio stations, roll out an OTT platform and conduct trials of direct-to-mobile television broadcast this year. We are also working towards an auction of FM radio stations this year. We hope to take FM radio to Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities this year,” he said.

The I&B Secretary said that though there were a large number of FM radio stations, the service covered only 60 per cent of the country. “The government has made an allocation of Rs.2,500 crore over a four-year period for the Broadcasting Infrastructure and Network Development (BIND) Scheme to widen the reach of Prasar Bharati, including in the Left-wing extremism, border and strategic areas,” he added.

Chairing the session “Innovations in Radio Broadcasting and Community Radio”, Shri Senthil Rajan, Joint Secretary, Ministry of I&B, explained the status of the community radio stations in India. He said that 50 community radio stations were set up in last one year and the Ministry of I&B is working with IIMC for best practices.

The third day of the event was graced by K Rajaraman, Secretary (Telecom), Ministry of Communication. Addressing the gathering of global broadcast engineers he emphasised the importance of the spectrum and mentioned that it being a natural and scarce resource need to be utilised in an efficient manner.

“The technology development fund is 500 Crore and we will be happy to support the set up of manufacturers of community radio stations. If the ministries of MIB, MEITY and the Ministry of Communication can come together, it is only a question of scale and volume. We have a new wave of innovation in the country and we shall harness this, the government is clearly involved in this and we will be happy to support this,” Rajaraman said.

Ahmed Nadeem, Secretary General (Designate) and Director, Technology and Innovation, ABU, Malaysia giving a representation on “Cyber Security and Media” said that due to the pandemic a lot of content has gone Online. We are moving towards connected systems and relying on Cloud Systems, which opens up the possibility of cyber-attack. While mentioning the facts he added that there is a cyber-attack every 39 seconds.

Experts from around the globe discussed emerging broadcast technologies and changes happening in the field at the BES Expo 2023, which was held from February 16-18 at Pragati Maidan in Delhi.

More than 40 national and international exhibitors showcased new and emerging broadcast technologies at BES Expo 2023. The event helps BES meet its objective of disseminating knowledge in Radio & TV broadcasting among engineers and scientists in India.

Broadcast Engineering Society (India) is the biggest Society of broadcast engineers in India. Established in 1987 with the objective of disseminating knowledge in Radio and TV broadcasting among engineers and scientists in India, the Society encourages education, research, and training in broadcast engineering. BCS Bureau