PEERING INTO THE CRYSTAL BALL
At NAB Show, the IABM once again held a conference session examining its latest industry data. Peter White, IABM director general, provides a highlight of key fi ndings.
Peter White, IABM Director General
This year, the annual market intelligence gathered by the IABM on the state of the industry was complemented by a panel dialogue in which executives from leading media technology supply companies discussed and debated the reinvention of the broadcast industry. The theme of reinvention proved apt, as data from IABM research indicates that while the overall broadcast and media technology supply market is recovering steadily, sales and profi ts for small and medium-sized business continue to decline. Their survival likely will depend on their ability to reinvent their business models.
Highlights from the latest IABM Industry Index for April 2013 were featured during the conference session. Published quarterly, the index tracks aggregate sales and operational profi t trends across the broadcast and media technology sector, based on latest reported fi nancial performance. Currently, the index includes 46 companies, ranging from small to large, with a combined turnover of US $8.7 billion. This information offers IABM member companies the means to benchmark their own performance within the appropriate sector and region, as well as to track emerging trends.
What the IABM Industry Index for April 2013 indicated was that over recent months, the growth in overall sales in the market for broadcast and media technology products and services improved to 4.7 percent per annum, a fi gure
that represents the highest annual growth rate since October 2011. However, profi ts are still falling in real terms and are down 12.7 percent when the latest company records are compared with those for the previous year.
Two-thirds of companies represented in the IABM Industry Index data set are showing an operating profi t in the past 12-month period. While the numbers indicate aggregate operating profi t-to-sales of 12 percent, this fi nding does not reveal the fact that in overall terms, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) are, in fact, loss-making. These companies’ profi t-to-sales ratio is -2 percent. Over the past four months, the growth rates of larger companies have continued to rise while those of the smaller companies have fallen sharply. In this Industry Index, large companies are growing at 5.4 percent compared with -5.4 percent (coincidentally) for the SMEs.
The conference panel confi rmed these fi ndings with their discussion, which addressed different aspects of the industry, from creative production through to distribution. The conversation was moderated by John Ive, IABM director of business development and technology, and it included senior industry executives Brick Eksten, founder and CEO at Digital Rapids; David Ross, CEO of Ross Video; Louis Hernandez, president and CEO at Avid; and Geir Bryn-Jensen, CEO at Nevion.
All acknowledged that in these times of fi nancial and technology volatility, investment decisions depend more than ever on good objective industry information and close relationships with end users. In fact, they repeated a theme heard elsewhere — that the nature of selling is moving toward long-term partnerships with customers. Commoditisation of technology also featured in the discussion. Several panelists felt this shift represents an opportunity rather than a threat; however, they agreed that business models need to change if companies are to benefi t.
Moving beyond these topics, all panelists were open about their vision of the industry going forward and how they intended to respond. In short, that response involves breaking down many of the divisive approaches both within and between organisations to realize a more collaborative approach.
The vision and creative thinking that came from the session was inspiring and I am sure the record number of attendees left with a number of key takeaways. The IABM is proud to represent the vendors in our sector and to facilitate such a gathering of minds and talent to share experiences and ideas for ongoing success.
Peter White | IABM
The IABM and NAB announced the winners of the second-annual Game Changer Awards: Bridge Technologies for PocketProbe, Masstech for Emerald for News, TC Electronic for LoudnessRadar, isovideo for Viarte, and Emmis for TagStation.
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