NAB Show 2025 Preview – Professional Essentials Guide

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As the broadcast industry prepares to

gather at NAB Show, artificial intelligence

continues to be on the minds of many ven-

dors and end users, albeit for slightly differ-

ent reasons. 

According to Haivision’s sixth annual

“Broadcast Transformation Report,” which

surveyed nearly 900 broadcast and media

professionals between November and De-

cember 2024, AI implementation in media

workflows jumped from just 9% in 2024 to

25% in 2025. Even more telling, 64% of re-

spondents believe AI will have the most sig-

nificant industry impact over the next five

years, far outpacing other technological

innovations.

This dramatic increase reflects a funda-

mental change in how the industry views

AI — no longer as a concept but as an es-

sential component of modern supply chain.

While the report indicates that broadcast-

ers remain cautious with full-scale tech-

nology transformations, preferring hybrid

approaches that balance innovation with

reliability, AI has moved beyond the exper-

imental phase to deliver tangible applica-

tions throughout the media ecosystem.

As industry leaders head to this year’s

NAB Show, they’re focusing on practical

AI implementations that solve real-world

challenges while improving efficiency and

enhancing viewer experiences. 

From buzzword to business tool

What was once a futuristic concept has

quickly become a primary tool for automa-

tion and efficiency, with the industry now

seeking measurable returns on AI invest-

ments.

“AI has long been a buzzword and while

it continues to be one now, I expect we’ll

see a shift toward more concrete and com-

plete AI applications,” said Julien Signes,

executive vice president of video network

at Synamedia. “I anticipate video service

providers will look for more tangible ben-

efits and new ways to leverage AI to better

improve efficiencies across the video dis-

tribution and delivery ecosystem.”

The conversation has evolved from the-

oretical possibilities to practical imple-

mentations that deliver clear value.

“The industry is past the initial AI hype

and is now looking at real-world applica-

tions,” said Simon Hawkings, director of

sales strategy and business acceleration at

Ross Video. “Most broadcasters are find-

ing success using it for backend efficien-

cies — things like media asset management,

post-production automation, meta-tagging

data, and ad targeting. AI is also playing a

role in audience analytics, helping compa-

nies better understand viewing behaviors

and optimize content distribution.”

This focus on practical applications is

reshaping development priorities across

the industry.

“Since the launch of ChatGPT, the M&E

industry has been talking loudly about the

potential of AI, but few are deploying tech-

nologies that put ‘their money where their

mouth is,’ shall we say, and no, it is not one

GPT fits all,” said Gilles Domartini, founder

and CEO of Cleeng.

“At NAB, we expect more discussions

around practical AI use cases that can be

implemented now, such as AI for insight

generation,” added Domartini.

Streamlining workflows and

automating production

AI is proving particularly valuable in

workflow optimization, delivering time and

cost savings while freeing creative profes-

sionals to focus on higher-value tasks.

“It’s no surprise that AI is expected to

dominate conversations at NAB again this

year, moving beyond a futuristic concept to

an essential tool for media organizations,”

said Scott Goldman, U.S. general manager

at Qibb. “Last year’s hot topic has become

this year’s priority, as delaying AI adoption

is no longer an option in an increasingly

competitive landscape.”

The technology enhances both front-end

and back-end operations, with automation

bringing efficiency to previously manual

tasks.

“In the area of robotic camera control,

AI is helping us develop products that can

track onscreen talent more accurately

while also enabling our camera trolley sys-

tems and OmniGlide studio camera rover to

start and stop more precisely,” said Michael

Cuomo, vice president at Telemetrics. “This

is important as AI-assisted automated cam-

era operation frees up camera operators to

focus on other tasks.”

“In the media and entertainment realm,

we’re seeing a continually increasing de-

mand for automated camera control and

framing in broadcast and production en-

vironments, and AI offers solutions for

enabling those capabilities,” said Kento

Continued on next page

Show vendors to spotlight efficent,

valuable AI tools for broadcasters

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NAB PREVIEW