Committees

International Media Connectivity Group

WBU-IMCG – Formerly known as WBU-ISOG

About WBU-IMCG:

imcg-logo-webFounded in 1985, the International Satellite Operations Group (ISOG), and rebranded in 2015 as International Media Connectivity Group (IMCG), is a committee of the World Broadcasting Unions (WBU). IMCG provides a global forum for members of the WBU to exchange information, outline requirements and resolve common operational problems.

WBU-IMCG’s mission is to identify, evaluate, educate and (where appropriate) implement solutions for all operational matters associated with transmission (collection and delivery) by any means and to any platform of video, audio, and broadcast-related data from any location where news, sports, special events and entertainment originate and/or are distributed. Operational issues considered by WBU-IMCG include transmissions/delivery of audio/video data using Internet Protocol (IP) and any media platforms. The WBU-IMCG will work neutrally with all relevant international groups, institutions, organizations, and appropriate bodies to achieve these ends. By doing so the WBU-IMCG reflects one of the core aims of the WBU by supporting the needs and the requirements of broadcasters around the world.

Chair:
Morwen Williams, Head of UK Operations, BBC News

Vice-Chair:
Joe Shimizu, Senior Manager, Development and Strategy Center, General Broadcasting Administration, NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corp)

Kazimir Bačić, Senior broadcast expert engineer and liaison officer to International Media Organisations, HRT

 

WBU-IMCG Forums are held twice a year and permit open dialogue from an international perspective on key communications issues.

WBU-IMCG is a tri-partite organization whose participants include members from the WBU including broadcasters, satellite and fibre optic carriers, transmission service providers and invited participants associated with the industry.

The work done by the International Media Connectivity Group (IMCG), which was originally created by the North American Broadcasters Association (NABA) and now operates under the WBU umbrella, is of great value to NABA. As long as FOX utilizes satellites for distribution and contribution (and we expect to be for many years), IMCG and the relationships it fosters internationally will continue to be important to us. Operational benefits of IMCG like devising a Carrier-ID Standard, Profiles for Digital Newsgathering or its must-attend twice-annual Forums, are all part of the many reasons that FOX continues to be a long-standing member of NABA. We also invest time and resources on spectrum issues, operational improvements, and signal protection from piracy, just to name a few. We do so because NABA provides an efficient and neutral stage by which we can share ideas and tackle challenges.

Richard Friedel, Executive Vice-President, Engineering, Operations and Technology,
Fox Television Stations / President, NABA

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