The economic turbulence that is still experienced in the industrialized countries was reflected in NAB Show 2012, with the decrease in visitors from Europe and Africa, but increased from other regions such as Latin America.
By Richard Santa S.
In the United States, the recovery from an economic crisis, which seems not to have been overcome, still does not convince analysts and the growth data for the first quarter of 2012 did not meet expectations, thus leaving more doubts about the current situation.
For Europe things are not better, because the economic crisis led to the United Kingdom and Spain entering recession in the last days of April, other countries unable to achieve internal agreements to correct the economic errors committed in previous years, added to the political pressure received by all the countries of the region from Germany to adjust their monetary policies, they make the outlook not encouraging.
This situation has led companies to look for other markets different from the countries that have traditionally led the world economy, which is why they have set their eyes on Latin America. The broadcast industry is no exception.
For a Latino it is a pride to know that his region, once considered an unimportant player in the world economy and even some of its countries thought of being declared as failed states, is now where everyone wants to be, where the hopes and growth goals for the coming years are.
The positive outlook for Latin America is reflected in ECLAC's latest report, which indicates that the region received US$153.448 billion in foreign investment during 2011. Brazil leads the list with US$66,660 million, followed by Mexico with US$19,440 million, Chile US$17,299 million and Colombia $13,234 million.
This situation could be clearly reflected in the last NAB Show, which was held in Las Vegas between April 15 and 19. Even the perception of the exhibitors goes in the same direction. For María Claudia Torres, marketing director for Latin America at Newtek, "the presence of Latin Americans in the show was maintained this year and even not only those who buy come, but also technical personnel from the main channels in the region."
All for Latin America
During NAB Show, most of the companies presented their new services and solutions for the region, such as the opening of direct offices in different countries, presentation and search of representatives, updating of web pages in Spanish and even a line of special products for Latin America.
An example of these companies is Avid, which after identifying the importance of the region in its market, decided to translate its website into Spanish. According to Ángel Ylisastigui, marketing manager for Latin America at Avid, they are finishing translating all the content into Latin American Spanish, not that of Spain.
"We want our customers to understand the company's messages in our language. That is why we will have our product catalogs in Spanish, as well as news related to the industry," he added.
For its part, Sony took advantage of the fair to present a line of products aimed at broadcast companies in Latin American countries, which has as its main attraction its low cost, which will be below 30% or 40% of others of its kind.
Among the products are the XDCAM HD 4:2:2 PDW-680 camcorder, which incorporates the main functions of the industry standard PDW-700 unit, except for progressive recording formats. Another product is the HD 4:2:2 PDW-HD 1200 studio deck, which offers a standard interlaced recording and DVCAM recording to provide a smooth migration from SD to HD.
Not only Brazil...
Brazil is the country with the most outstanding economy and technological development in the region. That is why many companies have a developed market in this country and that they are now strengthening thanks to the realization of two major sporting events to which it will serve as a venue: the 2014 World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016.
These events mean that, without a doubt, Brazil continues to be a protagonist of the region, but it is no longer the only one. Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru have done their job well and are in everyone's interest.
The commitment of the Chyron company in the region is precisely because, due to the realization of these two events in Latin America, all channels will want to have the best equipment and the best technical conditions for transmissions.
This was explained to TV Y VIDEO Aldo Campisi, vice president for Latin America of Chyron. He added that "our company is preparing for this moment and that is why it now has more staff serving the region, who speak Spanish, with offices in Mexico and Colombia coordinated directly from Miami."
Aldo Campisi stressed that the region is full of innovators, that in each country all companies do their own work of branding and image identification, making them much more attractive.
Market for sound
Another factor that makes Latin America attractive to manufacturers in the broadcast industry is the development that the region has been having in the adoption of new technologies, such as sound and digital television.
And it is in these segments that the company Linear Acoustic bets to develop its market in the area. Late last year he appointed Gilbert Felix as a representative for the region. This office is accompanied by a product line to accompany the transition from low-cost analog to digital sound.
"In Latin America, the transition from analog to digital audio is just beginning. For broadcasts to be encouraged to transmit in digital audio, they need consumers who have a way to receive them. This is a process for the signal generator and for the consumer who takes time," said Gilbert Felix.
Another company that is committed to the change from analog to digital sound in the region is Celtec, an English company that last year opened an office in Los Angeles to lead the expansion in the Latin American market, especially in Mexico, Argentina, Chile and Colombia.
Rafael Rodríguez, Celtec's representative for Mexico, said that "the work culture in Latin American broadcast companies is very different. They don't want to spend a lot on audio, they spend more on image, but this is starting to change and now there is interest in audio and image at par."
For its part, the Thomson company, which produces signal transmitters for digital television, also wants to participate. Its sales director for Latin America, Víctor Fernández, said that the region has a great advantage in this process over the countries that already have it.
"Currently the countries of Latin America are choosing their transmitters and have the advantage that the equipment is developed, tested and did not have to carry out the process at the same time that the equipment was being developed," said Víctor Fernández.
Consolidated attendees
Without a doubt, NAB Show continues to be the fair in which you can learn about the trends and the main developments for the broadcast industry worldwide. And their figures prove it.
NAB organizers reported an increase in exhibitor participation and an increase of almost 10% in their size. In total there were 1,600 exhibitors covering 815,000 square meters of exhibition space, compared to 1,550 exhibitors occupying 745,000 square meters in 2011.
In 2012, the total number of registered attendees was 92,112 compared to 91,932 the previous year. Of these, 24,928 were international attendees representing 151 countries, as well as 1,652 media representatives.
