Pilot Brings Policymakers to D.C. “Innovation” Event

Organizers promise keynotes, panels and live demos with experts highlighting how they are “revolutionizing the broadcast industry with new and emerging technologies to better serve audiences in new ways,” according to a press release.Pilot was announced last winter as “a coalition of stakeholders dedicated to advancing broadcast technologies,” succeeding NAB Labs. Along with NAB, its charter members are Accenture, Akamai, Frankly, Google, Lakana, Nielsen, Shareablee and Yahoo.News4 anchor Jim Handly emcees today’s event; participants include NAB President/CEO Gordon Smith, Sen. Brian Schatz, Rep. Greg Walden and Glenn Reitmeier, SVP of Advanced Technology Standards & Policy at NBC Universal.Some highlights from the schedule:After the panels and remarks comes a two-hour reception, during which demonstrations of the Olympics in Ultra HD, virtual reality, NewsOn, NextRadio, “Next Generation TV Advanced Emergency Alerts” and (of course) drones.

  • An Olympic Experience: This presentation talks about how changes in production and consumer technology affect the way that home audiences experience the games. Wwimmer Allison Schmitt will discuss her career, during which she has medaled across three separate games.
  • The New Broadcasters: The session explores how on-command content gets to audiences in “today’s anywhere, anytime broadcast environment.”
  • Congressional remarks fromWalden and Schatz, each of whom are slated to talk for about five minutes.
  • The Future of Localism: Bringing the Story Home (5:25–6 p.m.): How have innovations enabled broadcasters to focus on news that matters most to their communities?

WASHINGTON—
The National Association of Broadcasters’ recently renamed tech advocacy arm is hosting D.C- area policymakers today for a “glimpse of the future” that includes demonstrations of Ultra HD video, NextRadio,
virtual reality and drones.

The event is called “Broadcast Innovations: Today, Tomorrow and Beyond” and is being put on by Pilot, the former NAB Labs, this afternoon and evening at the Newseum, a couple of blocks from the U.S. Capitol.

Learn more about the agenda here.

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