The broadcasting business environment has changed significantly because of the pandemic, the ABU President, Masagaki Satoru, has said.

Speaking at the opening of the ABU General Assembly in New Delhi on 29 November, he said the pandemic had accelerated the digitalisation of society around the world and changed media consumption patterns.

“As a result, competition among media platforms has intensified further and the broadcasting business environment has changed significantly.

“This General Assembly will be a valuable opportunity to sum up our recent experiences. Now we must consider the way to face the post-COVID era, an era in which digitalisation has further deepened.”

Mr Masagaki, who is also Executive Vice President of Japan’s public broadcaster NHK, said the ABU itself had learned a great deal from the pandemic, with activities being held online for the past three years.

This had enabled the ABU to broaden its participants, making activities more accessible to general staff members.

“On the other hand, we were reminded once again that face-to-face meetings are essential for networking and deepening friendships among top management.

“In the future, I believe we can organically combine physical and virtual means to create an efficient and effective way, suitable for the post-COVID era.”