It is critical to understand the changes the broadcast and media industry has gone through in the past two to three years, the ABU Secretary-General, Dr Javad Mottaghi, has said.

In his welcome address to the ABU Digital Broadcasting Symposium in Kuala Lumpur on 7 March, he said the industry had seen tremendous changes especially in media delivery and audience preferences in consuming media.

He said broadcasters, especially public service media, needed to explore these changes and adopt a more digital and social centric approach to take advantage of the convergence of technologies and reposition themselves to match the current industry trends and audience demand.

“The broadcasting industry is currently faced with several challenges, both in terms of keeping its audience and letting go of outdated business practices that do not fit the current day and age.”

Dr Mottaghi said new technologies and advanced solutions, which were fast being rolled out by tech-savvy organisations, were disrupting the usual flow of media delivery and distribution.

Media consumption was becoming more and more personal and the use of digital technologies to understand the preferences of the audience was key to gaining an edge over the competition.

Dr Mottaghi expressed the ABU’s gratitude and appreciation to all DBS sponsors and supporters and to ABU members for their strong support and partnership.

“I would like to thank each and every one of you for your valuable contributions to this event.”