Author: PebbleAdmin

David Kicks appointed VP of Sales for North America and LATAM
Weybridge, UK, 28th September 2020 – Pebble Beach Systems, a leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, today announced the appointment of David Kicks as VP of Sales for the North America and LATAM regions.
David brings 40 years of diverse industry experience to his new role, having begun his career in engineering roles at Pro-Bel in the UK and then taking on sales responsibilities with Pro-Bel and Chyron. He moved to North America in 2004 as part of an MBO, and went on to hold senior regional and national sales roles with Snell Group, Vidcheck and Telestream.

David said, “It’s such an exciting time to start working with Pebble, with a young, enthusiastic, driven team of bright engineers with energy and purpose. At a time of rapid technological change, they are bringing new thinking and energy to the table. The strong problem-solving and collaborative ethos of the delivery team gives me great confidence in our ability to satisfy the specific needs of both the North American and LATAM markets. I’m excited to share details of our ambitious programme with my network, and look forward to evangelising our new Oceans technology platform, and more.”

Peter Mayhead, CEO, Pebble Beach Systems, commented, “David’s rich experience and strong set of competencies will serve us well in these regions. As Pebble looks to consolidate its position and add new offerings into the market, we’re pleased to have him on board.”
—ends—

Oceans is the latest platform for broadcast solutions built for cloud-friendly and on-prem technologies – TVB Europe BEST OF SHOW WINNER
Weybridge, UK, 10th September 2020 – Pebble Beach Systems, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, has announced the next wave of media orchestration with its new platform, Oceans.
Oceans is Pebble’s next generation service-oriented technology platform. Built for all clouds, but equally happy on-prem, Oceans will enable broadcasters to deploy, manage, host and upgrade their broadcast workflows and services from a single intuitive unified interface, now and in the IP future.
Designed to handle complex broadcast workflows in a simple and intuitive manner, thanks to common core services across multiple functional applications, Oceans provides enhanced visibility and control of the playout infrastructure. And regardless of scale, Oceans will enable broadcasters to expand their deployment as new services are released. The platform allows them to write and integrate their own functionality using Oceans’ open and secure APIs.
Oceans’ ‘virtual’ container-based platform management ensures that users are running the most efficient solution for the scale of their operation, delivering the optimum provisioning, management and usage of available resources for their requirements at any given time.
Oceans has been designed with four key principles at its heart:

• To help broadcasters and media companies transition towards IP-based technologies, including the cloud
• To bring existing Pebble customers along and offer access to the new functionality
• To offer agile and reactive technology for changing business and external developments
• To easily support new technologies with iterative, flexible, modular solutions at all scales, from single channel infrastructures to multi-channel, multi-site, geo-dispersed operations

As the broadcast industry moves towards increasingly widespread adoption of IP protocols, and expand to include VOD services and other OTT offerings, broadcasters and operators are increasingly exploring ways of working within the cloud that makes both practical, and financial sense.
There are multiple drivers are work. The broadcaster may want to monetise linear content on VOD, for example, without the cost of building a whole new infrastructure, or they could be looking at implementing Business Continuity / Disaster Recovery without incurring unmanageable costs. Making good decisions around technology refresh cycles is key, as always. And there is little doubt that decisions made in 2020 need to have the cloud at the heart. The service-based, agile, scalable solutions that cloud deployment has enabled provide broadcasters, and now the new users of the Oceans platform, with a significant range of advantages:

• faster development cycles to adapt to changing needs
• robust, comprehensive security and logging
• the ability to write a company’s functionality and business logic, or ‘Build it Yourself’
• smooth and unobtrusive update processes

With the ability to be agile and reactive to changes affecting broadcasters worldwide, Oceans will integrate into workflows with ease, supporting evolving technologies, and enabling current Pebble customers to build further on their current infrastructures and benefit from new functionalities and efficiencies.

“Interoperability is in our DNA,” says Daniel Robinson, Head of R&D at Pebble Beach Systems. “As experienced solution builders, our business is implementing playout infrastructures and taking customers on air in testing and diverse environments. Oceans will provide the broadcast community with flexible, easily upgradeable solutions, which are tailored to every workflow. Creating Oceans from the ground up, we took a rigorous approach to security, authentication, and resilience, building the platform the industry needs with the right building blocks for more functional services to further enhance our automation offerings.”

New agribusiness channel launched with the combined power of Pebble Marina automation and Dolphin integrated channel technology
WEYBRIDGE, UK, 16 JULY 2020: Leading playout automation and channel in a box specialist, Pebble Beach Systems, today announced that Brazilian broadcaster TV Bandeirantes (known as Band) has launched its new Agro+ channel with Pebble’s Marina and Dolphin systems at the heart of its operation.
Agro+ is a specialised channel aimed at the country’s vital agribusiness industry and was launched on 22 June. With programming covering all aspects of the industry, the fully file-based channel is split across two sites, with its main headquarters in Brasilia and Master Control based in São Paulo. Pebble’s flagship Marina automation solution controls Dolphin integrated channel devices which handle branding, graphics and loudness control for the channel. The original technology was installed by Pebble’s local reseller, Videodata, who also carried out the remote commissioning for this new launch.

“The system must be fast and responsive as we have operations in two cities; all our engineering is based in São Paulo while the Agro+ studio and newsroom are in Brasilia” comments Thiago Perrella, CTO at TV Bandeirantes. “It was also a project with an extremely tight turnaround, which, of course, was given added complexity by having to be accomplished under lockdown procedures.”

Despite the obstacles due to lockdown restrictions, the installation was complete in record time. There was less than 10 days between the date the order was received, to the automated playout channel transmitting live, which is a significant achievement under current economic circumstances. All installation, commissioning and training for the new channel was also successfully carried out remotely by the experienced Videodata team who were working from home.
“Agro+ was a unique challenge because of the limitations of the ongoing health pandemic” says Marcelo Blum, Architecture and Technology Manager at Videodata. “By utilising the existing hardware platform already installed at Band, and implementing NDI outputs for the preview signals, the implementation could be completed in record time with no need for new hardware on premise. This is certainly the first time we have taken a new channel to air completely remotely, and the experience proved to be a great success thanks to Pebble.”
The Bandeirantes Network has been a Pebble Beach Systems customer since 2008 and has a large playout automation system including more than 30 master control playlists and nine news and production switchers, with MOS integration for newsroom systems. In 2019 it launched the Smithsonian Channel in Brazil, fully based on Pebble’s technology, with local support also provided by Videodata.

“We have forged a strong relationship with Band over the past 12 years and we are delighted to be working with the Videodata team again, especially on this unique mission of launching a new channel during the current pandemic,” comments David Russin, VP of Sales for the Americas at Pebble Beach Systems. “The remote operations that Agro+ is based on are becoming more commonplace as organisations look increasingly to distributed workflows, and we are delighted that Marina and Dolphin were so vital in taking it to air with such speed, ease and simplicity.”

Marina automation system will transform playout for the Greek public radio and television broadcaster
WEYBRIDGE, UK, 18th JUNE 2020: Leading playout automation and integrated channel specialist, Pebble Beach Systems, today announced that the state-owned public radio and television broadcaster for Greece, The Hellenic Broadcasting Corporation (ERT), has ordered a significant multi-site installation of Pebble’s Marina automation platform to transform the playout capabilities at its Athens headquarters, and their premises in Thessaloniki.
ERT is one of the 23 founding broadcasting organisations of the European Broadcasting Union in 1950. Today, it runs four digital terrestrial television channels and one international satellite channel. This includes around the clock broadcasting from Athens for ERT-1, ERT-2 and ERT-SPORTS-HD. ERT-3 focuses on regional broadcasting for Northern Greece and surrounding areas, and comprises premises 500km away, in Thessaloniki.
Working with Pebble’s local reseller PTS (Pierides TechnoSystems Ltd.), the requirements set by ERT were to upgrade the outdated 10+ year old infrastructure that would revolutionise playout for a national multi-site delivery. Pebble’s Marina system was the outcome of a tender process and will provide a flexible, scalable architecture that will enable ERT to utilise resources over multiple servers, and to serve the agility of its users across the country.
Combining architectural flexibility with exceptional resiliency, Marina is designed to meet and anticipate the evolving needs of any media environment. One of the most appealing aspects for ERT was Marina’s interoperability with multiple vendors and best of breed third party devices, including the ease of controlling graphics and interfacing with routers and servers.
As a strategic multi-site installation, two Marina playout systems will be deployed. One system will be situated at the Athens HQ, which will facilitate up to five channels, and the other will transform the regional playout of ERT-3 which is based in Thessaloniki. ERT has made a strategic decision to keep ERT-3 as a separate operational unit, maintaining its own continuity and autonomy servicing the regions.

Michael Nugent, Head of Technology for Hellenic Radio & Television (ERT) said, “We’re delighted to be working with Pebble Beach Systems and PTS who have the knowhow to provide reliable and latest technology solution for ERT’s new playout facilities.”

Panos Pierides, PTS General Director also said, “The innovative technology from Pebble Beach Systems allowed us to provide our client a solution that best suits their needs. Both PTS and Pebble share the same values for quality, performance and reliability and the outcome reflects that.”
The equipment was originally scheduled to be on air prior to the 2020 summer of global sports but will now be on air within August, in time for the new TV season.
“We are proud to strengthen our partnership with one of Europe’s most historic broadcasters as they upgrade their entire channel infrastructure to Marina,” said Roger Sewell, VP Sales for Pebble Beach Systems. “As the most modern automation platform in the market, Marina continues to transform playout capabilities for broadcasters around the globe, regardless of size, scale and location of delivery.”
To find out more about Pebble Beach Systems, please click here
### ENDS ###

Company reports key financial metrics that build on the success of the last two years
Weybridge, UK, 30th April 2020 – Pebble Beach Systems, the leading automation, content management and integrated channel specialist, today announced a strong set of results for the year ended 31 December 2019, with all key financial metrics ahead of 2018’s impressive figures.
The company increased its gross margin, and the net cash inflow from its operating activities. At £3.8m, the adjusted EBITDA figure was 52% higher than that for 2018. Revenues were also significantly up, at £11.2m compared to £9.2m in 2018, an increase of 22%.
Pebble CEO Peter Mayhead commented:

“This strong display of financials is excellent news for our existing customers and prospective Pebble users. It sends a clear signal to the industry about our stability and success as a supplier, and about continuity of supply and support for existing users. It also demonstrates that we are in a strong position to invest in R&D for the future of the company, enabling us to enhance our offering and increasing our ability to meet the market’s requirements as the industry continues to transform.”

John Varney, Non-Executive Chairman of Pebble Beach Systems Group plc, said:

“2018 was a year of transformation, and 2019 has been a year of validation. We have shown that the steps we had taken were what the market, in which we occupy a leading position, needed. We concluded the year having shown that we can both deliver upon our expectations and we can innovate. We are a key component of this industry that changes rapidly and is always at the forefront of technological innovation. We are fortunate to have some hugely talented individuals within Pebble Beach Systems who are constantly delivering new and exciting solutions that enable us to maintain our position as a leading supplier of broadcast automation to the world’s largest broadcasters.”