wTVision CEO Nuno Alves Reflects on 2018 Achievements; Looks Towards New Year of Opportunities

“A year of positive changes, that will help us shape an even better future for wTVision,” says CEO Nuno Alves as he reflects on 2018 and all the new exciting possibilities the past year has brought to the company. “2018 brought us new challenges and some exciting new projects. In Portugal, we have to highlight our collaboration with the Eurovision Song Contest (held in Lisbon). It’s one of the most prestigious TV Shows in Europe and wTVision was responsible for the data and graphics operation. A big challenge and a major success in every possible way, thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team.

Also in Portugal, 2018 marked the beginning of our partnership with Eleven Sports, that is now using our technical hub in Lisbon as its playout center and ChannelMaker as its playout software,” Alves continues. “To know that football fans in Portugal are watching such prestigious competitions as the UEFA Champions League thanks to our solutions is a source of pride for all of us and it was one of the highlights of the past year.”

Software Development
“To launch and start using our very own AR³ Football was one of the main goals of 2018 and we did it. Augmented Reality is one of the most exciting trends happening in the broadcasting industry and to have a tool that simplifies Virtual Placement into live matches is a clear advantage. We’ve also introduced AR³ Athletics in Berlin (for the European Athletics Championships). So overall it was a great year for our team of specialists working on Augmented Reality solutions.

This year we also introduced Recall, a turn-key system for legal recording, and VVTR, a tool designed to replace a professional broadcast VTR. We announced and showcased them at IBC exhibition show and the response was immensely positive.

I also have to mention a great year for our real-time 3D render engine, R³ Space Engine. It has proven to be a fantastic solution for any major TV channel and it was a vital part of many of our projects.”

Election Coverage
“Panama, India, Spain, or Maldives. These are just some of the many examples of Elections our team covered, a few of them in the same week. There are no language or cultural challenges our team can’t overcome. And 2018 proved once again how easy it is for wTVision to adapt to different working scenarios.”

wTVision’s Global Reach
“It’s hard to choose just a few things to highlight, because all wTVision’s offices worldwide had so many exciting things happening,” Alves says. “It was important to bring back the French League to our portfolio of football leagues, where we’re managing data and real-time graphics. Our experience allowed the project to be successfully developed in record time.”

“In Spain, we took a big step with our Augmented Reality solutions and we’re now operating eight different shows in the country. We delivered virtual solutions with our own technology and integrated third-party technology on established workflows. In Brazil we’ve developed more projects with our ChannelMaker and Studio CG and we hope to continue expanding our presence in the country.

For wTVision India, 2018 was a year of growth that allowed us to establish ourselves as one of the main players for Sports Productions in the broadcasting industry, particularly Cricket operations. India was also the launching pad for operations all over South Asia. Of course I also have to mention our continuous collaboration with UEFA. We’ve been managing data and graphics for the UEFA Nations League (starting this year) in ten countries, we’ve implemented new graphic concepts for the UEFA Friendly Matches and Youth League and we hope to maintain this successful partnership.”

Possibilities in 2019
“From all we got from 2018 I can say with confidence that 2019 is full of possibilities and we expect to continue our path of sustainable growth,” Alves continues. “Portugal and Spain will represent new challenges, because 2019 will be a year with lots of elections to cover. From regional to European elections, we expect it to be a busy electoral period. In Latin America, we hope to add some more projects to our portfolio and in Brazil we’ve already started to work towards that goal with some affiliated channels of the broadcasting giants Globo, Record, and Bandeirantes.”

“There are a few markets we’re ready to establish ourselves in, like Russia and Eastern Europe, and we want to keep growing in countries like China, where we expect Mediapro Group to have a great year and wTVision, as part of the Group, is hoping for new challenges there. As for wTVision USA, we want to keep growing in the United States and go beyond Miami and its major influence in the Latin American communities and markets.

When it comes to software development, we expect to integrate the Unreal Engine into our R³ Space Engine,” Alves concludes. “We’ll announce a new SportStats Center, that will manage and provide more innovative data, and we’re developing an MCR solution for IP workflows.”