The Year We Turned IP Complexity into Effortless Workflow
Building a better box of tricks
2025 has been a year of steady momentum for arkona technologies - not only in terms of pushing the technical envelope, but in making sure broadcasters can actually use all that capability without friction. Much of our focus this year has been on refining the BLADE//runner ecosystem so it remains as powerful as ever, while becoming easier to deploy, easier to configure, and easier to scale. EASY-IP has been a particular highlight: what began as a joint concept with our technology partner manifold CLOUD quickly evolved into a practical, ready-to-deploy infrastructure package that removes much of the traditional pain of moving into an IP world. Clean switching, automatic A/V alignment, a huge audio engine, multiviewing and routing under one roof - all packaged in a way that doesn’t require broadcasters to reinvent their facility from scratch. That drive toward simplicity continued with our 2.8 software release later in the year, which introduced our new CORE and MAX licensing model. The aim was straightforward: eliminate the old complexity of multiple option licences and give users a clear, predictable path to growth. Whether a broadcaster needs an entry point or full-scale processing density, our new structure provides flexibility and reduced complexity. In that sense it follows an important underpinning philosophy that continues to guide our product development process: it’s not just about pushing technological boundaries (though that’s a big part of it), it’s about deploying that technology in a smooth, seamless and frictionless manner.
Out and about in the big wide world
Our tradeshow calendar was its busiest yet, and it showed how far the arkona name has come. After years of powering well-known OEM solutions behind the scenes, 2025 marked the point where the industry increasingly came to see arkona as arkona - a company in its own right, defined by
engineering depth, pragmatism, and a partnership-driven mindset. NAB and IBC were standout moments for showcasing what happens when you combine the strength of our own BLADE//runner with that of our technology partner manifold (in the form of their manifold CLOUD) and we were
incredibly proud to be awarded Future’s Best of Show Award at NAB. InterBEE gave our Japanese partner NEJ the opportunity to introduce the platform to a new audience, whilst at the Hamburg Open, we’ll again be showing the full breadth of our technology, with netorium - our new partner in the German market - hosting a masterclass on cloud-native remote production. Across every event, the common theme has been the same: people know who we are, and they’re eager to see what we’re building next.
On air and in action
And then there were the customer deployments - arguably the truest measure of progress. This year saw AT300 cards and EASY-IP solutions entering a growing number of production environments, from UHD routing to distributed audio workflows. The beginning of the year saw us (well, our technology at least) heading to sunnier climes, with an installation for Channel Seven in Melbourne, Australia, and a second visit down under in summer, where we assisted NEP in the creation of what might be the largest multiviewer in the world: 1300 sources to 500 output heads in one system. NEP are of course already au fait with what we do, as they’ve been rolling out a combined package of BLADE//runner and manifold CLOUD in their global IP-OB fleet for quite some time.
Mexico also saw some substantial systems installed for two of Mexico’s biggest Tier One broadcasters, and we also had call to pop over to Los Angeles – though that’s a project we’ll have to keep quiet on for now. Let’s just say we got to hang out in the other ‘Big Apple’ in America...
Closer to home (and a little bit rainier), we’ll be helping Cloudbass to deliver UK football from their two new OB vans, whilst NRK in Norway and MMC in Cologne continue to pop-in and top-up on their IP-driven production needs.
SKY Germany in particular deserves a special mention, with perhaps the largest adoption of AT300s that we’ve ever seen, across the widest range of applications. If we’d had an ‘End User of the Year’ award, they would certainly have been in the running. Meanwhile, our partnerships with BFE, Qvest, netorium and others helped bring arkona technology into more tenders and more facility upgrades than ever before. Rainer, for his part, spent so much of the year sourcing and shipping hardware around Germany - and further afield, to the Baltics and Slovenia too - that we suspect he may now be on a first-name basis with every courier in the country. A good problem to have when growth is the cause.
Seasons Greetings, full of gratitude
So, as we close out 2025, our thanks go to everyone who has been part of this journey - customers, partners, colleagues and friends. It has been a year defined not by big declarations, but by solid progress: better tools, simpler workflows, stronger partnerships and technology that more broadcasters are choosing to rely on every day. We’re pleased with what we’ve achieved, and even more excited about what we’re building next.
Here’s to a productive and quietly ambitious 2026!
2025 has been a year of steady momentum for arkona technologies - not only in terms of pushing the technical envelope, but in making sure broadcasters can actually use all that capability without friction. Much of our focus this year has been on refining the BLADE//runner ecosystem so it remains as powerful as ever, while becoming easier to deploy, easier to configure, and easier to scale. EASY-IP has been a particular highlight: what began as a joint concept with our technology partner manifold CLOUD quickly evolved into a practical, ready-to-deploy infrastructure package that removes much of the traditional pain of moving into an IP world. Clean switching, automatic A/V alignment, a huge audio engine, multiviewing and routing under one roof - all packaged in a way that doesn’t require broadcasters to reinvent their facility from scratch. That drive toward simplicity continued with our 2.8 software release later in the year, which introduced our new CORE and MAX licensing model. The aim was straightforward: eliminate the old complexity of multiple option licences and give users a clear, predictable path to growth. Whether a broadcaster needs an entry point or full-scale processing density, our new structure provides flexibility and reduced complexity. In that sense it follows an important underpinning philosophy that continues to guide our product development process: it’s not just about pushing technological boundaries (though that’s a big part of it), it’s about deploying that technology in a smooth, seamless and frictionless manner.
Out and about in the big wide world
Our tradeshow calendar was its busiest yet, and it showed how far the arkona name has come. After years of powering well-known OEM solutions behind the scenes, 2025 marked the point where the industry increasingly came to see arkona as arkona - a company in its own right, defined by
engineering depth, pragmatism, and a partnership-driven mindset. NAB and IBC were standout moments for showcasing what happens when you combine the strength of our own BLADE//runner with that of our technology partner manifold (in the form of their manifold CLOUD) and we were
incredibly proud to be awarded Future’s Best of Show Award at NAB. InterBEE gave our Japanese partner NEJ the opportunity to introduce the platform to a new audience, whilst at the Hamburg Open, we’ll again be showing the full breadth of our technology, with netorium - our new partner in the German market - hosting a masterclass on cloud-native remote production. Across every event, the common theme has been the same: people know who we are, and they’re eager to see what we’re building next.
On air and in action
And then there were the customer deployments - arguably the truest measure of progress. This year saw AT300 cards and EASY-IP solutions entering a growing number of production environments, from UHD routing to distributed audio workflows. The beginning of the year saw us (well, our technology at least) heading to sunnier climes, with an installation for Channel Seven in Melbourne, Australia, and a second visit down under in summer, where we assisted NEP in the creation of what might be the largest multiviewer in the world: 1300 sources to 500 output heads in one system. NEP are of course already au fait with what we do, as they’ve been rolling out a combined package of BLADE//runner and manifold CLOUD in their global IP-OB fleet for quite some time.
Mexico also saw some substantial systems installed for two of Mexico’s biggest Tier One broadcasters, and we also had call to pop over to Los Angeles – though that’s a project we’ll have to keep quiet on for now. Let’s just say we got to hang out in the other ‘Big Apple’ in America...
Closer to home (and a little bit rainier), we’ll be helping Cloudbass to deliver UK football from their two new OB vans, whilst NRK in Norway and MMC in Cologne continue to pop-in and top-up on their IP-driven production needs.
SKY Germany in particular deserves a special mention, with perhaps the largest adoption of AT300s that we’ve ever seen, across the widest range of applications. If we’d had an ‘End User of the Year’ award, they would certainly have been in the running. Meanwhile, our partnerships with BFE, Qvest, netorium and others helped bring arkona technology into more tenders and more facility upgrades than ever before. Rainer, for his part, spent so much of the year sourcing and shipping hardware around Germany - and further afield, to the Baltics and Slovenia too - that we suspect he may now be on a first-name basis with every courier in the country. A good problem to have when growth is the cause.
Seasons Greetings, full of gratitude
So, as we close out 2025, our thanks go to everyone who has been part of this journey - customers, partners, colleagues and friends. It has been a year defined not by big declarations, but by solid progress: better tools, simpler workflows, stronger partnerships and technology that more broadcasters are choosing to rely on every day. We’re pleased with what we’ve achieved, and even more excited about what we’re building next.
Here’s to a productive and quietly ambitious 2026!