RTL Belgium selects OmniPlayer 3 as Radio Production & Playout System

RTL Belgium has selected OmniPlayer as their new broadcasting production and playout system. OmniPlayer 3, the new software innovation in radio broadcasting, will be implemented into the commercial radio stations of RTL in Belgium, starting with Radio Contact and Bel RTL. 

Frédéric Bochart, Director of Technology for RTL Belgium, believes technology is key to increase content production and reach new listeners. “The radio production process hasn’t changed for years. However, the audience doesn’t listen to the radio in the same way, as cross-platform listening is now common. That’s why we were looking for partners to help us implement our vision. With OmniPlayer we are confident we have found the agility, technology and power to make our dream come true."

Innovative system
With OmniPlayer 3, RTL has chosen for an innovative system that is set for the future of radio and fits perfectly into the new way of thinking and building radio studios. For this OmniPlayer teams up with Pluxbox (Media Agility Platform), Lawo and On-Hertz (audio mixers and routing), Mobile Viewpoint (intelligent visual radio) and All4media Productions (project management). The OmniPlayer software will become the heart of a complete system, whereby the OmniPlayer API will play a profound part.

Peter van Klei, Director of Sales & Marketing at OmniPlayer, could not be happier. ‘’We are honoured to take RTL on as our newest customer. At OmniPlayer we breathe radio, it truly is our passion. This implementation of OmniPlayer 3 is a very special one, as we are really pushing forward with an innovative product. For instance, with the use of thin clients, all OmniPlayer features will work seamlessly.’’ Media Technology System Manager for RTL, Thierry Peters, agrees: “OmniPlayer provides a modern version of a robust playout, while simultaneously integrating web applications, remote production, control audio mixers and visual radio. The size and agility of the parent company, M&I Broadcast Services, seem well suited to our future vision of radio production.”

‘The rich and constantly developing technology of OmniPlayer meets our needs’

Also involved in the project is Alexis Vingerhoed, Information & Media Technology Project Coordination Manager at RTL. “We were looking for a robust, yet innovative solution to meet the needs of all our users. M&I has been with us from the outset in our strategic and ambitious vision for the future of our radio stations. From a technical side, two points, in particular, caught our attention. As our RadioVision channels are TV channels in their own right, we cannot compromise on quality. This is why we wanted a radio playout system capable of managing audio and video simultaneously. It was also essential that the system was open to interconnect with other systems and could be remote-controlled completely. Being rich and constantly developing, the OmniPlayer API meets these needs. We’re looking forward to our first broadcast with the new system!”

The implementation of the newest version of OmniPlayer within RTL Belgium will start this winter. RTL expects to go on-air with the innovative ‘open & visual radio’ system in the course of 2021.

About OmniPlayer
OmniPlayer, part of M&I Broadcast Services, is the number one supplier of radio automation software in the Netherlands and beyond. Most regional and nationwide stations in the Netherlands use OmniPlayer to create, manage, edit, playout and broadcast their content, news and music flawlessly. The software is trusted by prominent European media companies such as Radio Italia, NPO, DPG Media, Elemedia and Talpa.