Broadcast technology consultancy firm Mediasmiths has shut down its UK division.

The company, which has worked on projects including the design of shared media infrastructure for MediaCityUK and assisting BSkyB’s shift to a tapeless workflow, informed clients of the voluntary liquidation on Friday.

Mediasmiths’ divisions in Sweden and Australia, which became separate legal entities earlier this year, are unaffected by the closure and will continue to trade.

Mediasmiths chairman Niall Duffy told Broadcast: “The UK market has changed over the past 18 months and a lot of what we are known for around digital workflows is beginning to evaporate.

“It’s partly that the market is maturing, but also that broadcasters are in a stronger position with a better skills base.”

As well as consultancy services, Mediasmiths provided software systems integration and development and training.

Looking to the future, Duffy believes there could be opportunities around convergence, customer engagement and the logistics of content management, but he felt Mediasmiths in the UK was too closely associated with digital workflows.

“In a way, we are victims of our own success; it can be hard to change your brand when you are so closely associated with one area,” he added.

Mediasmiths was one of the original anchor tenants of MediaCityUK’s small-to-medium-sized business incubator The Landing, where it ran a digital workflow centre.

It no longer has a presence on the Salford campus, although the The Landing’s workflow centre remains an operational facility which can be used by tenant companies or hired by third parties.

A research and development facility in Belfast, known as Mediasmiths Forge, was wound down last year.

Mediasmiths is also a preferred supplier of the Digital Production Partnership (DPP). It conducted industry research on behalf of the cross-broadcaster group and wrote three reports on the impact of digital workflows on the TV industry.

The DPP said it hasn’t yet decided how it will work with external consultants following the company’s closure.

DPP chair Mark Harrison said: “The DPP would like to thank Mediasmiths for all the great work they have done with us over the last four years. Their insights have always proved accurate and valuable.

“Their legacy will be clearly visible in our work for years to come.”

Topics