Plain-English explanations of the tech and AI terms that come up in The Ministry of Broadcasting. New terms are added with every edition that needs them.
Written with the help of Claude and checked against the sources linked under each entry.
A company, founded in 2011, that uses AI to watch live sports broadcasts and cut highlights automatically, minutes after the action happens. More than 650 organizations use it, including the NBA, the NHL, LaLiga and DAZN.
In broadcast terms: an EVS operator and an editor who never sleep, building clips for every platform at the same time.
Sources: WSC Sports, Built In
The simplest version of a product that real customers can actually use. It is not the finished thing: it is just enough to find out if people want it, before you spend serious money. The term was coined in 2001 and made popular by Eric Ries in his book The Lean Startup.
In broadcast terms: a pilot episode. You shoot one, see if the network bites, and only then build the series.
Source: Wikipedia
Building software by describing what you want to an AI in plain language and letting it write the code. You test the result and ask for changes, without reading the code line by line. Andrej Karpathy (see below) coined the term in February 2025, and Collins Dictionary named it its Word of the Year for 2025.
In broadcast terms: directing a show by talking to your crew on the talkback, instead of operating every machine yourself.
Source: Wikipedia
A small test to prove that an idea can work at all, before anyone builds a real product. A POC answers "is this possible?". An MVP answers "will people use it?".
In broadcast terms: the tech rehearsal the day before the show. You check that the signal path works before you go live.
Source: The Big Bang Partnership