VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2026--
NEP Europe, part of NEP Group, the leading media services provider for live entertainment and sports worldwide, today announced it will deliver a full range of broadcast solutions for the Eurovision Song Contest 2026 in Vienna, Austria, supporting Austrian national broadcaster ORF in partnership with the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). As a trusted partner to Eurovision, NEP will once again play a central role in delivering one of the world’s most-watched live entertainment productions, powered by industry-leading technology and engineering expertise from across its European network.
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At the core of the production, NEP’s TFC broadcast control system will power the Eurovision ecosystem, managing IP-based SMPTE ST 2110 signal routing across software and hardware, along with multiview capabilities and redundant support. The result is a highly efficient, flexible, and scalable broadcast environment designed for one of the world’s largest live broadcasts.
NEP is also providing extensive onsite support, including the main and backup outside broadcast (OB) facilities, wireless RF camera systems, a new integration of cinematic cameras, a dedicated technical operations center, and a world-class engineering crew.
“Eurovision continues to evolve both creatively and technically, and we’re proud to provide the scale and depth of solutions required to bring the production to life for its massive global fanbase,” said Lise Heidal, President of NEP Europe.
“Our teams are excited to support ORF in delivering this year’s show from Vienna—our seventh consecutive year on the event—working together with our partners to enable new visual approaches while maintaining the reliability and flexibility NEP is known for in global productions.”
NEP Integrates Cinematic Cameras to Bring a New Visual Dimension to Eurovision
A key innovation in this year’s show is the use of ARRI Alexa 35 cinematic cameras, bringing a new visual dimension to the live Eurovision broadcast. Delivered in collaboration with Riedel Communications, the systems mark a step forward in blending cinematic storytelling with live production.
NEP is leading the integration of these cameras into its established multi-camera workflow, ensuring the cinematic elements are seamlessly incorporated into a complex, live, audience-driven production.
“We’ve worked extensively with a wide range of camera systems and technologies over the years, and bringing the ARRI Alexa 35 into Eurovision represents another exciting innovation,” said Axel Engström, Project Director at NEP Europe. “Our expertise lies in integrating these tools seamlessly into complex live workflows, enabling new creative possibilities while maintaining the reliability and scale the event demands. We’re looking forward to bringing these cinematic cameras into the unique environment of Eurovision.”
In addition to NEP’s media services delivery, live events leader Creative Technology (CT) —part of NEP Group—will provide all LED screens and display solutions for the event. CT’s installations will play a central role in the stage design and audience experience, complementing the broadcast production.
From live event capture and full production services through connectivity, network management, and contribution solutions, to content delivery and distribution, NEP provides a fully integrated, end-to-end portfolio of solutions tailored to deliver productions of every size and scale. This full range of solutions, supported by NEP’s personalized operational support and service, enables clients to rely on a single trusted partner for everything from regional broadcasts to the world’s largest global events.
About NEP
Celebrating 40 years of innovation, NEP is the world’s most trusted media services partner for content creators of live sports and entertainment. With a global network of experts, cutting-edge technology, and an expansive portfolio of customer-driven, innovative solutions, we empower our customers to tell their stories in breakthrough ways.
Headquartered in the United States and operating in 25 countries, our teams have supported thousands of major productions and events on every continent with innovation, excellence and reliability. See how we bring content to life at nepgroup.com.
NEP will once again play a central role in delivering one of the world’s most-watched live entertainment productions, powered by industry-leading technology and engineering expertise from across its European network. (Photo credit: Alberto Morand/NEP Group)
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration on Thursday loosened federal rules that require grocery stores and air-conditioning companies to reduce greenhouse gases used in cooling equipment, a step President Donald Trump said would help lower grocery costs.
Trump, at a White House ceremony, said the action by the Environmental Protection Agency would “substantially lower costs for consumers” by delaying costly restrictions that limit the type of refrigerants U.S. businesses and families can use.
The move to relax the Biden-era rules on harmful pollutants known as HFCs emitted by refrigerators and other appliances was the latest attempt by the Trump administration to try to address rising voter concerns over the cost of living ahead of pivotal elections in November.
It is not clear how much or how quickly the loosening of the refrigerant rule might impact grocery prices. Industry groups said the move could even raise prices because manufacturers have already redesigned products, retooled factories and trained workers to build and service next-generation refrigerant equipment.
Inflation in the United States increased to 3.8% annually in April, amid price spikes caused by the Iran war and President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs. Inflation is now outpacing wage gains as the war has kept oil and gasoline prices high.
The Biden-era regulation was “unnecessary and costly and actually makes the machinery worse,” Trump said at a ceremony joined by top executives from Kroger, Piggly Wiggly and other grocery chains. The EPA action will protect hundreds of thousands of jobs and save Americans more than $2 billion a year, he said.
The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute, which represents more than 330 HVAC manufacturers and commercial refrigeration companies, said the change in approach would “inject uncertainty across the market” and could even raise prices.
“This rule works against basic supply and demand,” said Stephen Yurek, the group’s president and CEO. “By extending the compliance deadline” for phasing out hydrofluorocarbons, or HFCs, the administration “is maintaining and even increasing demand in the market for existing refrigerants while supply continues to fall.”
Manufacturers have already retooled product lines and certified models based on the existing timeline, Yurek said. Nearly 90% of residential and light commercial air conditioning systems use substitute refrigerants, rather than HFCs, he said.
The administration's action on refrigerants represents a reversal after Trump signed a law in his first term that aimed to reduce harmful, planet-warming pollutants emitted by refrigerators and air conditioners. That bipartisan measure brought environmentalists and major business groups into rare alignment on the contentious issue of climate change and won praise across the political spectrum.
The 2020 law reflected a broad bipartisan consensus on the need to quickly phase out domestic use of HFCs, greenhouse gases that are thousands of times more potent than carbon dioxide and are considered a major driver of global warming.
The EPA action highlights the second Trump administration’s drive to roll back regulations perceived as climate friendly. The plan is among a series of sweeping environmental changes that EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has said will put a “dagger through the heart of climate change religion.”
Environmentalists criticized the administration’s actions, saying the new rule would exacerbate climate pollution while disrupting a yearslong industry transition to new coolants as an alternative to HFCs.
The 2020 law signed by Trump, known as the American Innovation and Manufacturing Act, phased out HFCs as part of an international agreement on ozone pollution. The law accelerated an industry shift to alternative refrigerants that use less harmful chemicals and are widely available.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Chemistry Council, the top lobbying group for the chemical industry, were among numerous business groups that supported the law and an international deal on pollutants, known as the Kigali Amendment, as victories for jobs and the environment. U.S. companies such as Chemours and Honeywell developed and produce the alternative refrigerants sold in the United States and around the world.
The 2023 rule now being relaxed imposed steep restrictions on HFCs starting in 2026. Zeldin said the rule from the Democratic Biden administration did not give companies enough time to comply and that the rapid switch to other refrigerants caused shortages and price increases last year. Some in the industry dispute this.
The Food Industry Association, which represents grocery stores and suppliers, applauded the Trump EPA proposal last year, saying the earlier rule “imposed significant and unrealistic compliance timelines.”
Kevin McDaniel, Piggly Wiggly franchise owner, speaks during an event with President Donald Trump about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Kroger CEO Greg Foran speaks speaks during an event with President Donald Trump about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
Lee Zeldin, Environmental Protection Agency administrator, listens as President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
FILE - A shop owner reaches into a drink display refrigerator at his convenience store in Kent, Wash., Oct. 1, 2018. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson, File)
