Alameda, CA (October 30, 2025)—Clear-Com contributed its Gen-IC virtual intercom solution to support real-time communications for On-Air Student TV.
The world-first broadcast brought together 913 students, staff and industry volunteers across 17 locations on six continents, with more than 10,000 YouTube viewers tuning in to watch the 24-hour live stream. The 24-hour global student broadcast was organized by media leader Carrie Wootten under the banner of the Global Media and Entertainment Talent Manifesto. Clear-Com’s Gen-IC connected program directors at Ravensbourne University in London and participating universities from Brisbane to Los Angeles, via São Paulo, Mumbai and across Europe, all without the need for dedicated intercom hardware.
“Each participating university was provided with Clear-Com’s Station-IC virtual desktop client, allowing teams to easily coordinate their contributions,” explained John Sparrow, Clear-Com’s technical support engineer for the project. “Once installed on a PC or Mac, all they needed was a headset to achieve perfect communications. Gen-IC reliably linked all Station-IC instances via the cloud, giving teams full real-time connectivity wherever they were.”
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Some universities took integration a step further, linking Station-IC to their local wired intercom systems. Students at Mulberry UTC, for example, worked with Rise Academy to integrate a Stream Deck controller using the latest Station-IC update, creating a physical interface for operating the comms.
“I stayed up for 36 hours straight to support the initiative, and it was very much worth it,” Sparrow added. “With contributions from 17 locations on six continents, the buzz in the temporary MCR was incredible.”
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The broadcast also made history as the first live event to incorporate the Time Addressable Media Store (TAMS), an open-source API specification developed by BBC R&D. More than 30 industry partners including Sky, AWS, ITV Studios, SMPTE, Vizrt, Levira, and Techex joined forces on the project, working under Wootten’s leadership to deliver a global, collaborative showcase of student talent and media innovation.
