In September 2026, Ilya Livshits JMS’07 was part of the NBCUniversal team that won an Emmy for Exceptional Achievement in Broadcast Technology. The team was recognized for developing ground-breaking new live television production technologies for their systems known as NBCUnicast. Created during the COVID-19 pandemic, their innovation enabled real-time production from remote locations. Today, it has become standard across the news industry and continues to fundamentally transform the live production landscape.
“It was incredibly gratifying to know that the work of our team led to a major initiative across NBCU as well as the broader media technology community,” Livshits said. “I get tremendous joy in knowing that I am a key contributor to the infrastructure that allows for major news, sports and entertainment programming to reach millions around the world.”
Livshits has worked at NBC for 20 years and is currently the Senior Director of Production Technology Architecture. He oversees architects and project engineers who design and configure major broadcast production systems.
The team’s Emmy Award-winning project centered around real-time streaming using WebRTC and the RIST protocol, Livshits said. “The key need that developed early on during the COVID-19 pandemic was that producers and operators needed ways of seeing studio and control room content when operating remotely. But for normal TV productions, even a few seconds of latency are a major blocker.” His team worked to fix this by distributing low-latency, high-quality streams that anyone could view from any location.
“Now rolled out across the company, NBCUnicast is considered the new frontier of traditional IPTV needs for internal stream monitoring,” he said. “With this tool in hand, all parts of our business are able to work much more efficiently and collaboratively; anyone can be anywhere they need to and still be part of major productions.”
Livshits, along with key members of his team, plan to attend the 2026 Engineering, Science & Technology Emmy Awards Ceremony on October 14 in North Hollywood to officially accept the Emmy. “Our work spanned several years of concepting, development, program management, testing and deployments,” Livshits said. “So seeing that hard work pay off has been a dream come true.”
At Rutgers, Livshits double-majored in Journalism and Media Studies and Political Science. He was heavily involved in RU-tv, the student-run television network (now defunct), where he gained valuable experience behind the scenes of media production.
Our work spanned several years of concepting, development, program management, testing and deployments, so seeing that hard work pay off has been a dream come true.
Ilya Livshits
“Since RU-tv was relatively small (but growing) during my time there, I was able to get familiar with every single aspect of production, including camera robotics, video switcher technology, as well as audio and graphics,” he said.
In addition to developing technical skills, Livshits met mentors and colleagues at SC&I and RU-tv who were instrumental in helping him succeed. He credits Teaching Professor and Director of Undergraduate Studies, Journalism and Media Studies Steven Miller for being an “incredible resource” as he navigated his early career in media.
Multimedia Facilities Specialist Jeffrey Arban at Rutgers Communications helped him begin his ongoing journey in TV engineering and technology. “I continue to catch up with Steve and Jeff whenever I get the chance!” Livshits said.
He also paid tribute to Rutgers former Assistant Director of Electronic Media Productions and Resources Brenton Smith, who joined Elon University in 2013 and passed away in 2021. “He guided me during my entire time at Rutgers and was an integral part of my technical growth,” Livshits said. “He also enjoyed bantering and debating with me on countless topics which I still look back on with fond memories.”
Each day that I walk into 30 Rock, I still feel a wave of excitement in knowing that I am a part of history in the making.
Ilya Livshits
One of his fellow SC&I students also played a pivotal role in his career trajectory. “Before graduating from Rutgers, one of my RU-tv colleagues (and SC&I class of 2006 graduate) Patrick Stahl had told me that he was becoming a full-time employee at NBC after having completed an internship there.” This meant that Stahl’s previous position had opened up. “He suggested I apply, which turned out to be a career-making decision,” Livshits said.
He started his career at NBC three days before graduating from Rutgers and “never looked back.” His 20-year journey there speaks to how much he enjoys being at the center of major media production, and why he continues his work at NBC with a sense of pride and novelty. “Each day that I walk into 30 Rock, I still feel a wave of excitement in knowing that I am a part of history in the making.”
