IBC calls for 2026 Accelerator Media Innovation Challenges

Now entering its eighth year, the Accelerator Programme continues to drive real-world experimentation through global collaboration – uniting media and entertainment (M&E) Champions (the buyers of technology, such as broadcasters, studios, content and rights owners, streamers, and games organisations) with technology vendors, start-ups, and academic partners to solve some of the industry’s most pressing business and technology challenges.

The deadline for submissions to the 2026 programme is Thursday, 15th January, 2026. IBC will select up to 12 challenge submissions to move on to the next round of on-stage pitches at its Kickstart Day event, which will take place at the BBC Radio Theatre in BBC Broadcasting House on Wednesday 25 February 2026. The event will also feature industry agenda-setting keynotes and innovation-focused discussions on technology trends and challenges.

From the Kickstart Day event, IBC will select the final projects that will go forward for development over the course of the following six months, culminating in live proof of concept (PoC) showcases and demonstrations at IBC2026 in Amsterdam from 11 to 14 September 2026.

Each Accelerator project is built around the challenges submitted by Champions from across the broad M&E landscape, tackling transformation and disruption across the sector, in areas such as AI, connectivity, immersive media, cloud workflows, content distribution, virtual production, content provenance, cyber security, and sustainability.

“The Accelerator Programme is a completely unique industry platform that facilitates genuine collaboration and experimentation,” said Mark Smith, IBC Council Chair and Lead of the IBC Accelerator Programme. “Each year we see new, practical innovations emerge from cross-industry partnerships that are applied to real-world use cases – and we can’t wait to see the challenges that will define the 2026 edition of the programme.”

Over the past seven years, more than 50 project PoCs have been delivered, involving more than 400 media organisations and technology companies. In 2025, more than 80 media and technology leaders showcased nine projects at IBC, collaborating on industry-first initiatives spanning AI agent assistants, generative AI, content provenance, ultra-low latency streaming, cloud-native workflows, private 5G, sustainable distribution, and a special incubator project focused on AI-powered instant sports highlights. 

Project showcases from the 2025 edition of the programme (including videos of the showcase sessions and project presentations, workflows, and artifacts) can be found on the IBC Accelerator Programme pages here.

How to submit for 2026 projects

Submissions should outline a clear media business or technology challenge to be explored through the collaborative development of a solution and proof of concept (between March and September 2026).

Entrants are encouraged from across the global M&E sector. Full information, including submission guidelines, the entry form, and further details, can be found here.

Key dates include:

•            Challenge submission deadline: 5 December 2025

•            Selection invitations to pitch: January 2026

•            Kickstart Day event at the BBC: 25 February 2026

•            Project development phase: March – August 2026

•            Showcases at IBC2026, Amsterdam: September 2026

Sponsorship packages for the IBC Kickstart Day event on 25 February 2026, as well as other packages across the programme, are available. Please contact accelerators@ibc.org for further information. 

For further information, please click here.