Over 45,000 people from 170 countries came to IBC2024, around 2,000 visitors more compared to the event in 2023. The show also attracted more than 1,350 exhibitors – up 100 from 2023 – while the amount of exhibition space reached 46,000 square metres, exceeding the previous year’s total of 44,500 sqm. Meanwhile, the Content Everywhere section of the event has continued to expand as a critical part of the IBC programme.
So what were some of the key themes under discussion in Halls 4, 5 and 14? Last year, Jon Dahl, CEO of Mux, suggested that artificial intelligence was not at the show “in a big way” but predicted it would be more present in 2024. And how right he proved to be, not least owing to the new AI Tech Zone that showcased practical applications ranging from automated video editing and music-audio separation to content provenance tracking and fast and secure cloud storage.
However, views about AI progress and applications to date are somewhat mixed. Below, Content Everywhere companies highlight what they see as some of the most promising industry developments at the show, while calling out areas where they think the industry has room for improvement, including in its approach to AI...
You are not signed in
Only registered users can read the rest of this article.
Network Control: Turning 5G into a production tool
Speed, flexibility, and reliability – that’s the dream for many a live production. However, when public network coverage is patchy, what’s a broadcaster to do? The 2026 Accelerator Project, Network Control, deploys standardised network APIs to tackle this problem head-on.
Film University Babelsberg to preview immersive Auschwitz project at IBC2026
Film University Babelsberg Konrad Wolf will present an immersive digital reconstruction of a little-known site associated with Auschwitz at IBC2026, as part of EIT Culture & Creativity's first major presence at the show.
Innovation Awards: Investigating 2026’s Content Creation finalists
What does it take to win a technological innovation award in content creation? Fergal Ringrose, Chair of Judges for the IBC Innovation Awards, assesses the top three projects in the running – revealing the key characteristics of each of the most competitive submissions.
Branded entertainment: Money, freedom, and audiences unite
As traditional broadcasters battle decreasing budgets and attention spans, brands have come to the fore as collaborators in an increasingly lucrative and creatively fertile strand of the media business.
FRAMES: Automating the archive end-to-end
Despite the availability of hundreds of generative AI tools, pre-production environments are still struggling to find a semantic archive search solution that is technically feasible and effective in the real world. Enter FRAMES.


