IBC2026 brings M&E industry together to turn innovation into action

First-time exhibitors were up by more than a third in 2026, while many established global brands expanded their presence. Initiatives including Future Tech Ignite, Braindate, and the expanded Talent & Skills Development Programme also created more ways for ideas, expertise, and commercial opportunities to develop across the global IBC community. 

“IBC’s superpower is the power to convene our industry,” said Mike Crimp, CEO of IBC. “Our industry has always been at its best when people come together, embrace new technology, and work through challenges to create real opportunity. That’s why IBC remains so important. We bring together all corners of the industry to demonstrate how innovation can solve practical challenges.” 

Business gets done at IBC 

Across the exhibition, 256 companies made their IBC debut, an increase of 36% from 2025. They joined established media and technology businesses from around the world using IBC to meet customers, develop partnerships, assess new technologies, and generate business. 

“The Future Tech zone has been the ideal place for us to make our IBC debut and launch into Europe,” said Ashish Agrawal, Founder, CEO, EON Media. “We’ve had great customer conversations and a lot of drop-by visitors who were truly engaged.” 

“We increased our presence for IBC2026 and saw a real buzz on the booth this year, with high-quality visitors and customer conversations throughout the show,” added Kara Martin-Beijer, Vice President Corporate Marketing, Avid. 

“It’s a massive opportunity for our product teams to get a direction on where the industry wants to go and for us to share ideas with the industry and get that feedback loop going,” said Jeff Moore, Executive Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer, Ross Video, citing a first-day sale of one of the company’s new solutions. “That shows you right there the value of IBC.” 

Turning ideas into action 

Future Tech, introduced in 2025, expanded its role as a focal point for emerging technologies, collaborative innovation and new industry talent. New for 2026, Future Tech Ignite brought together more than 70 start-ups and emerging companies, connecting them with investors and established organisations from across media and entertainment. 

Future Tech Ignite was supported by EIT Culture & Creativity, part of the EU-backed European Institute of Innovation and Technology, as Innovation Partner. 

“There's not another equivalent… You get the global perspective,” said Anette Schaefer, CEO, EIT Culture & Creativity. “IBC has a great programme... It brings a lot of leaders together and it's the exchange of ideas and thoughts.” 

“The calibre of conversations and folks who have been attending here across very sub-vertical within media and entertainment has been very high value and really engaging,” said Jean Blatchford, Senior Product Marketing Manager, Global Industry, Microsoft. 

The new Braindate Lounge, available through the IBC Exchange pass, extended the emphasis on connection through curated one-to-one and small-group conversations. Participants could find people with relevant knowledge, compare experiences, and explore specific professional challenges away from the formal stages and meeting schedule. 

The IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme provided some of the clearest examples of collaboration producing practical results. Broadcasters, streamers, and technology companies worked together on nine real-world challenges spanning agentic AI, immersive experiences, private 5G, accessibility, content provenance, and live-event streaming. The proof-of-concepts tested technologies that address practical industry needs – shortening the path from experimentation to deployment. 

“IBC creates a very unique opportunity… to be able to come together and look at where everybody's headed,” said Caroline Ewerton, Senior Vice President, Content Operations, Technology, DAZN, which championed multiple Accelerator projects.  

Ideas shaping the industry 

The three-day IBC Conference brought leaders from across media, entertainment, technology, and sport together to examine the decisions facing the industry. Speakers from organisations including Banijay, BBC Studios, CNN, FIFA, Globo, Google, ITV, JioStar, Meta, Netflix, Snap, UEFA, Warner Bros. Discovery, and YouTube addressed AI in practice, shifting business models, the economics of live sport, changing patterns of content discovery, security, trust, and content provenance and more. 

“IBC is a great place to network for my team with the relevant people in the industry in order to grow their knowledge and to grow our opportunity to be better going forward,” noted Guy-Laurent Epstein, Executive Director, Marketing, UEFA, one of the conference speakers. 

The conference programme reflected the widening definition of media, bringing creator-led businesses, sports organisations, and new content formats into conversation with established broadcasters, streamers, and technology companies. 

“What’s great about IBC is that it keeps evolving what the word broadcasting means,” said Evan Shapiro, Media Cartographer, ESHAP. “This is a really great intersection of people from all over the planet – from Asia, Latin America, the US and Europe – all sharing best practices, sharing the challenges that we’re facing and looking for solutions together.” 

IBC looks towards 60 

As IBC approaches its 60th anniversary, the organisation will build on the business activity, partnerships, and practical innovation generated at IBC2026 while continuing to evolve how the global media and entertainment community meets, shares knowledge, and addresses common challenges. 

IBC will return to the RAI Amsterdam from 10–13 September 2027.