IBC 2023 set to be a trailblazing event for the global media and tech industry
September 7, 2023
With just over a week to go, IBC 2023 – which is one of the world’s most renowned content and technology events, will once again boast a stellar delegate list comprising tens of thousands of executives from across the worldwide media content and technology community all aiming to learn, collaborate and network.
The event draws together the global media, entertainment and technology industry for a compelling live experience that enables every attendee to gain critical insights, share expertise and unlock business opportunities. Attracting representatives from 24 countries in its first year, IBC now welcomes exhibitors, speakers and visitors from more than 170 nations.
IBC this year will feature ‘’The Innovation Stage’ which brings you a concentrated dose of insights and innovative projects. Also, each year at the show, The International Trade Association for the Broadcast & Media Industry (IABM), Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) , Society for Broadband Professionals (SCTE) and The Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) deliver a multitude of sessions covering a wide variety of topics from the latest industry standards and strategies for business transformation, to defining future networks and building new broadcast infrastructures.
You can also meet over 1,250 exhibitors from over 170 countries who will be showcasing their latest products and services.
IBC has brought back its Changemakers Programme addressing critical industry social issues after highly successful launch in 2022. The free-to-attend Changemaker programme, on Sunday 17 and Monday 18 September at the IBC will put a spotlight on People and Purpose.
Trends to look forward to at the IBC 23
Spotlight on Gaming
The global video game market size was estimated at USD 217.06 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 13.4% from 2023 to 2030.IBC2023 is set to host an extensive gaming and esports programme with a full day of sessions on the Showcase Theatre, a dedicated zone on the showfloor and focused tech tours, as the worlds of film, TV and gaming continue to converge.
Sporting rights to be a key battleground
Sports clearly represents the next battleground for ownership of the living room among the big tech companies, as it drives users to watch TV live and allows brands to tap into a lucrative ad space for the company.
Rise in AVOD and FAST set to continue
Even though ad-supported streaming video predates subscription-focused streaming, much of the conversation around streaming services has focused on the latter, thanks to the rapid rise of Netflix. Indeed, more than 90% of OTT video service users watched content via a subscription service at least monthly in 2022 and the number is increasing.
The result of this may well be success for some FAST and AVOD players, able to attract valuable eyeballs and successfully monetise them in a period where consumer spend will be increasingly tough to attract for advertisers. Whether this will necessarily see success for direct-style retail models – and many flavours of hybrid model – remains to be seen, but it seems likely experimentation will bring dividends.
AI language improvements
The utility of AI in broadcast contexts such as speech-to-text use cases, content localisation and metadata creation is rapidly improving, and 2023 has plenty more of this in store.
One of the major signposts for this will be the release of GPT-4, the next generation of OpenAI’s generative language model. The new model will undoubtedly be more powerful than the previous iteration, highly likely to have been trained on a much larger dataset than before (OpenAI’s GPT-3 is 175 billion parameters in size) and will have a profound influence on the accuracy and speed possible.
5G beginning to gain traction
There’s been much talk around 5G in broadcast and the potential opportunities around the new technology, but the increasing traction of the standalone (SA) version of 5G should begin to approach critical mass in 2023. Achieving ‘critical mass’ around 5G SA deployment will enable a range of enhanced network services to become viable in the real world, such as network slicing.
The event is happening in Amsterdam from 15-18 September 2023. If you are attending the event, do get in touch with iSportConnect’s David Fowler who will also be attending (david@isportconnect.com).
