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Published on 8 Aug 2019
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By Valéry Bonneau, digital marketing manager for broadcast solutions

Last year, we described five reasons to avoid IBC, but with inflation, we’ve raised the stakes this year with seven! This is, obviously, because seven is our lucky number this year at IBC.

1. You will hear about Game of Thrones – again

After having heard at least seven times “IBC is coming”, mimicking the famous HBO show – we watched it, of course! – you thought you were free of dragons, kingdoms and other not so nice people. But no.

GoT is still in the game at IBC with an immersive screening of The Long Night (season eight, episode three) at the auditorium on the 13th of September. And it’s highly likely to be referenced on a regular basis during the conference sessions too.

Not to mention the fact that we may well ask who’s going to be the king of our industry in a survey…

2. You might feel old

One of the IBC2019 Gamechangers is about global YouTube stars. This will come as no surprise: YouTubers tend to be younger than people who work in the traditional broadcast industry. Check out YouTubers are the new broadcasters. But who can learn from who?

Still, with 1.9 billion users, and 70% of the videos consumed on a mobile phone, young or not, there’s no way we can ignore YouTube and YouTubers.

Youtubers IBC 2019 Globecast

3. You might get worried

Content threats keep growing but spend time at IBC and you’ll see that this is being taken very seriously. There will be a range of solutions on-show.

For sure, the rise of deepfakes across the internet is hardly comforting.

But cyber security solutions are improving every year. DRM, watermarking – like the solution we offer with our partner Viaccess-orca – and now Blockchain, which can help the fight against the deepfakes, or at least help identify them, are important tools in this fight.

If you are looking for more, IBC has put together 10 technologies to watch in 2020.

4. You’ll have to learn more acronyms

Every year comes with a bunch of acronyms to learn. New ones like XR, the umbrella term for AR, MR, VR,  or older ones that suddenly become very popular, like AVOD for example. 2010 was OTT, 2015 was SVOD and this year AVOD comes back into the picture.

This is in no small part because forecast AVOD revenues are pretty huge, predicted to grow to $56bn by 2024. And here is the evolution of  the broadcasters share:

Broadcaster in-stream video advertising revenue Globecast

That’s cool because at this IBC we’re showcasing Server-Side Dynamic Ad Insertion solutions that can help you to participate in that growth.

We’re also adding more acronyms with our Globecast MCN (Managed Cloud Network) solution.

5. It will be stormy

There are so many clouds at IBC, there has to be a storm! As cloud use matures across our industry, new questions arise, like which cloud for which purpose? How can I get the same kind of quality level I have with fibre if I use the cloud? Who’s offering what?

There will be conferences about the cloud and we have to apologise for adding more clouds with our Globecast Managed Cloud Network ,which we’re unveiling this year.

Don’t come without your umbrella; you’ve been warned!

6. It will be crowded

There’s likely to be around 57,000 visitors (maybe more) and 1,700 exhibitors will flood the Amsterdam RAI Exhibition and Convention Centre from 13-17th September. It will be busy. Four hundred expert speakers from leading organisations will be there to talk about the technologies driving the industry and its future. So, what could go wrong?

Well, the RAI is huge! You could get lost in the 15 different halls looking for a way out, or simply for the toilets. But every cloud has a silver lining! You never know, you might bump into someone exciting and new! It’s a truly international show, after all. According to figures from last year, most came from Western Europe and Scandinavia (64%), followed by North America (11%), Asia (8%), Eastern Europe (7%), Central Europe (5%), the Middle East and Africa (4%) and then South America (1%).

7. They will make you run.

4K4Charity IBC 2019

That was true last year and still is!

Yep, exercise, 2.49 miles to be exact. That’s what you’ll run if you take part in the 4K 4Charity Fun Run. This is a running/walking event organised each year at IBC. It’s committed to supporting non-profit organisations promoting diversity and inclusion in the fields of education, technology, media, and entertainment. It raised over $65k in 2018.

The selected charity is Technovation, a global non-profit association that helps underrepresented young people, especially girls, using engineering and technology activities to encourage the development of skills that will allow them to become lifelong leaders and innovators.

Last year’s event was a success and we think this one will be too. (Registrations are open here). It starts at 7.30am on Saturday (as they say, the early bird catches the worm.)

And if after all this you still want to go at IBC 2019, well… we’ll see you there!
Why? It’s the place to be.

Where? Hall 1 Booth A.29 (don’t get lost).

What? Our new Globecast MCN solution for sport and live events alongside our upgraded OTT services including Server-Side Dynamic Ad Insertion.

Book a demo