IBC2020 cancellation: Q&A with IBC CEO Michael Crimp posted: 26/05/2020
Following the announcement that IBC2020 has been cancelled due to the coronavirus, IBC chief executive Michael Crimp speaks to IBC365 about the decision to cancel, and plans for going virtual. Michael Crimp: Chief executive of IBC discusses hard decision to cancel IBC2020
Michael Crimp: Chief executive of IBC discusses hard decision to cancel IBC2020
Why did you decide to cancel IBC2020?
The reason was that we could not guarantee that we would be able to deliver a safe and valuable event. Over the past few months, we have been keeping a close eye on the spread of coronavirus and the response of governments around the world. We have been assessing and planning for different scenarios, but it became clear that we would not be in a position to put on the kind of show that people expect of IBC; there were just too many unknowns.
It was also increasingly apparent that the restrictions that we would have needed to put in place to ensure social distancing would have devalued the experience for everyone.
Cancelling is frustrating for all of us, whether you are an exhibitor, attendee or member of the IBC team who work so hard to deliver such a great show, but we are confident that it is the correct decision and the response we have seen from the industry suggests most are in agreement.
IBC CEO Michael Crimp - Virtual Googles
What has the response been from exhibitors and attendees?
It's been overwhelmingly supportive. There is obviously a lot of disappointment, but the vast majority of exhibitors and attendees appreciate that while this has been a difficult decision it is in the best interests of our industry and the wider community. We have had lots of messages of support from people who say they are already looking forward to IBC2021.
There were calls from some exhibitors for an earlier cancellation of the show. Why didn't you cancel the show a few weeks ago?
Some exhibitors had withdrawn from IBC2020 and of course we fully respect their decision to do that. However, at the point at which we cancelled, the vast majority of exhibitors remained committed to IBC2020 and we could also see from the number of people who had registered to attend that there was significant appetite among the industry for IBC2020 to take place. With so much uncertainty, we felt that the closer we got to September the more clarity there would be. But the feedback we had from the market was that exhibitors wanted a clear decision, and so we needed to make that call.
The timing of the decision was driven by a few factors. Firstly, there was a call from the industry for a decision now so that they could concentrate resources on regrouping and recovery.
However, the government's plans for future months did not offer the certainty that the environment would be safe and suitable for a high-quality event experience. Nor was it clear how usually simple things like flights and border controls would work in September. So, using IBC to rally the industry became too risky.
And of course, there is still the threat of a resurgence of the virus across society.
We announced the cancellation at the start of this week - four months before IBC2020 was due to take place - which we felt would give all those who were going to be part of the show enough time to adjust their plans. The general response has been sympathetic and positive, and that it was the right decision at the right time.
In your cancellation announcement you mentioned a virtual event. What can you tell us about this?
From our conversations with exhibitors and attendees we know that there is appetite for IBC to provide a platform for exhibitors and for the insights delivered by the conference programme. We are fortunate in that we launched our year-round platform, IBC365, back in April 2017, and so we will continue to use this to share industry news and insights. We will also launch a virtual event that will take place in September that will provide exhibitors with a platform to showcase their products and latest news and host a programme of original content of the quality that you would expect from the IBC conference. More details on this will be announced very soon.
What impact will the cancellation of IBC2020 have on IBC and your plans for IBC2021?
Our focus right now is speaking with our exhibitors and doing all we can to make sure they are aware of the options available to them. We know that there will be some challenging times ahead for many companies in this industry, and IBC as an organisation is no exception, so over the coming months we will continue to engage with the media and technology community to make sure that we are able next year to deliver the best show for the industry.
IBC has an important role to play in helping this industry to thrive. Because of the size and scale of an event like IBC, it takes more than a year to pull together, and so the team will shortly begin work planning and preparing for IBC2021.
What message would you like to send to exhibitors and attendees now that the show has been cancelled?
Firstly, I would like to thank everyone for their messages of support. We welcome all feedback and we are keen to hear from as many people as possible; your views shape IBC and so I would encourage you to get in touch with any comments or suggestions. And I would like to reassure everyone that we will do all we can to deliver as many of the things that you expect and enjoy from IBC but in a virtual environment in September.
Most recent headlines
11/12/2025
Dalet, a leading provider of cloud-native, end-to-end media workflow solutions, ...
06/12/2025
In a live broadcast from the Reagan National Defense Forum, L3Harris Chair and CEO Christopher Kubasik joined Morgan Brennan on CNBCs Closing Bell: Overtime. Ku...
06/12/2025
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A new survey from Pixitmedia by Datacore revealed a major shift in the Media & Entertainment industry in media archiving, with 85% of resp...
06/12/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. LiveU has announced that the national public broadcaster Czech Television has completed one of the largest LiveU live production deployments fo...
06/12/2025
NEW YORK The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) presented the Excellence in Production Technology Emmy Award to NASA+ and Dr. Tom Leight...
05/12/2025
2025 Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame: Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nati...
05/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: Veritone's Sean King on the Power of Mining Video, Audio DataThe company's Data Refinery offers users total control and governance over da...
05/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: Inside the Nashville Predators' Unified, Flexible, Sca...
05/12/2025
Netflix Reaches Agreement To Acquire Warner Bros. Following Planned WBD SplitThe deal does not include WBDs sports assets like TNT Sports (US, UK, LatAm), Euros...
05/12/2025
FOX Sports Returns to Indianapolis for Primetime Broadcast of Big Ten Championsh...
05/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Digital Engagement & Monetization Workshop Tackles the ...
05/12/2025
Atlanta United Lights Up New Emory Healthcare Studio With First Live Broadcast f...
05/12/2025
As Messi Takes the Pitch, MLS, Apple, NEP Roll Out Largest MLS Cup Production Ev...
05/12/2025
ESPN Enters College Football's Most Intense Month With Elevated Workflows fo...
05/12/2025
It's about that time! Awards season is in full swing, and the Film Independe...
05/12/2025
Every year, Spotify Wrapped offers a personalized look back at the audio that defined your year. It's a snapshot of your listening habits, designed to tell ...
05/12/2025
In 2025, Spotify's EQUAL, GLOW, and RADAR programs celebrated women, LGBTQIA , and emerging artists who turned moments into milestones. From breaking record...
05/12/2025
In our latest blog, we explain how Wi-Fi 7 rollouts can drive consumer loyalty with value-add services such as consumer cybersecurity. We also explore how this ...
05/12/2025
LOS ANGELES Netflix announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Nielsens Gracenote has launched Gracenote Content Connect, a new ad platform that provides agencies, brands, supply-side platforms (SSPs) and demand-si...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK In an most important update to the workings of deal-based programmatic advertising, IAB Tech Lab has released version 1.0 of its Deals API for public c...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Pass the turkey. Pass the stuffing. Pass the cranberry sauce. All are common requests of Americans celebrating Thanksgiving Day with family and f...
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. Netflix announced today that it has entered into an agreement to acquire the assets of Warner Bros. for $82.7 billion....
05/12/2025
NEW YORK Iris, the new cloud-connected camera control platform, has officially launched with features that turn virtually any PTZ camera into a software-connect...
05/12/2025
WASHINGTON The Federal Communications Commission has approved AT&T's $1.02 billion acquisition of spectrum from UScellular in a decision that was issued sho...
05/12/2025
The Best Coldplay Songs: 21 Tracks That Shoot for the Stars From Yellow to Viva La Vida, Fix You to Paradise, this playlist goes back to the start.
December ...
05/12/2025
Zafris Lecture Series Brings Nabil Ayers to Berklee The 32nd annual James G. Zafris Distinguished Lecture series was held on Thursday, November 13, with guest...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Unveils the First Look for Land of Sin' - Premier...
05/12/2025
Introducing New Perks to Help You Get Even More from LinkedIn Premium Published on Dec 5, 2025 Categories: Company News, Product News
LinkedIn Corporate Co...
05/12/2025
Friday 5 December 2025
A new Game of Thrones Tale: Official trailer for Sky Exc...
05/12/2025
Back to All News
Don Lee, Lee Jin-uk, and Lalisa Manobal to Star in Netflix Act...
05/12/2025
Tis the season of giving once again and this year we've taken our Give Back Fridays' concept and turned it on its head.
In the autumn we were approach...
05/12/2025
Brayden Gogis doesn't remember a time when he wasn't completely fixated on games in all forms. In preschool, when they asked us to dress up as what we ...
05/12/2025
The Grinch steals the spotlight as the theme for The Late Late Toy Show 2025
Tune in tonight at 9:35pm on RT One and worldwide on RT Player
#LateLateToyShow...
05/12/2025
RT Announces New Presenters of Flagship News Programmes
New RT Six One News co-presenter Tommy Meskill
Sarah McInerney & Justin McCarthy join Morning Ir...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir Blackmagic Design HyperDeck Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & ...
04/12/2025
ToolsOnAir AJA Ki Pro Event Presets for just:in mac pro 2025 & just:in linux
More Details:Starting with version 5.5, both just:in mac pro and just:in linux sol...
04/12/2025
Wangu Kanuri from Kenya and Godwin Asediba from Ghana are two of this years finalists for Thomsons Young Journalist of the Year Award. The pair are runners-up i...
04/12/2025
SVG Sit-Down: ProximaVision's Claudio Lisman on Why Tethered Drones Could Be...
04/12/2025
SVG Campus Shot Callers: Imry Halevi, Senior Associate Director of Athletics, Co...
04/12/2025
Platinum White Paper: LiveU Lightweight Sports Production: A Step Change in Spor...
04/12/2025
London to Riyadh: DAZN brings the boxing glamour to new production levels for Be...
04/12/2025
Analysis: Paramount bets on the battering ram' with Champions League play By Callum McCarthy, Editor-at-Large
Tuesday, December 2, 2025 - 10:12
Print ...
04/12/2025
Space City Home Network Launches SCHN DTC App for Astros and RocketsThe Rockets and Astros were previously the lone NBA and MLB teams without a DTC appBy Jason...
04/12/2025
SVG Summit 2025 Preview: Content Workflows Workshop Spotlights Evolution of Spor...
04/12/2025
New Sponsor Spotlight: Geotech's Patrick Wambold On the Unreal Engine Revolu...
04/12/2025
Curt Gowdy Jr. - Master Storyteller, Nationally and RegionallyBy Jason Dachman, Editorial Director, U.S.
Thursday, December 4, 2025 - 1:52 pm
Print This Sto...
04/12/2025
(L-R) Rebecca Lichtenfeld, Mohammadreza Eyni, Sara Khaki, and Judith Helfand att...
IBC2020 cancellation: Q&A with IBC CEO Michael Crimp posted: 26/05/2020 
