TVBEurope's Matthew Corrigan reflects on his first visit to IBC
By Matthew Corrigan
Published: September 23, 2024 Updated: September 24, 2024
TVBEurope's Matthew Corrigan reflects on his first visit to IBC
target=_blank title=Share on LinkedIn class=share-linkedin>
The aircraft stood on its wingtip and the vast expanse of Europoort filled my window as we lined up for the final approach. A reassuring thump as the undercarriage locked into place and moments later our sleek Embraer jet was rolling to a halt on the Schiphol tarmac. Just 50 minutes up and down. Smooth, fast and safe - thank you, KLM.
I knew the IBC organisers had arranged for show passes to be collected at the airport. A brisk walk to the right arrivals hall and the first job was swiftly accomplished. In the run-up to the event, a colleague had published an article in which seasoned showgoers had given their top tips to ensure the weekend ran smoothly. I hadn't read it. Instead, I asked myself the time-honoured question of fools everywhere how hard could this really be?
I'd checked my route ahead of time so there was no need to trouble Google Maps. Besides, battery preservation was a priority; my phone would be getting quite the workout this weekend. The RAI should have been a 20 minute walk from my hotel. Half an hour later I realised I was heading in the wrong direction. Although I didn't know it yet, this would prove to be a continuing theme.
Beforehand, I'd had no concept of the sheer scale of the RAI. Reality dawned as I arrived: the place is enormous. Passing through security, I began the search for my colleagues. I knew the hall to aim for but was, at that stage, unaware of what might euphemistically be termed the centre's interesting navigational challenges. Some time later, I was relieved to hear my name being called. Someone had thankfully spotted me as I was halfway around my third or fourth circumnavigation of the cavernous room.
A whirlwind of back-to-back meetings ensued as we pounded the floors, making our way through the halls to witness some of the truly incredible innovations being debuted at the show. My difficulties with the aforementioned interesting navigational challenges were exacerbated by my lack of industry insight. I was looking for company names but stands were sometimes identified by product. If, for example, the Ford Motor Company used Mustang branding for its stand, tout le monde would recognise the work of the Blue Oval. However, production technology isn't always as universally well-known. My limited product knowledge hampered me here.
Evening arrived, some kindly soul thrust a very welcome beer in my hand and I suddenly found myself aboard an open boat. The sights and sounds (and smells!) of the delightful Dutch capital unfolded as the barge sedately cruised the canals, carrying the lucky few to a charming converted tram hall. Here, I witnessed the unveiling of a truly incredible new solution, more of which will follow soon. As a newcomer to the media and entertainment business, I could not have been made to feel more welcome and wish to thank all involved profusely.
Saturday saw a return to the RAI and another maelstrom of meetings. Around the middle of the afternoon I began to relax, as I realised we were all in it together. I overheard someone say the organisers used an AI solution to allocate stand numbers. The remark may well have been tongue in cheek, but I found myself harbouring dark fantasies of finding my algorithmic adversary and exacting revenge la astronaut Dave Bowman in the movie, 2001.
AI was very much a buzzword for the show. Everywhere I went, new and exciting ways were being found to exploit the technology. At times, it felt as though its only limitations were those imposed by the imagination of the designers. AI solutions are already having a demonstrable impact across the industry. As the technology is leveraged further, its effect is clearly going to be transformative.
Collaboration was another, given a huge boost by the growing adoption of cloud-based services. I lost count of the number of vendors I met who, recognising the massive potential in cloud computing, were creating solutions designed to streamline production workflows in ways that have never before been possible. Even to a layperson, it was very obvious that the opportunities afforded by these solutions are increasing exponentially, both creatively and commercially, Coming from an IT background, I have sometimes been surprised to find the media and entertainment business has quite a conservative approach to adopting technology. IBC showed very clearly that it can face the tech-driven future with confidence.
The day drew to an end and a palpable after-the-battle air settled across the RAI. We had made it through another day. Sunday's pace was less frenetic, final meetings and promises to keep in touch.|
So how was it for a first-timer? I was lucky enough to see some frankly mindblowing technology and hear some thoroughly interesting insights into where things are going. I met some fascinating, inspirational and, above all, friendly and welcoming people. Thanks to all of them for their patience in the face of some fairly uninformed questions. My understanding is increasing - I'll get there.
Enlightening, relentless, informative, exciting and, at times, chaotic, IBC2024 was quite the experience. IBC2025? Bring it on.
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
07/05/2026
Journalists reporting on Sudan are working in one of the most complex and fast-m...
07/05/2026
Multi-year partnership positions Victory+ as a free home for Dallas Cowboys orig...
07/05/2026
From sideline reporting to directing and producing, the talented sophomore is building a well-rounded foundation for a career in live sports production
In the ...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital has received two Future Best of Show awards at NAB Show 2026. The COBALT blueCORE platform was recognized by TV Tech, and the COBALT PACIFIC ULL-...
07/05/2026
ESPN analyst Mina Kimes will host the televised semifinals and finals of the 202...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI, the global film streaming platform, has selected Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner. Bitmovin's encoding infrastru...
07/05/2026
NBCUniversal Telemundo Enterprises and the U.S. Soccer Federation have announced...
07/05/2026
Angel City Football Club (ACFC) and Victory have announced a regional broadcast partnership bringing live match coverage to fans across the greater Los Angeles...
07/05/2026
Spiideo has announced the launch of AI Highlights inside Spiideo Play, its automated sports production platform. AI Highlights combines video, event data, audio...
07/05/2026
Leostream Corporation has announced a unified remote access ecosystem for high-p...
07/05/2026
The Atlanta Dream has partnered with Victory to stream all locally broadcast Dream games for free, expanding the team's digital distribution strategy and g...
07/05/2026
Riedel Communications has announced the appointment of Marc Engroff as Chief Fin...
07/05/2026
SES and ARD, Germany's largest public broadcasting network, have announced a long-term extension of their satellite distribution partnership through 2039. U...
07/05/2026
UpLight Technologies delivers a flexible video and lighting system for a new televised sportLaunching the Pro Cheer League required more than creating a compell...
07/05/2026
Full Day Productions and GSE Worldwide have announced Spikes Under the Lights, a...
07/05/2026
Seit dem Start im Jahr 2023 hat DJ (Beta) das personalisierte H rerlebnis von 94...
07/05/2026
Da quando stata presentata nel 2023, DJ (beta) ha aiutato a definire un'esperienza d'ascolto pi personalizzata per 94 milioni di utenti Spotify Premi...
07/05/2026
Since launching in 2023, DJ (beta) has helped shape a more personalized listenin...
07/05/2026
Desde o lan amento em 2023, o DJ (beta) j ajudou a deixar a experi ncia de ouvi...
07/05/2026
From our earliest days, Spotify has been built on a simple principle: Great audio should be easy to reach. It's what's driven us to expand from music to...
07/05/2026
Asian and Pacific Islander artists continue to shape the global soundscape, pushing creative boundaries and connecting with fans worldwide. This Asian & Pacific...
07/05/2026
Company announce long-requested choir instrument
In the latest expansion of their Symphonic Elements series, UJAM have introduced an all-new vocal instrumen...
07/05/2026
Modular-inspired sound generation with digital control
Buchla have introduced Ziggy, a new compact synthesizer built around the company's complex oscill...
07/05/2026
Combines analogue voices with digital synthesis and sequencing
Polyend have announced Drums, a new hybrid analogue and digital drum machine that combines sy...
07/05/2026
Control surface now officially supports four DAWs
When Nektar launched the Panorama CS12 control surface, it worked exclusively with Apple's Logic Pro, ...
07/05/2026
In the first quarter 2026, SGL Carbon generated consolidated sales of 184.5 million, which was 49.8 million, or 21.3%, lower than in the prior year (Q1 2025: ...
07/05/2026
Rohde & Schwarz and Greenerwave achieve precise and fast ESA antenna characteriz...
07/05/2026
Two multi-role L3Harris products - the Red Wolf launched effects vehicle and SK...
07/05/2026
L3Harris will be developing key features of a secure and resilient digital infra...
07/05/2026
Alysa Liu and Shohei Ohtani Help Drive Viewership as 91 of the Top 100 Broadcast...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
Cobalt Digital Wins Two Future Best of Show Awards at 2026 NAB Show
Manufacturer Recognized by TV Tech and TVBEurope for Innovation in signal processing
Cobal...
07/05/2026
Software and hardware platforms, AI power and user-friendliness on show...
07/05/2026
Intinor will demonstrate its latest technical enhancements for the Direkt series at BroadcastAsia 2026. With a continued focus on reliable contribution and remo...
07/05/2026
Bitmovin has announced that MUBI has chosen Bitmovin as its cloud VOD encoding partner, replacing MUBI's legacy on premises encoding setup to improve scalab...
07/05/2026
Meet Graduates from Berklees Class of 2026 Members of this years graduating class reflect on their proudest moments at Berklee and look ahead to whats next.
...
07/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
07/05/2026
At BroadcastAsia 2026, Interra Systems will demonstrate its latest innovations in automated quality control (QC), real-time monitoring, and captioning. The comp...
07/05/2026
At this year's Broadcast Asia, PlayBox Neo is set to unveil recent innovations across its PlayBox Neo Suite and integrated range of broadcast media solution...
07/05/2026
Strategic three-year partnership marks delivery phase of BFBS' next-generation media vision
Media organisation and military charity BFBS (British Forces Br...
07/05/2026
Amagi, the agentic industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced the availability of its In-Content Ads offering v...
07/05/2026
Lightware Visual Engineering has developed Rack Taurus for rack-based environments such as education and corporate training spaces. It enables clean and simple ...
07/05/2026
Jigsaw24, the UK's leading media equipment supplier and systems integrator, will showcase its expanded end-to-end workflow capabilities at MPTS 2026, signal...
07/05/2026
Ease Live, an Evertz company, today announced that it has been granted a US Patent for its proprietary graphical overlay technology, the foundation for interact...
07/05/2026
Test & measurement innovator Leader Electronics of Europe will present an extensive range of Leader, PHABRIX and LeaderPhabrix test and measurement solutions at...
TVBEurope's Matthew Corrigan reflects on his first visit to IBC
