IBC2025 unveils latest details for Accelerator Programme POCs

IBC also announced a slate of major media players joining as new Champions in support of the Accelerator projects, which will be showcased in the Accelerator Zone, part of Future Tech in Hall 14. 

“The Accelerator Programme continues to build momentum as we head into Amsterdam, with new Champions joining,” said Mark Smith, IBC Accelerator Founder and Lead, and IBC Council Chair. “These projects tackle the most urgent challenges in our industry – from AI-driven production and ensuring trust in content to enabling sustainability and more flexible connectivity – and they showcase powerful, practical outcomes.” 

Designed to unite global media leaders and pioneering tech partners, the Accelerator Programme delivers an agile innovation framework focused on fast-tracking real-world, deployable solutions to industry-critical challenges. The current projects see world-leading media companies and technology partners collaborating on industry-first initiatives spanning AI agent assistants, generative AI, content provenance, ultra-low latency streaming, cloud-native workflows, private 5G, sustainable distribution and a special incubator project focused on AI-powered instant sports highlights. 

Jon Roberts, Chief Technology Officer at ITN, commented on the growing importance of the projects: “The Accelerator Programme is a remarkable opportunity for the industry to drive innovation through genuine collaboration. The challenges it tackles are both urgent and relevant, and with projects like our work on Agentic AI, we aim to help shape a shared vision for addressing the biggest issues – and opportunities – before us.” 

Added Richard Waghorn, CTO at Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ): “This is a great place to develop younger talent and give engineers the chance to roll up their sleeves and get involved. From Content Provenance/C2PA to ultra-low-latency streaming to master control in the cloud, these are hugely important topics. RTÉ has been involved in several projects this year, and we value the programme enormously.” 

ITN was part of the original line-up of Accelerator project Champions that pitched project challenges in February, which also included BBC, BT Media & Broadcast, Comcast, European Broadcasting Union (EBU), ITV, Globo, Radiotelevisione Italiana (RAI), SVT, University of Strathclyde, Verizon Business and Yle. 

RTÉ joined several projects subsequently as an Accelerator Champion, along with many others, others including The Associated Press (AP), Arab States Broadcasting Union (ASBU), Adapt Media Services, British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS), Bouygues Telecom, Channel 4, France Télévisions Greening of Streaming, Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET), University of Kent (Institute of Cultural and Creative industries), International Press Telecommunications Council (IPTC) Media Cluster Norway, Orange Events, QTV, Sveriges Television (SVT), Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA), Vlaamse Radio-en Televisieomroeporganisatie (VRT), Video Services Forum ( VSF) and Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). 

The Participants,  the technology companies working closely with the Champions on the projects, include Accedo, AMD-HP, Amira Labs, Animatix, Appear, Ateme, Bitfocus, Bitmovin, Castlabs, Chyron, CuePilot, CUEZ, d&b solutions, Elecard, Eutelsat, EVS, Google Cloud, Haivision, Highfield AI, Humans Not Robots, InSync, Moments Lab, Monks, Neutral Wireless, Norsk/id3as, Open Broadcast Systems, OpenOrigins, Orange Events, Phrame Ltd, Pluxbox, Qualabs, Quanteec, Shure, Sony, Spectral Compute Ltd, Studio Deussen, TATA Consultancy Services (TCS), Techex, Tesla Technologies & Software S.L., Trufo, Videntifier, Xansr Media, Yaara Marchiano, Yospace and Zixi 

Together, these Champions and Participants are working to bring forward nine projects that are now ready to be showcased in Amsterdam. On the Future Tech stage, visitors to the Accelerator Zone will experience the following projects being demonstrated and discussed to share their learnings with the industry: 

• A Framework for Generative AI: Orchestrating generative AI tools into a structured framework for broadcasters, balancing high-quality creativity and ethics with automation to streamline production pipelines. 

• AI Agent Assistants for Live Production: Demonstrating an AI Assistant Director and a suite of production agents using natural language and voice interaction to simplify control room workflows and speed up decision-making. 

• Ultra Low Latency Streaming at Scale: Delivering sub-2s latency streaming at scale to concurrent viewers, matching broadcast latencies through an open, scalable architecture. 

• Stamping Your Content (C2PA Provenance): Open-source tools embedding provenance credentials from the creation to the point of publication, making it easier for audiences to identify trusted content. 

• Conquering the Air(waves): Private 5G from Land to Sea to Sky: Using drones and ultra-light aircraft to extend private 5G networks for live production on the move over distance, bringing fans closer to the action. 

• Master Control Cloud: A cloud-native routing, monitoring and talkback system, offering more flexible and scalable master control functionality. 

• Ecoflow II: A digital twin of streaming workflows to measure and reduce energy consumption, helping platform teams build business cases for sustainability. 

• Live Media Exchange (LMX): Developing a new approach to exchanging live video and audio across data-centre grade networks, improving efficiency while reducing vendor lock-in. 

• Special Incubator MVP – Changing the Game Again: Demonstrating real-time, AI-powered sports highlights, dynamic camera angles and interactive features designed to transform fan engagement. 

The headline sponsor of the 2025 programme is Google Cloud, and the associate sponsors are AMD-HP and Shure.