Content Everywhere: Accelerating towards IBC

The Accelerator Programme has evolved into a core part of the IBC conference and exhibition since it was created in 2019 to support the media and entertainment technology sector with a framework for open, collaborative innovation. More than 35 project proof of concepts have been showcased by over 180 organisations since 2019.

Projects have addressed challenges in areas such as 5G, AI, CG animation, live cloud production, immersive audio and sound, next-gen news studio, cloud localisation, sustainability, volumetric video and VFX workflows, IP transition and many others.

As in 2023, eight projects are part of the 2024 Accelerators and will showcase their solutions in person at IBC2024. This year’s Accelerator Programme will also include a “Special Incubator Project” that builds on innovative live production technologies established by projects in previous years.

Sustainability in focus

Content Everywhere companies cite particular interest in projects tackling sustainability, artificial intelligence (AI) and scalable streaming.

François Polarczyk, sustainability director at Accedo, notes that Accedo is part of the ECOFLOW project, which aims to tackle the environmental impact of media consumption.

“We are looking to develop consolidated metrics for energy consumption at major steps of the end-to-end technology supply chain, aligning best-of-breed energy-saving features into a unified user experience,” he says. “This project was proposed by us together with our partner, Humans Not Robots, a cloud analytics platform for sustainability.”

The project champions are ITV, BBC, EBU, ITN and Greening of Streaming, while other participants are Quanteec and Bitmovin.

Polarczyk says the companies wanted to work on this project because they share a common belief: while there has been momentum in the media industry around looking into sustainability, it is now time to put many years of research and achievements into practice to make a tangible difference.

“With ECOFLOW, we want to bring together the best technologies and advancements discovered so far to enable the media industry to reduce the carbon footprint of the media supply chain,” he says/

Polarczyk adds: “From our early discussions, it is already clear that devices may have a big role to play. During the months leading up to IBC2024, we will work with our champions and partners to measure, reduce and inform on these impactful features and I’m very much looking forward to talking about our work during the event in September.”

AI and scalable streaming

Polarczyk points to a number of other interesting projects this year. “In particular the AI Media Production Lab is one I’ll be interested to watch. AI has the potential to totally change the entire media lifecycle and I look forward to seeing some real world applications,” he says.

AI Media Production Lab is in fact an umbrella theme featuring three challenges and a range of champions and participants. The challenges are Generative AI in Action, AI Audience Validation Assistant (AAVA), and Changing the Game: Predictive Generative AI.

Jakub Kruczkowski, strategic business manager at Spyrosoft BSG, says his company is equally excited about this project. He also highlights “Scalable Ultra-Low Latency Streaming for Premium Sports” as a further area of interest.

“The former aligns perfectly with our focus on integrating advanced AI solutions to enhance media production workflows, driving efficiency and innovation. The latter resonates with our closeness to sports industry our commitment to improving live streaming technologies and, ensuring high-quality, real-time sports viewing experiences,” Kruczkowski says.

Scalable Ultra-Low Latency Streaming for Premium Sports was proposed by one of its champions, Comcast, and is supported by Globo and others. Participants include Videoclarity, Castlabs and others. This project seeks to achieve Twitter-equivalent latency and near-instant playback start using standard HTTP streaming technical stack and infrastructure.

Scalable streaming for sports and the use of AI are additionally of interest to Brightcove, adds Roberta Cambio, the company’s senior product marketing manager, media.

“On the sports front, we are noticing more sports leagues and regional sports companies dive into streaming by launching their own D2C channels and apps, providing them with greater audience reach and monetisation. The challenge lies in delivering a seamless experience to keep sports fans engaged without technical issues, especially when it comes to live event broadcasting,” Cambio says.

On the AI side, she adds, “as the technology advances rapidly, we are at a cross-section of understanding the impact it can have on the media industry and what benefits and challenges there may be for media professionals. The possibilities are endless, but for our industry specifically, we have to dig deeper to understand how it can impact our work meaningfully – for us and our customers – and find creative ways to enhance our work.”

Another company to cite interest in scalable streaming is Gcore. Anastasia Melnikova, solution architect streaming, says this project aligns with customers’ increasing demand for near-real-time content delivery, which she notes is essential for enhancing viewer engagement and retention.

In terms of future projects, Kruczkowski says Spyrosoft BSG would “love to see more projects addressing cybersecurity in media, focusing on protecting content from piracy and cyber threats, ensuring secure and reliable but simple and cheap media distribution at the same time”.

“Collaborative environments like IBC are crucial for pioneering these advancements”, he adds.

The final results and demonstrations of all the Accelerator projects this year will be showcased in the Accelerator Zone on the Innovation Stage in Hall 3 each day at IBC2024. Each POC presentation will provide a full overview of a project’s challenges, demonstrate its findings, and answer visitor questions.