IBC2026 opens call for technical papers

Innovators from across the global media, entertainment, and technology community are therefore invited to share original research and practical breakthroughs that are shaping the future of the industry.

For over 50 years, IBC’s technical papers have showcased the ideas, prototypes, and deployments that move media forward. From AI-driven workflows and trusted news systems to immersive formats, cloud production, 5G infrastructure, and sustainable media practices, the programme provides insight that goes well beyond headline trends.

Mike Crimp, CEO of IBC, said: “IBC is world-renowned for the quality, timeliness, and innovative subject matter of its technical papers. They are where genuine technological progress meets real-world application, and where the industry’s brightest minds share knowledge that benefits the entire media ecosystem. We encourage researchers, engineers, and practitioners from every discipline to take part in IBC2026 and help shape the next chapter of our industry.”

Open to the whole media technology community

The programme welcomes entries from all sectors of the broadcast, communications, electronic media, and entertainment landscape. Submissions may come from any discipline – whether the author is a professional or a professor, part of an R&D team, working independently or within a global organisation.

IBC technical papers present unpublished technical disclosures of original, novel research and innovation focused on real-world challenges. At this initial stage, entrants are invited to submit a 300-word synopsis outlining the key topic, what is unique and novel about the work, and its practical relevance to the industry. Entries can be submitted here until Friday 20 February 2026.

All submissions are rigorously reviewed by a panel of professional experts. Papers accepted for presentation at the IBC2026 Conference will be eligible for the Best Conference Paper Award, which is presented at the IBC2026 Awards.

Building on the 2025 programme

The 2025 edition demonstrated the extraordinary breadth of technologies influencing media. Topics ranged from facial recognition and machine learning (ML) in news to generative AI for targeted advertising, large-scale streaming to tens of millions of concurrent viewers, XR and neural radiance fields, advances in video coding, 5G field trials, and sustainability.

The Best Technical Paper Award 2025 was presented to a Swiss-led team from the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and HEIG-VD for their work “EBU NEO – A sophisticated multilingual chatbot for a trusted news ecosystem exploration”.

Selected alongside 22 other papers from 337 submissions, the winning paper was chosen by IBC’s international peer review panel of 20 experts. It highlighted both the promise and current limitations of AI in public-facing journalism, underlining the real-world impact that Technical Papers deliver.