John Maxwell Hobbs

Over the past two decades, the over‐the‐top (OTT) industry has undergone a remarkable transformation from a niche experiment to a multi‐billion‐dollar ecosystem, writes John Maxwell-Hobbs.

As virtual production technology becomes more ubiquitous, the need for real-world training and development for professionals of all levels becomes paramount. John Maxwell Hobbs explores the education and training programmes on offer from academic institutions and industry organisations.

The IBC Accelerator Kickstart Day 2025 marked the beginning of another year of groundbreaking innovation in media and entertainment technology. John Maxwell Hobbs reports.

Virtually non-existent before 2019, the term ‘creator economy’ has been on a rocket-like trajectory in recent years. But what exactly is it, and how does it differ from the economies that exist around traditional creative industries like broadcasting and film? John Maxwell Hobbs investigates.

From the chemical, mechanical and electrical process of creating a film, to the rise of virtual production, visual storytelling has always turned to cutting-edge technologies. Now Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF) could replace the traditional technological foundations that broadcasting and film are built upon. IBC365 speaks to leading researcher, Professor Ravi Ramamoorthi.

The coming year hints at big changes in focus and innovations for the media and entertainment world. With giant leaps in AI advancements, streamlining production and the road ahead for ad-tech, how can vendors meet the demands of the hungry yet cost-conscious consumer, whilst staying ahead of the game? John Maxwell Hobbs gathers more expert insight from leaders and analysts in the second part of our future predictions series.

As we wrap up 2024, it’s time to consider what lies ahead for the media industry in 2025. John Maxwell Hobbs probed industry executives to share their crystal ball predictions on themes spanning the impact of AI, the transition from hardware to software-based solutions, data security and ways of reaching new audiences.

Over the past decade, media companies had a strong focus on the way programmes were viewed – we’ve seen HD, 3D, 4k, 8k, HDR, VR, and AR presented as the next big thing. In 2024, things shifted. John-Maxwell Hobbs digs into production and delivery practices, cloud, AI and sustainability trends of the past 12 months.

Integrating the engineering teams from three broadcast giants taught Mansoor Fazil, Director of Global Platform Engineering at Sky that international merging meant acknowledging cultural differences and staying ahead of consumer habits. Fazil spoke to IBC365 to share insights into Sky's cloud-first, hybrid approach and its focus on emerging technologies which will create expansion – at scale and even further afield geographically – to meet their future goals.

Sky is in the midst of a multifaceted digital transformation aimed at redefining both operations and the customer experience. IBC365 spoke with Cristina Gomila to find out more.