With the recent success of events like the Summer Olympics and UEFA European Championship, the annual broadcast trade show, IBC, will showcase technological advancements that promise to enhance the viewer experience and streamline production workflows for sporting events worldwide.
“Fresh from all the action from the Olympics, live sports production and delivery is likely to be a big topic for this year’s IBC. For any live content, but especially high-profile sports, it is crucial to ensure a high quality and seamless experience for all viewers, even when the audience is huge and global,” said Stefan Lederer, CEO and co-founder of Bitmovin, on the critical nature of live sports streaming.
“This year’s event is where we will see some real traction with AI and a huge slew of solutions and services leveraging AI, predominantly aimed at improving cost and resource efficiencies and enhancing video workflows,” said Lederer.
“Since the last Olympics, there has been a steady shift towards software-based tools and cloud workflows. This year, we have seen those in action on a large scale across the entire event,” said Kieran Kunhya, founder and CEO of Open Broadcast Systems.
This shift towards commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) IT hardware is gaining momentum in the broadcast industry, offering increased flexibility and scalability for live sports production.
“We are increasingly seeing the need to efficiently deliver high-value content amidst decreased budgets and an overcrowded market,” said Kristian Mets, global head of sales business development at Net Insight.
“With an urgency to expand and access new consumers, content providers are looking to reach previously untapped audiences across the globe,” Mets noted.
Jean-Christophe Perier, CMO of Globecast, expects discussions at IBC to center on modernizing technology stacks and workflows. He anticipates a focus on “the major industry opportunities presented by the accelerating pace of hybrid cloud technology integration and orchestration, as well as the growth of the OTT service model.”
“Following a big summer of sport, we also expect sports broadcasting to be top of mind – in particular, how an IP/cloud distribution mix has enabled playout and global distribution of major sports tournaments,” said Perier.
The confluence of these technologies – software-based tools, cloud workflows, efficient media transport and OTT delivery – is creating new possibilities for live sports production and distribution.