As tens of thousands of media professionals prepare for IBC 2025 in Amsterdam (September 12-15), the broadcast technology industry faces significant shifts. This year's International Broadcasting Convention reflects an industry grappling with economic pressures, technological transformation, and evolving audience expectations impacting content creation, distribution, and monetization.

Economic headwinds are driving demands for operational efficiency. Rising content licensing costs and pressured traditional revenue streams are accelerating industry adaptation. “Global economic pressures are intensifying the need to ‘do more with less,’ pushing media organisations to streamline operations and maximise existing resources,” said Aaron Kroger, director of product marketing and communications at Dalet. “This pressure is accelerating the demand for faster ROI, with new investments expected to deliver measurable returns within months rather than years.”

The impact is especially evident in sports broadcasting, where licensing costs are soaring. Archive content is gaining traction as a cost-effective revenue source, and hybrid infrastructure is emerging as a cost-control measure. The rise of streaming services has led to platform fatigue, making audiences more selective. “Platform fatigue and shifting loyalty are pushing content owners to secure broad distribution, and to focus on viewer retention and engagement, and fresher programming strategies,” said Blair Harrison, founder and CEO of Frequency. “FAST channel creators need to use data to optimize programming in near real-time.”

AI is transforming content production, automating tasks and expanding creative possibilities. “AI is transforming content production end-to-end. Automating scripting, enriching live production with real-time tagging, and accelerating post with instant highlights, edits, and localization,” said Ross Tanner, senior vice president for EMEA at Magnifi. However, AI's value also lies in less visible backend processes like automated metadata management. Infrastructure automation is crucial as AI systems monitor performance and dynamically adjust resources.

Hybrid production environments, combining on-premises and cloud workflows, are becoming standard. “Hybrid production environments have become the new operational standard — not just a steppingstone — as media companies balance the economics of 24/7 broadcasting with the agility of cloud-based workflows,” said Steve Reynolds, CEO of Imagine Communications. Live sports production showcases this model's benefits, combining centralized control with distributed resources and remote production workflows.

While cloud-based production offers advantages, scaling across global teams remains challenging. “The biggest barrier isn’t bandwidth or storage capacity, it’s the protocol bottlenecks that choke your infrastructure when you need it most,” said Duncan Beattie, market development manager at Tuxera. Usage-based pricing and cultural barriers hinder wider cloud adoption.

Live sports broadcasting is undergoing a significant transformation with the shift to cloud-based, remote workflows. This has fundamentally altered the economics of production, reducing reliance on extensive on-site equipment. AI is also becoming integral, automatically detecting key moments and generating clips. However, challenges in reliability, timing, and integration remain.

Multi-screen viewing is driving new engagement models. While many still prefer traditional TV, a significant portion watches on smartphones or tablets, with some following multiple events concurrently. “We’re moving into a multi-screen culture where data, interactivity, and gamification play a central role in fan engagement,” said Mark Cooke, VP of sales in EMEA at Ross Video.

The growth of live streaming presents challenges for ad insertion systems, requiring scalability and adherence to privacy regulations. The lines between programmatic and broadcast advertising are blurring. “As viewing habits evolve and technology advances, the divide between programmatic and broadcast is quickly disappearing,” said Avi Yampolsky, vice president of international accounts at Operative.

Media companies are shifting towards audience-centric business models, treating viewers as the primary asset. “We’re seeing a foundational shift in how media companies approach monetization,” said Reynolds. “Many are moving away from selling discrete ad slots in favor of treating audiences themselves as the inventory.” AI facilitates personalization impacting content creation, curation, and scheduling.

IBC 2025 is positioned as a platform for driving industry-wide initiatives on standards, interoperability, and shared solutions. “As an industry, we have to push for interoperability certification programs, like the ones we saw in the early days of on-prem IP adoption,” said Miroslav Jeras, CTO of Pebble. “We will all benefit when broadcasters can freely choose the best option for each function.” The in-person format is crucial for fostering collaboration.

IBC 2025 serves as a showcase for solutions and a catalyst for collaborative efforts to address the industry’s challenges.