Remon Consulting

Key Trends at IBC 2025
AI & Automation Embedded in Workflows

AI was everywhere—not just as a buzzword, but woven into tools for metadata, compliance, quality control, and ad targeting. Vendors demonstrated how agentic models can act as workflow assistants rather than isolated add-ons.

Cloud, IP & Flexible Infrastructure

The shift from fixed hardware systems to software-defined, containerised, and cloud/hybrid deployments was clearly accelerating. Exhibits showcased dynamic routing, virtualised mixing, and orchestration layers that allow media systems to rearrange themselves on demand.

Advanced Monetization & AdTech

Low-latency addressable ad insertion (e.g. a sub-5 second cumulative latency demo) stole a bit of the spotlight. More broadly, we saw API-first monetization stacks aiming to unify ad systems across vendors and formats for live, streaming, and hybrid content.

Immersive, XR & Virtual Production

Virtual production, XR, mixed reality and spatial audio weren’t just demos for show—they were positioned as next-stage tools for live events and broadcast content. The line between “film production” and “live broadcast” continues to blur.

Standards & Interoperability

Behind many demos lay the quiet backbone of standards. Protocols like IPMX, MXL, and other open specifications were increasingly invoked as necessary for vendor interoperability, flexibility, and avoiding lock-in.

Sustainability & Efficiency

Energy usage, cooling, computational efficiency and “green design” were more visible this year. Some demonstrations showed how smarter encoding or AI-based upscaling could reduce power draw or emissions.

Partnerships, Collaboration & Human Capital

Many speakers and exhibitors emphasised that no one vendor can go it alone any longer. Partnerships, open ecosystems and investing in talent (training, diversity, cross-domain skills) were recurrent themes.

Top Takeaways for Media & Broadcast Businesses

- Treat AI as infrastructure, not an experiment. The difference will be in how well it’s embedded in operations, not just in isolated cool features.

- Design for change. Systems must be modular, reconfigurable, and cloud/hybrid capable to survive rapid shifts.

- Latency and reliability remain critical. Live, low-latency streaming with seamless monetization is still a major technical hurdle.

- Standards will win over closed stacks. Organisations aligning early with open protocols reduce vendor risk and ease integration.

- Efficiency adds up. As scale increases, marginal gains in power or cooling translate into big cost and carbon savings.

- People matter as much as platforms. Skills, cross-team collaboration, culture and diversity are strategic differentiators.