*This content is included in the July issue of TM BROADCAST. You can access the full magazine here.

If there is one constant that has shaped the media technology industry over the past decades, it is innovation. What has changed, however, is the way innovation happens. The industry has evolved from a landscape defined by isolated developments towards one where broadcasters, manufacturers, technology providers and research organisations increasingly work together to solve common challenges.

“One of the most significant changes is the growing willingness of organisations to collaborate openly around shared industry challenges”, Mark Smith, IBC Innovation Founder and IBC Council Chair, tells TM BROADCAST as the latest guest in our Industry Voices series.

IBC has built a unique framework to foster innovation across the media industry through three complementary initiatives that address different stages of the innovation lifecycle. As Mark Smith explains: “Together, the Technical Papers, Accelerator Programme and Innovation Awards create a natural pathway for innovation – from early ideas and research to proof-of-concept testing, and ultimately, to real-world deployment”.

In this interview, we explore the success factors behind each of these initiatives, the broader trends reshaping the industry, and the collaborative mindset that has become one of the defining characteristics of media innovation. Two ideas, in particular, encapsulate the spirit of the conversation: “Cost, standards, security, skills and workflow change can be just as important as the technology itself” and “Innovation is increasingly judged not just by what is technically possible, but by whether it solves real business and operational problems”. The conversation that follows translates these principles into concrete technologies, projects and industry trends.

Accelerator Media Innovation Programme: Two key takeaways

“It creates a rare, trusted environment for experimentation and cross-industry R&D that would be difficult to achieve within normal commercial operations with IBC acting as the convening hub”

“Successful initiatives usually address complex challenges that cannot easily be solved by a single organisation working alone”

The IBC Innovation Awards focus on real-world, completed projects, while the IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme supports early-stage innovation. From your perspective, how do these two initiatives complement each other in shaping the innovation lifecycle in the media industry?

The two initiatives represent different but highly connected stages of the same innovation journey. The Accelerator Media Innovation Programme provides an open and collaborative framework where broadcasters, streaming platforms, studios, publishers and rights owners, along with technology vendors, academia and industry bodies can rapidly test emerging ideas through hands-on proof-of-concept projects. It creates a rare, trusted environment for experimentation and cross-industry R&D that would be difficult to achieve within normal commercial operations with IBC acting as the convening hub. These projects are designed to solve common, practical media challenges and explore new technologies that can be applied and scaled across the wider industry.

The Innovation Awards often recognise the next stage of that process: real-world commercial implementation. Projects that have transitioned into live operational deployment can then be assessed for their impact across the broadcast and media world. We have seen this pathway many times, with Accelerator projects going on to win Innovation Awards.

In many cases, that journey starts even earlier with IBC’s Technical Papers Programme, where new concepts and research are first shared with the industry. Together, the Technical Papers, Accelerator Programme and Innovation Awards create a natural pathway for innovation – from early ideas and research to proof-of-concept testing, and ultimately, to real-world deployment.

What are the key factors that distinguish a truly outstanding project in each case?

Within the Accelerator Programme, the strongest projects are those that combine originality with clear industry relevance. Successful initiatives usually address complex challenges that cannot easily be solved by a single organisation working alone – whether around AI (Agentic or Generative), streaming, sustainability, content provenance, connectivity or any other pressing media challenges. Projects also need achievable goals and a practical roadmap that allows meaningful progress within the relatively short and fast development cycle.

For the Innovation Awards, the focus naturally shifts toward operational success and measurable outcomes. The strongest entries show that innovation has moved beyond experimentation into successful real-world deployment. Judges are looking for projects that deliver tangible operational, commercial or audience benefits while showcasing strong collaboration between media organisations and technology partners.

 “Live sport and large-scale events are clearly among the biggest drivers, because they put pressure on every part of the chain: capture, connectivity, latency, personalisation, resilience and scale”

Based on the projects you are seeing across both initiatives, which technological or operational trends are having the most tangible impact today?

Broadcasters and streaming platforms are investing heavily in technologies that make production and distribution more flexible, scalable, efficient and personalised, particularly around AI-assisted workflows, next-generation streaming and enhanced audience experiences. Live sport and large-scale events are clearly among the biggest drivers, because they put pressure on every part of the chain: capture, connectivity, latency, personalisation, resilience and scale. There is also growing momentum behind software-defined and IP-based production models that allow organisations to manage increasingly complex live environments more efficiently and creatively.

More broadly, the industry is prioritising technologies that improve operational agility while enhancing viewer engagement. AI, cloud-enabled workflows, 5G connectivity and virtualised infrastructure are moving into practical implementation, particularly where speed, scale and reliability are critical. There is also growing interest in Agentic AI, particularly around automating production workflows and accelerating decision-making.

What do these projects reveal about the current priorities of broadcasters and media organisations?

They show a strong demand for simpler workflows, faster production processes and more flexible remote or distributed operations. Trust is also becoming more central, particularly around content authenticity, provenance, rights and verification as AI becomes more embedded in production. Many organisations are also looking for ways to modernise infrastructure without compromising reliability, which explains the growing focus on software-defined and cloud-enabled workflows.

Audience engagement remains equally important. Personalisation, interactivity and new viewing formats are recurring themes as media companies look for ways to stand out in an increasingly competitive market. In addition, innovation in accessibility and sustainability are also becoming much more central to strategic thinking.

Many of this year’s Accelerator projects reflect that balance: creating new audience experiences while reducing operational complexity behind the scenes.

This reflects a broader shift: innovation is increasingly judged not just by what is technically possible, but by whether it solves real business and operational problems. As NBCUniversal noted at the 2026 Accelerator Kickstart Day, “We’re not building a proof of concept or a demo – we’re trying to ship something that’s almost a minimum viable product that could be then adopted.”

“Trust is also becoming more central, particularly around content authenticity, provenance, rights and verification as AI becomes more embedded in production”

There is a lot of discussion around areas such as AI, virtualisation, 5G or cloud. Where are you seeing real-world implementation, and where does the gap between industry narrative and operational reality still persist?

There is real progress in areas such as AI-assisted production workflows, cloud-enabled operations, lower-latency streaming and private 5G contribution networks. Recent Accelerator projects show these technologies being tested against practical production and distribution challenges, rather than remaining at the level of theory.

A standout example came in 2022, when private 5G technology developed through an IBC Accelerator project was used to support live international broadcast coverage of Queen Elizabeth II’s final departure from Scotland — an environment where traditional RF systems were not practical. This then went on to the coronation of King Charles III covered by multiple wireless cameras in 2024 and eventually on to the Summer Games of 2024 in Paris, Marseille and elsewhere, whereby other forms of connectivity were not feasible, bringing UHD video and audio via smartphones in immersive coverage that had hither too be unseen or unheard in live sports.

That kind of progression is important: the industry is most willing to adopt new technology when it can see a clear operational, commercial or sustainability benefit. A good example is the series of private 5G Accelerator projects, which have explored how private networks can support more flexible, cost-effective and sustainable live production workflows. These projects have evolved over several years, moving from proof-of-concept testing on land and at sea to more advanced deployments in live broadcast environments, demonstrating how Accelerator initiatives can mature into proven solutions with real industry impact.

The gap remains where the narrative runs ahead of operational maturity. Fully autonomous AI-driven production remains relatively early-stage, despite strong interest in agentic workflows – nonetheless, several news organisations are already leaning into deployments ahead of where they might have otherwise been without such a programme to share and experiment together. Of course, many organisations continue to face challenges around cloud economics, interoperability and integrating new technologies into legacy environments.

As you have already mentioned, collaboration is a core element of both the Accelerator Programme and the Innovation Awards. How is the nature of these partnerships evolving across the industry?

One of the most significant changes is the growing willingness of organisations to collaborate openly around shared industry challenges. The Accelerator Programme is particularly valuable because it creates a trusted, neutral environment where broadcasters, vendors, research institutions and start-ups can work together in ways that are often difficult within normal commercial structures.

Increasingly, these partnerships are being driven by the recognition that many modern media challenges are too complex for any single organisation to solve independently. Broadcasters bring specific operational problems; technology partners contribute expertise across AI, networking, cloud and production workflows. A strong example is the work around misinformation in news, where organisations including the BBC, AP, ITN and Al Jazeera have collaborated (in 2024 and 2025) on open approaches to content authenticity and verification. These projects show collaboration evolving from transactional vendor relationships into broader ecosystem partnerships focused on long-term industry progress and audience trust.

“The gap remains where the narrative runs ahead of operational maturity. Fully autonomous AI-driven production remains relatively early-stage, despite strong interest in agentic workflows”

What are the main challenges in moving from proof of concept to real-world deployment?

Moving from proof of concept to operational deployment is often where the hardest work begins. A PoC may prove that something is technically possible, but broadcasters also need to understand how it behaves at scale, how it integrates with existing systems, how it is supported, and what happens when something fails. Before wider adoption becomes possible, broadcasters need confidence that new technologies can perform consistently in demanding real-time environments. Cost, standards, security, skills and workflow change can be just as important as the technology itself.

In this regard, how has the nature of innovation in media evolved in recent years, particularly in terms of scale, complexity and integration?

Innovation in media has become far more interconnected, collaborative and operationally complex. The scale of collaboration has also expanded. Many projects now bring together multiple broadcasters, technology providers, industry bodies and academic institutions to tackle challenges that cut across the content chain. For example, the 2026 Accelerator project “Network Control: Your Connection, Your Choice” brings together organisations that include the BBC, France Télévisions, RAI Italy, the EBU (5G MAG), TV2, the GSMA, Vodafone, the University of Strathclyde and Neutral Wireless to explore how open 5G network APIs can improve the reliability of wireless broadcast workflows.

Would you like to add anything else?

What stands out most across both programmes is how much the industry values collaboration right now. The biggest breakthroughs are rarely happening in isolation — they come from broadcasters, technology providers and research teams working together to solve shared challenges. The Accelerators create a unique space for that kind of experimentation, while the Innovation Awards highlight the projects that have successfully translated those ideas into real operational impact. Ultimately, the industry does not need innovation theatre; it needs ideas that tangibly improve how content is made, trusted, delivered and experienced.

 “The industry does not need innovation theatre; it needs ideas that tangibly improve how content is made, trusted, delivered and experienced”

Innovation Awards: Two key takeaways

“They often recognise the next stage of that process: real-world commercial implementation. We have seen this pathway many times, with Accelerator projects going on to win Innovation Awards”

“Judges are looking for projects that deliver tangible operational, commercial or audience benefits while showcasing strong collaboration between media organisations and technology partners”