5 key takeaways from IBC 2024

The International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) is only getting bigger and better. This year’s show saw over 45,000 attendees and featured 1,350 exhibitors from around the world. The four-day event explored the latest advancements and trends shaping the future of the media and broadcasting industry, with AI at the forefront. Interestingly, many panel conversations and presentations revolved around one key theme: streamlining content management processes to optimise business operations and efficiency.

If you are interested in media content delivery, distribution and workflow management, here are our five key takeaways from IBC 2024:

1. AI takes centre stage: enhancing content management and monetisation

One of the core topics across multiple panels was the integration of native AI and cloud capabilities into content management systems. As the world’s largest data collector, the media sector is constantly facing the challenge of managing massive data sets. From deduplication issues to scattered data storage, AI is helping companies better tag, identify, and manage content.

AI is not just automating workflows; it is unlocking new monetisation opportunities. From personalised content recommendations to real-time editing and post-production enhancements, AI’s ability to analyse content quickly is revolutionising the way media companies manage, develop and monetise content. An example showcased on the exhibition floor was at the Adobe stand. Adobe Firefly provides AI tools that automate editing workflows while still requiring a creative human touch. According to Adobe, this blend of AI and creativity offers huge potential for media businesses looking to produce quality content more efficiently.

Additionally, AI is no longer exclusive to large enterprises. Thanks to advancements in generative AI, media companies of all sizes can now access powerful tools that improve workflow efficiency. This democratisation allows smaller studios to harness the power of AI without needing to invest in massive infrastructure.

2. Migrating from legacy systems: challenges and opportunities

With the rapid adoption of over-the-top (OTT) platforms and multi-device environments, media and broadcasting businesses are navigating the balance of having their own on-prem tech stacks and managing an ever growing ecosystem of cloud services.

Total cost of ownership and overinvestment in technology were key concerns. CFOs are increasingly taking the driver’s seat in these conversations as their role grows in deciding how much companies should spend on tech versus content. Cloud solutions and SaaS platforms have proven to offer massive scalability at a lower upfront cost, which is encouraging businesses to reconsider where they place their investments.

However, the scalability and efficiency of cloud solutions does not come without challenges. Many businesses still rely on legacy systems, and a hybrid approach, where operations are both on-prem and in the cloud, is often seen as the best method of deployment. This allows companies to retain control over familiar systems while leveraging the cloud for its scalability and flexibility.

3. Cloud-based production: scalability and innovation

Content creation and production have undergone a dramatic shift in recent years, with businesses now needing to consider remote production, faster pipelines, and cost control. Cloud-based services have emerged as an ideal solution, offering the flexibility to manage fluctuating demand while accelerating production workflows, enabling media companies to adapt to market changes more quickly and efficiently.

At IBC 2024, AWS showcased the MovieLabs 2030 vision, which is built around two core principles: first, that all assets are created in the cloud and remain there, eliminating the need for transfers; and second, that applications come to the media, rather than the other way around. This approach aims to streamline production workflows, enhance digital media delivery, and improve both distribution and the consumer experience.

4. Software-defined solutions: transforming live media operations

The exponential growth in the number of live broadcast channels has driven the need for more dynamic, software-defined solutions. Panel discussions at IBC 2024 emphasised the importance of decoupling software from hardware to enhance flexibility, optimise workflows, and support the transition to cloud, PaaS, and SaaS services.

Media businesses are increasingly decoupling their software from physical hardware, giving them the freedom to run applications in the cloud, on the edge, or on-prem, wherever is most efficient. Kubernetes was highlighted as a beneficial technology that provides businesses with the flexibility to build a unified infrastructure that operates seamlessly across on-prem and cloud environments. This capability empowers broadcasters to deploy workloads based on their specific operational needs, ensuring scalable, responsive, and low-latency media delivery.

Software-defined infrastructure also allows broadcasters to run, move, and shift applications across different environments easily. This optimises workflows and frees up development time to deploy new features and talk to other vendors without the worry of whether their applications are on-prem or in the cloud. Plus, having the flexibility to patch, fix, and scale applications without physical hardware constraints, engineering teams can more easily manage, secure, and adapt their systems—a true game-changer for an industry on its digital transformation journey.

5. Edge computing and cloud: driving cost reduction and efficiency

The network edge is becoming increasingly important for reducing costs and improving efficiency. While many media businesses currently operate with software at the edge and hardware at the base, this is expected to change. By keeping processes close to the edge helps minimise cloud costs, particularly by reducing the expense of moving data out, while still benefiting from the low cost of moving data in.

At the event, Sony showcased their edge and mobile solutions, driven by a shift away from traditional hardware-heavy setups. With equipment becoming smaller and more portable, media production no longer requires large studio environments. This shift enables more flexible data movement and supports the need for smaller, distributed workflows with higher data flow capabilities.  

How Console Connect can help

Given these key takeaways, efficient data management has become more critical than ever. As emphasised at IBC 2024, media businesses are navigating a complex journey involving AI integration, cloud migration, and hybrid workflows to achieve cost-efficiency, high performance, scalability, and security. While this comes with challenges, Console Connect's media solutions can help with:

High-speed, reliable transfers

As media companies increasingly adopt AI and cloud-based workflows, the need for fast, reliable data transfers is critical. Our high bandwidth and low-latency connections ensure seamless movement of large media files, helping meet production requirements.

Scalability for dynamic workloads

With fluctuating project demands, Console Connect’s dynamic scalability allows media businesses to adjust bandwidth as needed. This flexibility prevents overcommitting resources during quiet periods and ensures readiness for peak workloads, aligning with cloud-based production trends.

Seamless cloud integration

Console Connect’s integration with major cloud providers, such as AWS, Google Cloud and Microsoft Azure, supports hybrid and multi-cloud workflows, enabling fast, secure movement of media files across environments. This is beneficial for media businesses transitioning from legacy systems to cloud-native operations.

Protecting your media assets

As businesses increasingly managing their data at the edge of the network, there is more traffic being routed over the public internet which is inherently not secure. With Edge SIM, data is wirelessly collected, processed and routed via an automated Edge gateway to our secure private network. Private, dedicated connections ensure media assets are protected from cyber threats, providing peace of mind for teams managing sensitive content.

Cost transparency and flexibility

With our pay-as-you-go model, you can choose the duration of your service, whether it’s for a day, a week, a month, or longer - and know the exact costs upfront. No hidden fees, no surprises, just transparent pricing that helps you manage your budgets efficiently.

Find out more about our media solutions here.