IBC2026: What to look out for on Day 1

Brimming with groundbreaking talks, technologies, and networking opportunities, the show’s 14 halls showcase a wide range of strategic, future-facing expertise for visitors to sample. With leading experts from Netflix, Meta, and the BBC, the show will host the world’s leading broadcasters, content owners, rights holders, and solution providers curated specifically for focused conversations and active collaboration that moves businesses forward.  

To navigate the wide variety of top industry insights, IBC365 has handpicked some top panel talks, demos, and masterclasses set to take place across the opening day of IBC2026. 

IBC Conference   

At 10:30 in Conference Room 1, the session “Disrupt, Innovate, Create: How to embrace AI” will welcome Eline van der Velden, Founder, CEO, Particle6, and her creation, Tilly Norwood, AI Superstar, Particle6. The pair will be questioned about AI’s impact on the creative industries as concerns emerge around originality, authorship, and the role of human imagination. 

Shortly after this session, Marc Heufelder, Country Manager, YouTube Product Partnerships DACH, YouTube, will take part in “The Power of Collaboration: Partnering for Growth” at 11:20 in Conference Room 1. Here, Heufelder will explore how broadcasters can keep up with evolving viewing habits to reach audiences where they are. With YouTube’s opportunities for discovery, engagement, and new revenue, the executive will look at how collaboration between broadcasters and YouTube is shaping the future of content distribution and audience growth. 

Live sports are next to take the spotlight in the session “Live Sports at Scale: Redefining the art of the possible” at 12:20 in Conference Room 1. This session will feature industry thought leaders Oscar Sanchez, Head, Host Broadcast Production, FIFA, and Yiannis Exarchos, CEO, OBS. In this session, the experts will reveal how a range of top technologies, such as ultra-low latency streaming and cloud-based production to interactive fan engagement and AI-driven personalisation, are enabling sports broadcasters and platforms to push the limits of what’s possible for audiences. 

Next, Anna Mallett, VP Production EMEA, Netflix, will explore the innovative emerging production technologies powering diverse creative talent to tell stories that resonate worldwide. The session, “The Evolution of Production: Creating Technology Driven Creative Ecosystems”, at 16:20 in Conference Room 1 will divulge how creative teams can deploy these pioneering technologies to work faster and more efficiently while keeping storytelling at the centre. 

IBC Technical Papers  

In the 12:30 “Audio, Access Services and User Experience” session, Tomoya Murakami, Research Engineer, Japan Broadcast Corporation (NHK), will share the insights from his organisation’s paper Sign language CG generation technology for enhancing information accessibility in DHH communities. He will be joined by researchers from CCMA S.A, Spain, and final Inc, whose papers will build on these learnings and talk through how technology can best improve viewer accessibility.  

Following this, Elena Parsons, Strategic Business Manager, National Physical Laboratory (NPL), will take to the Tech Papers stage with Arturo Fuentes Calle, Researcher, Computer Vision Center, and Manik Bambha, President, ViewLift, at 14:30 for the “Broadcast Technology” session. This session has two papers on the problems and options of distributing accurate time signals, essential to broadcast systems and a wide range of tech, one to be presented from the UK’s National Physical Laboratory.  

At 15:45 in the Technical Papers Room, Jim Higgins, Saorview Business Development Manager, RTE, and Stephen Appleby, Head of Network Connectivity Services Research, BT, will lead the session “Antenna to Fibre - the Future of TV Distribution”. In this session, the audience will learn about the top learnings from the papers Transforming TV in Ireland: A path to an IP future and Measuring and reducing interaction barriers in internet-delivered TV systems through age-informed human factors design. RTÉ’s paper covers the rationale behind its decision to pursue DVB-I, while i2 Media Research’s paper gives an overview of the fascinating insights from its research on IPTV usability issues for older viewers.  

Future Tech Stage and Ignite Stage   

This year, Hall 14 will be home to the Future Tech Stage and Ignite Stage. Both free-to-attend platforms will feature leading real-world solutions for content production, streaming, monetisation, and broadcasting.   

To kick things off, Evan Shapiro, Media Cartographer, ESHAP, will give a Talent Programme Keynote named “Mapping the Whole Consumer: From The Living Room to The WC” at 11:00 on the Future Tech Ignite Stage. In this session, Shapiro will analyse exclusive new data from around the world to drill down into the true video habits of global audiences and show how impacting today’s viewers means meeting them wherever they are. 

Subsequently, the “Accelerator - FRAMES: Federated Retrieval, Agentic Media Environment and Software (Defined Workflows)” session at 11:30 on the Future Tech Stage will feature Paola Sunna, Senior Technology Innovation Manager, EBU, in conversation with Chris Vienneau, Production Technology Specialist, MovieLabs, as well as Roberto Iacoviello, Lead Research Engineer, RAI/EBU Representative, and Tim Deussen, XRBB (XR Berlin-Brandenburg). The team will talk through its use of agentic AI for automated tagging, enhancement, and semantic retrieval to transform archives into a structured, interoperable environment.  

Afterwards, Lisa Opie, Chair, ScreenSkills, and Polly Hickling, VP Education, SMPTE will speak to Stuart Ray, Head, Skills and Development, IAMT in the research-led session, “State of the Talent Landscape: What the Data is Telling Us”, at 11:45. This Ignite Stage session will pore over the findings from both organisations’ reports to better understand the current landscape for media and entertainment professionals and the most achievable routes for progress in creating sustainable future talent pipelines. 

At 14:30, “Building Europe's Next Generation of Media Innovators”, Susannah Montgomery, Business Development Manager, EIT Culture & Creativity, will speak to a selection of leading experts from the University of Edinburgh, the City of Amsterdam’s Economic Affairs bureau, Leren Labs, and TG4 on the Ignite Stage. The panel will examine what happens when cities, broadcasters, universities, R&D networks, and startups work together to connect learning with hands-on experimentation and real industry opportunities. Drawing on examples from across Europe, the conversation will consider what the next generation of innovators need to test ideas, develop new skills, find the right partners, and build sustainable careers and companies in a fast-changing media landscape. 

Content Everywhere  

Turning to the Content Everywhere stage, visitors can access a wealth of revelations on the future of content.  

At 12:15, on IBC Content Everywhere Stage 1, the “Born in the Cloud: How Untold Studios Rebuilt the Creative Studio for the AI Era” session will welcome Ben Moss, Enterprise Account Executive, Amazon Web Services, and Amaan Akram, Chief Technology Officer, Untold Studios. The panellists will discuss Untold Studios’ full journey from being the first creative studio to go all-in on the cloud, rebuilding its entire infrastructure on AWS from day one, to its present in which it is developing a VFX AI solution. 

Next, on IBC Content Everywhere Stage 2 at 15:30, Marcos Milanez, Chief Content Officer, Rakuten TV Enterprise, will give a talk named “From Content to Channel: The End-to-End Reality of FAST at Scale”. In this session, he will share how Rakuten TV Enterprise manages more than 100 FAST channels across Europe's leading CTV platforms, providing an end-to-end view of what it takes to build, operate, and scale a high-performing FAST service.  

IBC Content Everywhere Stage 2 will then become home to Nick Matarese, Senior Staff Designer, Google Labs, Google Cloud, as he gives live demos of Google Flow, an AI creative studio built with and for creatives. The “Google Cloud Built for Creatives: A Live Demo of Google Flow” session will feature a walkthrough of how this platform helps teams experiment with their ideas, accelerate scene development, and deliver assets at scale. 

Exhibition floor  

Out on the exhibition floor, industry pioneers and innovators will roam the halls, exploring how the showfloor’s array of cutting-edge technology can transform their operations and the future of media and entertainment. From thought leadership to real-world case studies, tech showcases, and the latest industry developments, M&E’s most influential names will unveil top innovations that span the full spectrum of the industry.  

IBC’s 1,400 exhibitors this year include industry leaders such as Adobe, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Avid, Canon, Dell Technologies, EVS, Google, Haivision, Interra Systems, LucidLink, Microsoft, NEP Group, Octopus Newsroom, RED Digital Cinema, Sony and many, many more. 

To learn more and register for the IBC2026 Conference, click here.