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Soccer leads women’s sports into bidding wars, AI driven by the market, an Olympics in front of crowds and opportunities for the neurodiverse – all trends to spot in the new year, predicts Adrian Pennington.
The 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup final in August attracted record viewing figures pretty much everywhere, underlining a breakthrough year for women’s sport.
Spain defeated England 1-0 in the final in Sydney, with a record 12 million viewers watching in the UK on BBC One (higher than the men’s Wimbledon final last July which peaked at 11.3 million).
In Spain, 5.6 million watched the final, and it peaked at 7.4 million viewers, with data published by Barlovento Comunicacion saying that 56.2% of the Spanish television audience were male.
The tournament contributed to an...
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IBC2026: What to look out for on Day 1
From 11 to 14 September 2026, IBC2026 will open its doors to the international media and entertainment industry.
IBC2026: Creating meaningful opportunities for start-ups, students, educators, and innovators
IBC2026 is set to tackle the media and entertainment industry’s talent shortage this week, with several initiatives designed to give students the chance to attend the show, meet industry professionals and start building connections for their careers.
IBC Accelerator: Agentic AI for live sports
With an eye on the future, this IBC Accelerator plans to move beyond isolated use cases and demonstrate how agentic AI can be applied across the full live media value chain, from automated production tasks to highlight generation, personalisation, and monetisation.
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Innovation Awards: Stories behind Content Everywhere finalists
The Content Everywhere finalists in this year’s IBC Innovation Awards run the gamut across: a giant DTV+ implementation project in Brazil; the Premier League’s connected fan experience; and the AI-generated phenomenon Tilly Norwood. Fergal Ringrose, Chair of Judges for the IBC Innovation Awards, reveals why.
Edinburgh TV Festival 2026 review: So long, and thanks for all the views
As this year's edition of the TV Festival is the last to be held in Edinburgh before the move to Manchester, change in many forms featured high on the agenda. The message was that change is not just coming, it's already here – so deal with it.
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