IBC2025 has unveiled an ambitious and inspiring conference programme that brings together disruptive figures and established professionals from the global media, entertainment, and technology industries.
The three-day event explores the forces transforming the industry — from media fragmentation and AI-driven disruption to new business models and rules of audience engagement.
The conference combines inspiring ideas, strategic analysis, and practical recommendations from thought leaders, industry benchmarks, and innovators from around the world. Speakers from non-traditional brands such as Snap, TikTok, and YouTube will join global giants like Netflix, Paramount Global, and Walt Disney Studios, along with fast-growing players in TV and streaming like PGA Tour, Vodafone, and Roku, and emerging forces in expanding markets like JioStar India, kweliTV, and TelevisaUnivision. Influential commentators such as Evan Shapiro, self-described "media universe cartographer", and Mike Darcey, former CEO of News UK, COO of Sky, and Chair of Arqiva, are also featured.
At a time when traditional media boundaries are blurring, the IBC Conference is where the global industry comes together to make sense of it all. The 2025 programme reflects the urgency, experimentation, and imagination shaping the sector, with a dynamic speaker line-up spanning social platforms, major studios, and technology leaders, says Sally Watts, Head of Content for IBC.
Highlights: sessions and panels mapping the new media reality
The conference kicks off on Friday with a high-level CTO roundtable featuring Avi Saxena (Warner Bros. Discovery), Simon Farnsworth (ITV), and Phil Wiser (Paramount). That same day, YouTube’s Vice President for EMEA, Pedro Pina, and Channel 4’s Director of Technology and Distribution, Grace Boswood, will discuss how platforms and broadcasters can collaborate more effectively in the evolving video ecosystem.
Later, Rollo Goldstaub, Global Head of Sports Partnerships at TikTok, explores how the platform is redefining sports content. There’s also a panel examining how collaboration and strategic partnerships are transforming the content landscape, with the participation of:
- Elena Petrova, Head of Group Content and Broadcasting, International Business at A1 Group
- Jorrit Eringa, Head of Media Partnerships for Snap in DACH, the Netherlands and Nordics
- Harish Sarma, Vice President of Business Development and Partnerships at Yahoo Mail
- Liz Riemersma, Vice President of Strategy and International Development at Sling TV
- Katherine Wen, Director of Strategy and International Syndication at Sky
On Saturday, Netflix’s Head of Production for Spain and Portugal, Víctor Martí, and Migue Amoedo, Executive Producer and Visual Designer at Vancouver Media, will present Empowering Creativity through Innovation, offering an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at how production tools are transforming storytelling workflows.
Next, Damian Cronin, CIO of ABC, will deliver a session on how the broadcaster is embedding artificial intelligence into its digital transformation strategy: The Evolution of AI: Supercharging Broadcasting.
The headline session, The New Normal, is presented by Evan Shapiro, who offers a data-driven presentation mapping the new gravitational forces of today’s media universe.
The day continues with a strategic panel titled What Next for Streaming, focusing on innovation, analytics, and competitive positioning, with the following participants:
- Brad Danks, CEO, OUTtv
- DeShuna Spencer, CEO, kweliTV
- Sarah Milton, CPO, Everyone TV
- Rajat Nigam, CTO, JioStar India
- Elke Walthelm, COO, Sky Deutschland
Another panel, MovieLabs – Leading the Vision, explores cross-sector collaboration around the 2030 Vision for content creation, moderated by Richard Berger, President and CEO of MovieLabs, featuring:
- Eddie Drake, CTO of Walt Disney Studios (Disney Live Action, Marvel Studios, 20th Century Studios & Searchlight Pictures)
- Yoshikazu Takashima, SVP of Advanced Technology at Sony Pictures Entertainment
- James Crossland, EVP and Head of Global Content Operations at Warner Bros. Discovery
- Phil Wiser, EVP and CTO of Paramount Global
Sunday opens with Thomas Gruber, Co-CEO of ProSiebenSat.1 PULS 4, discussing how the German streaming platform JOYN is adapting formats for a young, fast-paced digital-first audience. In a parallel session, Jens Richter, CEO of Fremantle Commercial & International, will share insights into global distribution strategies and financing models in a post-peak TV landscape.
Later, the PGA Tour will showcase its innovative use of drone-enabled augmented reality in live golf broadcasts. Jon Freedman, SVP of Media Broadcasting, and Alex Turnbull, VP of Production Technology and Analytics, will explain how they implemented live AR shot tracing across all 18 holes — a first in the sport — which earned them the George Wensel Technical Achievement Award at the 2024 Sports Emmy Awards.
The conference concludes with a keynote by Mike Darcey, now Managing Director at Tide End Consulting, with the session Rights, Economics, and the New Shape of Broadcasting.
Technical Papers: groundbreaking research presented to the world
A key element of the IBC Conference is the IBC2025 Technical Papers Programme, which features 10 sessions of original research reviewed by experts, focusing on real-world challenges across the broadcast and digital media ecosystem:
- Sports – AI, AR, and 5G
- Streaming – Low latency and multi-source
- Future of Broadcasting – 5G Broadcast and Brazil’s TV 3.0
- Wireless Technology Advances – 6G for media and 5G for production
- AI in Postproduction
- AI in Content Curation
- AI in Speech and Voice
- IP Studio 2.0 – Live Production
- Provenance, Authentication, and Privacy
- Video Advances – AI Encoding, Avatars, and Immersive Experiences
