We had an excellent IBC2025 with a huge amount of meetings and discussions across the four days of the show. Here are our 6 key takeaways from Amsterdam, based both on those conversations on our stand and what we saw in the wider show.
100 Years of Television
There were many interesting exhibits at IBC2025, but one that caught our eye in particular was 100 Years of Television in Hall 14. This marked the 100th Anniversary of John Logie Baird's first experimental television transmission in 1925. Arguably, the industry has changed as much in the past 10 years as it did in the 90 years before it.
There are obviously many challenges ahead. But there was a definite feeling of optimism on the show floor. Yes, attendance was down, with 43,858 visitors from 170 countries making the journey to Amsterdam. However, that was only a 2.7% decrease. Given the many global headwinds, geopolitical unrest and global trade tensions among them, that feels like a definite positive.
“IBC2025 felt more dynamic, inclusive and forward-looking, exactly what our industry needs to thrive and move confidently into the future,” Jon Roberts, chief technology officer at ITN said to TVB Europe. He was one of many who pointed out that the age profile of the show seems to be getting younger as the creator economy grows in influence.
So, with that said, here are our 6 Key Takeaways from what was a busy four days in Amsterdam.
1. AI at IBC2025: From Hype to Practical Workflows
We wrote before the show about the importance of AI in the ability to Launch Smarter, and it was unsurprising to see it steal headlines once more. Generative AI is now embedded across numerous workflows from content creation to metadata, recommendation engines, QC, and automation. Agentic AI is starting to make increasing inroads too, though is perhaps not ready for primetime deployment just yet.
With AI we are moving from hype to practicality. In the Conference, for example, UK public broadcaster ITV revealed it has 250 active use cases of AI across its business covering finance, HR, analytics and production.
We have to strike a note of caution here though. Despite $30–40 billion in enterprise investment into GenAI, a recent MIT Media Lab report uncovered the fact that 95% of organizations are currently getting zero return on that investment. Care still needs to be taken to match its abilities with sound underlying workflows, and costs need to be controlled.
2. Cloud-Native & Hybrid Workflows Take Shape
Again, here we see a shift taking place from theoretical adoption to operational reality. However, as we have long-argued, the keyword here is ‘hybrid’. What counts as a successful cloud deployment in 2025 can take many shapes and include cloud-native and on-prem systems, edge computing, remote installations, and more in a shifting network that is decided by cost, latency, sovereignty, or legacy system needs. This is not fixed in time either, but rather is evolving as business circumstances change.
If we had to characterise our conversation about cloud deployments at the show we would say our customers are looking for three things: pragmatic scaling, cost control, and reliability.
3. Standards and Interoperability in Media Tech
One thing that is important to mention here is the understanding that many of the big visions for the industry, AI and cloud in particular, require genuine interoperability to make them happen smoothly at scale. Standards are going to be a crucial part of this, and there is increasing focus on emerging frameworks such as MXL (Media eXchange Layer) in ensuring that everything talks to everything else.
4. The Growth of the Creator Economy
This is a steadily increasing theme in recent trade shows, and is perhaps even more pronounced at NAB which tends to separate out the different parts of the industry into different halls. There is a huge cross-fertilisation at work. Professional broadcast tools are being repositioned for creators, often in cut-down or lower specced versions. Meanwhile, creators in turn are adopting pro-grade gear and workflows.
The result is a blurring of the lines between what is often referred to as traditional media and platform-first creators.
Justine Ryst, MD at YouTube France, made this point at the Conference, referring to “the biggest myth, that YouTube cannibalises TV. YouTube is the best ally to TV and is completely different. We do not commission content, nor own IP. We offer a global playground for creators with tools to analyse and monetise an audience with global reach. And we consider broadcasters as creators.”
5. Efficiency and Monetization Strategies
Arguably ‘efficiency’ was the word most heard after ‘AI’. Tight budgets and the importance of doing more with less was a constant undercurrent on the show floor and at the conference.
Again, this is something we’ve been talking about for a while now, and one of our themes for the show was the importance of Spending Wiser. Understanding the structure and complexities of Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) is crucial for gaining a clear financial picture of any technological solution. This includes initial acquisition, operation, servicing, and eventual disposal. Customers are looking for solutions that demonstrate clear business value throughout the production chain.
The flip side of saving money is, of course, making money. We are seeing a huge interest in solutions that enhance revenue making opportunities, whether that be in the monetization of the archive, enhancing engagement, or the adoption of smart ad tech stacks and the rise in targeted TV advertising.
6. Sustainability in the Media Industry
Industry body the DPP launched its Sustainability Pulse Check 2025 just before the show, which pushes back against the ideas that sustainable goals have dropped off the industry agenda. According to its report, half of media organisations believe environmental sustainability is still a high priority despite economic and geopolitical headwinds.
From our observations in Amsterdam, where sustainability aligns with cost efficiencies, whether that be renewable-powered data centres of LED lightbulbs, then it is still enthusiastically embraced.
The DPP report acknowledges that a gap is emerging between the environmental commitments of European broadcasters and a more muted enthusiasm from US vendors, this looks set to change. According to its data two-thirds of organisations in the media industry — including more than 60% of technology and service suppliers based in North America — say environmental sustainability will become more important for them in the next 1-3 years.
As one European broadcaster put it: “Despite global attitudes towards sustainability weakening, we’ve tried hard to keep the same level of enthusiasm, commitment and activity.”
Looking Ahead to 200 Years of Television?
IBC2025 was a good show for VO, and it seems to have been a good one for the industry as a whole too. Our industry partners report there was solid footfall on most stands, meetings were meaningful, and while there are definite challenges in the wider economy still, there is a sense that the industry as a whole can rise to meet them.
Television has now been around for 100 years and we have come a long way from the initial public services of 30-line monochrome pictures updating at 12 frames per second on tiny screens. Where it goes next we will start to find out at NAB, IBC, and all the other trade shows we attend next year.
