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From a record attendance to the first standing ovation for an award winner, IBC2016 was a great success by any measure. In the opening keynote session Dominique Delport of Havas Media warned the audience that “the 50 year party is over”, but underlying IBC’s global theme of transformation, he – and every delegate and visitor – found much to be optimistic about.
The headline attendance figure for IBC2016 was 55,796 over the six days of the conference and exhibition. This is the number of attendees not registrations – the people who were actually on site, who came from more than 160 countries.
“IBC really is the only forum that attracts a global audience, the most comprehensive exhibition, and the best thought-leaders to spark the debate,” said Michael Crimp, CEO of IBC. “This year they included Sir Martin Sorrell on the global future for advertising, Erik Huggers on online broadcasting, and Mr Ang Lee on the new realism that the latest technology brings movie-makers.”
“But IBC, above all else, is about bringing people together to share knowledge and to do business,” Crimp added. “It is clear, from the buzz around the whole show, that this has been a great year.”
The exhibition featured over 1,800 exhibitors, including 249 companies at their first IBC. One important addition to the feature areas in the exhibition was the IBC IP Interoperability Zone, an initiative to push forward open standards in new connectivity.
Reflecting the state of the industry, the conference took transformation as its theme. That was also reflected in the IBC Leaders’ Summit, the behind-closed-doors programme for 150 C-level Executives. The conference programme was reorganised this year to provide a clearer, more readily navigated structure and a focus on the content value chain. Across the five days, 435 speakers took part in more than 100 sessions.
“The continuing success of IBC is down to the hard work of a lot of people, staging an event that is relevant and engaging across the whole of our transforming industry,” concluded Michael Crimp. “We continue to evolve, and I am confident that next year’s IBC – our 50th anniversary edition – will be even better. I look forward to welcoming you back to Amsterdam, 14 to 19 September 2017.”
SpaceWatch Middle East had a chance to interview a number of satellite operators and satellite servcie operators at the show. Those interviews will be punished over the coming days and weeks.
Next to the technical highlights of the show, the forums and discussions, one special moment was the test of Microsoft’s HoloLens by SpaceWatch Middle East COO Torsten Kriening (see second picture), getting his geek on!
Original published at: http://spacewatchme.com/2016/09/ibc2016-finishes-record-books/
