The global reference event for broadcast, media and technology, gathering more than 44,000 professionals at the RAI Amsterdam each September, with sport and live production at the heart of the programme.
IBC, the International Broadcasting Convention, is the annual reference event for the broadcast, media and entertainment technology industry. Held at the RAI Amsterdam, the 2026 edition runs from 11 to 14 September and is expected to draw more than 44,000 visitors from over 170 countries, alongside 1,200-plus exhibitors across 14 halls and a paid conference of 600-plus speakers. IBC pairs a very large exhibition floor with a curated conference, and although it covers the whole of media technology, sport and live production sit at the centre of its 2026 programming. It is the European counterpart of the NAB Show in Las Vegas, and the single most important date for technology watch and supplier mapping in the broadcast year. It sits within the sport technology circuit tracked by Events Index.
IBC was founded in 1967, the year the first colour television broadcasts reached Europe, including the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon. Its three founders, John Tucker of EMI, Tom Mayer of Marconi and John Etheridge of The Rank Organisation, wanted more than a commercial exhibition: they set out to build a meeting point for the engineering and creative sides of the industry. Nearly six decades on, IBC is owned by a partnership of industry bodies and has grown into the global reference convention for media technology, while keeping the conference and the exhibition deliberately intertwined. The 2026 edition carries the tagline "The Future Starts Here."
IBC draws the full broadcast and media value chain. On the buyer side it gathers the technical leadership of the world's broadcasters and platforms, with CTO roundtables that in recent years have included Warner Bros Discovery, ITV, Paramount and Disney, and a deep pool of engineering and operations profiles from organisations such as Red Bee Media, the BBC and France Televisions. On the supply side it assembles more than 1,200 exhibitors, from camera, audio and graphics manufacturers to cloud, IP, AI and connectivity vendors. More than half of visitors describe themselves as decision-makers with responsibility for strategy, purchasing or partnerships. Buyers cross-referencing the wider circuit also track the SVG Europe Summit and SPORTELMonaco for the sport-specific side of the same audience.
The 2026 conference is built around three pillars: shifting business models, technology and change, and people and purpose. Artificial intelligence runs through the whole programme, from practical AI adoption to agentic workflows. Sport is a headline thread: IBC has framed the transformation of sport as a defining theme for 2026, spanning data rights models, fan engagement and new live experiences, with confirmed speakers including Oscar Sanchez, head of host broadcast production at FIFA, Yiannis Exarchos, chief executive of Olympic Broadcasting Services, and Jose Ignacio Carrillo de Albornoz of LaLiga. Content trust, authenticity and provenance form a third strand, reflecting industry concern over synthetic media, alongside workforce development carried through the third-year IBC Talent Programme.
IBC runs over four days and splits into a large multi-hall exhibition at the RAI, exceeding 45,000 square metres across 14 halls, and a paid conference. Around the two core elements sit a set of feature programmes: the Accelerator Media Innovation Programme, which pairs media companies with technology partners on real proof-of-concept challenges; the expanded Future Tech programme in Hall 14; technical paper sessions; and showcase and demonstration zones. The scale is industrial: the exhibition is measured in halls rather than stands, and a full visit is planned in advance around specific suppliers and sessions rather than browsed.
For 2026 IBC expanded its Future Tech area by around 30 percent versus 2025 and launched Future Tech Ignite, a start-up pathway run in partnership with the EU-backed EIT Culture and Creativity. It connects more than 50 start-ups and emerging technologies with the wider media community through a Start-up Zone, an Ignite Stage with four-day programming, and a new Braindate Lounge for curated one-to-one networking. The Accelerator Media Innovation Programme continues alongside it, with 2026 projects that include an agentic-AI platform for live sports media described under the working title "AI for Live Sports and Beyond." Mike Crimp, chief executive of IBC, framed the intent directly: "From Future Tech Ignite and the Accelerator Programme to IBC Exchange and the Conference, IBC2026 is designed to help industry players turn ideas into action and unlock opportunities."
IBC anchors the European broadcast autumn. It follows immediately after the SVG Europe Summit, which is deliberately scheduled on its eve, and it balances the NAB Show in Las Vegas in April to give the industry two global reference points six months apart. For a sport technology vertical, IBC is less a sport-only target than a technology-watch and vendor-mapping exercise, but its sport and live strand is central to the programme and its floor is where most production technology decisions are informed. Related upcoming dates are listed on the Events Index upcoming calendar.
IBC is the international version of the profiles the sport technology circuit tracks. It is where the technical directors of broadcasters and the suppliers that serve them converge at the largest scale, where the year's production technology is unveiled, and where the sport-specific sessions translate broad media trends into live-sport practice. Mapping IBC means mapping most of the broadcast supply side of the vertical in one place.
Google is the headline sponsor of the Future Tech programme for 2026, with AWS, Microsoft, HP, AMD and Shure among the supporting partners. Returning major exhibitors confirmed for 2026 include Adobe, Accenture, Avid, Blackmagic Design, Canon, Grass Valley, Oracle, Panasonic, Ross Video, Sony and Videndum, with EVS, AJA, MediaKind, NEP, Riedel, TVU Networks and Vizrt among the broadcast and live specialists. New exhibitors for the edition include Muybridge, described by IBC as its largest new exhibitor, alongside Barco, Dropbox, Leica and Rakuten. The exhibition is expected to exceed 45,000 square metres across 14 halls.
Coverage of IBC 2026 in the run-up to the show concentrates on the programme expansion and the sport thread, based on the confirmed examples below:
IBC does not publicly disclose accredited journalist counts or press request volumes as of this verification.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1967 |
| Visitors | 44,000+ from 170+ countries |
| Exhibitors | 1,200+ across 14 halls |
| Exhibition size | 45,000+ square metres |
| Conference speakers | 600+ |
| Decision-makers | over half of visitors |
| 2026 pillars | shifting business models, technology and change, people and purpose |
From 11 to 14 September 2026 at the RAI Amsterdam, the Netherlands. Opening hours run 10:30 to 18:00 on the first day, 09:30 to 18:00 on the middle two days, and 09:30 to 16:00 on the closing day.
No. IBC is a general broadcast and media technology convention, but sport and live production are central to its 2026 programme, with dedicated sessions, case studies and confirmed speakers from FIFA, Olympic Broadcasting Services and LaLiga.
More than 44,000 visitors from over 170 countries and 1,200-plus exhibitors across 14 halls, with an exhibition floor exceeding 45,000 square metres.
They are the two global reference broadcast events: the NAB Show in Las Vegas in April, and IBC in Amsterdam in September, six months apart.
The conference is built around three pillars: shifting business models, technology and change, and people and purpose, with AI adoption, sport transformation and content authenticity as the dominant threads.
Registration is handled through the official IBC site, which links to its registration portal. Visitor passes and paid conference passes are separate; specific 2026 pricing is confirmed through the official registration flow rather than published as a flat table.
Future Tech Ignite is a start-up pathway launched for 2026, run with the EU-backed EIT Culture and Creativity. It brings more than 50 start-ups and emerging technologies into a Start-up Zone and Ignite Stage, with a four-day programme and a new Braindate Lounge for curated networking.
In 1967, the year colour television broadcasting reached Europe, including the BBC's coverage of Wimbledon.
IBC is notable on the broadcast calendar for concentrating the technical leadership of the world's broadcasters and their suppliers in one place, at a scale measured in halls rather than stands. For a sport technology reader its value is less any single session than the vendor mapping it enables: the year's production technology is unveiled here, and the 2026 sport thread, with FIFA, OBS and LaLiga on the agenda, translates broad media trends into live-sport practice. Read alongside the SVG Europe Summit that precedes it and the NAB Show that balances it, IBC is the autumn anchor of the sport technology circuit.
Registration is open via the official website, which routes to the IBC registration portal. Free visitor access to the exhibition and paid conference passes are handled as separate categories; exact 2026 conference pricing is confirmed at the point of registration rather than published as a public table as of this verification. Complimentary access categories are not publicly disclosed as of verification.
Registration URL: https://show.ibc.org/
| Official website | https://show.ibc.org/ |
| Register | https://show.ibc.org/ |
| 2026 exhibitor list | https://show.ibc.org/2026-exhibitor-list |
| Accelerator programme | https://show.ibc.org/2026-accelerator-media-innovation-programme |
| Sport technology circuit (Events Index) | /sport-tech.html |
| Upcoming EMEA events (Events Index) | /upcoming.html |