IBC Innovation Awards list of finalists underscores live sports as a major driver of pioneering initiatives in year of UEFA EURO 2024 and the Summer Olympics.
IBC 2024 has unveiled the finalists for this year’s IBC Innovation Awards, scheduled to take place from September 13-16 at the RAI Amsterdam. These awards honour collaborative efforts that result in pioneering solutions addressing key challenges in the media, entertainment and technology sectors. For the 2024 edition, IBC has unified its innovation and social impact awards into one celebration, featuring five categories: Content Creation, Content Distribution, Content Everywhere, Social Impact and Environment & Sustainability.
Reflecting the significant role of sports in driving innovation, this year’s finalists include entries related to major sporting events such as the Summer Olympic Games and the UEFA European Football Championship. Notably, at least one finalist in each of the five categories is connected to sports. The diverse range of submissions from around the globe highlights the international scope of the IBC awards.
Fergal Ringrose, Chair of the 2024 IBC Innovation Awards Jury, said: “This year’s entries once again showcased the global reach and appeal of the IBC Innovation Awards with projects of the highest quality received from six continents. Meanwhile, constantly evolving delivery methods and audience consumption patterns demand that content producers around the globe must innovate dynamically in order to stay relevant and competitive in the modern media and entertainment technology ecosystem. I would like to sincerely thank our panel of judges for their diligence and ability to adapt, as we brought our three Content categories together with Environment & Sustainability and Social Impact this year for our new-look IBC Innovation Awards.”
The winners will be announced at a ceremony hosted by Sasha Qadri, a former news anchor, on September 15 at 18.00 CET in the Auditorium Complex of the RAI. The event will also feature the IBC International Honour for Excellence, awarded to individuals or organisations with a significant industry impact, and the Best Technical Paper award, recognising outstanding contributions presented at the IBC Conference from September 13-15.
This year’s finalists in the Content Creation category feature notable innovations from several leading organisations. The National Football League (US), ESPN, Disney/Pixar and Beyond Sports are recognised for creating the first fully animated, real-time NFL alternative broadcast set in the Toy Story universe. Olympic Broadcasting Services and its partners are acknowledged for their live broadcast production efforts, which utilised over 200 smartphones to capture video for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony and implemented a sea-based 5G network for sailing competitions in Marseille. Additionally, Aspire is highlighted for its collaboration with Vislink and FocalPoint VR to develop a virtual reality over RF wireless solution for the inaugural season of Aspire’s Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL).
Finalists in the Content Distribution category include Claro for its approach to pay-TV in Brazil, which integrates streaming channels and applications to offer a comprehensive entertainment package; NBCUniversal Operations and Technology for its project to transform global TV channel delivery; and the National Hockey League (Canada and US), in partnership with Verizon, AWS, Zixi, Vizrt and Evertz, for developing a 5G and Edge compute framework to enhance live broadcast assembly, control and delivery.
In the Content Everywhere category, LaLiga is recognised for its collaboration with Play Anywhere and Ease Live to facilitate true fan interactivity with its global broadcast and streaming partners; Red Bull Media House for integrating real-time GPS tracking, data management and advanced visualisation to elevate the viewing experience across live broadcasts, web widgets and an AR mobile app; and Franceinfo (France Télévisions) for partnering with PimpMyCompany to aggregate and broadcast messages from various platforms live on air.
The Social Impact finalists are Disney Star and Star Sports for their partnership with India Signing Hands to make IPL 2024 accessible to nearly 67m hard of hearing and 34m visually impaired fans; CultureQ for developing a technology platform by Kiwa Digital that helps indigenous peoples globally revive their language and culture while maintaining sovereignty; and Sesame Workshop for its Watch Play Learn Distribution Hub, which allows government agencies and aid organizations to access and request videos for children in crisis settings.
For the Environment & Sustainability category, France Télévisions is highlighted for its achievement in reducing CO2 emissions by 300 tons through a pioneering 100% glass-to-glass cloud production and private 5G network; GreeningofStreaming for addressing the energy impact of the streaming sector with international reach and over 30 member organisations; and Anton/Bauer for its Salt-E Dog, which utilises sodium chemistry to promote sustainable television production practices.
Additionally, IBC has released the longlists for the final 10 contenders in each category, chosen from numerous submissions from media organisations and technology partners worldwide.
