The International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) is an annual gathering in Amsterdam, serving as a crucial platform for professionals in the media and entertainment (M&E) industry to connect, collaborate, and discuss the latest advancements. This year’s event saw a strong presence from Amazon Web Services (AWS).
AWS participated in IBC 2024, which hosted over 45,000 attendees representing 170 countries and more than 1,350 exhibitors.
The central theme of the AWS stand was the role of cloud computing and generative AI in transforming the entertainment landscape. The stand featured 45 demonstrations, with 60+ AWS Partners. Over half of the demos incorporated AWS generative AI tools, demonstrating the power of these technologies in content creation, delivery, and monetization. Recordings of many of these demos are now available to view online.
Key highlights from the AWS booth included a dedicated generative AI pod showcasing Amazon Bedrock and Amazon Q, alongside an interactive editing and color-grading suite designed to mimic a real-world edit bay. Attendees also had the opportunity to experiment with various AWS services in the Builder Zone, including Elemental Media Services, storage services (Amazon S3, Amazon S3 Glacier, Amazon FSx), tools for Games, and generative AI services.
Additional advancements announced at the show:
-
New Partner Collaborations and Service Updates: AWS unveiled new partnerships, service updates, and progress from the AWS Cloud Native Agile Production (CNAP) project. This open-source initiative, developed in collaboration with partners such as the BBC and Sky, aims to accelerate media creation and delivery, particularly for live production environments. CNAP provides a centralized, cloud-based system for content management, making it easier for creators to use their preferred toolsets to generate content for broadcast and social media.
-
AWS Elemental MediaLive Anywhere: This new feature allows customers to run live video encoding directly on their on-premises hardware, while still leveraging the centralized control and monitoring capabilities of AWS Elemental MediaLive. MediaLive Anywhere supports various hardware configurations and video input protocols, providing a consistent set of APIs, channel profiles, logs, and monitoring metrics across on-premises and cloud-based live video workflows.
AWS collaborated with partners Accedo, AJA Video Systems, Ateme, Brightcove, IMAX, Telestream, Quickplay, and many others at its stand and the IBC Innovation Village, which was sponsored in collaboration with NVIDIA. The Innovation Zone showcased demo pods and presentations. The AI Tech Zone, also sponsored by AWS and NVIDIA, featured leaders, solutions, and creators in the field of artificial intelligence.
Awards and Recognition:
AWS services and partner collaborations earned several accolades during IBC 2024. These included a TV Technology Best of IBC Award for AWS Cloud-based Broadcast Operations, Monitoring, and Control and an Installation Best of IBC Award for Live Cloud Production. AWS was also recognized in Streaming Media’s list of top companies in the streaming media universe.
Thought Leadership and Industry Discussions:
AWS hosted a series of discussions and presentations throughout the event. The annual AWS Women in M&E mixer featured discussions with women leaders in the industry. Sessions in the AWS IBC Showcase Theater covered a range of topics, including generative AI, monetization, live cloud production, sports, immersive experiences, and games. These sessions included insights from customers such as NBCUniversal, Formula 1, and Sky; recordings of these sessions are now available on demand.
Key sessions offered insights on topics such as cloud technology in collaboration and creative tools; best practices for generative AI deployment; AI-powered localization; and the implementation of a 5G and Edge compute framework for live broadcast, and the MovieLabs 2030 Vision. These valuable sessions demonstrate AWS’ ongoing commitment to shaping the future of the media and entertainment sector.
AWS extends its gratitude to its customers, partners, and team members who made IBC 2024 a success. Stay updated with the latest developments by following AWS for M&E on LinkedIn.
