Preview: IBC 2008

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The rapid growth in the consumption of broadcast content on digital signage and devices other than traditional TV screens will be reflected across the exhibition, conference and business briefing programmes at IBC 2008 (RAI, Amsterdam, 11-16 September). As the leading international broadcast technology exhibition, IBC covers all aspects of the creation, management and delivery of content. Recent years have seen a steady rise in attendance from the telecoms sector, as carriers and mobile operators seek a better understanding of the broadcast sector and evaluate IPTV and mobile multimedia revenues as a supplement to stagnant or declining voice ARPU.
 
Miya Knight, Editor of Retail Technology, will be attending the all-new Digital Signage Zone and chairing the opening panel. Sony, Panasonic, Stinova, Harris, Matrox, Future Software: DigiSHOW, Thomson, Kinoton and others will all be contributing exhibits for the zone.
 
This year, the opening theme day of the IBC Conference on Thursday 11th September will be dedicated to ‘Content Access via the Web’ and will explore how consuming content across devices as diverse as mobile phones, PCs, multimedia players and games consoles is impacting the traditional broadcast value chain.

‘The Digital Dividend: HD, mobile, broadband or new media?’ the theme on Saturday 13th September, will examine the options, opportunities and issues that may arise when telecoms operators compete for spectrum released by the transition from analogue to digital terrestrial TV transmission.
 
Sunday’s theme of ‘Content production: technology, creativity and business in an era of headlong change’ will provide invaluable insight into the broadcast sector’s perspective of the creative and commercial implications of the rapidly changing media landscape.
 
Elsewhere in the Conference Programme, Thursday’s Technical paper sessions will include an in-depth look at technical innovations in the area of ‘IPTV and the networked home.’
 
Ken Blakeslee, Chairman of WebMobility Ventures and veteran of the mobile industry leads a free session in Friday’s Content Production stream entitled ‘Entertaining the Mobile Audience - Games and Rich Content Production and Distribution to an Interactive Audience of One,’ which will look at the dynamics of conceiving, designing, monetising and delivering entertaining content to the 4th screen. This will be followed by another free session: ‘User generated content - social networking and the democratisation of broadcasting’ and a tutorial on ‘Digital delivery & getting content to the consumer.’