IBC-2011 Now dark for another year

Had an amazing 5 days recording some 5 hours of interviews at IBC 2011. I'm currently editing the material into interviews explaining the major changes coming to the connected home of the near future. I feel that IBC now stands for Integrated Back Channel, or Inspiring Broadband Content rather than International Broadcasting Convention. Broadcast is now only part of a much wider media environment. Whilst it remains important (and leading) for news, sports, current affairs and live events, we've now reached a point where on-demand for other types of factual content (e.g. documentaries) has become equally important. I was amazed at how many stands had dismissed 3D as a flash in the pan for broadcast/broadband, with most companies talking about their second screen offering instead. 


I am increasing disappointed with the printed trade press that cover IBC. It's almost all advertorial and rehashed press releases. IBC Daily News was shoved in your hands each morning. I used to keep it because there was some useful analysis. But now it's all PR spin which has already been sent to me. IBCTVNews is much of the same - it's TV to keep the stand-holders happy and it's classic example of an archived broadcast on the web with no metadata to help you find it again. And why would you want to embed it on another site? That would be stealing wouldn't it? So, after 5 days of frantic scrambling to get stuff on the cable system in Amsterdam hotels and on screens in the RAI, they pull the switch until 7 September 2012.