AMSTERDAM—The organizers of IBC2026 have announced that the event welcomed 41,225 attendees from 170 countries and more than 1,300 exhibitors.
That was down from 43,858 visitors in 2025 and a further decline from 45,085 attendees reported for IBC2024. But across the exhibition, 256 companies made their IBC debut, an increase of 36% from 2025 while many established global brands expanded their presence.
A variety of initiatives, including Future Tech Ignite, Braindate and the expanded Talent & Skills Development Program, also created more ways for ideas, expertise and commercial opportunities to develop across the global IBC community, the organizers reported.
The organizers also announced that IBC will return to the RAI Amsterdam from September 10–13 2027 for its 60th anniversary.
“IBC’s superpower is the power to convene our industry,” said Mike Crimp, CEO of IBC. “Our industry has always been at its best when people come together, embrace new technology, and work through challenges to create real opportunity. That’s why IBC remains so important. We bring together all corners of the industry to demonstrate how innovation can solve practical challenges.”
Several exhibitors also praised the show as an important venue for meeting customers.
“It’s a massive opportunity for our product teams to get a direction on where the industry wants to go and for us to share ideas with the industry and get that feedback loop going,” said Jeff Moore, executive vice president and chief marketing officer, Ross Video, citing a first-day sale of one of the company’s new solutions. “That shows you right there the value of IBC.”
“We increased our presence for IBC2026 and saw a real buzz on the booth this year, with high-quality visitors and customer conversations throughout the show,” added Kara Martin-Beijer, vice president, corporate marketing at Avid.
“The caliber of conversations and folks who have been attending here across every sub-vertical within media and entertainment has been very high value and really engaging,” Jean Blatchford, senior product marketing manager: global industry, Microsoft said in a statement.
The organizers also stressed that a number of newer initiatives helped make the show an increasingly important forum for new ideas and technologies.
During the show, Future Tech, introduced in 2025, expanded its role as a focal point for emerging technologies, collaborative innovation and new industry talent. New for 2026, Future Tech Ignite brought together more than 70 start-ups and emerging companies, connecting them with investors and established organizations from across media and entertainment.
“The Future Tech zone has been the ideal place for us to make our IBC debut and launch into Europe,” said Ashish Agrawal, Founder and CEO, EON Media. “We’ve had great customer conversations and a lot of drop-by visitors who were truly engaged.”
Future Tech Ignite was supported by EIT Culture & Creativity, part of the EU-backed European Institute of Innovation and Technology, as Innovation Partner.
The new Braindate Lounge, available through the IBC Exchange pass, extended the emphasis on connection through curated one-to-one and small-group conversations. Participants could find people with relevant knowledge, compare experiences and explore specific professional challenges away from the formal stages and meeting schedule.
The IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Program also provided a number of clear examples of innovative collaborations that produced practical results.
As part of the program, broadcasters, streamers and technology companies worked together on nine real-world challenges spanning agentic AI, immersive experiences, private 5G, accessibility, content provenance and live-event streaming. The proof-of-concepts tested technologies that address practical industry needs – shortening the path from experimentation to deployment.
“IBC creates a very unique opportunity… to be able to come together and look at where everybody's headed,” said Caroline Ewerton, senior vice president, content operations & technology, DAZN, which championed multiple Accelerator projects.
The three-day IBC Conference also brought leaders from across media, entertainment, technology and sport together to examine the decisions facing the industry.
Speakers from organizations including Banijay, BBC Studios, CNN, FIFA, Globo, Google, ITV, JioStar, Meta, Netflix, Snap, UEFA, Warner Bros. Discovery and YouTube addressed AI in practice, shifting business models, the economics of live sport, changing patterns of content discovery, security, trust and content provenance and more.
Access our complete IBC2026 coverage here.
