IBC

Media Industry Trade Shows and Eventsibc.org

IBC is a UK-based industry partnership that operates the leading annual global trade show for media, entertainment and technology at RAI Amsterdam, complemented by the year-round IBC365 digital platform, serving broadcasters, content platforms, technology vendors, and production companies across 170+ countries.

Company typePrivate
Founded1967
HeadquartersAmsterdam, Netherlands
Headcount11–50
GTM typeB2B
OfferingServices

What IBC does

IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) is a UK-registered limited partnership (International Broadcasting Convention LLP) that operates the leading global trade show and industry platform for the media, entertainment, and technology sectors. Founded in 1967 and owned by a consortium of six international industry bodies (IEEE, IET, IAMT, SCTE, SMPTE, and RTS), IBC runs an annual flagship exhibition and conference at RAI Amsterdam that in 2026 is expected to span more than 45,000 square metres, host over 1,200 exhibitors, and draw attendees from more than 170 countries. The company is headquartered in London and is staffed by 11–50 employees, with the IBC Show serving as the primary commercial and brand anchor.

IBC's product portfolio centres on the annual show but extends year-round through the IBC365 digital platform, which provides free, registration-based access to industry news, tutorials, interviews, and video content. Layered on top are several specialised products: the Accelerator Media Innovation Programme (a collaborative proof-of-concept initiative with nine projects at IBC2026 involving NBCUniversal, DAZN, ITV, Channel 4, Sky, Al Jazeera, and Associated Press), the Technical Papers Hub (a subscription-access repository of peer-reviewed research), the IBC Innovation Awards (across four categories), the Future Tech zone with the Future Tech Ignite startup programme, the Braindate Lounge networking platform, the Accelerating Innovation Podcast, and the IBC Daily show publication.

IBC generates revenue from four principal streams: exhibition and sponsorship fees from vendors (the largest stream by industry convention), tiered attendee registration (with cancellation penalties scaling from 25% to 100% closer to the show date, plus 21% VAT), subscription access to the Technical Papers Hub, and advertising on the IBC365 digital platform. The organisation has expanded its commercial leadership with the appointment of its first Chief Commercial Officer, broadened its innovation agenda through a partnership with EIT Culture & Creativity, and is actively shaping industry standards — most visibly through a coalition with the BBC, Sony, France Télévisions, RAI, Neutral Wireless, and GSMA Fusion to standardise 5G quality-of-service APIs for live production.

IBC firmographics

Firmographics

Name: IBC
Legal name: International Broadcasting Convention LLP
Website: https://ibc.org
Company type: Private
Founded year: 1967
Operating status: Operating
Headcount range: 11–50 employees
Short description: IBC is a UK-based industry partnership that operates the leading annual global trade show for media, entertainment and technology at RAI Amsterdam, complemented by the year-round IBC365 digital platform, serving broadcasters, content platforms, technology vendors, and production companies across 170+ countries.
Ownership category
akta.pro rank

IBC industry classification

Industry

Product category: Media Industry Trade Shows and Events
NAICS: Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)
akta.pro primary industry: Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM)
akta.pro secondary industry: Exhibitor/Sponsor Management (Corporate Conferences) (THACAFAN)

Keywords

Broadcasting trade show
Media technology events
Industry conference exhibitions
Broadcast media platform
Media technology publishing

Where IBC is headquartered

Location

Headquarters

HQ city: Amsterdam
HQ country: Netherlands
HQ region: Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

IBC business model

Business model

GTM type: B2B
Offering type: Services
Cost components: Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

Exhibition and Sponsorship: Revenue generated from exhibitor fees for booth/stand space at the annual IBC Show, along with sponsorship opportunities across various event categories and features.
Attendee Registration Fees: Revenue from various pass types for the IBC Show including Visitor and Delegate passes. Cancellation terms and VAT (21% BTW) apply.
Technical Papers Access: Revenue from access passes to unlock Technical Papers Hub containing 28 papers from IBC2025 plus comprehensive archive of past papers.
Digital Content and Advertising: Revenue from IBC365 digital platform including advertising opportunities and content-based engagement features for media and entertainment industry stakeholders.

Pricing tiers

Model	Billing	Price
Subscription	Multi-year contract	Early registration period with 25% cancellation charge
Subscription	Multi-year contract	Standard registration period with 50% cancellation charge
Subscription	Multi-year contract	Late registration period with no refund

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

IBC product offering

Product offering

Core offering

IBC operates the annual IBC Show — the leading international exhibition and conference for the media, entertainment, and technology industries held at RAI Amsterdam — alongside the IBC365 year-round digital platform that delivers news, tutorials, interviews, podcasts, the Technical Papers Hub, and the Accelerator Media Innovation Programme. Revenue is generated from exhibitor booth/stand fees, attendee registration passes, sponsorships, digital advertising, and subscription access to research content. The offering targets broadcasters, streaming platforms, technology vendors, production companies, and academia engaged in content creation, distribution, and delivery.

Product overview

IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) is a media, entertainment and technology industry organization offering a portfolio of products and services centered on its annual flagship exhibition and conference at RAI Amsterdam, complemented by year-round digital resources through IBC365. The core offerings include the IBC Show (IBC2026), the Accelerator Media Innovation Programme for collaborative technology projects, the Technical Papers Hub for peer-reviewed research, IBC Innovation Awards, and specialized exhibition zones including Future Tech and Content Everywhere. Supporting products include the Accelerating Innovation Podcast series, Tutorial Videos, and the IBC Daily publication, along with the Braindate Lounge networking platform. The organization is owned by six industry bodies (IEEE, IET, IAMT, SCTE, SMPTE, and RTS) and attracts representatives from over 170 nations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

Exhibition space exceeding 45,000 square meters with over 1,200 exhibitors at IBC2026
+2 more outcomes

Companies that use IBC

Customer profile

Named customers12 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

IBC technology and API

Technology

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API: No
API docs
API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

IBC partnerships and signals

Strategic signal

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

EIT Culture & CreativitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 February 2026EIT Culture & Creativity is the European Innovation Partner for IBC2026, supporting the expanded innovation initiatives including Future Tech Ignite and Accelerator programme expansion.
IEEEcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of six industry bodies that own and run IBC as part of the IBC Partnership, representing both exhibitors and visitors.
IET (Institution of Engineering and Technology)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of six industry bodies that own and run IBC as part of the IBC Partnership, representing both exhibitors and visitors.
IAMT (International Association of Broadcast Manufacturers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of six industry bodies that own and run IBC as part of the IBC Partnership, representing both exhibitors and visitors.
SCTE (Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of six industry bodies that own and run IBC as part of the IBC Partnership, representing both exhibitors and visitors.
SMPTE (Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of six industry bodies that own and run IBC as part of the IBC Partnership, representing both exhibitors and visitors.
RTS (Royal Television Society)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOne of six industry bodies that own and run IBC as part of the IBC Partnership, representing both exhibitors and visitors.
AMD-HPmajorTechnology or IntegrationTechnology sponsor for IBC 2026 Accelerator Media Innovation Programme, supporting projects involving 5G, AI, quantum-secure media, and digital twins.
ShuremajorTechnology or IntegrationTechnology sponsor for IBC 2026 Accelerator Media Innovation Programme, supporting AI agent assistants for live production and other accelerator projects.
GSMA FusionmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBacking initiative to implement Camara QoD APIs via GSMA Open Gateway to enable real-time prioritisation of critical video and audio feeds for 5G live production.
Neutral WirelessmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading coalition of broadcasters and technology vendors including BBC, Sony, France Télévisions, and RAI, urging mobile network operators to expose standardised QoD network APIs for 5G live production.
RAI AmsterdamcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerConvention centre hosting the annual IBC Show. Partnership ensures primary venue for exhibitions and conferences.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

IBC competitors and assessment

Company assessment

Direct peers

NAB Show (National Association of Broadcasters): NAB Show is the largest US-based annual convention for broadcasters, media technologists and streaming professionals. It is the closest direct peer to IBC's flagship show, serving the same buyer and seller base (broadcasters, vendors, content platforms) in a different geography.
BroadcastAsia / CommunicAsia: Asia's leading media and broadcasting technology event, organised by Informa. It targets the same broadcasters, content platforms, and tech vendors as IBC but is anchored in Singapore, serving the APAC market.
ISE (Integrated Systems Europe): ISE is a major European AV and systems integration trade show that overlaps with IBC's content creation and distribution audience. It is owned and operated by AVIXA and CEDIA, also a member-association model analogous to IBC's six-body ownership.
InfoComm: InfoComm is the North American pro-AV trade show run by AVIXA, comparable to ISE. It addresses overlapping broadcast, AV, and content production technology buyers served by IBC's exhibition zones.

Broad incumbents

CES (Consumer Technology Association): CES is a much larger incumbent technology trade show. It is broader in scope than IBC (consumer tech, mobility, AI, streaming hardware) and overlaps only partially on media technology exhibitors and attendees.
MWC Barcelona (GSMA): MWC is the global mobile and telecommunications industry's flagship event. It overlaps with IBC on connective tech, 5G, and network infrastructure, and IBC's own Accelerator projects increasingly intersect with MWC ecosystems (e.g., GSMA Open Gateway).
Web Summit: Web Summit is a large generalist technology conference. While broader in audience than IBC, it competes for the same enterprise sponsorship, startup, and digital media attendee pools that Future Tech Ignite targets.
SXSW: SXSW blends music, film, and technology programming. It overlaps with IBC on the media-tech convergence audience and competes for advertising/sponsorship spend from similar enterprise technology vendors.

Regional players

SATIS (French media technology event): SATIS is a French media and broadcast technology event with significant regional (Francophone/European) overlap with IBC. It is a smaller, regionally focused alternative serving similar French-speaking broadcaster and production audiences.

Emerging players

Streaming Media conferences: Streaming Media operates a global conference series focused on OTT, CDN, and streaming workflows. It directly overlaps with IBC's Content Everywhere zone but is a more focused, specialist competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

IBC financial estimates

Financial estimate

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

IBC leadership team

Management profile

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

IBC funding detail

Funding detail

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

IBC M&A and investment

M&A and investment

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IBC

What does IBC do?

Is IBC a public or private company?

IBC is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.

When was IBC founded?

IBC was founded in 1967. It employs 11 to 50 people.

Where is IBC based?

IBC is headquartered in Amsterdam, Netherlands, in the Europe region.

How does IBC make money?

Four revenue lines are on record. Exhibition and Sponsorship is the primary driver. The others are attendee Registration Fees, technical Papers Access and digital Content and Advertising.

Who are IBC's main competitors?

Direct peers on record are NAB Show (National Association of Broadcasters), BroadcastAsia / CommunicAsia, ISE (Integrated Systems Europe) and InfoComm. Broad incumbents are CES (Consumer Technology Association), MWC Barcelona (GSMA), Web Summit and SXSW. SATIS (French media technology event) is listed as a regional player. Streaming Media conferences is listed as an emerging player.

Does IBC have an API?

No public API is recorded for IBC.

What industry is IBC in?

IBC's product category is Media Industry Trade Shows and Events. Its primary akta.pro industry code is MPAGAGAM, Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics), with a secondary code of THACAFAN, Exhibitor/Sponsor Management (Corporate Conferences). Its NAICS code is 561920.