IBC2026 will once again showcase a series of Proof of Concept (PoC) projects as part of its Accelerator Media Innovation Programme.
The programme sees broadcasters, streamers, technology providers and research partners join forces on innovation projects that address current industry challenges.
Organisers announced the nine projects selected as this year’s cohort following the IBC Kickstarter Day in February.
The projects are now in a six-month development phase, which culminates in live PoC demonstrations in the Accelerator Zone at IBC2026 (11th–14th September).
“We assess the level and quality of the idea in innovation terms, the relevance to industry priorities and the feasibility of achieving success within the short, 5-6 month period we have to develop a solution,” Mark Smith, IBC Council chair, tells TVBEurope.
“Often, we can see synergies between the original projects that are pitched at Kickstart Day, and that’s very much been the case this year, bringing together two projects that were part of our original 12 ideas that had distinctively similar goals.”
This year’s projects include explorations of AI-led production, immersive live experiences, and next-gen streaming.
A key aspect of the programme is that project ideas must be aligned to the most relevant media industry challenges today, where collaboration and genuine innovation are critical, explains Smith. “If the boxes are ticked for these elements, and the project goals and scope are achievable within the time we have before IBC, support will gravitate toward the projects that resonate most.
“This year, it’s clear that AI continues to be front of mind in both agentic and generative forms to support and fast-track transformation in production,” he adds. “Connectivity is also critical to enabling new wireless workflows and capabilities. There are also projects focused on immersive and interactive use cases as well as audio, and the future, radical evolution of streaming, among many others.”
Major media companies are once again involved with the Accelerators at IBC2026, including the BBC, NBCUniversal, DAZN, ITV, Channel 4, Associated Press, Sky and Al Jazeera.
“The Accelerator programme is genuinely unique and a really important part of our year. It’s an opportunity to accelerate conversations at a pace that is very difficult in our normal day to day,” says Jon Roberts, chief technology officer, ITN. “There’s also a real joy in getting to work with colleagues across the industry who we might not otherwise be able to collaborate with. Most of us got into media technology because we like solving complicated problems with smart, creative people—the programme gives us access to a whole new host of people to form those relationships with. It generates real, meaningful output, but it’s also hugely rewarding to be a part of.”
Sinead Greenaway, joint acting CTO at the BBC, echoes Roberts’ thoughts on the importance of supporting the IBC Accelerators programme: “It’s really about industry collaboration and innovation. It’s a time where we put competition behind us and bring together the great brains solving very specific, chunky problems. It generates so much shared learning that we can adapt and adopt accordingly within our respective organisations.”
