Join the Innovation Revolution with IBC’s 2026 Accelerator Programme
Calling for Media Industry Challenges Now!
We are now inviting proposals for transformative, fast track innovation projects that will help shape the future of the media and entertainment technology sector. The deadline for submissions is Friday, 5th December 2025.
Project challenges are proposed by the buyers of technology, who then form project teams by recruiting Co-Champions and vendor Participants with the specific explore and develop solutions that will be showcased at the IBC Show in September 2026.
The cycle begins with this call for Challenges, from which submissions are then assessed by IBC and twelve are selected to go forward for pitching at our special Kickstart Day event on the 25th of February.
Submit a Project Challenge for 2026 Apply to Attend Kickstart Day
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Designed to unite global media leaders and pioneering tech partners, the IBC Accelerator Programme delivers an agile innovation framework focused on fast-tracking real-world, deployable solutions to industry-critical challenges.
Entry to the IBC Accelerator Programme is open to all in the media & entertainment ecosystem and we welcome project challenges focused on all areas of the sector. Last year projects spanned areas such as AI agent assistants, generative AI, content provenance, ultra-low latency streaming, cloud-native workflows, private 5G, sustainable distribution and AI-powered instant sports highlights.
More than 400 organisations have taken part in the programme since its foundation in 2019, as Champions and Participants in some 50+ projects – household media brands come together with large, medium and small technology organisations and academic institutions.
2026 Kickstart Day
The IBC Accelerator Media Innovation Programme’s annual Kickstart Day 2026 will take place on Wednesday, 25th of February at the BBC Broadcasting House, London.
The full-day event will focus on media industry innovation, with an international audience of media & entertainment technology professionals and leaders.
Aside from industry-leading speaker & panel sessions on compelling challenges and opportunities for the sector, the highlight will be a series of Quickfire Pitches by the 12 shortlisted Accelerator Project Challenges.
Full background information on the IBC Accelerators can be found here:
Accelerator Sponsorship Pack Accelerator FAQs IBC Accelerator Overview Deck Accelerator Marketing Pack
2025 Accelerator Media Innovation Projects
This truly international Accelerator’s project goals aligned to develop a practical framework that leveraged an orchestrator of Generative AI tools to enable broadcasters and creative teams to produce high quality, photorealistic video content, incorporating narrative, artistic, ethics and compositional elements into emotionally impactful content.
AI Agent Assistants for Live Production envisions AI-driven production assistants that seamlessly integrate into control room workflows, enhancing live production with intelligent automation.
Ultra-Low Latency Live Streaming at Scale builds on the foundation of the previous Scalable Ultra-Low Latency Streaming for Premium Sports accelerator, focusing on the development of a truly scalable architecture for delivering live TV over the internet.
Stamping Your Content (C2PA Provenance) aims to develop open-source tools that enable organizations to integrate Content Credentials (C2PA) into their workflows, allowing them to sign and verify media provenance.
Private 5G, Conquering the Air(waves) explores the deployment of private 5G network cells on drones to enhance live broadcast production by providing wireless connectivity for video, audio, and sensor data.
Master Control Cloud proposes the development of a cloud-based routing and monitoring system for live media streams, enabling seamless acquisition, transport, and oversight entirely within the cloud.
Building on the foundation of the 2024 project,
ECOFLOW II shifts focus to overcome the challenge of limited data access and engagement.
Multi-Vendor Software Live Media Exchange explores a new approach to Live Media Exchange, leveraging high-speed interconnect technologies originally developed for high-performance computing and now widely used in cloud data centers.
2025 Special Incubator Project
Changing the Game ... Again
Graduated from the success from the 2024 Accelerator “AI Media Production Labs”, IBC’s brand-new Incubator cranks it up a gear with a working POC test bed that will aim to develop personalized highlight reels and real-time sports data tailored to each fan based on their preferences and interactions.
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"It’s a brilliant opportunity to meet like-minded people working in some of the biggest tech companies, other broadcasters, universities and researchers to bring us all together into one collaborative approach to solving the problems we’re all facing.”
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“The IBC Accelerator programme is breaking boundaries. This is my first time here and I have already spoken to a lot of international media companies, which I wouldn’t have easily met if I wasn’t here. It’s a great space for co-creation.”
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“The challenge of real-world networking in recent times makes IBC Accelerators even more important for the industry. It provides a unique space to engage and collaborate with established peers and exciting new companies. Building these relationships is crucial for the BBC to remain relevant.”
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“The Accelerator programme offers an amazing opportunity to collaborate with incredible people across the industry; I had the opportunity to build relationships with senior people. It's a truly collaborative environment, where we can innovate, tackle business problems, and succeed together.”
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“Collaborating with new contacts, diverse vendors, even former industry rivals – we tackled joint challenges head-on. We built a great foundation, and this year's pitch promises an exciting six-month sprint.”
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“The Accelerators program brings people together; it allows us to make a commitment to a focal point and address some clear deliverables around that. For me, IBC helps to bring all participants around the table.”
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“The Accelerator Media Innovation Programme really sets the scene for IBC and gets the excitement going in the lead up to the show.”
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“The true value lies in bringing together those facing challenges with those who can solve them, all in an open and collaborative environment. The Accelerators are a powerful driver of this collaboration, which ultimately showcases the capabilities of our industry as a whole.”
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"The Accelerators program is fantastic because it fosters collaboration among public broadcasters. Sharing common goals and challenges, we realise we're not alone.”
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"The rise of disinformation - fake news and deepfakes - is a real worry. How can we be sure what's real anymore? At IBC, The Accelerators share different techniques and perspectives and that’s key, it’s what we are interested in.”
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“It’s such an amazing group of people; everybody is interested in the future of media and technology. To bring together the collaboration and ideas is just an incredible place to be and really important with where we are right now in our industry."
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“We love the energy, creativity, collaboration and the ideas that came out from the Accelerator’s programme.”
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“The rise of misinformation and deepfakes threatens media, democracy, and trust in information. What’s special about the Accelerators programme is its holistic approach in bringing together the different parts of the chain to help tackle this problem.”