Celebrating collaboration in technology and creativity
IBC is the one global forum where every aspect of the industry comes together to share knowledge, solve challenges and develop future strategies. The IBC Innovation Awards celebrate that spirit of co-operation and collaboration.
Now well established as the most coveted in the industry, the IBC Innovation Awards are the original and only truly independent industry awards for excellence in technological and creative innovation.
They are presented to the end user of the project - the broadcaster or media company that started with a requirement and who brought together the technology partners to find an exciting solution. At the same time, those technology partners are also celebrated and honoured for their contribution to a co-operative process which delivered the successful result.
To win an IBC Innovation Award, you have to show that the commissioning company worked closely with technology partners to deliver a clever, appropriate and innovative solution to a real business, technical or creative issue.
There are three categories in the IBC Innovation Awards: for excellence in content creation, content distribution and content everywhere.
All entries are free.
Submission forms must reach IBC by 23:59 GMT on Friday 9th June.
Content Creation
Whatever the size of the screen and wherever you choose to watch it, what audiences want is great content. This award recognises projects which give creative talents the tools they need, from acquisition to post production.
Content Distribution
Great content is no use if it does not reach the eyes and ears of the consumer. This award celebrates the best new ways to manage content and connect creators and consumers, or creators and their collaborators.
Content Everywhere
Consumers today expect to be engaged wherever they are, on whatever device is to hand. This award celebrates the connected experience – it might be an app, a delivery strategy or the internet of things. To win this award, your project will make the most of the connected world, using technology to engage and excite audiences.
Guidelines for entering
To be in with a chance of winning an IBC Innovation Award, make sure you check these guidelines carefully before completing your entry:
- The IBC Innovation Awards are NOT product awards. Nominations for new technology or products without an end user will be rejected at the first stage. So too will be sales of standard products or services which involve no collaborative development and implementation.
- The IBC Innovation Awards celebrate the partnership between technology companies and their customers. Each award is presented to the end user company, but the honour is shared with their technical supporters. Technology partners will be clearly identified and promoted in marketing around the Awards shortlist and in the Awards Ceremony.
- Be clear in your entry about who the end user is, the way in which technical partners and users collaborated to develop the solution, and how the project has helped them.
- Submission forms must reach IBC by 23:59 GMT on Friday 9th June. Entries can be made by either the end user or by a technology partner, or by a company’s PR agency, provided all parties are happy for the project to be submitted.
- IBC Innovation Awards are presented to the end user. If you are entering on behalf of a supplier it is important that you discuss it with the end user before submitting the entry. Entries without the active co-operation of the end user will not be considered.
- A winning entry will demonstrate an innovative and imaginative solution to a real technical, creative or commercial challenge. Your best chance of winning is to demonstrate strong collaboration between a user and technology partner. A simple, low-cost system is just as likely to win as a multi-million dollar redevelopment project.
- Projects can involve one technology partner or bring together many partners. The project can be led by a supplier or by an in-house team. There is space on the entry form for you to list all the technical partners.
- There are three categories: for the most innovative project in content creation, content distribution and content everywhere systems. You will select a category for your project on the entry form, although the judges will move it to another category if they think it is a better fit. Do not enter the same project in more than one category.
- Your entry should be for a system which has been implemented and is in regular use or is for a one-off event which has taken place by the middle of 2023. The judges look for demonstrable success in the project, so it is unlikely that a work in progress will reach the final shortlist.
- While the judges welcome systems which are cumulative in their success and have been developed or implemented over an extended period, perhaps even years, the pace of change in our industry means that systems which went live more than a year or so ago are unlikely to make the shortlist.
- Your entry will be judged on the information you provide on the entry form, so make sure this is complete and compelling. You should describe the challenges faced by the user, and how the project uses innovative technology to solve them. The judges may ask for further clarification, but in general they form their opinion on what they read on the form.
- Do not use brochure copy or other marketing-speak in your entry: the judges need to know how the team collaborated to solve this specific challenge, how successfully the project met the challenge, and the experience of the end user. Remember this is your one chance to excite the judges, so make sure you tell the full story. Reliance on brochure copy will suggest to the judges that this is simply a sale of a standard product, which does not meet the essential requirement to be an innovative, collaborative development.
- As well as the complete description we ask you for a summary of the project challenges and success, in around 100 words.
- To supplement your entry, you may want to supply images or a short video which shows the project and its effectiveness. These can be submitted online along with your entry. Only submit videos or images if they add to your explanation of the project: again, generic marketing material will not increase your chances of success. Remember, too, that the video and imagery is supplementary – the judges use the written form as the main source of information.
- After the initial judging process, a shortlist of entries in each category will be announced. We aim to make this announcement by the end of June.
- If your entry is on the shortlist you will receive support from IBC to help you maximise the publicity benefits in the run-up to the event. IBC will also invest in publicity featuring the shortlisted entries.
- All shortlisted finalists will be invited to a reception at IBC where certificates and trophies will be celebrated and other awards also celebrated.
- The IBC Innovation Awards are judged by an international panel of independent industry figures. The decisions of the judges are final.
- Please do not contact any member of the judging panel directly, at any stage of the judging process. Any inappropriate contact may lead to disqualification from the awards, both this year and in the future. If you have any questions about the awards and how they are judged, please contact awards@ibc.org.
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Contact Us
If you have any questions regarding the Innovation Awards then please do not hesitate to contact
awards@ibc.org