The team that broadcast the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris last week was among the finalists for this year's IBC Innovation Awards, which honor collaborative initiatives in media, entertainment and technology.
The awards will be presented on September 15 at the RAI Amsterdam during the annual IBC conference and will be presented in five categories: Content Creation, Content Distribution, Content Everywhere, Social Impact, and Environment & Sustainability.
Nominees in these categories include: Olympic Broadcasting Services, NFL, NHL, LaLiga, Disney/Pixar, France Télévisions, and NBCUniversal.
“This year’s entries have once again demonstrated the global reach and appeal of the IBC Innovation Awards with high-quality projects received from six continents,” said Jury Chair Fergal Ringrose. “At the same time, ever-evolving delivery methods and audience consumption patterns require content producers around the world to innovate dynamically in order to remain relevant and competitive in the modern media and entertainment technology ecosystem.”
Below is the list of finalists:
Create content:
- The NFL, ESPN, Disney/Pixar and Beyond Sports to create the first fully animated, real-time NFL alternate broadcast set in the Toy Story universe.
- Olympic Broadcast Services and partners to produce live broadcasts with over 200 smartphones contributing to video production for the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony and 5G marine network for sailing competitions in Marseille.
- Aspire is looking forward to working with Vislink and FocalPoint VR to develop a VR solution over RF for the inaugural season of the Abu Dhabi Autonomous Racing League (A2RL).
Content Distribution:
- We would like to thank Claro for creating a new approach to pay TV in Brazil, integrating streaming channels and apps, and bringing entertainment to consumers with a complete pay TV offer.
- NBCUniversal Operations and Technology for its pioneering project to transform the way its television channels are delivered to consumers around the world.
- The National Hockey League is partnering with Verizon, AWS, Zixi, Vizrt, and Evertz to produce a 5G and edge computing framework to aggregate, monitor, and deliver live broadcasts.
Content everywhere:
- LaLiga would like to thank Play Anywhere and Ease Live for their collaboration to bring real fan interaction to itself and its broadcast and streaming partners around the world.
- Red Bull Media House to integrate real-time GPS tracking, data management and advanced visualization to transform the viewing experience across live broadcasts, web tools and mobile AR app.
- France Info (France Television) to work with PimpMyCompany to aggregate text/audio/video/image messages from different platforms and broadcast them live on air.
Social impact:
- Disney Star, Star Sports to partner with India Signing Hands to bring cricket to nearly 67 million hearing-impaired fans and 34 million visually impaired people watching IPL 2024.
- CultureQ is a new technology platform developed by Kiwa Digital, an Indigenous-owned technology company, that empowers Indigenous peoples worldwide to revitalize their language and culture at scale, while retaining sovereignty.
- Sesame Workshop's Watch Play Learn distribution center allows government agencies and aid organizations to preview and request videos of children in crisis situations.
Environment and Sustainability:
- French TV To reduce CO2 emissions by 300 tons through pioneering 100% glass-to-glass cloud production and a private 5G network.
- Green Live Stream To address growing industry concerns about the broadcast sector's impact on energy, with an international reach and over 30 member organisations.
- Anton/Bauer for Salt-E Dog, which harnesses the power of sodium chemistry to enable sustainable television production practices.
