IBC 2008 wrapped up our the tour of the major communications shows around the globe and confirms a common thread running through all the major and minor communications shows: The broadcasting industry is entering a period of unprecedented change as end users changing needs will influence a transition in the way the industry provides services.
    As mentioned in numerous commentaries, features and interviews produced during IBC, the rise of mobile consumers and their demand for control of when, where and how they consume content is having a tremendous impact. But IBC also marked a change in the way the industry is viewing some of its efforts in addressing the market.
    “In previous years it was possible to identify the signature theme of the show — what was supposedly the potential killer application that was going to drive digital,” an attendee said. “This year is focused on realizing that potential and bringing it to market in the most efficient, cost-effective way. There’s been a shift from it being an advancing industry to one that has matured enough, where cost of deployment are just as important as revolutionary features.”
    “In past years, there has been a lot of hype, vision, etc.,” said another attendee. “… This year it’s more about the delivery of the vision and how to present it in a real environment.”
    Now that the broadcasting industry as a whole has made this shift, the revenues should begin coming in and the cycle will repeat with the next vision that is turned into revenues.
    “The challenges of content availability, distribution and access are starting to be understood by broadcasters. While the necessity to adapt to the changing landscape has been well documented, the solutions to reach the objectives have been lacking. But they are becoming ever more clear and will continue to do so.”
    Both industry and consumers will benefit from this new thinking.