Simple words are easy to use. Within the TMT (technology, media and telecoms) sector, scalability is one. The Dutch say schaalbaarheid. For me, that word evokes images of tectonic plates shifting, layers of rock folding under immense pressure, forces deep below the earth’s surface grinding out continents.
As the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) approaches its 50th year, the annual conference and trade exhibition is evolving at the same dizzy speed as the industry it serves.
IBC’s metamorphosis from 500 delegates and three dozen vendors in a corner of a London hotel in 1967 to 55,000 attendees and 1,600 exhibitors in Amsterdam’s sprawling RAI centre is more than simply one of scale. The organisers have made increasing efforts to curate and integrate the technological developments on the show floor with the themes being debated in the conference programme.
