IBC Content Everywhere MENA Showcases Dynamic Growth in Content Connectivity

Dubai, UAE, February 3, 2015--The first IBC Content Everywhere MENA show closed its doors on a highly successful event which brought together 1,451 thought leaders from the Middle East, North Africa and beyond. There are dramatic changes in the way that we create, share, consume and monetise content, and the most pressing topics were covered at IBC Content Everywhere MENA.

Typical of the reaction of participants was Richard Scott, Senior VP of Sales and Marketing at Irdeto. “We were really pleased with the quality of the event and the speakers on the panels,” he said. “It was great to see an international line-up of CEOs, CTOs, Presidents and dignitaries at a regional event.”

Gerard Faria, CTO, TeamCast, agreed. “IBC Content Everywhere MENA was a resounding success! IBC organised an optimal balance between exhibition and conference, and the immersion of the three areas – Conference Theatre, the Hub and Exhibition – in a single location created a very pleasant and useful business experience for all.”

The attendees came together to see a comprehensive exhibition, alongside a focused and detailed conference, informed by thought leaders and key opinion formers from around the world. Key messages which delegates took away were centred on the debate about whether traditional TV media really is dead, as questioned by OSN’s CEO David Butorac; and a heated debate led by MBC’s CEO Sam Barnett around the region’s issues with piracy and telcos bidding for premium content rights. These sessions can be viewed anytime on IBC TV VOD, online and on mobile – go to:  www.ibcCE.org/VOD

“IBC Content Everywhere was the perfect arena with the perfect audience to unveil Selevision’s new brand identity and announce our partnership with the major content distributors in MENA,” said Selevision’s CEO Dr Raed Khusheim.

“The IBC team identified the need for an ultimate networking forum to debate the new world of media, of ubiquitous connectivity and of content everywhere,” said Michael Crimp, CEO of IBC. “We are all absolutely delighted that we could use our knowledge and experience to create the forum, and that the industry has already recognised it as the right place to discuss the future. We are confident that we will build on this solid foundation in the region.”

On the opening day of the show, the debate continued on in to the evening behind closed doors at an exclusive invitation only conference, reception and awards showcase. Designed for the top 150 Clevel delegates from the region, this conference took a closer look at the strategic impact of new players on traditional TV and how to embrace this change.

During the reception, awards were presented to Sky News Arabia, football’s governing body FIFA, and Japanese national broadcaster NHK. Talking of the award for SkyNet, the broadcaster’s disaster recovery solution, Dominic Baillie, CTO, Sky News Arabia, said “It is great for my team to be recognised for all the work we put into SkyNet.”

“We are able to keep the news going wherever we are. We could literally set SkyNet up on a laptop here at this IBC reception, connect to a WiFi signal, and broadcast Sky News Arabia – I think that really is ‘content everywhere’.”

Kohei Nakae of NHK said of its Super Hi-Vision 8K video system, which also won an award, “NHK is a public broadcaster, dedicated to contributing to society and to the industry for people all over the world. That is why we have our own R&D centre, developing 8K and beyond.”

“It is technology that we will broadcast next year, and feature at the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, and I look forward to working with many partners we see here at IBC,” he added. “IBC Content Everywhere has been a great event here in Dubai, and we look forward to coming back again.”

The conference was supported by presentations that took place in the Hub; a stage in the exhibition where exhibitors could offer more detailed information on growing trends, anchored by editorial panel sessions and networking round tables that enhanced the overall attendee experience.

The exhibition featured over 50 key suppliers, as well as the Future Zone, where Cisco presented its view of the Home of the Future, and alongside it, Japanese national broadcaster NHK showed its Super Hi-Vision system. Displayed for the first time in the region, this radical new format which has 16 times the resolution of today’s HD, was also displayed in 8K on a portable 13.3” OLED screen for the first time outside of Japan.

A key feature of IBC Content Everywhere is networking to share contact details and information. Using the unique IBC App, sponsored by Blackmagic Design, and the IBC Touch & Connect Portal, networking started even before the event, and will continue as a 365 day extension of IBC Content Everywhere MENA. As well as sharing information, the IBC Touch & Connect Portal builds a social network of people with common interests, making it easy to dig deeper into the combined experience available in the industry.

The conference featured speakers including Steve Reynolds, CTO, Imagine Communications; John Honeycutt, CTO, Discovery; Ahmed Abbas, COO, Qsoft; Kaswara Al-Khatib, Chairman, UTURN Entertainment; Stephen Nuttall, Senior Director, YouTube EMEA; Ali Amiri, EVP Carrier & Wholesale Services, Etisalat; Sam Barnett, CEO, MBC; Ahmad AbouAmmo, Head of Media Partnerships MENA, Twitter; Mansoor Khan, Director of MENA & South Asia, Kantar Media Audiences; Mascha Driessen, Regional Director Advertising & Online Western Europe, Microsoft; John Hardie, CEO, ITN; David Butorac, CEO, OSN and Stephan Heimbecher, Head of Innovations & Standards in Technology, Sky Deutschland. Attendees came from 55 different countries.

The next IBC event in the calendar is IBC Content Everywhere Europe and IBC2015 on 11-15 September. For more information on these events please go to www.ibcCE.org/Europe