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Business conference and trade show IBC2023 will host a three-strand esports showcase that will offer a dedicated gaming zone on the show floor this weekend.
There will also be a series of presentations and panels in the Showcase Theatre, as well as focused tech tours taking esports organisations to crucial production and delivery elements featured at the event.
The esports offering at IBC2023, which takes place from September 15th to 18th in the RAI Amsterdam, builds on the first venture by the show into the gaming space in 2019, when it ran an esports tournament for the entire media and entertainment industry.
IBC (International Broadcasting Convention) brings exhibitors and speakers from around the globe to showcase innovations, tackle pressing trends and issues and more for broadcasters, content owners, rights holders, service providers and others.
The dedicated esports zone will occupy close to 500 sqm in Hall 8 and is being run in partnership with Belgium-based gaming and esports agency Unlocked.
It includes an area where gaming experts will demonstrate the latest esports production workflows and technology via three distinct configurations: stadiums, smaller venues and home-based set-ups.
The zone is an interactive, immersive experience using state-of-the-art racing simulators to capture gameplay and generate content that will be produced and played out for streams of the week-long competition.
The esports zone will also include a networking area and partner zone, offering visitors the opportunity to meet and ask questions of esports experts from Unlocked.
“We are thrilled to have esports back at IBC with a live showcase that will bring together the gaming industry with the broader M&E community,” said IBC Director Steve Connolly.
“We’re taking the show’s gaming elements to the next level, offering esports industry organisations the opportunity to engage more fully with potential media tech partners while learning about how they can reach wider audiences through broadcasting & streaming initiatives.”
Steve Connolly, IBC
“At the same time, media companies will gain new, hands-on knowledge about the ins and outs of competitive gaming and how that works for companies developing content for new and emerging audiences.”
“The esports zone offers a fantastic opportunity for the media and entertainment community to fully experience gaming as a live spectator sport,” added Steven Leuvens, Co-Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Unlocked.
“It’s great to see IBC recognising the growing importance of esports and finding a way to enable people from all parts of the media industry to connect with the gaming organisations while becoming immersed in an onsite esports event. We are excited to be part of IBC2023.”
IBC, a UK-based business, also says that almost 20% of its audience is from the UK.
“We have a strong UK contingent every year, and it’s so easy to get here from the UK,” Steve Connolly told Esports News UK.
Register and learn more about esports at IBC2023 here
IBC2023 esports showcase speakers, panels, tours and more
The IBC2023 esports showcase will also feature, as a second strand, a day-long gaming content programme at the Showcase Theatre on Monday September 18th.
Speakers from Omdia, HaZAnimation, Ubisoft, Media Monks and more will explore the exciting developments at the intersection of gaming and media and debate what the future might hold.
Highlights include:
- Top gaming trends – Liam Deane, Principal Analyst for Gaming Tech, Omdia;
- From gaming to on-screen: The hiccups and highlights – Fireside chat with Helene Juguet, Managing Director, Ubisoft Film & Television Paris;
- How Unreal Engine technology is enabling filmmakers and game developers to blur the lines between gaming and film tech – HaZ Dulull, Producer at HaZAnimation;
- Opportunities for in-game advertising and how the industry’s key players are leveraging them to reach new markets – Panel moderated by Deane and featuring Funs Jacobs, Senior Director of Innovation, Media Monks.
Also available at IBC to Premium Pass holders are a roundtable discussion on gaming in the entertainment industry, and an exclusive report on the convergence of gaming and media, produced by Omdia, Official Premium Research Partner.
The third strand of the esports showcase taking place across the show consists of two dedicated tours of the show floor to highlight the broad range of esports-related technology from across the supply chain.
Curated by industry specialists, the tours will take attendees on a journey through IBC’s 13 halls to discover the latest tech trends and products enabling the continued phenomenal growth of esports as a live broadcast or streamed spectator event.
The tours will touch on elements such as production distribution, streaming software and studio graphics.
Companies whose stands will be featured on the tours include Magnifi, LucidLink, Clear-Com, Aldena Telecomunicazioni s.r.l., Yupp Video Services, Pixotope, Netint Technologies, and Studio Network Solutions.
Register and learn more about esports at IBC2023 here
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
