YouTube praises UK creativity; pushes back on “forced prominence”

Streaming Media

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YouTube’s European and Middle East Chief Pedro Pina emphasised the strength and resilience of UK creativity.

Giving the Edinburgh TV Festival’s main keynote, the MacTaggart Lecture, Pina said, said the UK was entering another Golden Age of Television. “How ironic that during a time when so many say British TV is dying, we have seen some of the best British TV shows of all time. Shows which create cultural conversations on a scale most online creators can only dream of.”

He pointed to the “amazing British TV the so-called ‘streaming revolution’ has already given us” like Baby Reindeer, Rivals, Chernobyl, Slow Horses, Line of Duty and Derry Girls.

“Let’s not sugar-coat it, he warned. “Things will have to change because the playing field TV once dominated has changed. The steady revenue streams and booming budgets that were built upon the central position TV once held cannot be relied upon.

“TV jobs are changing and new skills are now necessary. But if the fear is that the proliferation of creators and platforms will destroy British TV as such, then the history of this medium proves the very opposite is true.”

Pina described a “goldmine” of home-grown creator talent. More than 17,000 UK YouTube channels have over 100,000 subscribers. More than 2,000 have audiences in the millions. Most strikingly, over 80% of UK content is viewed outside the UK. He also claimed that YouTube supports more than 45,000 full-time equivalent UK jobs, contributing over GBP2.2 billion to the British economy.

“In other words, Britain’s global reputation as a creative powerhouse is alive and kicking. So, if the TV industry can adapt once again to changing audience habits and to today’s media landscape, a new Golden Age is the UK’s for the taking.”

However, he fired a warning shot to UK public service broadcasters and the UK government that YouTube would resist attempts by them to “force prominence” in the platform’s algorithms to PSB content over other creators.

“YouTube is a democracy of cultural production,” he said. “Anyone can find an audience. Forced prominence would impair the public interest, by unfairly shifting focus from independent creators and production companies, and by recommending that all our viewers watch the same things, disregarding personal taste.

If this becomes law, many UK-based creators and production companies will see their

livelihoods threatened. UK viewers will have to wade through content they may not want, which in itself could undermine the trust that UK public service broadcasters have built up.”

Creative AI: A Strategic Opportunity for the UK

Streaming Media

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The UK is positioned to lead in creative AI and legal frameworks, according to senior figures from across the UK’s television and creative industries at the Edinburgh TV Festival.

“We can’t win the AI arms race. We are too late,” said Particle 6 founder and CEO Aline Van der Velden. “The Chinese with models like SeeDance 2.0. are unbeatable. But we can win the creative space. The UK is in a unique position to lead in AI creativity.”

The strongest argument for UK leadership came from Jonny McCausland, Head of Creative Innovation at Hat Trick Productions, who said the UK could become a global hub for creative AI — particularly in animation.

“I’ve always been frustrated that the UK doesn’t have a much bigger position in the global field of animation. It’s very US‑dominated.” The reason, he argued, is cost: “It’s too expensive and too time‑consuming for UK broadcasters.”

Hat Trick’s work focuses on using AI to streamline the “middle process” of animation production without replacing illustrators, animators or performers. “We’re not changing the creative input,” McCausland said. “It still has to be really good animation. It can’t look like AI.”

Instead, AI can accelerate workflows and reduce costs enough to make UK‑originated animation more viable. “If we can get this good enough, fast enough, at a sensible cost, we can finance differently. Control creative. Control distribution. Go digital‑first and really start to build a brand.”

This shift could allow UK companies to bypass traditional commissioning routes. “The really exciting thing AI unlocks is not needing to go to a commissioner,” he said. “After a year, you could go to the BBC and say: ‘We’ve got a million followers for this. Now let’s talk about the TV show.’”

Provenance, attribution and the UK Advantage

McCausland also emphasised the UK’s potential leadership in AI provenance and attribution, pointing to emerging standards such as C2PA (Coalition for Content Provenance and Authenticity).

“C2PA allows us to go to illustrators, writers, performers, use their data to train small AI models, and then track every use of that content on a blockchain‑like ledger,” he said. “You can attach automated remuneration and automated provenance.”

This could ensure creators are paid fairly when their work contributes to AI‑generated content. “If an illustrator’s work trains a model that generates content, and that content is sold, the illustrator gets paid — automatically.”

McCausland argued that the UK is already ahead in this area. “A lot of this work is being done in the UK,” he said. “There’s a huge amount we can do to position the UK as a leader in the creative and legal side.”

For example, the Costar National Lab has published a proposal for a new AI copyright framework for UK creative industries.

AI moves upstream

Banijay UK CEO and Executive Chair Patrick Holland, opened the session by framing AI as a technology already embedded in the industry. “Every major technology in television eventually becomes invisible. If we use it, it disappears into the creative process.”

He pointed to the rise of VFX, green screen, digital cameras and virtual production as examples of tools that were once novel but are now standard. “If you went to a drama set 30 years ago, there would have been no green screen and now we take it as read that VFX will be a major part of any high‑end TV production.”

The real question, Holland argued, was not: Is AI coming to take over television? but How are we going to use it?

Human‑Driven Creativity, AI‑Enabled Workflows

Particle 6 is the creator of AI actor Tilly Norwood, which sparked outrage in Hollywood, particularly among the Screen Actors Guild. A feature film starring Norwood is now in development. “It will take at least 12 months to make, with writers, directors, set designers, costume designers working with AI and skilling everyone up,” Van der Velden said.

Her company is already working with writers, performers and directors who want to experiment with AI, she said.

“If you’re a great writer, AI enhances you,” she said. “It’s about upskilling and retooling people so they’re ready to use AI.”

Peter Archer, Director of the BBC’s Generative AI Programme, outlined the corporation’s position: “All our creative output — TV, audio, journalism — needs to be driven by humans.”

However, he said AI is already transforming workflows, especially in reformatting content across modalities. “Long‑form TV into short‑form rapidly. Podcasts into short‑form. Live audio into text pages. Articles into audio.”

Audience attitudes have shifted dramatically, Archer said. “A year ago everyone was super scared. Now, they see AI as another technology, like VFX.”

Theo Jones, Creative Director for AI at VFX facility Framestore, said AI is finally enabling persuading studios to invest more heavily in pre‑production.

“We’ve been trying to persuade studios for a long time that we should be creative partners from the very beginning,” he said. “If you can spend that money in pre‑production, you can make better choices.”

AI‑driven previz and tech‑viz now allow productions to visualise scenes early, even without actors or full design teams. “It allows you to visualise what something might look like — to a worked‑up state early on,” Jones said. “That means better choices, reduced expense on the shoot, and reduced expense in post.”

He said studios are beginning to echo Framestore’s long‑standing message. “AI has landed in a way that means that message is finally being heard.”

Jones also warned that commissioners are increasingly approaching tech companies directly — often with poor results. “They’re talking past each other,” he said. “Why go to a tech company for something that is a creative process?”

AI-powered automated cameras introduced into live host feed for Supercup

SVG

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As part of its drive to generate more content with the same or fewer resources, the Bundesliga conducted a live test of a fully automated pan-tilt-zoom camera system incorporated into the live host feed of the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup.

The live integration has been deployed on other football leagues and others sports before but this is a first for the Bundesliga and also for its broadcast partner Sky.

“We’ve done several tests, including a fully automated tactical feed last week in Hannover for a Bundesliga 2 match,” explained Dave Greene, Sales Director at Dutch AI specialist Studio Automated.

“We’ve already deployed automated PTZ in ice hockey, handball and football in other leagues. This the first time we’re integrating a technical live AI feed into the Bundesliga match experience together with Sky.”

One camera was in operation at Boroussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park positioned on the main camera gantry. This was mounted on a HotHead 3 remote head from Egripment Camera Support, part of the Broadcast Solutions Group (BSG).

“On‑site it’s plug‑and‑play,” Greene said. “The camera can be reached remotely, so in a centralised production someone can simply access the system over the internet and start or stop the AI through our API. You can connect multiple cameras. The remote head behaves like a fluid head on a tripod, fully integrated into the OB van infrastructure.”

With Greene was Egripmont CTO Martin Dresbach. He described the HotHead 3 as a fully digital, IP‑based remote head with an API that Studio Automate uses for control. “It can carry heavy packages up to 60 kilos, so large lenses up to 122x are no problem. We provide the hardware; the magic happens in the Studio Automate software.”

Jens Fischer, senior business development manager for Global VAR and Sports Solutions at BSG explained that Studio Automated supports 15 professional sports out of the box.

“It has trained an AI to control cameras exactly as you’d expect in professional sports Naturally, for the Supercup it is using the AI model for football. It’s a multi‑camera model that supports standard football positions: Camera 1, Camera 2, the 16‑metre tactical camera, left and right offside, and the high‑behind‑goal angle. Today we’re running the AI model for the tactical feed.”

The team were keen to emphasise that the AI is not simply ball or object tracking. It has been trained to understand the game.

“The AI doesn’t play ‘catch the ball’ like you might expect,” Fischer said. “It actually understands football. We didn’t hard‑code rules—the AI learned them on its own.”

A corner‑kick example explains this well. Traditional automated systems track the ball and keep it in the centre of the frame. That produces bad pictures, according to Fischer, “half the audience on one side, the ball buried in the corner.

“A real camera operator would frame the corner flag on the left and bring the ball into the shot,” he added. “The AI learned that behaviour independently.”

The AI is also smart enough to understand why a person in black on the touchline never enters the pitch, or why there suddenly appear to be 23 players—because substitutions have happened. “It understands the logic of football and frames the game the way a human operator would.”

Dresbach stressed that the AI doesn’t manipulate the video. “It receives the low‑latency feed and instructs the remote head how to move. Production companies take the direct feed, match it with other cameras, and shade it in real time.

“It’s important to understand that the AI has been trained on football movements and anticipates play. If you track only the ball, you’re always too late—and you frame incorrectly, especially on corners. The system detects the integrity of the game, not just a single object.”

Asked how accurate the system was Greene replied, “We work with top‑tier football leagues that demand extremely high uptime. Football has unique situations, but through iterative updates we can teach the AI how to respond.”

The system control can either be on‑premise (which it was at the Supercup) or at a remote production centre. “The AI analyses the live feed coming from the camera lens and sends instructions to pan, tilt and zoom, Dresbach said. “The remote head then executes those movements, giving you the natural look and feel of a football match.”

While a tactical feed was demonstrated here, the Studio Automated-BSG combination can offer solutions for Camera 1, left and right offside, and high‑behind‑goal positions.

“It gives production companies flexibility to blend manual and automated production,” Greene said. “If you have a traditional production and want to add more cameras cost‑effectively, we provide a way to do that.”

Pressed as to whether this inevitably leads to fewer camera-ops down the line, Greene said:

 “Things are changing on the operator side. In five years we may have fewer camera operators, or simply more flexibility. Recently at a EuroLeague playoff—a very downscaled production—they used one AI tactical camera because the budget allowed adding one more camera. In future, automated 16‑metre cameras could let productions stay within budget while increasing coverage. It’s not about replacing people; it’s about doing more with the same budget.”

Supervising this and a whole array of other tech trials was Alexander Günther, Managing Director of Sportcast. The wholly-owned subsidiary of the DFL produces the host signal for all Bundesliga and BL2 matches – some 700 events a year. 

“This is part of our methodological approach: idea, concept, POCs, iterative development, and finally delivery. And today—it’s delivery,” he said.

The AI-powered feed will be evaluated but likely rolled out as standard for every Tuesday 20:30 match this season.

At the Supercup, Sportcast were hosting the match not only for the Bundesliga match but also Sky and other domestic and international partners. The AI tactical feed was in addition to the ‘platinum setup’ of 28 cameras which it reserves for the bigger games such as Der Klassiker.

While Sony and GV systems cameras are in dominant use across the season this may change as Sportcast evaluates ARRI live cameras.

“We tested ARRI cameras at Sports Innovation two years ago, and yes, we’ll continue testing them. They offer different shading, different perspectives, and a more cinematic look, which is increasingly in demand for documentaries.”

Volumetric capture was also being tested with twenty cameras arrayed around the pitch perimeter. “It’s non‑live for now, mainly for highlight editing, but it looks very good,” Günther said.

Even Meta glasses were being used for the first time in an early exploration of the potential angles and fresh point of view a live stream from wearers (in the tunnel for example) might bring.

Günther echoed the thoughts of Bundesliga CEO in highlighting the macro challenge that he now faces which is balancing the shared experience of soccer with personalisation.

“Historically there was one world feed. Now we’re exploring how to provide both a world feed and individualised streams.

“Centralised production helps enormously. It allows us to bring all feeds into one hub and distribute them to different editorial teams. Automation and AI will change this further—fewer camera operators and more potential for personalised feeds. The next big innovation will be integrating 3D data and audio into a completely new production layer.

“Our primary responsibility however is to provide the correct source. Audio, video, and data has to be accurate and captured live from the field of play. Fans need to trust that what they see is real.”

Bundesliga places AI at centre of its media strategy

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Introducing the Bundesliga’s latest showcase of technology innovation Deutsche Fußball Liga (DFL) CEO  Steffen Merkel put the emphasis firmly on AI.

“AI is not just another tech trend for us,” Merkel said. “It is becoming a fundamental capability that runs through the entire organisation, just as it does in many other industries—including sports and football.”

The event, held in Dortmund over the weekend ahead of the Franz Beckenbauer Supercup, featured presentations, a tour of Boroussia Dortmund’s Signal Iduna Park and VIP boxes stuffed full of new toys.

“I’m a firm believer in trying things early and learning from every experiment,” said Merkel, who oversees the league’s media and digital strategy. “Sometimes a prototype becomes a product; sometimes it doesn’t. But there is always added value in the process.”

More than 43 million people in Germany—almost half the population—follow the Bundesliga, spanning all demographics, each consuming content differently. Internationally, the diversity is even greater.

“This makes it clear why technology is essential to scale, localise, and personalise content for fans everywhere,” he said.

With around 400 employees across the organisation and roughly 250 dedicated to content production, the Bundesliga faces a scale challenge familiar to many rights holders. “When it comes to our international fan base and localisation, it’s impossible to do that manually. So AI is a huge opportunity for us to close the gap.”

The raw material feeding AI are 200 million data points collected for each match. Event data, positional tracking and 3D tracking feed innovations such as Bundesliga Match Facts powered by AWS, semi‑automated offside detection and automated event recognition. “Match data has become ever more intertwined with the media product,” he added, describing a future where real‑time insights shape fan engagement, media production, and increasingly the sport on the pitch (through AI assisted coaching and scouting for example).

From a study into AI commissioned by the league two commercial trends stood out. “The ones with the highest probability are personalised content and content scaling,” explained Professor Sascha Schmidt, Chair and Director of the Center for Sport and Management (CSM) at WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management. Experts expect “a seamless integration of individually curated content in real time” to be standard by 2030, alongside the ability to “double the amount of Bundesliga content produced with the same resources.”

AI officiating support generated the strongest divide. “There was no clear consensus,” Schmidt said, with desirability scores sharply split.

The study also found that clubs recognise AI’s potential but feel “only moderately prepared” to capture its full value due to limited resources, talent and know‑how.

“Our task as a league is to unlock these potentials and help clubs do the same,” Merkel added. “Some clubs are already well equipped; others—especially in Bundesliga 2—benefit from us acting as an early‑stage accelerator.”

Bundesliga tests localised world feeds

The Bundesliga has taken a significant step toward reshaping how global football audiences experience live matches, unveiling early results from a proof‑of‑concept (POC) exploring localised world feeds. The initiative, led by Tabea Wagner, Senior Manager Live Product at Bundesliga Media, aims to deliver tailored match broadcasts for international markets without compromising the integrity of the league’s central production.

“As a rights holder, it’s our responsibility to deliver a top‑notch media product—especially for fans who aren’t privileged to sit in the stadium,” Wagner said. “We want to be the most fan-centric league – but if a Bundesliga match is not shown because there is no local commentary we cannot create any engagment.“

Today, the Bundesliga distributes one English world feed to dozens of markets with different languages, cultures and viewing habits. While broadcasters often add local commentary, resource constraints mean localisation is inconsistent.

“Our concept is straightforward,” Wagner explained. “We want to create many experiences based on the same feed. To do that, we add new layers—graphics localisation, commentary localisation, and eventually content localisation.”

Four factors convinced the league that the timing was right: rising fan demand for personalised experiences; rapid advances in AI translation and cloud workflows; an industry shift from satellite to streaming distribution; and growing momentum among other rights holders pursuing similar strategies. The Bundesliga’s partnership with AWS provides the technical backbone.

The POC focused on graphics localisation and audio localisation. Bundesliga Media worked with workflow‑orchestration startup Logic, running on AWS infrastructure, to coordinate the process.

Graphics localisation was tested using two methods and four service partners

·        Template‑driven HTML5 graphics, translated in advance and triggered by metadata managed by Vizrt.

·        Computer‑vision models that detect, translate and replicate graphics in parallel streams managed by mobii.

Audio localisation also followed two paths:

·        AI translation of the existing English commentary into multiple languages provided by Camb.AI

·        AI‑generated commentary based on match data, including 3D tracking, from Valka.AI.

Providers were asked to localise graphics into Arabic and German, translate commentary into Spanish and German, and generate new English commentary.

What worked—and what didn’t

“From a technical perspective, it is working,” Wagner said. But challenges remain.

Latency is a major obstacle for live environments. Graphics localisation proved more complex than expected—not in quality, but in how it fits into existing infrastructure. And language localisation is “not yet market‑ready.”

“Latency must go down,” Wagner said. “Commentary needs more emotionality and authenticity. And grammar errors must be eliminated. If the commentary isn’t as good as a human, we won’t put it into production.”

What’s next?

The league will continue monitoring service‑provider development and gather feedback from media partners to build a clear roadmap. Wagner emphasised that the future may not require more content—just more relevant experiences based on the same content.

“Localisation is a possible path,” she said. “It’s too early for conclusions, but it’s worth exploring—and that’s exactly what we’re doing.”

At the Super Cup, another layer of sign‑language localisation was trialled in partnership with Synapse.

The more difficult question is whether personalisation should extend to the live match feed itself. Merkel acknowledges the tension.

“Given all the content and visualisation possibilities, the question becomes: do you want every fan to have their own individual experience, or do you still want a shared, joint experience? That’s the trade‑off. On one side, you have deep personalisation; on the other, the common experience that defines football culture.”

He describes this as one of the central debates in football’s AI future. “This is part of the journey toward AI. Finding the right balance between individualisation and togetherness.”

 

 

Crafting the Contenders: Adam Bricker, ASC on bringing Hacks home

interview and words for Sohonet

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By the time Hacks reached its fifth and final season, Adam Bricker ASC had spent six years shaping one of television’s most distinctive visual identities. The HBO Max comedy, created by Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky, concluded in May 2026 with 47 episodes, 25 nominations for its final season, and a cinematography profile that had already earned Bricker five Emmy and four ASC nominations.

“From our earliest conversations, Lucia, Paul, Jen, and I agreed that being a half-hour comedy didn’t mean the show had to look a certain way” says the DP who lensed every single episode. “The scripts are so funny and the performances so perfect that the visuals don’t necessarily need to underline the comedy. Our cinematic language is naturalistic, sometimes even moody, and always reflective of where the characters are emotionally.”

That philosophy shaped Hacks from its Las Vegas origins—following legendary comedian Deborah Vance (Jean Smart) and her young writer Ava (Hannah Einbinder)—through a journey that eventually took the characters to Los Angeles, New York, Singapore, and finally Paris.

Bricker and the creators built the show’s early aesthetic from a mix of references: Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s Eleven and Behind the Candelabra, the Judy Garland biopic Judy, and classic Vegas photography. The goal was a modern image with a nostalgic pulse, a subtle nod to Deborah’s heyday.

To achieve it, Bricker partnered with Panavision’s Guy McVicker to rework Primo 70 glass into something more period inflected. “He engineered a custom lens treatment that softened the highlights, added a bit of bloom and gave the flares a warm, vintage glow,” Bricker explains.‍

Carrying the look across five seasons

“Once we established the look in season one, that became our reference point for the seasons that followed,” Bricker says. “It’s been an exciting challenge figuring out how to keep the visuals cohesive as the world expands and evolves in ways we couldn’t have anticipated when we started.”

It helped that Bricker worked with the same core collaborators throughout including colorist Shane Reed, who runs boutique color house MOM&POP. That consistency allowed him to treat the show almost like a long form feature film, evolving the palette and lensing choices as the characters matured.

He established the look in season one with Gaffer Christopher Faulkner and Key Grip Randy Garcia. Gaffer Daniel McNutt joined in season two. Bricker describes the lighting and grip teams as “incredibly dedicated and talented,” helping evolve the visual language of the series over five seasons.

The final season took Deborah and Ava to France, and with it came a major shift in Bricker’s approach.

“The work we did in Paris was the biggest departure from our standard operating procedure,” he says. 

Without the ability to bring the full Los Angeles crew overseas, Bricker and director Lucia Aniello leaned into a more agile, intimate approach. “In Paris, the story really narrows its focus to Ava and Deborah,” he explains. “We talked about approaching it more like an indie film—staying close to them and creating a sense of intimacy in those key, pivotal moments.”

Instead of transforming locations into heightened worlds, as they often did in Las Vegas, Bricker embraced Paris as it was. 

“Working with found light, real spaces, and a smaller crew created a tonal shift that felt right for where the characters were emotionally.”

A cinematic farewell

It’s unusual for a single cinematographer to lens every episode of a multi-season series. Bricker embraced the challenge.

“I loved these characters. I loved the way Jen, Paul, and Lucia told their story. I couldn’t imagine not being a part of it,” he says.

“By the time we reached the fifth season, there was something really satisfying about being able to make choices with a sense of the whole — looking at a script and connecting a palette or a lens to something we’d established years earlier. You start revisiting the work from those first seasons and realize that some of those early choices were setting up things you’re only now getting to pay off.

“But there’s also a wonderful freedom in trusting your intuition — going with your gut and believing those instincts will keep everything cohesive, because that’s what we’d relied on all along to tell the story.”

The final episode even mirrors the pilot which opened on a oner on Deborah Vance’s back. Episode 47 opens on Ava’s back.

“We knew early on that we wanted to connect the two shots as much as possible, so [Production Designer] Rob Tokarz counted Deborah’s steps, and designed the set so that Ava would take the same number. It was shot by Steadicam Operator Joel Marsh who worked with me on every episode, and with the same focus puller, Jamiel VanOver, another longtime collaborator, and on the same custom 35mm lens we designed six years earlier.

“You can really feel that continuity,” Bricker says. “We all gave so much to the show over those six years, so for me it was genuinely special to have the opportunity to see it all the way through. And of course, it’s not just me. The continuity of this incredibly talented and dedicated crew is a huge part of the show. You can put on any episode and immediately feel that consistency.”

He adds, “We all really grew as filmmakers over the course of making this show. Getting to do that together, over five seasons, has been one of the best experiences of my career.”

Bricker’s other work includes Netflix culinary-doc series Chef’s Table (for which he earned an ASC nomination and two Emmy nominations), and Netflix true-crime mockumentary American Vandal.

 

Network Control: Turning 5G into a production tool

IBC

Speed, flexibility, and reliability – that’s the dream for many a live production. However, when public network coverage is patchy, what’s a broadcaster to do? The 2026 Accelerator Project, Network Control, deploys standardised network APIs to tackle this problem head-on.

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When 5G first arrived, broadcasters were told it would change everything. Higher bandwidth, lower latency, and the promise of network slicing suggested a future where live production could finally break free from the shackles of satellite trucks, microwave links, and unpredictable public networks. In many ways, that future has already begun: private 5G networks and bonded cellular systems have proven they can deliver broadcast‑grade workflows in real environments. But as the industry has discovered, 5G is ready for production — just not yet for scale.

A new IBC Accelerator project involving Neutral Wireless, SliceFinity, major European broadcasters, and public mobile operators aims to change that.

Their goal is deceptively simple: To make 5G predictable. In practice, it means turning connectivity from a best‑effort commodity into a programmable, controllable production resource. And if they succeed, it could reshape how live content is gathered, managed, and delivered at some of the world’s biggest events.

5G works, Until it doesn’t

Few people understand this better than Morten Brandstrup, Head of News Technology at TV2 Denmark and a leading voice within the European Broadcasting Union (EBU). TV2 has embraced 5G more aggressively than most. “We use 5G for 99% of all live contributions flowing into our newsroom,” he says. “Gone is the old sat‑truck.”

That’s all well and good but at major events such as political announcements, breaking news, or large‑scale sports, 5G’s reliability collapses. Crowds overwhelm public networks. Upload capacity evaporates. And broadcasters, who depend on stable uplink performance, are forced to fall back on legacy or improvised solutions.

“We’re not browsing; we’re uploading,” Brandstrup explains. “But we can’t predict whether we’ll get a usable service when we arrive on‑site.” At events like the World Cup or Tour de France, every broadcaster is trying to push video over cellular. The result is congestion, uncertainty, and a scramble for alternatives. TV2 has even resorted to deploying LEO satellite terminals — a paradoxical workaround in an era where 5G was meant to eliminate such complexity.

This is a common problem for broadcasters across the EU. As Brandstrup notes, “BBC, RAI, France Télévisions — everyone is facing the same issue.”

The broadcast use case is fundamentally different from consumer mobile usage. Public networks are optimised for download, not upload. And while consumers can tolerate degraded performance, broadcasters cannot. A dropped frame or frozen feed is a failure.

Mission: Control

The IBC Accelerator project to solve this gap in guaranteed reliability was instigated by the GSMA with Neutral Wireless, a specialist in private 5G networks, SDR/FPGA engineering, and rapid‑deployment connectivity solutions. The latter’s work with broadcasters has shown that private 5G can deliver exceptional reliability but only in controlled environments such as studios, OB compounds, or temporary event‑specific deployments.

The challenge is extending that reliability to public networks.

“Broadcasters don’t just need bandwidth,” Sam Yoffe, Senior Systems Engineer explains. “They need control. They need to know which device gets priority, when it gets priority, and how the network is behaving in real time. “rivate networks can provide that. Public networks, historically, cannot.”

They believe the solution lies in standardised network APIs, particularly those developed under the CAMARA initiative. This is an open‑source project jointly run by the Linux Foundation and GSMA’s Open Gateway programme. CAMARA APIs allow applications to request network behaviour dynamically: priority, QoS profiles, connectivity insights, and eventually full slice reservation.

“These APIs already exist,” says Joffe. “What’s missing is consistent implementation across operators, and integration into broadcast workflows.”

APIs from connectivity to production resource

Today, broadcasters rely on fragmented, proprietary APIs from individual vendors. These are powerful but inconsistent, difficult to integrate, and impossible to scale across multiple networks or countries. As Yoffe puts it, “No vendor wants to build custom workflows for every hardware manufacturer and every network. For this to work, the APIs must be open standards.”

CAMARA provides that standardisation. The Quality on Demand (QoD) API, for example, allows a device to request higher priority on a congested network. Connectivity Insights provides real‑time metrics about signal quality, throughput, and network conditions — enabling operators to make informed decisions about when to request priority. And QoS Profiles allow workflows to specify the type of traffic they’re sending.

For broadcasters, these APIs aren’t about networks. They’re about editorial speed, flexibility, and reliability. They allow production systems to treat connectivity the same way they treat audio routing, camera tally, or graphics triggers: as a controllable, predictable part of the workflow.

Booking the network like a production asset

Also participating in the project is SliceFinity, a company founded to close the gap between 5G’s programmability and its commercial reality. Its Network Slice Booking API allows industry customers to reserve network resources in advance defining service areas, time windows, QoS parameters, and device access controls.

In other words, says Yoffe, “broadcasters could book network performance the same way they book satellite windows or fibre circuits.”

SliceFinity’s role in the IBC Accelerator is to provide an aggregated interface that simplifies how broadcasters interact with public operators. Instead of navigating complex operator‑specific APIs, broadcasters use SliceFinity’s unified interface to request QoD, reserve slices, or bind devices to guaranteed resources.

This is essential because public operators must balance broadcaster needs with consumer traffic, emergency services, and overall network health. SliceFinity helps manage that balance, ensuring that priority requests are feasible, safe, and aligned with operator policies.

The live demonstration

The Accelerator aims to prove the concept in a live demonstration on a real public network in a stadium filled with tens of thousands of people. The chosen venue is the German Supercup at Dortmund in August, where the project hopes to show that QoD can protect a broadcast feed even under extreme congestion.

Operators are understandably cautious. Instead of testing with 10–20 Mbps video streams, the demonstration will use a lower‑bitrate workflow — around 500 kbps — such as intercom, camera control, or telemetry.

“These are mission‑critical but lightweight, making them ideal for early testing,” Joffe says. “If successful, the demonstration will prove that CAMARA APIs can deliver real, measurable benefits on live public networks. It will also give operators confidence to expand the scope of priority services.”

Path to industry adoption

The IBC Accelerator is not trying to create a commercial product. It is trying to prove feasibility, establish workflows, and build consensus.

According to Joffe, “the real value lies in the collaboration between broadcasters, production vendors, private 5G specialists, and public operators all working together to define requirements and test solutions.”

Brandstrup adds, “We are a small industry. Operators cannot engage with every broadcaster individually. This project gives us one language, one way of connecting with them on behalf of the wider industry.”

For operators, the project clarifies what broadcasters actually need. It’s not always 20 Mbps video slices. Often it’s reliable intercom, camera control, or telemetry — low‑bitrate but mission‑critical workflows that can be protected without harming consumer traffic.

“For broadcasters, it offers a path toward scalable, predictable 5G usage at major events without deploying private networks along entire race routes or relying on satellite backups,” says Yoffe. “For vendors, it provides a standardised foundation for integrating connectivity control directly into production systems.”

5G was always meant to be programmable. CAMARA, GSMA Open Gateway, and projects like this IBC Accelerator are finally turning that promise into reality.

“If broadcasters can treat connectivity as a controllable resource to be booked, prioritised, monitored, and integrated into workflows then it unlocks new possibilities for remote production, cloud‑based workflows, and lightweight field operations,” Brandstrup underlines.

It reduces the need for heavy infrastructure. It increases editorial agility. And it brings the industry closer to a world where live production is as flexible as the stories it covers.

Rai Radiotelevisione Italiana, Italy’s public service broadcaster, is among those championing the project. Gino Alberico, Director of Centre for Research and Innovation at RAI says, “RAI depends on reliable, flexible and scalable connectivity to deliver high‑quality live content across the country. While 5G has already proven capable of supporting TV production through private networks, current public solutions remain fragmented, inconsistent across operators, and difficult to be used into real production workflows.”

He continues, “This project demonstrates how potential standardised open network APIs, such as CAMARA’s Quality on Demand, transform 5G from a best‑effort network into a programmable, predictable production resource. By enabling dynamic, event‑driven prioritisation of key devices and video feeds, broadcasters gain the ability to protect critical uplinks even in congested environments.

“Working collaboratively with mobile network operators, production technology vendors and international partners, RAI will evaluate the project outcome as a set of integrated production‑ready network APIs that could strengthen the public‑service mission, modernizing its tv production infrastructure and workflow.”