IBC 2025 confirmed what many in the media and entertainment ecosystem have been signaling for months: the industry is ready to move. Not just toward innovation, but toward practical, scalable and flexible transformation. The conversations this year were grounded in operational needs, AI selection by context, business continuity and the urgency to replace aging infrastructure with flexible, future-ready solutions.

The rise of social media and the demand for presence across all formats are driving significant pressure on content management. Solutions must now account for multiple versions of the same asset—adapted to different aspect ratios, durations, and formats—to remain relevant and effective for each audience.

At Tedial, these themes resonated strongly across the wide range of discussions held at our stand. From broadcasters and content providers to sports organizations, integrators, service firms and technology partners, the feedback was consistent: companies are looking for solutions that adapt to their unique workflows, scale across diverse operations, and integrate seamlessly with existing and emerging technologies, all working in a flexible and resilient media supply chain.

Flexibility Is the New Standard

Whether managing traditional broadcast workflows, expanding into digital platforms, or orchestrating complex multi-site operations, the need for adaptable technology was a recurring theme at our booth:

• Web-based editing integrated with MAM: a must-have for distributed teams and fast-turnaround content. Tedial’s EVO Web Editor drew attention for its seamless integration and intuitive UX.
• UI personalization: from ingest operators to social media editors, interfaces must adapt to roles. smartWork’s configurable UI was frequently cited as a differentiator.
• AI selection by context: no one-size-fits-all. Organizations want to choose the right AI for the right task including transcription, segmentation, recommendation or QC. smartWork’s orchestration layer enables this flexibility.
• Multisite solutions for large corporations: centralized control with local autonomy is now a baseline requirement. Tedial’s multisite architecture was a recurring topic in conversations with global media groups and service providers.
• IP stream reception on the rise: the volume and complexity of incoming IP feeds have grown significantly, demanding robust, scalable ingest. Our recent enhancements in IP stream handling were well received.
• Flexible metadata integration: solutions must adapt to different business units, including news, sports, archives or advertising, with tailored metadata schemes. Tedial’s metadata modeling capabilities continue to support this need across diverse operations.

Legacy Systems at a Crossroads

Many organizations, including radio and television broadcasters, use MAM systems that are nearing the end of their useful life. To compensate for the shortcomings of these systems, some have developed in-house tools over the years, which now need to be replaced with standard, interoperable technologies. Migration is inevitable, but it must be smooth and seamless.

• Operational continuity is paramount: all stakeholders emphasized the need to maintain operations during the migration. Downtime is unacceptable. Tedial’s approach to seamless migration, thanks to the smartWork abstraction layer, was a key aspect that generated significant interest.
• Standardization over customization: the current trend is towards modular, open solutions that reduce technical debt and simplify future upgrades. Our platform’s philosophy, based on no-code programming, aligns perfectly with this trend.

A Wave of New Projects

IBC 2025 marked a turning point. A significant number of participants, from content creators and media companies to service providers and technology partners, are preparing to launch modernization initiatives. These are not speculative plans. They are budgeted, scheduled and aligned with broader digital transformation strategies.

• Renewal projects are moving forward: from MAM replacement to cloud migration, the next 12-18 months will see major deployments. Tedial’s smartWork and EVO MAM are already being evaluated in several of these initiatives.
• Digital transformation is accelerating: organizations are aligning technology upgrades with business goals, audience engagement and monetization strategies. Our recent work in ad campaign management and social media workflows reflects this shift.

Media companies are no longer focusing solely on cost savings, but rather on developing new solutions and investing in new functionalities. They all show a strong interest in AI, both for automating processes and for generating metadata, highlights and summaries.

Ultimately, the migration to the cloud is being carried out in a more controlled manner, as hybrid cloud solutions have become a reality for businesses. smartWork is the no-code media integration platform (iPaaS) that enables interoperability and compatibility across the entire ecosystem of applications involved in a media supply chain, all working in a multisite hybrid environment.