In the blink of an eye, IBC 2024 is already behind us. The scenes of 44,000 visitors, packed conferences, busy exhibitions, and so much more are all distant memories until next year.
It was a great show for FMTS, with the chance to connect with so many of our industry friends and partners, discussing the new ways to use content protection to reclaim revenue lost to piracy. In case you missed us, here is our round-up of IBC 2024 to keep you up to speed with the latest in anti-piracy protection.
New look, same award-winning experts
One of the headlines this year was the new look Friend MTS. Our stand debuted our new look and feel this year, just weeks after we launched new branding and a brand new website. But behind the new pages that demonstrate our expertise in the industry, we remain a team of dedicated experts on hand to help you win the fight against piracy.
Part of this fresh look included the introduction of our brand-new solutions packages. Designed to support you, whatever your content type, whatever your piracy problem, our new solutions help you reclaim revenue lost to piracy. It was great to talk through these solutions with so many of you and explain how FMTS solutions enable actionable insight and visible results with exceptional customer service as standard. You can find out more about our available solutions here.
Blocking in the headlines
A hot topic of conversation this year was how a series of Canadian video service providers had teamed up with FMTS to prevent piracy with blocking. This collaboration has secured a nationwide court order to dynamically block access to any servers hosting broadcasters’ pirated content, including content from major sports leagues such as FIFA, NBA, NHL and UFC. This, in turn, has seen a dramatic decrease in piracy, helping the service providers to reclaim revenue lost to illegitimate streaming services.
This is the latest in a series of successful blocking implementations for FMTS, working with some of the biggest names in the industry to protect live sports and entertainment from piracy. For more information about how blocking has helped our customers, check out our case studies.
This year FMTS was nominated for the CSI award for best anti-piracy protection, for our industry-leading blocking solution. We didn’t win this time, but we enjoyed the ceremony at IBC, and it was exciting to see a fair few newcomers/new names in the industry this year. Thank you to the panel of judges for nominating us - we will be back next year!
Connecting with the industry
Exploring the wider events at IBC, it was exciting to see so many industry experts and vendors talking about the power of generative AI. From the potential uses of assistive generative AI through to AI content generation and Automated AI processing, it was fascinating to hear the potential capabilities this tech poses.
Some of the panels we attended included Can AI Be Regulated? What public Policy Can(‘t) do to address AI risks and Content Protection and Provenance. The former discussed how AI can be a force for good, but poses significant regulatory risk, and the latter explored how to build standards on provenance and trust against a wave of fake content and misinformation.
We asked William del Strother, FMTS VP of Innovation, what he took away from the conference sessions he attended: “It was great to hear from some of the UK’s major broadcasters, including Sky, BBC, and Channel 4, and learn what they think is the future of AI in content creation and protection. One of my key takeaways was the importance of future-proofing all infrastructure, which is something that FMTS considers at every project we begin.”
Friend MTS and IABM
During the course of IBC, Head of Product Robin Boldon also caught up with Martin Redhead from IABM. You can catch up on their discussion on the fast-changing piracy landscape and learn how FMTS is helping broadcasters and content owners address piracy and turn pirate users into paying subscribers in the video below.
So there you have it. Before we know it, we’ll already be thinking about IBC 2025!
If you missed out on seeing the FMTS team at IBC or want to understand more about our award-winning solutions, get in touch today.
