AI possibilities realised and DAB Radio re-energised at #IBC2024

The potential for utilising Artificial Intelligence in sports broadcasting was one of the hot topics up for discussion at IBC Amsterdam.

In his address at the annual trade show, Olympic Channel’s Global Head of Digital Data Chris Jackson said AI is already being applied in action to super-scale fan engagement of sports.

Olympic Broadcasting Services, for example, was able to leverage the tens of billions of data points collected across the Paris Games in real-time to provide highlights clips, reports and commentary, accessed by viewers in more than 200 countries.

Speaking at the ‘AI in Action’ IBC Conference session, Jackson said “AI is great at crunching numbers but getting it to deliver the more emotional aspect is a challenge. We want to bring (out) the human dimension in the sport.”

Sky engineer Huma Lodhi noted that live sports can be challenging for AI.

“Outdoor environments with diverse backgrounds are tricky for object recognition. Weather conditions are unpredictable. Sport itself is a dynamic environment which makes timing tricky for events like cricket.”

Broadcasters and technology suppliers were also brought up to speed on the latest advances.

Addressing DAB+ innovations in Europe and around the globe, WorldDAB President Jacqueline Bierhorst said radio is the most listened to audio platform in UK cars.

“Car buyers expect broadcast radio to be standard in their next new car,” she said, quoting research conducted by WorldDAB.

“Some unregulated IT tech giants think they can do radio, but then they find it is more complicated than they first imagined,” said Bierhorst, showing a picture of Elon Musk and Donald Trump trying to do a radio style interview via online streaming, which crashed.

“Online radio doesn’t always work,” she said.

Also in the session, media analyst Matthieu Rawolle quoted a European study of trust in media found that radio was the most trusted medium, while social media has become the least trusted medium.

Lindsay Cornell, Principal Systems Architect at the BBC and Chair of the WorldDAB Technical Committee explained the new emergency warning innovations that have recently been added to the DAB broadcast standard.

He explained that broadcasters who use the new EWS ASA standard can switch on DAB radios in a specific area to broadcast warning messages relevant to that geographic area, while leaving other radios elsewhere either off or on their normal chosen station.

DAB+ is one of the most sustainable broadcast technologies, as multiple stations can share the same transmission infrastructure.

Find more news from #IBC2024 here.