IBC 2025 Preview: Personalization at scale drives content strategy evolution

The media industry is approaching a major shift in how content is created, delivered and monetized, with personalization emerging as a defining strategy for audience engagement and revenue optimization.

As industry professionals prepare for IBC 2025 in Amsterdam this September, multiple technology vendors and service providers highlighted personalization capabilities extending beyond traditional demographic targeting to truly individualized experiences as a key theme to watch.

This represents more than technological advancement; it marks a pivot from mass-market content distribution toward audience-centric approaches that treat viewers as individual inventory rather than demographic segments.

Beyond demographics to individual targeting

Traditional audience segmentation based on broad demographic categories is giving way to sophisticated personalization systems that can adapt content for individual viewers in real-time.

“Personalized video at scale is set to define the next wave of media transformation — reshaping how broadcasters, streamers, and brands engage audiences,” said Kathleen Barrett, CEO of Backlight. “As we move beyond static demographics toward truly individualized experiences, AI-enhanced media asset management systems are already enabling efficient localization and versioning across markets, formats, and audience segments.”

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The shift represents a change in content strategy that will impact the entire media ecosystem. 

“This isn’t about creating more content — it’s about creating smarter content,” Barrett explained. “By combining advanced targeting, automation, and scalable MAM infrastructure, media teams are unlocking the ability to deliver personalized video at scale — content made for the individual, not the average.”

Audiences as inventory strategy

Media companies are reconceptualizing their business models around audience-centric approaches that treat viewers themselves as the primary asset rather than traditional advertising slots.

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“We’re seeing a foundational shift in how media companies approach monetization,” said Steve Reynolds, CEO of Imagine Communications. “Many are moving away from selling discrete ad slots in favor of treating audiences themselves as the inventory. The Total TV model — treating linear, streaming and CTV as a unified audience and inventory pool — isn’t just a strategy. It’s a necessity for survival in what will remain a fragmented universe for the next five years or more.”

This approach enables more sophisticated monetization strategies that can adapt to individual viewer preferences and behaviors across multiple platforms and viewing contexts.

Regionalized and alternate broadcast feeds

The technical capability to deliver personalized content is enabling new approaches to regional and specialized broadcasting that can serve highly specific audience segments.

“An emerging trend that will define the next five years of media is the continual rise of alternate and regionalized broadcasts tailored to different audiences,” said Andrew Reich, vice president strategic business development at Zixi. “This shift will continue to unlock new monetization opportunities by expanding engagement and reach.”

This approach’s infrastructure requirements drive the adoption of scalable delivery technologies.

“Scalable video-over-IP workflows will be essential to enable scalable and seamless delivery,” Reich noted.

AI-driven dynamic personalization

Artificial intelligence capabilities are enabling personalization that extends to real-time content modification and advertising creation, promising unprecedented levels of individual targeting.

“As AI advances in the next few years, we’ll see viewing experiences become personalized to a level that is difficult to even imagine at the moment,” said Martins Magone, CTO of Veset. “Broadcasters and content providers will be able to tailor linear TV feeds to individual level, and ads will not only be precisely targeted, but may also be dynamically created by AI specifically to resonate with an individual viewer at a specific moment in time.”

This level of personalization requires robust cloud infrastructure.

“Broadcasters and service providers who have invested in cloud-based infrastructure will be best positioned to deliver this level of personalisation at scale,” Magone added.

Personalization intelligence across content lifecycle

Advanced personalization strategies are expanding beyond end-user experiences to influence content creation, curation, and scheduling decisions throughout the entire content lifecycle.

“At IBC 2025, I’m most excited to demonstrate how personalization intelligence can transform the entire content lifecycle — not just the end-user experience,” said Ivan Verbesselt, chief product and marketing officer at Mediagenix. “The industry conversation should focus on moving beyond bolt-on personalization to embedded intelligence that drives strategic decisions.”

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Industry leaders emphasize that competitive advantage will accrue to organizations that integrate personalization capabilities early in their content workflows rather than treating it as an end-stage addition.

“The question isn’t whether to personalize, but how early in your content lifecycle you’re willing to let audience intelligence guide your decisions,” said Verbesselt. “That’s the conversation that will separate industry leaders from followers at IBC this year.”

This strategic timing consideration reflects the complexity of implementing personalization at scale, requiring infrastructure and process changes throughout media organizations.

Operational efficiency through personalization

Personalization technologies are being positioned not just as audience engagement tools but as operational efficiency drivers that can reduce waste and optimize resource allocation.

“Media teams are unlocking the ability to deliver personalized video at scale while driving measurable gains in engagement, conversion and operational efficiency,” said Barrett on the operational benefits. 

The efficiency gains come from more targeted content creation and distribution, reducing the need to produce multiple versions for broad demographic segments.

The expansion of content distribution platforms is creating both opportunities and challenges for personalization strategies, requiring unified approaches across multiple viewing environments.

“Conversations should prioritize how the creator economy and platform proliferation are reshaping content creation,” said Jean-Christophe Perier, CMO of Globecast, highlighting the intersection between platform diversity and personalization requirements.

This platform proliferation means personalization systems must work across linear television, streaming services, social media platforms, and emerging distribution channels while maintaining consistent audience experiences.

Infrastructure requirements for scale

Delivering personalization at scale requires significant infrastructure investments, particularly in cloud-native systems that can handle the computational demands of real-time content modification and delivery.

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The technical requirements extend beyond simple content recommendation engines to encompass dynamic content assembly, real-time transcoding, and intelligent distribution systems that can adapt to network conditions and device capabilities.

Organizations implementing personalization at scale must develop new metrics and measurement frameworks that can demonstrate return on investment while respecting evolving privacy regulations and audience expectations.

As IBC 2025 approaches, personalization represents one of the strategic shifts facing the media industry.

The vendors and service providers gathering in Amsterdam will showcase not just technological capabilities but fundamental changes in how media companies conceptualize their relationships with audiences and structure their business models around individual viewer value rather than mass-market approaches.