DVB World keynotes to address IP transition challenges for the TV industry


The full line-up of keynote speakers for DVB World 2024 was confirmed this week. The event, which takes place in Munich on 19 and 20 March, will open with talks from Bayerischer Rundfunk’s Senior Head of Distribution Sophie Lersch, Silicon Valley veteran Thierry Fautier, Zattoo’s Engineering Director Stefan Kaiser, and Kinji Matsumura from the Science and Technology Research Laboratories of Japanese broadcaster NHK.

This year’s edition of DVB World sees the popular unconference day preceded by a half-day conference focusing on several key DVB topics including DVB-I, DVB Native IP broadcasting, Targeted Advertising, and terrestrial UHD services.

Challenges and opportunities

The opening keynote will come from BR’s Sophie Lersch, who sees DVB as facing a choice between “rebirth or retreat”, as broadcasters tackle distribution challenges in the age of IP, OTT and mobility. She will be followed by someone well known to the DVB community and always with valuable insights to share on industry trends: Thierry Fautier will explain why he sees a likely future where internet service providers take back the lead as super-aggregators.

Zattoo is a broadband-only television platform currently operating in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Its Engineering Director, Stefan Kaiser, will talk about what he describes as “the paradox of bridging broadcast and broadband from a pure broadband perspective”, sharing some of the opportunities created by technologies like DVB-I and HbbTV.

Kinji Matsumura is the final keynote speaker, coming from the Science and Technology Research Laboratories at NHK, the Japan Broadcasting Corporation. His team has been looking at the question of content discovery for next-generation broadcasting. Are there prospects for DVB-I to play a part in their work? He’s perfectly placed to provide some insights.

Conference, Unconference, Exhibition

The first half-day of DVB World 2024, starting at noon on Tuesday 19 March, will consist of conference sessions. The exhibition area will also be open throughout the afternoon, with a wide variety of live technology demos.

Wednesday 20 March will follow the tried and trusted unconference format, which was greatly appreciated by participants for the past two editions. A wiki has been created where unconference session ideas can be shared ahead of the trip to Munich – however, all sessions will still need to be pitched on the day, when the agenda is built during the opening circle.

Register now for DVB World 2024!