Inside IBC’s Agentic AI Accelerator, Shure proved that the future of broadcast sound is intelligent, adaptive, and ready for the next generation of production.  

Artificial intelligence is no longer an abstract idea in broadcasting. The technology is beginning to assist production teams directly inside the control room.  

At IBC 2025, the AI Assistance Agents in the Live Production Accelerator brought together BBC, ITN, and Channel 4, along with technology partners including Shure. The project explored how agentic AI can help engineers and directors make faster, smarter decisions while staying focused on creative storytelling. 

Implementing AI in Control Rooms: From Concept to Reality

The IBC Accelerator Programme is a collaborative innovation initiative designed to turn the media industry’s most pressing challenges into real, working solutions. Each year, leading broadcasters and media organizations define key problems as “Champions,” then work alongside global technology vendors, developers, and academic partners to rapidly develop practical proofs of concepts.  

Operating in an intensive six-month, project-driven framework, the programme prioritizes hands-on experimentation over theory, with results showcased live at IBC. The Accelerator has become a proven platform for fast-tracking achievable innovation across the global media, entertainment, and technology community.

Inside the Accelerator gallery at IBC, engineers tested a complete production workflow powered by agentic AI, a bleeding-edge technology that understands natural language and can perform actions. At the center was an AI orchestrator agent that interpreted speech and communicated with a network of specialized agents working together to execute tasks and achieve goals in real time.  

Each AI agent handled a specific part of production, from audio system settings and graphics overlays to rundown management, content discovery, and error checking. Together, they formed a digital crew that responded instantly to human prompts.  

Operators no longer need to work with multiple vendor-specific systems and interfaces, or search through menus, or switch between screens. Instead, they simply speak or type out commands:  

“Open the breaking-news rundown.”  

“Find content on AI in media for my rundown.”

“Add a lower-third graphics before the next segment.”  

The Orchestrator broke each request into smaller steps, assigned them to the right agents, and completed tasks in seconds. For engineers and producers, it offered the first clear glimpse of a broadcast workflow that could keep pace with creativity.  

Shure’s Pioneering Role in AI-Driven Broadcast Hardware Integration

Among 12 companies, Shure was the only partner in the IBC Accelerator to connect agentic AI to a physical broadcast device. This connection was the moment AI moved beyond software orchestration and began interacting with real audio infrastructure.  

Shure developed a cloud-based audio agent to operate the DCA901 Broadcast Microphone Array, the world’s first digital array tailored for broadcast. The collaboration proved that an AI system could communicate with professional audio hardware over standard network protocols, exchange parameters, and adjust configurations in real time with natural language conversation.

The DCA901 replaces clusters of analog microphones with a single, low-profile array that delivers up to eight isolated channels via a single Dante or AES67 connection. Built-in DSP manages EQ, compression, delay, and automixing within the unit, creating a hardware platform ready for intelligent control.  

That’s a lot of capability – but this capability comes with some complexity. Instead of multiple interfaces, screens, and practiced domain knowledge, agentic AI eases this complexity, so you can say what you want, and the system just works. For example:

“Point the mic at the left podium and optimize for speech.”  

Harnessing AI: How Simple Commands Shape Complex Broadcast Audio

During the IBC demo, Shure’s audio agent operated the DCA901 entirely through natural language via text or speech. Engineers instructed the system to adjust the microphone array lobe placement using simple, natural-language descriptions, such as “spread the lobes in a circle,” or to change presets based on intuitive descriptions of scenes. They could even say, “Boost the bass on the male vocal channel” or “notch out 500 Hz on all channels,” and the array would adjust automatically.  

Tasks that once required multiple screens and detailed fine-tuning were completed almost instantly, saving engineers valuable time. Behind the scenes, the agent often executed dozens of coordinated actions from single natural language commands, while logging every change for transparency.  

Engineers remained in control but gained new agility and accuracy. The demo marked the first time an AI-driven system had managed broadcast microphone hardware with the responsiveness and precision of a human operator.  

Simplifying Sound Configuration to Elevate Storytelling

Pairing the DCA901 with agentic control will reshape how production teams capture and manage sound.  

A single DCA901 can cover zones that previously demanded a diversity of microphones. Directors gain consistent, natural audio with fewer devices visible on camera. Agentic AI simplifies the interactions. Engineers can shift coverage mid-program, moving between commentators, players, and crowd reactions with a single command.  

Each change is logged and reversible, meeting broadcasters’ transparency standards. The process becomes faster, cleaner, and easier to replicate across shows, networks, or venues.

The Next Frontier: Advances in Intelligent Audio for Broadcasting

The IBC Accelerator project, AI Agent Assistants for Live Production, won the Best AI Innovation (Workflow) award at the Broadcast Tech Innovation Awards 2025. The IBC Accelerator demonstrated that agentic AI will be a key enabler for next-generation real-world broadcast production. This technology reduces manual workload, speeds up decision-making, and keeps human creativity at the center of every moment. 

For Shure, the project extends a century-long legacy of redefining audio technology. The DCA901 Broadcast Array Microphone and the Shure audio agent showed that the next leap in broadcasting isn’t only about fidelity; it’s about intelligence and adaptability. 

Intelligent broadcast microphone arrays and AI coordination give engineers the freedom to respond instantly and deliver experiences that immerse audiences in every detail.