ISE 2025 post-show analysis

ISE 2025 Post-Show Analysis: I attended ISE 2025 at the start of February, my fourth time at the show since the first post-pandemic edition in 2022 (which was also the first time the event was held in Barcelona).

As the show wrapped up on Friday, February 7, I felt that this edition represented a turning point for ISE and the trends driving the show. It was by far the busiest ISE I have ever seen, reflecting the growth of the Pro-AV sector in the post-pandemic era.

As I have often mentioned, ISE is the perfect place to assess the evolution of the convergence between Broadcast and Pro-AV technology, a trend that has become increasingly important in recent years, and one I am particularly passionate about.

If you missed them, here are my two pre-ISE 2025 articles focusing on the convergence between Pro-AV and Broadcast:

• Part 1: State of Pro-AV & Broadcast Convergence

• Part 2: Key Drivers of Broadcast/Pro-AV Convergence

These articles offer some context for understanding the current state of convergence and the drivers behind it, using ISE as a benchmark.

This article shares my post-show reflections on ISE 2025, specifically focusing on the convergence between Pro-AV and Broadcast.

I hope you find it useful, and, as usual, I welcome any feedback and thoughts you might have.

Happy days for the Pro-AV sector

ISE 2025 was buzzing, confirming pre-event predictions of a show that is significantly growing (see this article). Traffic was high, people were positive, conversations were bullish, and budgets were (and are) supposedly on the rise. There was a genuine optimism about the show and the industry it represents.

Was this justified? Generally, I would say so. Pro-AV is a growing sector that, according to AVIXA’s projections, is set to add $98bn over the next five years, reaching $422bn. That is a CAGR of 5.4% and a total size that is a significant multiple of the Broadcast technology sector. In other words, this is a significantly larger industry that is growing more rapidly than Broadcast according to various analyst estimates.

Attendance numbers also confirmed pre-show optimism. The show attracted 85,351 unique visitors, up 15.5% year-on-year (see more info here). Below, I have updated the chart on ISE historical attendance with the latest numbers:

And it is not just about numbers, the key drivers behind the show’s growth are solid, as argued in one of my previous articles. In a nutshell, technology, including Broadcast technology, is becoming more accessible while brands increasingly demand better tools to tell their stories. Happy days for the Pro-AV sector, but what about Broadcast technology?

The Pro-AV opportunity for Broadcast technology vendors

What’s not to like about this? Broadcast technology vendors are increasingly attracted by the market opportunity Pro-AV presents and this is even more compelling as budgets in Broadcast, their core sector, continue to be under pressure. Some vendors told me that ISE is becoming one of the most important shows on the calendar, with more marketing budget being dedicated to it as a result.

The increasing presence of Broadcast technology vendors at the show was even more evident this year. There were more of them, and more first-time exhibitors flocked to the show to seize the Pro-AV opportunity. There were also more suppliers exploring the show as visitors, without exhibiting. Although FOMO drove a few suppliers to come to ISE, I believe that the trends behind their arrival are solid. And it was not just vendors, I saw many more Broadcast-focused publishers, PR companies and consultants attending the show for the first time.

This is why I thought that ISE 2025 was a turning point. I remember telling people that the show was a must-attend due to the rise of convergence in 2022, and I remember many not fully understanding what I meant back then. I think that this prediction in 2022 was validated this year with ISE attracting such a significant portion of the Broadcast world.

However, as I argued in one of my previous articles, this opportunity does not come without challenges as convergence is still a trend in flux. I gathered even more evidence in support of this argument at ISE 2025 with most Broadcast technology vendors reporting various challenges related to approaching the AV market.

Let’s have a look at the reasons behind these challenges and the potential adjustments that Broadcast technology vendors could make to improve their approach to the Pro-AV market.

The composite nature of the Pro-AV sector

Every time I go to ISE, I am reminded of the composite nature of the Pro-AV sector. I shared some thoughts on this in my analysis of the ISE visitor base, but I feel I need to complement these with some additional analysis here.

Not only this is a sector relying on an intricate web of integrators, distributors and resellers, but also it is made up of different sub-industries (e.g., education, corporate, broadcast, etc.) with different fundamentals, strategies, needs and priorities. This composite nature leads to complexity, which creates various challenges for exhibitors.

The obvious challenge that this complexity creates is tailoring messaging relevant to the different sectors attending ISE. This is one of the actions I recommended to Broadcast vendors in one of my previous articles. Unfortunately, I saw many examples of Broadcast vendors not doing this, and repurposing messaging from Broadcast-focused shows such as NAB Show and IBC to ISE. These were often the quietest booths on the show floor. On a positive note, I also saw vendors that tailored messaging very well.

The other challenge that this complexity creates is identifying potential buyers of Broadcast technology products in such a diverse pool of industries. This means finding the decision-makers who are likely to be interested in buying your products and targeting them with the right marketing and messaging. Although this is a difficult endeavour, it is possible to use tools such as data-driven marketing in support of this objective.

Applications vs. technologies

The other relevant improvement area that Broadcast technology vendors could work on is focusing their messaging on applications and use cases rather than technologies and tools. This is very important to attract the attention of Pro-AV buyers and it is akin to what I had said in my post-show report about ICE (the show focused on gambling and iGaming I attended in January):

“Compared to Media Tech shows, the marketing and messaging on the booths were less focused on specific technologies (e.g., cloud, IP, AI, AR, etc.) and more on business outcomes and functions (e.g. customer retention, compliance, etc.).”

However, I noticed that many vendors were far too focused on showing off the sophistication and intricacies of their kit and software features rather than explaining how it could be applied (and why it should be applied) in different Pro-AV sectors.

And even in this case, I noticed examples of messaging repurposed from Broadcast. For example, I heard a vendor talking about how their solution could lower content distribution costs, but I didn’t hear anything about why a corporate organization should distribute content with their solution and the benefits it might bring.

In a nutshell, focus on why and how your offerings should be adopted by Pro-AV buyers rather than spending too much time on what they do.

Updated checklist for Broadcast technology vendors

Based on my ISE 2025 observations, I updated the checklist for Broadcast technology vendors I had shared in one of my previous articles (while it is not exhaustive, it may provide a framework to get started or review your strategy if you are approaching the AV market):

• Do your research: Study AV trends, buyer priorities, and tech investments. This foundation drives everything else.

• Prioritize use cases, not just tech: Clearly articulate why your technology matters for AV professionals, not just what it does. Focus on practical applications rather than feature lists.

• Focus on UI/UX & simplicity: Design solutions that are easy to use and don’t always assume deep technical expertise.

• Educate your users: Provide training, resources, and great product documentation relevant to AV.

• Highlight integration: Showcase how your products can easily fit into AV infrastructures and workflows.

• Update your messaging: Tailor marketing to address AV buyer needs across various sectors and avoid repurposing generic content from other industries.

• Partner up: Consider partnerships with integrators, consultants, and distributors to penetrate the market.

Adapt to changing buyers: Recognize that AV purchasing decisions, like in broadcast, are increasingly spread across departments, not centralized in engineering.

If you have other tips that could help Broadcast technology vendors, please feel free to share them in the comments of this article.

Key trends at ISE 2025

As part of my post-show analysis report, I also wanted to share the key trends I noticed at the show. The observations below focus on a few macro trends rather than providing a roundup of products. Please feel free to share other macro trends you noticed in the comments of this article.

AI’s invisible hand

Unsurprisingly, the presence of AI at the show increased, consistent with other industry events and with the central presence this technology is taking in our personal and professional lives. However, I noticed that AI was not always very visible on booths as the technology was hidden by factors such as its integration into physical devices (see what LG displayed at their booth), application-focused marketing or perhaps fear of losing competitive advantage.

AI’s impact on the industry was perhaps more evident in connection with video and audio use cases or the macro applications ISE focuses on such as learning or collaboration.

Productive collaboration

Collaboration is always an important theme at the show, particularly in Hall 2, which is focused on technologies enabling effective meetings and collaboration, particularly in work settings (companies such as Zoom, MS Teams and Google Meet exhibit in this Hall).

When it comes to collaboration, the change I noticed this year was a greater focus on boosting productivity (e.g., making meetings more efficient using AI) than on enabling hybrid collaboration (e.g., using immersive technology to bring onsite and remote workers together), which had been a feature of the show in the immediate post-pandemic period.  

Of course, companies heavily invested in AI that also provide major collaboration tools such as Microsoft and Google have an incentive to merge these two areas. However, I also wondered what this means for the future of work, which is a major driver for technology at this exhibition.

Hybrid work is maturing as the norm for most corporate organizations (even if some are retreating from their flexible work pledges), and the spotlight might be moving on making this more efficient. More generally, I think that productivity is becoming a more important priority in the age of Gen AI to gain competitive advantage, which might be the main driver behind this trend.

Broadcast and live

I already talked about the evolution of convergence between Pro-AV and Broadcast technology at the show, which remained an important trend. Most Broadcast technology vendors were located in the AV Broadcast Hall (part of Hall 4) though there were a significant number of them in Hall 5 as well. As I said earlier, it was evident that there were more Broadcast vendors at ISE this year. For more info about the technology solutions in the AV Broadcast Hall, have a look at my article on the State of Pro-AV & Broadcast Convergence.

I also thought that Hall 6 (focused on Lighting and Staging) was very busy and buzzing. This might reflect the shiny technology exhibited in this Hall, but I thought it was also a sign of the potential resurgence of live events, which is akin to what is happening in broadcast as well. I shall explore this area further in future posts and reflections I share.

Sustainability and ROI

Sustainability and energy-efficient hardware remained an important trend at the show, consistent with the predictions that were made before the event.

I noticed that the debate around this is gradually moving onto sustainability which makes economic sense, and I think that we will see this at other trade shows this year due to the impact of macro trends.

Macro influences

I believe that the rising influence of macroeconomic and geopolitical developments (e.g., trade wars, conflicts, etc.) on the technology sector, which includes Pro-AV technology, is rising to prominence. While this could not be visible on the show floor, it was an important element of the conversations I had. Most recently, the new US presidency is having an impact on a wide range of issues, including tariffs, ESG and flexible work pledges, expected M&A activity and AI legislation. This should not be overlooked.

Finally, a few words on the venue. Most exhibitors and attendees I talked to reported very positive feedback on the Fira. I think that the organization of technology in different "zones" dedicated to macro applications makes both the discovery of products and the identification of trends more convenient.

Conclusion

In conclusion, ISE 2025 marked a significant turning point in the evolution of Pro-AV and Broadcast technology convergence while reflecting key industry trends such as the evolution of AI and collaboration in the sector. With a record attendance of 85,351 visitors, the show demonstrated the health of the Pro-AV sector.

Despite this growth, the convergence of Pro-AV and Broadcast technology remains a trend in flux. Even though a larger percentage of the Broadcast world is attending the show, technology vendors are still looking for the right ways to engage with Pro-AV effectively.  

Our objective at Dovetail Pulse is helping companies navigate this convergence by providing a deep understanding of market dynamics and audience needs through data. I Feel free to contact if you’d like to know more.