The 4K HDR Summit reaffirms its global leadership with record figures and unprecedented growth

• The eleventh edition brought together more than 750 professionals and over 300 companies from 37 countries in Europe, America, Asia and Africa, consolidating its position as the major international meeting point for Ultra High Definition, with Spain playing a leading role in promoting UHD with its new National Technical Plan for DTT.
• RTVE announced the broadcast in Ultra High Definition (UHD) of the 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, as well as the 2026 Benidorm Fest and some matches of the Copa del Rey football tournament, including the final and semi-finals.
• The summit brought together more than 70 experts and the world’s leading industry associations, such as the UHD World Association, the UHD Alliance, the Ultra HD Forum and the 8K Association, representing more than 500 companies, as well as the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration, RTVE, RTVA, SES, UHD Spain, Google Cloud, Olympic Channel Services, France Télévisions, Rai, Ateme, Elecard, Aicox, Small Pixels, Lawo and Eutelsat, among others.
• The 4K HDR Summit, which saw a sharp increase in attendees, companies and digital reach compared to 2024, has already confirmed the dates for its twelfth edition, which will be held from 10 to 13 November 2026.

More than 750 professional attendees (in person and virtual) and more than 300 registered companies from 37 countries in the Americas, Europe, Asia and Africa made the eleventh edition of the 4K HDR Summit a resounding success. Consolidated as a leading global 4K and 8K event, the summit once again achieved record figures with the participation of 550 attendees during the two in-person days held on Tuesday 11 and Wednesday 12 November at the Cartuja Auditorium – managed by Yventu – in Seville TechPark. In addition, the 4K HDR Summit was exceptionally well followed via Medina Media Events’ ‘El Observatorio’ platform, with a cumulative total of 1,100 virtual attendees and 9,300 visitors from 77 countries over the four days.

Over four days, more than 70 experts from 22 countries shared their experience and vision of the present and future of the most advanced audiovisual technology (UHD/4K, HDR, 8K). In addition, more than 500 leading global audiovisual companies were represented in Seville thanks to the participation of four major international associations, namely the UHD World Association, the UHD Alliance, the Ultra HD Forum and the 8K Association.

The figures for 2024 are significant, with an increase of more than 50% in professional attendees, 24% in registered companies, 182% in website visitors and 15% in countries represented. These figures consolidate the summit’s solid and sustained growth, demonstrating a notable expansion in its reach and international participation, and confirming significant progress in terms of visibility and global impact.

A total of 301 companies and organisations from the sector registered for this eleventh edition, including the International Olympic Committee’s production company (Olympic Broadcasting Services), Olympic Channel Services, Google, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA), International Sports Broadcasting (ISB), the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) and Eurovision Services; international broadcasters and streaming platforms such as France TV, RAI, Japan’s NHK, Globo, DAZN, Whale TV, Walt Disney and DreamWorks; as well as national players such as RTVE, RTVA, FORTA, Telefónica, Mediaset and UHD Spain, among others.

The profile of those attending this edition includes CEOs, CIOs, CTOs and directors of Innovation, Business, Product, Strategy and Marketing, as well as consultants and researchers.

The eleventh edition of the 4K HDR Summit received extensive media coverage at the international, national, regional and local levels: TVE and Radio Nacional de España (RNE), Canal Sur Noticias, Canal Sur Radio and Andalucía Directo, Cadena SER, Europa Press, EFE, ABC, La Vanguardia, El Correo, Señal News, Andalucía Información, Diario Sur, Revista Rubik, Las Provincias, MSN, Teleprensa, Gente Digital, Hoy Diario, Elegir Hoy, Panorama Audiovisual and TVB Europe, among others.

The 4K HDR Summit, which coincided with the 22nd edition of the Seville European Film Festival, was once again a meeting point for engineers, content producers and all the profiles that make up the extensive ecosystem of Ultra High Definition (UHD), HDR and immersive audio. And it will be again next year, as the dates have already been confirmed for the twelfth edition, which will be held from 10 to 13 November 2026 at the Cartuja Auditorium – managed by Yventu – in the heart of Seville TechPark for the first two days, which will be followed by two more days in virtual format.

Spain, a benchmark for UHD with its new National Technical Plan for DTT

The 4K HDR Summit 2025 once again highlighted Spain’s leadership in the promotion and implementation of Ultra High Definition with the presence of the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration. Matías González, Secretary General for Telecommunications, Digital Infrastructure and Digital Security, opened the inaugural session, in which Julia Criado, Deputy Director of Radio Spectrum Planning and Management, spoke about the new National Technical Plan for Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT), which she described as “key” in the transition to UHD, the evolution of DTT towards DVB-T2/UHD, as well as new spectrum opportunities for the audiovisual sector.

Matías González, Secretary General for Telecommunications, Digital Infrastructure, and Digital Security at the Ministry for Digital Transformation and Public Administration.

Álvaro Pimentel, Deputy Mayor of Seville City Council; Luis Pérez, Director General of Sevilla TechPark; Juande Mellado, Director General of RTVA; and Víctor Sánchez, in his capacity as president of UHD Spain, opened an inaugural day marked by the emotional posthumous recognition that UHD Spain gave to Ricardo Medina and José Manuel Menéndez, two essential figures in the promotion of Ultra High Definition in Spain, who were remembered by colleagues from the association that Ricardo Medina himself had promoted in 2021.

Presentation of the plaque in honor of Ricardo Medina by the members of the Board of Directors of UHD Spain to María Medina, Managing Director of Medina Media Events and Executive Director of Medina Media Global; and to Sonsoles Medina, Director of Operations at Medina Media Global.

The World Cup, the Copa del Rey and Benidorm Fest, in UHD on La 1

During the summit, Radiotelevisión Española (RTVE) announced that it will broadcast the 2026 World Cup, to be held in the United States, Canada and Mexico, in Ultra High Definition (UHD), as well as Benidorm Fest 2026 and some Copa del Rey football matches, including the final and semi-finals. All this will be broadcast in UHD on TVE’s La 1 channel. The announcement was made by Adriana Vázquez, Director of Production and Media at RTVE, who was accompanied on stage by Javier Sánchez, Director of Audiovisual Policy and Public Service at RTVE, and Jesús García, Director of the Technical Department at TVE.

From left to right, Javier Sánchez, Director of Audiovisual Policy; Adriana Vázquez, Director of Production and Media at RTVE; and RTVE Public Service, and Jesús García, Director of Technical Services at TVE.

For its part, UHD Spain presented the results of a market study on the knowledge, understanding and perception of UHD in Spain, and announced, together with Ultra HD Forum Italia and the Forum Audiovisuel Numérique (FAVN), the promotion of a future European Ultra High Definition association. In addition, Canal Sur shared its experience with FAST (Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV) channels through its CanalSur Más platform.

From left to right, Jacques Donat-Bouillud, Director of France Télévisions and President of the Forum Audiovisuel Numérique (FAVN); Víctor Sánchez, Director of Media and Operations at TVE and President of UHD Spain; and Tonio Di Stefano, President of Ultra HD Forum Italia. 

The eleventh edition of the 4K HDR Summit also featured the participation of major global associations. From the United States, Sam Matheny, recently appointed president of the Ultra HD Forum and CTO of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB), presented the advances of the ATSC 3.0 (NextGen TV) standard in a presentation alongside Jason Thibeault, CEO of the Streaming Video Technology Alliance (SVTA), who announced the merger of his organisation with the Ultra HD Forum with the aim of “uniting the worlds of broadcast and streaming under a common vision: the delivery of high-quality, secure content on a global scale”.

Artificial intelligence (AI) shapes the future of UHD

This eleventh edition gave professional attendees first-hand knowledge of the work being done by regional television stations to implement UHD on their channels; how satellites are capable of distributing and providing UHD services from space thanks to companies such as SES, Eutelsat and Hispasat; the importance of security in broadcasting thanks to Cisco; and how platforms such as RTVE Play and Mediaset Infinity are working to attract young users.

Michele Gosetti Di Sturmeck, VP, Sports & Events & New Media at SES.

In addition, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing took centre stage thanks to the participation of Google Cloud and other industry leaders such as Ateme and Telefónica Innovación Digital, who addressed the challenges and opportunities these technologies pose for the global distribution of high-quality videos and live sporting events. Other important players such as DAZN and Eurovision Services also joined in. Aicox and its partner Small Pixels presented some solutions for improving content quality through artificial intelligence, while Elecard shared its extensive experience in encoding, transporting and monitoring live and on-demand broadcasts, ranging from SD to 8K resolutions. In addition, Sevilla FC presented the Sevilla FC+ platform, which it is already working on to offer 4K content and improve the quality of historic matches with the help of AI.

From left to right, Remi Beaudouin, Chief Strategy Officer at Ateme; José Ramón Vázquez, Telco & Media Specialist at Google Cloud; and Javier Lucendo, Senior Manager of Video Processing and Delivery at Telefónica Digital Innovation.

The 4K HDR Summit 2025 dedicated part of its final day to the ‘Women in Tech & Contents’ space, with the aim of raising the profile of women leaders, promoting diversity in the workplace and encouraging new generations to participate in a sector still marked by the gender gap. Six prominent professionals shared their experiences, challenges and visions on technological innovation, audiovisual production and female leadership.

The event was also attended by the technical directors of regional television stations, who held the Technical Committee of FORTA (Federation of Regional Radio and Television Organisations) within the framework of the 4K HDR Summit.

Exclusive demonstration area

As in previous editions, visitors were able to enjoy an exclusive demonstration area. During the two days of the event, visitors were able to watch live productions in Ultra High Definition, such as the Armed Forces parade on 12 October 2025 broadcast by RTVE, or the Euforia concert broadcast by 3Cat, courtesy of UHD Spain. Visitors were also able to view on-demand content in UHD thanks to the Canal Sur exhibition area, and see how content is managed and produced from a mobile unit thanks to Hurí. Also present in this exclusive demonstration area were Ateme, Elecard, AJA, Aicox with Small Pixels, the UWA, Lawo, Alfalite, Gsertel, Synamedia, Netgear, Sapec, Techex and AEQ.

The 4K HDR Summit 2025 was organised by Medina Media Events and supported by RTVE, SES, RTVA, Axión, Appear, Ateme, Google Cloud, Elecard, Aicox with Small Pixels, AJA, UWA, Lawo, Eutelsat, Synamedia, Rohde & Schwarz, Canon, Hispasat, Cellnex, Alfalite, Netgear, MoMe, Datos Media with Telestream, Sapec, AEQ, Gsertel, Techex, Cisco, Avixa, Hurí, Sevilla FC, Vestel, Daewoo, JVC and Toshiba, among others.

All conferences are available for viewing on demand via ‘The Observatory’, Medina Media Events’ digital platform, where each conference can be viewed throughout the year, 24 hours a day, free of charge.