Virtual production expands to corporate and education sectors beyond broadcast
The AV & Broadcast Summit in London will feature a panel discussing the expanding use of virtual production technologies, including LED volumes, virtual sets, and real-time graphics, beyond traditional broadcast studios into corporate, education, and live events. Experts from BBC, Vizrt, and universities will examine how these technologies, initially developed for film and TV, are finding new applications across wider sectors. The discussion aims to help organizations evaluate the long-term value, adoption, and scalability of virtual production.
Key Takeaways
- BBC R&D is developing low-cost virtual production prototypes using open-source technologies to democratize access for smaller television productions.
- Vizrt is focusing on real-time graphics and augmented reality tools designed for corporate communications and educational facilities.
- University of the Arts London recently deployed a research-focused virtual production volume at its London College of Fashion specifically for digital innovation.
- Starting Pixel founder Rob Chandler is currently applying real-time content creation and AI technology to enhance podcast production environments.
Why It Matters
The migration of virtual production from high-end film sets to enterprise and education marks a significant broadening of the addressable market for production hardware. As companies like Vizrt and institutions like the BBC prioritize lower-cost, scalable solutions, the barrier to entry for high-fidelity real-time content is dropping. This shift forces a reconciliation between traditional broadcast workflows and IT-centric enterprise AV standards. The long-term impact is a standardized 'prosumer' tier of virtual sets that could commoditize high-end visual effects for everyday corporate messaging. Watch for the emergence of open-source frameworks from BBC R&D that could disrupt the current dominance of proprietary game engine pipelines in mid-tier production.
Additional Context
The expansion of virtual production (VP) into the corporate and education sectors aligns with a major valuation surge in the global market. Per Mordor Intelligence (January 2026), the virtual production market is estimated to reach $3.67 billion in 2026, with live event applications projected to record a 28.37% compound annual growth rate through 2031. This growth is increasingly categorized by a transition from traditional green screens to LED volumes, which are expected to occupy the majority of spend by the end of the decade as hardware costs deflate. Recent product developments reflect this shift toward specialized, lower-complexity tools. Per Vizrt (September 2025), the company recently debuted Viz Engine 5.4 to light up massive LED canvases without requiring excessive rack hardware, explicitly targeting multi-platform delivery for enterprise video. Furthermore, the BBC’s 'Emerald' project highlights a strategic effort to replace expensive specialist facilities with Gaussian Splatting and open-source robotics, aiming to fit immersive production into standard TV and corporate workflows (per UPF, May 2025). Major technology providers are also tailoring their roadmaps for this convergence. Per AV Network (March 2025), industry leads from Vizrt and Matrox Video have signaled that 2026 roadmaps will prioritize removing the complexity of live production to serve 'storytellers of all sizes,' including CEOs and educators. Sony also bolstered this trend by launching the Verona range of Crystal LED displays in late 2023, specifically engineered with anti-reflection technology to handle the lighting challenges common in non-traditional studio environments like corporate offices and university research labs.
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