IBC 2025 allegedly clocked 45,000 attendees, flat on last year. But on the ground, few believed the headline figure, with whispers of double-counting and automatic re-registrations suggesting the number was padded to save face. Only a few hot stands in Halls 1 and 5 justified their square footage, with the usual suspects sucking up foot traffic. Elsewhere, it felt like a crowded bazaar where suppliers huddled together for warmth, clinging to relevance with demos newly sprinkled with AI (see separate story for IBC’s AI rundown). The roof isn’t falling in yet, but the cracks are visible. And for all the noise about industry consolidation, the show floor painted a picture of too many vendors chasing too little demand. SaaS dreams,…