1) Ren's start from a "summer camp" kid to music/opera, to MTV, to content producer; 2) Literally started in the mailroom; 3) Origins of the "faith-fueled" PRAYZN story; 4) Building a faith-fueled pervasive community; 5) Phase 1: launching the faith-based MTV; 6) Phase 2: adding scripted and unscripted programming; 7) Phase 3: imbedding all other e…

1) Beth's start as a theatre director; 2) The art of storytelling and creative collaboration; 3) Comparing FAST channels to old-school curated "mix tapes"; 4) FAST strategy started with single-series such as "Antiques Road Show"; 5) What is the balance between creative/intuitive curation and science/data analytics in programming FAST channels?; 6) …

1) Srini's career background; 2) Amagi's roots as an advertising marketplace in India; 3) Facing down a major company crisis; 4) Pivoting to become a global FAST tech vendor; 5) Managing lightning-fast growth; 6) How to maintain your company culture at scale; 7) How to segment your customer base; 8) Managing core vs. custom product development; 9) …

1) Esther's career background; 2) Design lessons from a can opener; 3) Why UX design should get C-suite attention; 4) Design differences between music and video; 5) How to integrate UX for all content forms-- short clips, long-form, live events, etc.; 6) Using user feedback and directed input vs. passive inferential design; 7) Should consumers be a…

1) Interning for "Late Night with David Letterman" -- can people still start their M&E careers that way? 2) CNN Digital role; 3) Launching first live news streaming service; 4) The "Great Big Story" story; 5) CNBC and NBC News OTT products; 6) Partnership with Pluto; 7) What was the inflection point where streaming became "real"? 8) Current Allen M…

1) Paul's career background-- Technicolor, Disney, Discovery, Struum; 2) Paul's mentor and move into strategy; 3) Getting the call from Disney; 4) The "moment when my career trajectory changed"; 5) How to use viewer data to be cool at cocktail parties ; 6) QuickPlay's focus on Tier 1 customers; 7) QuickPlay's USP: architecture and culture; 8) Quick…

1) Kevin's background at Lucasfilm, Electronic Arts, Walt Disney Pictures, and Zynga; 2) Learning about merchandising, gaming, and communities when launching the Pokémon franchise to the USA; 3) Why EA (Sims franchise) and Zynga (Words with Friends) highlighted the powerful combination of content, gaming, and communities; 4) Genesis of Bold Baking …

1) Scott's career background starting with device drivers at Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC); 2) Current role leading SeaChange's advertising team; 3) SeaChange's end-to-end streaming platform; 4) Advertising solutions including pre-roll, mid-roll, post-roll and creating custom FAST channels on the fly; 5) Innovations such as side-by-side adver…

1) Steve's career background- "Silicon Valley meets Hollywood"; 2) The problem to solve-- universal search within the OTT operating system; 3) How is it possible your title doesn't show up in search even if it's in your library? 4) Why/how the search algorithm optimizes the platform's monetization-- not the apps; 5) Search vs. CTV/platform marketin…

1) Evan's 2023 wrap up; 2) The media universe "death stars" getting bigger; 3) Consolidation of advertising market under Google, Meta, and Amazon (60%); 4) Why are the media giants getting into sports in a huge way? 5) "We left the last era of media four years ago when Disney went to DTC.... chasing Netflix towards a business model that doesn't wor…

1) Keith's background in theater and film; 2) Moving into digital media and then streaming media; 3) Space Mob's focus on creating FAST channels and creating series; 4) FAST market under pressure as platforms are cutting back channels; 5) Focus on entertainment sports streaming such as pickle ball; 6) Minimum viable FAST channel needs 150 hours to …

1) Katherine's pre-Vizio career background; 2) First job at Vizio 11 years ago; 3) Current role; 4) Vizio as full-service media company including hardware, content, data, advertising, distribution, mobile; 5) Vizio content vetting process; 6) Higher bar for content partnerships, but still lots of new "white space"; 7) Elements of a good content dea…

1) Rachel's career background; 2) Rachel and husband met in kindergarten? I forgot the follow up question about this! 3) Recognizing the wedding video opportunity; 4) Getting started building a large social community; 5) Anatomy of a content licensing deal; 6) Advertising strategy and lack of data visibility; 7) Partnering/competing with CTV and di…

1) Natalie's current role; 2) Career background from JP Morgan to ESPN; 3) Vevo's global operations-- streaming across 34 distribution platforms including YouTubeTV, Samsung TV+, Pluto, Roku, and Amazon FireTV-- over 800,000 pieces of content; 4) Launching FAST channels; 5) Embracing a data-driven environment; 6) The promise vs. the reality of addr…

1) Stephen's role and background on Robosoft Technologies; 2) Marquee customers including Discovery+, Magnolia, Global Cycling Network, Food Network, and ESPN; 3) Creating "communities" to enhance engagement and monetization; 4) Engineering and software development outsourcing vs. staff augmentation vs. innovation centers of excellence; 5) Cross de…

1) Background on Imagicomm and INSP "5th ranked cable channel in the U.S."; 2) Media conglomerate including cable, original content distribution, and 13 broadcast networks; 3) "Lunge-free" family/friendly content including "The Cowboy Way", "Legal Action", and Christmas movies; 4) Charlotte-based studios/distribution; 5) Tell family stories without…

1) Jason's finance/private equity background; 2) Problem statement- simplifying streaming; 3) Win-win-win three-tiered approach- consumers, streamers, and broadband providers; 4) MyBundle watch list; 5) Partnering with cable providers for cord-cutters selecting broadband; 6) "Find MyBundle" tool; 7) Dominance of smart phone over TV remote as conten…

1) Teresa's background at Rakuten launching new channels; 2) Dearth of channels in Europe; 3) Need for localization (local content, local language); 4) LoveTV Channels one year anniversary; 5) Distribution with Samsung, Xumo, etc.; 6) Finding new distribution in U.S. market; 7) Love the Planet channel about sustainability; 8) Next stage focused on …

1) J. Alexander's background including co-founding FUBU; 2) Opportunities in streaming media; 3) Signing with Cineverse; 4) Future of FAST; 5) Writer's strike pushing move back to reality TV; 6) Role of AI in streaming; 7) Focus on building his businesses; 8) Future plans Also watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ottexecutive…

1) Acquisition of X Games from Disney/ESPN; 2) Steven's background from Twitch and NBC/NFL; 3) Role of community on Twitch; 4) Focus on expanding X Games events to distribution and streaming; 5) What to do with 18 years of VOD library? 6) Augmenting event content with athlete personalities; 7) Use of social for shared real-time experience; 8) X Gam…

1) Thoughts on StreamTV Show in Denver; 2) Colin's career background from "structural engineer specializing in water-retaining concrete design" to Xumo leader; 3) Xumo's roots in digital ad-tech; 4) Comcast acquisition; 5) Comcast-Charter joint venture; 6) How does Xumo fit into Comcast's portfolio including Peacock, Xfinity, Flex, Xumo App, Platfo…

1) Brad's background from local radio, to cable and broadcast, to streaming; 2) Launching MTV; 3) How "South Park" put Comedy Central on the map; 4) Early forays into streaming with Bloomberg and Scripps; 5) Creating Eagle Dock Media (and not getting sued by LeBron James); 6) Is content exclusivity/walled gardens going away? 7) Experimenting with c…

1) Jeremy's career beginning with "knocking on doors" for Continental Cablevision; 2) Launching Google Fiber; 3) Launching YouTube TV; 4) Content piracy; 5) Launching Stern Digital Strategies; 6) Role of AI; 7) Status of Local TV industry; 8) Industry cost-cutting as "natural evolution"; 9) Growth of OTA and ATSC 3.0; 10) Jeremy's passion for Blues…

1) Background on Cinedigm; 2) Cinedigm content strategy; 3) The power of "enthusiast" content (anime, family, horror, etc.); 4) Cineverse "Big Umbrella"; 5) Building communities around video content; 6) FAST as a "throw-back linear approach"; 7) Celebrity-based channels; 8) "Wall Street whipsaw from growth at all costs" to "focus on the bottom line…

1) Sara’s background; 2) Working for Mr. Rogers; 3) Non-profit focus on experimentation vs. commercialization; 4) PBS Kids and gaming; 5) PBS distribution/device strategy; 6) PBS podcasts; 7) How to stay the course despite cutbacks in kid content; 8) PBS content strategy; 9) Show curricula- Curious George as Engineering teacher?; 10) How to make co…

1) Background on Robert; 2) 15 years since Hulu launch; 3) Can the industry sustain massive content investment amid huge losses? 4) Avoid the "collapse of the middle" through scale or focus; 5) BritBox viewer acquisition strategy; 6) Why a dedicated BritBox service vs. licensing through other services? 7) How rise of CTVs changes things; 8) Robert'…

1) Mike Bloxham's background; 2) New study on streaming subscriber churn; 3) "Intentionality of churn"; 4) Six different churn segments; 5) Why are "Hypers" both highly engaged and most likely to churn? 6) How "good/bad churn" is like cholesterol; 7) Moving to a "subscribed months" metric; 8) Why churn isn't correlated to income; 9) Churn segment "…

1) Kieanji's background; 2) Genesis of Nakx; 3) Streaming opportunity for independent films; 4) Nakx business model; 5) Linear programming strategy; 6) Nakx distribution strategy; 7) Nakx launch plans; 8) Future plans for original content; 9) Kieanji's foray into reality TV (watch her on "The Blox"). Also watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@…

1) Marc Zand background; 2) What are multicast/diginet/D2-D3 networks? 3) How did multicast networks get their initial content? 4) OTA content discovery; 5) How did Marc grow Ion Media Networks? 6) How was multicast a pre-cursor to FAST channels? 7) The tension between content exclusivity and wider distribution; 8) What are the various aspects of c…

1) Background of Tony Mugavero; 2) Merger of ROW8 and Rad; 3) Video applications of blockchain, web3, smart contracts, etc. 4) What is NFTV and premium transactional VOD? 5) Marketing aspects of video/music NFTs; 6) Extending video content via merchandising, collectibles, etc. 7) Do blockchain smart contracts replace DRM? 8) How to make video block…

1) Donna's background; 2) Democratizing content creation; 3) New studio and tech stack; 4) Greenlighting 50 new shows; 5) Distribution strategy; 6) A "billionaire in spirit"; 7) Is the content market saturated? 8) Storytelling; 9) Donna's favorite things; 10) Bonus: Will Brian and Donna create a new show together? Also watch on YouTube: https://www…

1) FITE distribution strategy; 2) new FAST channel FITE 24/7; 3) Unique aspects of PPV; 4) Getting added to the Roku Channel; 5) Expanding into soccer and rugby; 6) Viewer acquisition strategy; 7) Fighting content pirates; 8) 2023 predictions; 9) Bonus: Did Michael catch William "the Fridge" Perry during WrestleMania 2? Also watch on YouTube: https…

1) Two college students talk about their media and entertainment habits; 2) Discussions include Apple, Disney+, YouTube TV, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Peacock, Hulu, FuboTV, Instagram, TikTok, SnapChat, etc.; 3) Favorite shows and ways of watching; 4) Music comes first, followed by social and video; 5) No interest in cable TV or OTA; 6) Switching from …

1) Interview with Adam Ware, SVP Growth Networks, Sinclair Broadcast Group; 2) Career background; 3) Differing viewer acquisition strategies across broadcast and streaming services; 4) Resilience of Over-The-Air (OTA); 5) ATSC 3.0 "Next-Gen TV"; 6) Content discovery strategies; 7) Discussions including Netflix, Amazon, Disney, Hulu, Peacock, etc.; …

1) E.J.'s career recap; 2) Background on MolQ Entertainment; 3) MolQ Films and MolQ TV launch plans; 4) Growth in advertising business models; 5) Role of NFTs for marketing and engagement; 6) UX strategy; 7) International launch plans; 8) Things about E.J. you might not know. Also watch on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@ottexecutive…

1) Background on Isabel; 2) Language, culture, or geography-- how do you define the "Hispanic" market? 3) Programming and content curation; 4) "Peak streaming"-- how will the limit of subscribers/viewers impact growth? 5) Role of original content vs. licensed programming; 6) One thing about Isabel you may not know. Also watch on YouTube: https://ww…

1) Evan Shapiro dispels “tentacle” rumors; 2) Disney’s CEO revolving door amidst “peak TV”; 3) How bad will the media industry “impression recession” get? -- two leading indicators to look for; 4) Apple, Microsoft, Alphabet, Roku, Netflix, Amazon, Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery, 5G, Pay TV, and Triple Play discussions; 5) Why Amazon overpaid for…