TVOT MONTREAL 2026

ITVT is pleased to announce the schedule of sessions for the TV of Tomorrow Show, Montreal 2026 (May 20^th-21^st at the Alt Hotel, 120 Rue Peel, Montreal, QC)

Tickets to TVOT MONTREAL 2026 are available for purchase here.

We will be announcing more details about a number of TVOT MONTREAL 2026 sessions in upcoming issues of the ITVT newsletter.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter, InteractiveTV Today (itvt.com), to receive regular news and analysis of the latest developments in advanced TV and video. And go to itvt.com/tvot/connect to join TVOT CONNECT, our bi-weekly webinar-series/networking community.

SCHEDULE AGENDA PDF

For years we’ve been evaluating media based on two things: reach (how many faces) and frequency (how often they saw the thing on the screen). But all impressions are not created equal: what actually happens between screen and face? On this panel, we’ll discuss attention, resonance, and other means of quantifying the differential value of that screen-to-face experience. Panelists include:

• Beatriz Ribeiro, SVP of Client Success, Mediaprobe
• Bill Harvey, CEO, RMT
• Claire Browne, Head of Research, Adelaide
• Josh Chasin, Principal, KnotSimpler (Moderator)
• Megan Halscheid, VP of Marketplace Intelligence, Publicis Media
• Yan Liu, CEO, Tvision

This panel will explore how athlete-, artist-, and entrepreneur-led streaming networks are reshaping media—owning their stories, building direct fan communities, and creating new business models beyond traditional broadcast. Panelists include:

• Brandon Pankey, CEO, APEX (Moderator)
• James Brown, EVP of Content Distribution and Marketing, REVOLT TV
• Jennifer Turner, CEO, Mad Cool Media
• Michele Ghee, President, Players TV
• Stephen L. Hodge, CEO, OTTera
• Paul Beckles, VP and GM, Boardroom
• Stephen L. Hodge, CEO, OTTera

We will be announcing more details about this session in an upcoming issue of the ITVT newsletter. Panelists include:

• Ethan Settel, VP of Sales and Accounts, Newton Research
• Jeff Ellin, VP of Product, FreeWheel
• Jon Watts, Managing Director, CIMM (Moderator)
• Lisa Herdman, Chief Enterprise Integration Officer, RPA
• Mano Pillai, CEO, Hypermindz
• Zeev Neumeier, Founder, GraySwan

Consumerism for its own sake and television are among the USA's most impactful inventions and exports. And arguably now shopping—or more accurately, buying--via video will eclipse even the “great American pastime” as a sport. It’s now more relevant, fast and fun than ever before. Television as we knew it wouldn’t have existed at all without the commerce models that supported it. By intertwining TV programming with sponsorship, advertising and brand integration, our industry became the dominant cultural force worldwide. And now that tech has irrevocably fragmented distribution outlets and created competing arenas and simplified interactive options for consumers’ attention, brands feel heightened urgency to convert brand awareness to direct sales. Fortunately, the flip side of that tech coin toss has enabled speedy contextual delivery of creative, easier methods to fill shopping carts, and more streamlined and secure click-to-buy processes. Play ball! Panelists include:

• Allison Dollar, CEO, Interactive Television Alliance (Moderator)
• Andreas Hoffmann, Sr. Director of webOS Product Management, North America, LG Electronics
• David Apostolico, Chief Distribution Officer, QVC
• Glenn Fishback, CEO, Shopsense AI
• Mike Bologna, Chief Accelerator, BrightLine

This panel will explore the possible ways in which TV can make a comeback in the age of streaming. Recently, we have seen published reports of the fact that brand growth has dropped off sharply since the period when digital started to take the lion’s share of ad revenues. In the panel, we will look at TV’s reach story, TV’s ROAS story, and how TV can increase its advantage over digital in ROAS and branding by integrating the new level of understanding of what people want to watch which RMT Neuro-Motivational science has brought through Vividata and other trusted sources of decision-making data. Examples of the Vividata solution based on RMT’s Drivers and Need States are discussed using Canadian TV content and creative to start the discussion. We will also look at ways in which TV can be made as easy to buy as digital, a major factor in digital’s success. Panelists include:

• Aude Mathey, Head of Media Sales and B2B Marketing, TV5
• Bill Harvey, CEO, RMT
• Jerome Leys, GM of Media Solutions, Quebecor Media
• Josh Chasin, Principal, KnotSimpler (Moderator)
• Pat Pellegrini, President and CEO, Vividata

In this session, George Ivie, CEO and Executive Director of the Media Rating Council (MRC), will outline the work MRC currently performs as well as its present guidance on ML and AI. In addition, he will discuss the MRC’s recently announced standards development initiative. These processes extensively impact measurement functions and require specialized assessment and auditing techniques, and this session will help attendees to understand this important and growing area of work.

Video in its various forms has always been a powerful part of the media mix to reach local audiences with marketing messages. Video has evolved from its top of the funnel branding role in marketing to leveraging its various forms of linear and digital platforms, first-party data, programmatic trading, innovative types of ad inventory, audience measurement, and campaign optimization tools to drive performance. Even national marketers are looking more to localized executions of campaign strategies and activations as they see great lift from campaigns with local elements. Local video publishers and platforms are prioritizing high value content including sports to drive audiences’ viewing. Each element of the local video mix from linear (TV stations, MVPD) to streaming (CTV and OTT) and social (YouTube, TikTok), along with standard spots, shoppable ads, and other innovative ad units, are changing the dynamics of the local video market. Panelists include:

• Aria Began, SVP of Client Success, Madhive
• George Leith, President of International Partnerships, AdCellerant
• Leif Welch, CEO, JamLoop
• Lisa Herdman, Chief Enterprise Integration Officer, RPA
• Michael Page, SVP of Digital Sales and FLX, Fox Television Stations
• Rick Ducey, Managing Director, BIA Advisory Services (Moderator)

This session will explore how AI is beginning to transform the viewer’s experience of television, with such features as user-interface and programming-feed personalization, improved programming discovery, and viewer-customizable interactive programming enhancements, among many others. It will also examine the impact of AI and the new forms of creativity it enables on television programming itself. In addition to identifying and assessing the most significant recent developments at the intersection of AI and the TV-viewing experience, the panel will attempt to visualize how AI might fundamentally transform that experience over the coming years. Panelists include:

• Andreas Hoffmann, Sr. Director of webOS Product Management, North America, LG Electronics
• Bianca Pryor, Director of Data Science for Media and Entertainment, NVIDIA
• Katya Alexander, Head of Production, Fable Showrunner
• Marc Todd, CEO, Skreens
• Paul Pastor, Chief Business Officer, Quickplay
• Peter Scott, Chief Strategy Officer, Play Anywhere (Moderator)

This session explores groundbreaking research from FOX and Mediarobe, analyzing over 8,000 hours of biometric data across 40+ studies to uncover how fans and non-fans physically respond to content. By measuring real biological signals (electrodermal activity), the study reveals clear differences in how passionate fans experience media. The session will also examine whether these heightened responses translate into stronger brand impact and value, offering new insights into the connection between fandom, engagement, and advertising effectiveness. Panelists include:

• Kym Frank, SVP of Ad Sales Research, Fox
• Beatriz Ribeiro, SVP of Client Success, Mediaprobe
• Howard Shimmel, Board Member, datafuelX (Moderator)

The streaming era promised to democratize content: more creators, more channels, more choice. What it delivered is more complicated. In this session, key players from across the content ecosystem examine what’s actually working in FAST and CTV distribution, how roles and relationships between creators, operators, and platforms are shifting, and what the next wave of audience behavior means for the industry. Panelists include:

• Alia J. Daniels, COO, Revry
• Carlos Pacheco, Head of OTT/FAST Channel Strategy and Operations, Just For Entertainment (Moderator)
• Garrett Winkler, Head of LG Channels, US and Canada, LG Electronics
• James Brown, EVP of Content Distribution and Marketing, REVOLT TV
• Stephen L. Hodge, CEO, OTTera
• Steve Shannon, CEO, Swerve TV

ITVT is pleased to announce the schedule of sessions for the TV of Tomorrow Show, Montreal 2026 (May 20^th-21^st at the Alt Hotel, 120 Rue Peel, Montreal, QC)

Tickets to TVOT MONTREAL 2026 are available for purchase here.

We will be announcing more details about a number of TVOT MONTREAL 2026 sessions in upcoming issues of the ITVT newsletter.

Subscribe to our free email newsletter, InteractiveTV Today (itvt.com), to receive regular news and analysis of the latest developments in advanced TV and video. And go to itvt.com/tvot/connect to join TVOT CONNECT, our bi-weekly webinar-series/networking community.

SCHEDULE AGENDA PDF

A panel of experts and innovators from the vendor, studio and network side will discuss needs, challenges and innovations in the content-measurement and analytics space. Among other things, the discussion will focus on the Three Cs of Content Measurement: Content, Consumers and Collaboration. Topics to discuss will include example complex use cases that illustrate why content measurement is critical to our business and how understanding the consumer is key. We will also discuss how vendors and studios/networks are innovating in this space, as well as what areas still need more development, more collaboration and more visibility.  Panelists include:

• Brian Fuhrer, SVP of Product Strategy and Thought Leadership, Nielsen
• Lisa Heimann, Principal, Eagle Media Advising (Moderator)
• Melva Goffney-Benoit, CEO, The Marian Dupree Group
• Mike Bloxham, EVP of Global Media and Entertainment, Magid
• Tania Missad, EVP of Insights, Strategy and Analytics, Sony Pictures Entertainment

This panel will explore the latest innovations shaping the connected TV (CTV) advertising landscape, from advancements in targeting and measurement to emerging formats and programmatic capabilities. Industry leaders will share real-world insights from recent deployments, highlighting what’s working, what’s not, and how strategies are evolving in response to changing viewer behaviors and platform dynamics. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how brands and partners are navigating fragmentation, leveraging data more effectively, and driving measurable outcomes in CTV. The discussion will also surface key lessons learned, offering practical guidance for optimizing campaigns and maximizing ROI in this rapidly advancing space. Panelists include:

• Aviram Sharon, CEO, inthegame
• Michael Goodman, Director of Entertainment Research, Parks Associates (Moderator)
• Scott Young, Chief Product Officer, Transmit
• Simon Gentry, Co-Founder, Infinitum
• Tim Ware, VP of Future Today Marketplace, Future Today
• Vlad Stesin, CEO, Optable

Artificial Intelligence is fundamentally reshaping audience measurement and monetization in the highly fragmented OTT and CTV landscape.

This essential discussion convenes leaders from across the entire AdTech value chain—from the core technology enabling AI breakthroughs to the major media organizations implementing new data strategies.

Join experts from NVIDIA, VideoAmp, NBCUniversal, and Eagle Media Advising as they move beyond theory to discuss tangible applications. The panel will explore how machine learning and computer vision unlock “deeper audience intelligence” for smarter content delivery, how cross-platform measurement is achieving consistency, and the strategic shifts necessary to navigate a privacy-first, AI-driven future in streaming. Discover how these trailblazing companies are redefining the viewer experience and reshaping monetization models. Panelists include:

• Bianca Pryor, Director of Data Science for Media and Entertainment, NVIDIA
• Joe Kotz, SVP of Product Sales, VideoAmp
• Lisa Heimann, Principal, Eagle Media Advising
• Lung Huang, VP of Data Products and Decision Sciences, NBCUniversal
• Melva Goffney-Benoit, CEO, The Marian Dupree Group (Moderator)

While there is significant industry focus on how AI will impact media planning, media buying and media sales, there is less focus on how AI will unleash data analysis and insights. Come hear from companies that are bringing new AI insights to market, see demonstrations of their capabilities, and hear where they believe the future lies. Panelists include:

• Beatriz Ribeiro, SVP of Client Success, Mediaprobe
• Davina Kent, Global GTM Lead, Brand and Agency Partnerships, Newton Research
• Howard Shimmel, Board Member, datafuelX (Moderator)
• Lung Huang, VP of Data Products and Decision Sciences, NBCUniversal
• Scott Nagy, VP of Commercial Partnerships, Samba TV

We will be announcing more details about this panel in an upcoming issue of the ITVT newsletter Panelists include:

• George Ivie, CEO and Executive Director, MRC
• Joe Ruthruff, SVP of Linear Television Product Management, Comscore
• Jon Watts, Managing Director, CIMM (Moderator)
• Kym Frank, SVP of Ad Sales Research, Fox
• Megan Halscheid, VP of Marketplace Intelligence, Publicis Media
• Omar Delgado, CEO, Vuer
• Pete Doe, Chief Research Officer, Nielsen

The smart TV experience is meeting its metaverse moment, as developers reorient interfaces for greater levels of interactivity. Meta’s Horizon TV app is a new monetization opportunity for Meta, while Netflix continues to invent new games for its platform. The expansion of smart TV platforms enables more immersive, interactive content to be developed and consumed. This session features some of the leading creative technologists in the smart TV and immersive worlds. Panelists include:

• Cecile Andreu, Founder, Le Brouillon
• Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media (Moderator)
• Marc Petit, Consultant and Board Member, Moment Factory
• Paul Raphael, Co-Founder, Felix & Paul Studios
• Shawn O'Brien, Head of Digital Innovation, Stingray