TVOT NYC 2025

ITVT is pleased to announce the schedule of sessions for the TV of Tomorrow Show, New York 2025 (December 3^rd at The Alcove at Hudson Commons, 441 9^th Avenue, NY, NY).

Tickets to TVOT SF 2025 (currently priced at $975; price increases to $1,175 on November 15^th) are still available for purchase here.

We will be announcing more details about a number of TVOT NYC 2025 sessions in upcoming issues of the ITVT newsletter.

The official X (Twitter) hashtag of the show is #TVOTNYC, and the official X (Twitter) account is @TVOTshow.

Scroll down for the schedule. A PDF version of the schedule is available here.

After welcoming attendees to TVOT NYC 2025, ITVT Editor-in-Chief, Tracy Swedlow, will reveal the dates and location of our next show, TVOT Spring 2026.

Tracy will also salute our friend and frequent collaborator, Colin Dixon, Founder and Chief Analyst of nScreenMedia, who is retiring from our industry and embarking on exciting new ventures.

Local television remains one of the most trusted voices in media, and it’s entering a new era of opportunities and challenges. In this keynote, ATSC President, Madeleine Noland, explores how next-generation broadcasting and hybrid OTA/OTT technologies are empowering local stations to thrive in the digital future.

Our industry spends a lot of time, money and effort talking to consumers about what they want, how they feel, and what they plan to do. And then we look at what they did. Much of the time, those intentions don’t turn into actions. This panel will explore why that is, and how we can narrow the gap to ensure that we are truly ready for the TV of tomorrow. Panelists include:

• David Shiffman, Director of Product Management, Measurement, IQVIA Digital
• Helen Katz, EVP of Research, Publicis (Moderator)
• Josh Chasin, Principal, KnotSimpler
• Laura Grover, SVP/Head of Client Solutions, EDO
• Pete Doe, Chief Research Officer, Nielsen
• Sable Mi, Chair, Identity and Data Collaboration, CIMM
• Yan Liu, CEO, TVision

This session will bring together prominent leaders in local TV for a temperature check of the space. Topics to be addressed include the current status and potential significance of pending M&A deals; changes in the regulatory environment; operating strategies amidst economic uncertainty; the ongoing roll-out of ATSC 3.0/NEXTGEN TV; and more. Panelists include:

• David Oxenford, Partner, Wilkinson Barker Knauer
• Madeleine Noland, President, ATSC
• Rob Weisbord, COO/President of Local Media, Sinclair
• Tim Hanlon, Founder and CEO, The Vertere Group (Moderator)

Audiences love content—but they’re overwhelmed by choice, costs, and complexity. In this session, Jon Giegengack, Principal of Hub Entertainment Research, breaks down the paradox of streaming: the more options viewers have, the more complicated it is to use them. We’ll uncover why simplicity is the new currency, how sports supercharge subscriptions, and why bundling may be the cure for churn. You will learn: Why “too much TV” is driving frustration—and how better discovery can fix it.; how sports fans are already feeling the friction from streaming; how audiences define value today, and why simple = sticky; and which provider are best positioned for success in a world where aggregation might matter as much as content itself.

This session will explore how CTV is becoming increasingly central to the television content and advertising spaces and how this will impact the evolution of the TVOS and of the CTV platform in general going forward. Topics to be discussed include the new kinds of advertising that CTV is enabling, including shoppable and interactive; the increasingly important role CTV is playing in generating data  on consumer viewing and purchasing habits; the new kinds of programming services that are emerging on CTV platforms and how viewers are finding and using those services; how the emergence of CTV as an advertising, retail and programing platform is likely to impact the evolution of the TVOS; and, conversely, how  new developments in the TVOS and in CTV in general are likely to power future innovation in  advertising, programming and the viewer experience. Panelists include:

• Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia (Moderator)
• Dallas Lawrence, Chief Strategy Officer, Telly
• David Purdy, CRO, Stingray
• Fred Godfrey, CEO, Origin
• Mark Lee, Head of North American Content Business Development, LG Electronics
• Rob Caruso, VP of Product Management and User Experience, Ventura TVOS, The Trade Desk

You can't think seriously about the future of video in any form, without thinking about the future of monetization. Or at least, you shouldn’t. All content and all platforms depend on monetization of some sort. Yet as media and audiences continue to fragment; as behaviors and expectations of consumers change; as technology creates both new opportunities and threats (fake audiences and fake ads), so the challenge of monetizing media and audiences at scale becomes ever more complex.

This conversation explores some of the most significant opportunities and challenges facing media monetization going forward—and what the industry needs to address in order to optimize success. Participants include:

• Mike Bloxham, EVP of Global Media and Entertainment, Magid (Moderator)
• Hugh Scallon, SVP, Video and Head of Activation, VaynerMedia
• Ying Wang, General Manager of Advertising, Xumo

Presented by Stingray

FAST is maturing, and its explosive growth is leveling off. The focus for FAST today is all about optimization—for programmers, advertisers and viewers alike. This panel will examine some of the challenges facing FAST today; explore successful strategies to enhance content discovery, increase monetization and improve the user experience; and discuss where the industry is headed. Panelists include:

• Anthony Iaffaldano, Head of Content Monetization, Roku
• Brandon Pankey, CEO, APEX
• Cathy Rasenberger, President, Rasenberger Media (Moderator)
• Garrett Winkler, Head of LG Channels, US and Canada, LG Electronics
• Natalie Gabathuler-Scully, EVP of Revenue, Distribution and Data Operations, Vevo
• Rick Bergan, Head of Americas, Stingray
• Sarah Shriver, VP of Content Distribution, Partnerships and Programming, BBC Studios

This session will explore current and emerging business models among traditional and digital media sellers for local, cross-platform advertising on linear and streaming video. Following the presentation of research by BIA Advisory Partners into recent and ongoing trends, complete with forecasts for 2026, panelists will address the threats and opportunities they see in the local cross-platform video market, and will explain how they are positioned for success.  In addition, they will explore the potentially significant impact on this space of political spending in the coming election year. Panelists include:

• Dean Littleton, EVP of Media Operations, Scripps
• Michael Page, SVP of Digital Sales and FLX, Fox Television Stations
• Rick Ducey, Managing Director, BIA Advisory Services (Moderator)
• Rob Weisbord, COO/President of Local Media, Sinclair
• Stephanie Slagle, Chief Innovation Officer, Graham Media

While technology and platforms change, TV news continues to bring value for viewers. Over the past few years, news and sports have continued to deliver on watch time and uniques. While the category has maintained its allure, there is a need to evolve how news is compiled and interpreted and from whom you take it. At the same time, newsrooms continue to shrink and stories may vary depending on who’s delivering them. So how does one produce a credible news program in today’s era of media? How can organizations reduce costs without sacrificing the integrity of the content? And how do FAST and VOD compete with the immediacy of social media news sources? Panelists include:

• Christy Tanner, Chair, Swerve TV
• Dianne Doctor, CEO, Cross Country Media
• Matt Simon, VP of Scripps News, Scripps
• Mike Nagle, CEO, Ashling Digital (Moderator)
• Robin Garfield, Former Chief Research Officer and EVP of Program and Content Strategy, CNN

This session will bring together stakeholders from the buy-side and beyond to address the question: Is cross-channel media selling and buying ready for prime time in 2026? Panelists will examine the progress made to date in cross-channel measurement and in adoption by buyers, and will attempt to answer such questions as: How have sellers changed their distribution and monetization strategies in response to the rise of streaming and CTV? How is first-party data being used in cross-platform campaigns? How are buyers using intelligence from multi-platform and multi-currency data to better understand consumers and thereby drive customer engagement? What challenges are still hampering the adoption of cross-platform campaign strategies, and what are the most significant opportunities emerging in this space. Panelists include:

• Ashley Luongo, CRO, OpenAP
• Carol Hinnant, Board Member and Advisor, MediaBrain (Moderator)
• Dan Walsh, SVP of Ad Tech Product Management, Imagine Communications
• Larry Meistrich, CEO, Red Coral Universe
• Mandy Leef, SVP of Account Management, Comscore
• Rob Jayson, EVP of Insights and Analytics, USIM

The Media Rating Council (MRC) has been expanding its suite of standards into new areas such as attention, outcomes and digital auction transparency, and has recently announced its intention to develop comprehensive guidance for Machine Learning and AI used in measurement. Our industry is changing rapidly but transparency and the need for quality processes remain a common theme. In this presentation, George Ivie, CEO and Executive Director of the MRC, will discuss that organization’s work in challenging new areas and the road ahead in seeking measurement transparency and quality.

Short-form, vertical video has redefined how audiences engage with entertainment—from TikTok to Reels to YouTube Shorts—and its influence spans far beyond social media. This dynamic panel will explore how each generation—Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha—is consuming, creating, and responding to this evolving format, and what it means for the future of storytelling and distribution.

Featuring insights from leading executives, the discussion will examine: How consumption patterns and motivations differ across generations; the unprecedented boom in short-form content creation and monetization; strategic opportunities and challenges facing studios, platforms, and creators; how major players are evolving their content and marketing strategies; and best practices for maximizing engagement and cross-platform impact.

Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the “short-form video ecosystem”—as well as actionable takeaways for reaching and resonating with audiences across every age group in today’s attention economy. Panelists include:

• Erick Opeka, President and CSO, Cineverse
• Holly Leff-Pressman, Chief Client Engagement Officer, ScreenEngine/ASI (Moderator)
• Natasha Hritzuk, VP/Head of Corporate Research, Warner Bros. Discovery
• Paul Pastor, Chief Business Officer, Quickplay

Brian Wieser has predicted that soon all that will be left are platforms like Google and Meta. This panel responds: The best platform will be Television. It will have all the programmatic ease, speed, data, algorithms, AI of the great digital platforms. Plus it will have higher incremental sales and brand growth per dollar, no viewability problem, no fraud problem, no brand safety problem. And as for scale—the ability to reach more people per campaign—thousands of its programs dwarf the top digital vehicles and it will actually outscale the tech giants. As if that were not already enough, there is more: it will be transparent—not a walled garden! No need to fall back on lookalikes, probabilities, and weak signal when using first-party or third-party advanced audiences! It offers third-party measurement and MRC Accreditation, not self-supplied report cards! And TV’s average seconds of attention per ad impression? 8-15 seconds versus 0-2 seconds!

What is stopping us? Nothing, this is already happening today—Universal Ads, Spectrum tvbeat, UltiMedia, TVB, Audyns…everyone is pooling inventory and creating easy dashboards and built-in ROAS measurement. UltiMedia intends to be the one dashboard that includes all the others, adds RMT and four other layers of exclusive optimization. Hear all about it and kick the tires with the moderator and panelists, who include:

• Bill Harvey, Founder, Bill Harvey Consulting
• David Verklin, Senior Advisor, Boston Consulting Group
• Howard Shimmel, Co-Founder, datafuelX
• Jon Watts, Managing Director, CIMM (Moderator)
• Kym Frank, SVP of Ad Sales Research, Fox

Live-streaming sports is a global market that is valued at $32.4 billion and is projected to reach more than $100 billion by 2033. As live sports shifts to direct-to-consumer platforms, engagement matters more than ever, with AI and data shaping the experience. The gamification of sports is upon us, and features ranging from alt-casts to multi-view to real-time personalization will drive greater monetization of sports content, increasing fan engagement. This panel will discuss the production of a brave new world for sports content. Panelists include:

• Cathy Rasenberger, President, Free Live Sports
• Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media (Moderator)
• Christy Tanner, Chair, Swerve TV
• Matt Felder, VP of Ad Sales, Fubo
• Peter Scott, Chief Strategy Officer, Play Anywhere
• Rob Bocchicchio, President, Centriply

AI and Social are the two forces that have reverse engineered the human response system. They mine our attention, our connections and our emotions, turning what was once spontaneous and shared into something predicted, optimized, and sold. Both promise connection, yet both increasingly mediate it. The result is an attention economy where the crowd itself has become invisible, fragmented into data points and ruled by hidden algorithms.

Can shared experience still matter when every stream is personalized? Or will the future of television belong entirely to systems that know us better than we know ourselves? Panelists include:

• Greg Kahn, CEO, GK Digital Ventures
• Randall Rothenberg, CEO Emeritus, IAB
• Robert Rosenberg, Partner, Moses Singer
• Seth Haberman, CEO, Sense Education (Moderator)

More enterprises using Artificial Intelligence (AI) fully or partially to generate TV programming are starting up this year. They are backed by multi-million dollar private equity and venture capital investment. We’ll explore what they’re up to, and when their content will reach viewers via smart TV sets and devices, in this follow-up to one of TVOT NY’s most popular sessions last fall. Panelists include:

• Daniel Clarke, Founder, Unfeatured Films
• Oswald Mendez, CMO, Canela Media
• Simon Applebaum, Host, Tomorrow Will Be Televised (Moderator)
• Will Wavy, CEO, Will Wavy Productions
• Xavier Collins, CEO, Wonder Studios

This session will explore how brands and studios can work most effectively with social-media creators to reach new audiences. It will also examine how these established players’ embrace of those creators could impact the future of television advertising and programming. Topics to be discussed include: what new audiences (including—and in addition to—Gen Z and Gen Alpha) are studios and brands looking to reach through collaborations with creators, and how well are they succeeding in transforming those audiences into loyal consumers and viewers? What common traits can be identified in successful collaborations—and what potential pitfalls must be avoided? What types of creators are best positioned to make the transition to television and why? And will the meeting of creators and TV result in the former adapting to the latter, or are creators rather set to change TV fundamentally—and, if so, what will the TV programming and advertising of the future look like as a result? Panelists include:

• Braden Blacker, CEO, The Content Code
• Chris Pizzurro, Principal, Leap Media Group
• Jennifer Turner, CEO, Madcool Media
• Natasha Hritsuk, Head of Corporate Research, Warner Bros. Discovery
• Rick Howe, The iTV Doctor (Moderator)

In this panel, innovating executives on the national and local side of the TV ad-sales business will talk targeting, technology, measurement, ad creative and context with experts from brands and agencies. Which innovations have moved the needle in the past and what really matters to advertisers now and in the future? Panelists include:

• Cole Brown, Brand Manager, Smirnoff Vodka (Diageo)
• Jon Steinlauf, Ex-Head of Advertising, Warner Bros. Discovery
• Kathy Newberger, Director of Enterprise Business Development, Ampersand (Moderator)
• Lauren Sally, Chief Client Officer, The Brand Power Company (WPP)
• Rian Durham, VP of Accounts, Situation Interactive
• Sharalyn Orr, Executive Director of Global Marketing Innovation, Estee Lauder

Given the need for greater measurement standardization and consistent metrics across CTV/Streaming platforms, the ANA has created the CTV/Streaming Measurement working group, made up of ANA member brands and their CTV experts. This group has created a list of CTV measurement standards that will provide ALL platforms, agency partners, and internal teams a road map to follow, to make sure we get as close to CTV standardization for measurement and for performance.

The aim is not to push these Principles as a rigid industry standard, but to get the discussion going, and to eventually have buyers (brands and agencies) and sellers tie them in contractually. These conversations are meant to discuss any technical barriers or business concerns in implementing these proposed measurement standards. Panelists include:

• Jason Trubowitz, SVP/Media and Measurement Initiative Lead, ANA (Moderator)
• Jeffrey Smith, Senior Manager, Media Measurement and Performance, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC)
• Julian Zilberbrand, Global Head of Data Solutions, LG Ad Solutions
• Tim Ware, VP of Future Today Marketplace, Future Today

What makes people not just watch, but belong? This panel uncovers how premium video turns everyday viewers into devoted fans and communities—through the shared experiences of sports, local news, entertainment, and more. Discover how innovations in engagement and measurement are helping brands identify and activate these high-value audience niches that drive real business impact. Panelists include:

• Ben Vandegrift, VP of Measurement Strategy and Innovation, VAB
• Jenny Zha, CEO, Infinitize
• Mandy Leef, SVP of Account Management, Comscore
• Manu Singh, Chief Data and Innovation Officer, National CineMedia

From ACR targeting to in-scene placement to dynamic creative, this session will explore a range of recent technological innovations at the intersection of AI and advertising, assess how successfully they are improving the efficacy and the consumer experience of advertising, and attempt to identify new and pending innovations that could have a significant impact on the space. Panelists include:

• Adam Paz-Yener, SVP/Head of US Sales, Anoki
• Akaash Ramakrishnan, CEO, AdSkate
• Albert Thompson, Managing Director of Digital, Walton Isaacson (Moderator)
• Maria Theresa Hernandez, Head of Strategic Partnerships and Inclusive Growth, Rembrand
• Matt Collins, VP of Product Marketing, MNTN

When the measurement of TV programming and ad campaigns bifurcated in the 2010s, measurement innovation primarily continued on the campaign side. Meanwhile, the explosion of distribution channels presents content providers with more decisions to make than ever before. This panel will explore the needs and state of play in the content measurement space. Panelists include:

• Colleen Fahey Rush, Former Chief Research Officer, Paramount
• Josh Chasin, Principal, KnotSimpler (Moderator)
• Kym Frank, SVP of Ad Sales Research, Fox
• Melva Goffrey-Benoit, VP of Content, Sports, and Sell-Side Revenue, VideoAmp
• Tom Ziangas, SVP of Research and Insights, Hallmark Media

According to the Wall Street Journal, “Every weekday morning, Geno Schellenberger and Jack Westerkamp, both 27 years old, gather in a tiny Madison Avenue office to run down a whiteboard of headlines on ‘60 Seconds of Advertising News,’ their low-fi, high-energy series for Instagram, LinkedIn and an email newsletter.” In the final TVOT New York 2025 session, Geno and Jack will interview (unsuspecting?) TVOT speakers on-stage, searching for the truth—no matter how absurd—of the ad business we all depend on. Participants include:

• Geno Schellenberger, CEO/Co-Host, Breaking and Entering Media
• Jack Westerkamp, Co-Host, Breaking and Entering Media
• Rick Howe, The iTV Doctor