According to research from Advertiser Perceptions, addressable TV advertising is considered a “must-buy” by 38% of marketers (up from 27% a year earlier), 73% of media buyers are now incorporating it into their mix (a 16% year-over-year increase), and 90% of advertisers who have run addressable campaigns on MVPD and vMVPD platforms plan to spend the same or more on addressable in 2024. Yet despite this, addressable inventory is still relatively small: +/- two minutes per hour, depending on the MVPD/vMVPD platform.

This session will bring together representatives of the companies and organizations that have been driving the growth of addressable TV in the US, in order to take stock of that growth and its implications, and to debate and discuss how to maintain addressable’s momentum going forward. Issues to be addressed include: How to improve attribution, in order to track the ROI of addressable TV; the importance to addressable of identity and the use of deterministic data; addressable’s potential for reaching light TV viewers; how to rethink creative for addressable spots; whether political advertising will prove to be a catalyst for addressable in 2024; the role industry organizations and initiatives need to play in order to grow addressable; and more. Panelists include:

• Darren Sherriff, SVP of Advanced Advertising Solutions, Fox
• Emily Kistner, Director of New Business and Identity Solutions, Adstra
• Evan Adlman, EVP of Commercial Sales and Revenue Operations, AMC
• Larry Allen, VP and GM Data & Addressable Enablement, Comcast/Chairman, Go Addressable
• Mari Tangredi, SVP of Global Partnerships, Cadent
• Matthew Van Houten, SVP of Product, Ad Ops Systems and Services, and Business Development, DIRECTV Advertising
• Nadine Krefetz, Contributing Editor, Streaming Media Magazine (Moderator)

Session Sponsored by Stingray

This session will explore how the rise of streaming and the new business models, distribution strategies and production methods it is giving rise to are impacting the experience of the viewer—not only by changing the mix of programming that’s available to them but by presenting them with new kinds of programming services and new kinds of programming. Should streaming programming simply be viewed as traditional television programming on a new platform, or is streaming bringing about fundamental changes in the kinds of programming that get made and watched—and, if so, what are the implications for the future of the TV business? Panelists include:

• Damian Pelliccione, CEO, Revry
• David Purdy, Chief Revenue Officer, Stingray
• Erick Opeka, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Cineverse
• Holly Leff-Pressman, Chief Client Engagement Officer, Screen Engine/ASI (Moderator)
• James Brown, EVP of Content Distribution and Marketing, REVOLT TV

There’s never been more financial investment and activity around media measurement. In spite of the investment and activity, the challenges that the industry faces with media measurement impact consumers, publishers and advertisers and their agencies. Howard Shimmel, President of Janus Strategy & Insights and Head of Strategy at datafuelX, will provide his perspective on where we are, how we’ve gotten there and some ideas on how to move forward.

Local TV broadcast groups are adapting to a market facing secular changes in fundamentals in core areas including content investments, distribution strategies, programmatic trading and cross-platform advertising. Their levers to pivot their companies include broadcast platforms (ATSC1 and ATSC3), and high-growth digital platforms including CTV, Mobile and PC/Desktop. Compelling content will draw and engage audiences across platforms. Data-driven targeting, automated workflow, and programming trading are must-haves in the emerging local media space. TV group executives share their insights and strategies for the business and revenue models that will comprise the Local TV of Tomorrow. Panelists include:

• Ann Hailer, President of Broadcast, Locality
• Pat LaPlatney, Co-CEO and President, Gray Television
• Princell Hair, President, Allen Media Broadcasting
• Rick Ducey, Managing Director, BIA Advisory Services (Moderator)
• Rob Weisbord, CRO/President of Broadcast, Sinclair
• Stacey Lynn Schulman, EVP of Platform Marketing and Intelligence, Nexstar

This session aims to provide the audience with a clear view of both the move from age/sex to DDL and the move from Nielsen to alternative currencies. Questions to be addressed include: Market operational readiness—obviously a significant amount of progress has been made over the past few years, but are there any major obstacles preventing both DDL and alternative currencies being implemented at scale? Market value—what do brands, agencies and publishers gain from transacting on DDL and alternative currencies? Cross-platform—how much demand is there to expand beyond linear? Future trajectory—what changes should we expect to see through the upfront and the ‘24/25 season? Panelists include:

• Darren Sherriff, SVP of Advanced Advertising Solutions, Fox
• Evan Adlman, EVP of Commercial Sales and Revenue Operations, AMC
• Howard Shimmel, President, Janus Strategy & Insights/Head of Strategy, datafuelX (Moderator)

The converged TV era is powered by disparate data sources—from Smart TVs and set-top boxes to ad server logs and audience segments built from retail loyalty programs. Some companies are drowning in the deluge, but others are thriving—leveraging all this data to build better models for planning, targeting and measuring post-campaign success. Panelists will share best practices (and caveats) when it comes to blending disparate data sets, discuss how clean rooms fit into the mix, and offer thoughts on the future of privacy-centric data collaboration. Panelists include:

• Charbel Makhoul, GM of Product Management, Data Science and Analytics, VIZIO
• Mainak Mazumdar, Chief Research and Analytics Officer, Fox
• Tameka Kee, Deputy Managing Director, CIMM (Moderator)
• Tara Franceschini, Head of Industry Strategy, Media and Entertainment, LiveRamp

 Hot Topic Session, Sponsored by Bango

Growth in the TV-subscription space is increasingly being driven by indirect channel distribution, particularly by the emergence of Super Bundling, where subscriptions from multiple different content providers are offered to consumers as a single-billed, often discounted “Super Bundle” by telcos and other players (according to data from Omdia, 20% of all SVOD subscriptions are already sold through telcos).

This session will explore the emergence of Super Bundling and its growing importance to the subscription-TV market—from the perspective of the consumer, for whom super bundling solves the complexity of managing multiple, separately billed subscriptions; from the perspective of the reseller (including telcos, ISPs, MVPDs and CTV content services), for whom it provides a means of increasing customer acquisition and retention, and of generating new revenue streams; and from the perspective of the content provider, whom it allows to enter new markets more easily and with significantly lower risk. Panelists include:

• Bob Gold, Principal, Bob Gold & Associates (Moderator)
• David Purdy, Chief Revenue Officer, Stingray
• Erick Opeka, President and Chief Strategy Officer, Cineverse
• Giles Tongue, VP of Marketing, Bango
• Mark Lee, Head of North American Content Business Development, LG Electronics

Hot Topic Session, Sponsored by Driver Studios and Qonsent

As the industry prepares to embrace a cookie-less future and shoppable TV applications become more common, the opportunity to safely secure audience consent transforms from a defensive tactic into a powerful advertising strategy tool. In fact, LG Ad Solutions found that 70% of CTV viewers like TV ads with QR codes, and 62% would scan if exposed. This is a massive opportunity to reach audiences where they are watching—across CTV, mobile and digital platforms—via brand-safe campaigns, ultimately empowering a new era of trusted and secure engagements.

In this session, pioneers of advanced advertising, interactive TV and privacy will take the stage to discuss the new world of brand safety, how technologies are redefining approaches to consent, and why these new approaches are a win-win-win for brands, media companies and viewers. This will lead to a lively discussion of today’s most pressing topics including privacy, precision targeting and the future of CTV and digital advertising. Speakers will also highlight a “hot off the presses” partnership between Driver Studios and Qonsent which empowers brands to safely implement interactive QR-code solutions and capture consented data, opening the door to new personalized engagement experiences from gamification to e-commerce. Panelists include:

• Diana Horowitz, CRO and Co-COO, Driver Studios
• Inderpreet Sandhu, Head of CTV Ads Platform & Ecosystems | Media, Entertainment, Telco & FAST, Google
• Jason Damata, CEO, Fabric Media (Moderator)
• Jesse Redniss, CEO, Qonsent
• Peter Scott, Chief Strategy Officer, Play Anywhere

Hot Topic Session, Sponsored by Imagine Communications

Total TV, encompassing the spectrum of television from traditional linear to rapidly evolving connected TV (CTV), faces a unique challenge as linear TV's profitability declines and CTV's growth does not yet yield sustainable profits. In “Navigating Profitability across the Total TV Landscape,” our panel of industry veterans will address how to grow advertising revenue amid changing consumer behaviors, increasing operational costs and the realities of fragmenting inventory. Join us as we share real world examples, outlining effective approaches and essential steps to being profitable in this transformative era of television.  Panelists include:

• Chris Pizzurro, Principal, Leap Media
• Jeff Blaszak, VP of Strategic Partnerships, ShowSeeker
• Preman Narayanan, VP of Advertising Operations, Hearst Television
• Steve Reynolds, President, Imagine Communications (Moderator)

The Awards recognize individual and corporate achievement in the following categories, each of which is judged by a who’s who of advanced-TV industry leaders:

ITV All-Star: An individual who has a long-term track record of leadership in the interactive multiplatform television industry, and who is an appropriate candidate for membership in an Interactive/Multiplatform TV Hall of Fame.

Individual Leadership: An individual who has demonstrated notable leadership in the interactive/multiplatform TV industry over the past year, and whose efforts helped move that industry forward.

Most Significant Impact: The company or organization that has had the most significant impact on the interactive and multiplatform TV industry as a whole over the past year (i.e. April 15th, 2023 through February 16th, 2024).

Most Significant Newcomer: The company or organization that was the most significant newcomer/breakthrough player of the past year.

Achievement in Advanced Advertising: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in advanced advertising this past year. The achievement can be, for example, in the form of a new technology, a new campaign, a new industry collaboration or some other significant development in the space

Achievement in Shoppable TV: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in shoppable TV/tcommerce this past year. The achievement can be, for example, in the form of a new technology, a new campaign, a new industry collaboration or some other significant development in the space

Achievement in Measurement and Data: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in measurement/attribution or data this past year. The achievement can be, for example, in the form of a new technology, a new initiative, a new industry collaboration or some other significant development in the space

Most Significant Technology—Infrastructure: The company or organization that launched the most innovative and disruptive television/video-infrastructure technology of the past year. This would include, for example, technologies for enabling and enhancing broadcast/OTA, OTT or mobile TV.

Most Significant User Interface or User Experience: The company or organization that created the most innovative UI/UX of the past year.

Programming Innovation: The company or organization that created the most innovative and disruptive programming/content offering of the past year, including new formats, new types of interactivity, content for new platforms, and more.

Achievement in Streaming: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in streaming, this past year.

Achievement in CTV: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in Connected TV this past year.

Achievement in DEI: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in furthering Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in the advanced-TV space this past year.

The content universe for younger Latino audiences has moved well beyond linear TV configurations. FAST channels are ushering in new narratives and storylines with a fixation on all the countries of origin. Hear from content makers in the Hispanic Media space casting light on the proliferation of FAST content. Panelists include:

• Albert Thompson, General Manager of Digital, Walton Isaacson (Moderator)
• Alfred Serpas, Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships, Los Angeles, Telemundo
• Rob Velez, VP of Inclusive Network and LATAM Sales, Vevo
• Roberto Gyemant, Senior Director of Partnerships, Canela Media
• Xavier Rodriguez, Head of Digital and Strategic Partnerships, LATV

Presented by TVOT SF 2024 Mini-Track Sponsor, LG Electronics

This special track, presented by TVOT SF 2024 CTV Mini-Track Sponsor, LG Electronics, will explore how smart/connected TV is not only changing television itself, but expanding the living-room experience beyond video, into such areas as gaming, commerce, sports betting, teleconferencing, fitness, the metaverse, and more. The track will include a presentation by Matt Durgin, VP of Content and Services at LG Electronics, and a panel session moderated by Gavin Bridge, VP of Media Research at CRG Global.

PART 1: From Smart TVs to Smart Life Solutions

LG is transitioning from a manufacturer of consumer electronics to a smart life solutions company that can connect and expand customers’ diverse experience. This session will highlight LG’s new direction and how it is enabling a new media and entertainment platform with webOS and beyond. This Includes going over how the company is helping its partners monetize with LG in advertising, FAST through LG Channels, expanded scale and reach, and expanding into new innovation categories like shopping and gaming. Presenter:

• Matt Durgin, VP of Content and Services, LG Electronics

PART 11: The Evolution of CTV: How FAST Is Influencing Everything

The smart TV’s transformation from hardware to profit center has begun. FAST has played a key role in this, being the first ad-supported revenue driving platform for TVs that consumers have embraced en masse. This panel, featuring experts from creator content, web3, advertising and gaming, will investigate first how FAST has paved the way for other ad-supported models and then detail what to expect as TVs continue to evolve the services available to consumers. Panelists include:

• Brian Miller, Director of Innovation Development, LG Electronics
• Dallas Lawrence, Chief Strategy and Communications Officer, Telly
• Gavin Bridge, VP of Media Research, CRG Global (Moderator)
• Jasmin Corley, Social Media Influencer
• Matt Durgin, VP of Content and Services, LG Electronics
• Ying Wang, GM, Xumo Advertising

Tik Tok kicked off the Creators vs. the Streaming Platforms war. Now, CTV/OTT content platforms are looking to be “creator”-driven instead of being program-driven. All this is being fueled by the in-market “social currency” that individuals are wielding for influence in our attention-driven economy. We’ll hear from a spectrum of streaming, influencer, creator, and AI experts on what the future holds. Panelists include:

• Albert Thompson, Managing Director of Digital Innovation, Walton Isaacson (Moderator)
• Brandon Pankey, Founder, Watch APEX
• Charlie Ibarra, Director of Content Strategy and Partnerships, SabioTV
• Kobi Wu, CEO, Cache.ai
• Tinashe Chaponda, CEO, Sosani Studios

At a time when brands are increasing their investments in CTV advertising and CTV ad inventory is rapidly growing, thanks to the ongoing proliferation of FAST channels and the rollout of ad-supported tiers from streaming giants such as Netflix and Disney+, this session will explore the new forms of advertising (contextual, dynamic, personalized, interactive, shoppable and more) and the new kinds of campaigns that CTV and its ability to generate real-time, granular data are making possible. Questions to be addressed include: What are the most important recent innovations in CTV advertising—for example, in such areas as audience measurement/data-generation and interactive and shoppable formats—and how are they faring in the marketplace? What are we learning about CTV viewing behavior and how should this information impact advertising strategies? Research from TVision shows there is great variance in CTV ad attention—how, then, to account for and address this issue? Moreover, while attention to CTV varies widely depending on the app, daypart, program and other factors, CTV advertising is not priced to account for these differences—how can we remedy this? How can custom ad formats—such as wrappers and games—improve attention for CTV ads? How can media buyers identify and target more engaged audiences? And how could political advertising catalyze, and benefit from, innovations in CTV advertising in the current election year? Panelists include:

• Brett Hurwitz, Business Lead, Addressable TV, Yahoo
• Fred Godfrey, CEO, Origin
• Matt Durgin, VP of Content and Services, LG Electronics
• Paul Erickson, Principal, Erickson Strategy & Insights (Moderator)
• Virginie De Bel Air, Director of Product Management, Roku
• Yan Liu, CEO, Tvision

Gone are the days of simply looking at a TV show’s rating to determine how popular it was with its fans. Early Comscore research on social media identified a strong knock-on effect of impact on friends-of-fans. And Taylor Swift’s attendance at NFL caused TV ratings to increase significantly. This panel will explore how we understand fans today, and what that means for advertisers, content developers, and media. Panelists include:

• Anthony Iaffaldano, VP of Sales Marketing and Insights, Fandom
• Ben Carlson, SVP and GM of Media, Sports and Entertainment, MarketCast
• Earnest Pettie, Trends Insights Lead, YouTube
• Helen Katz, EVP of Research, Publicis (Moderator)
• Jed Meyer, SVP/Media Solutions Leader, Kantar
• Vince Muscarella, VP of Sales, Whip Media

This session will explore the fast-growing and super dynamic world of CTV advertising, focusing on the current challenges in the market around transparency. How accurate is the data used today for identity, measurement and media placements? Can we do better? Is better transparency critical to scaling the world of CTV advertising? Will it get worse as the cross-channel world becomes a cross-Walled Garden world? Panelists include:

• Dave Morgan, CEO, Simulmedia (Moderator)
• Nada Bradbury, CEO, Ad-ID
• Scott McKinley, CEO, Truthset
• Tom Morgan, Principal, MediaD.tv

From multiple angles—buy-side, sell-side and creators—this session will examine the increasing role of artificial intelligence in TV, and how it’s evolving the essential dynamics of the TV ecosystem. Questions to be addressed include: How are producers, networks and streaming platforms using AI to understand audiences? How does AI impact the development process for new programs and formats? What key trends should everyone be watching? How are media strategies best using AI to improve reach and efficiency? How will AI further the integration of entertainment and commerce? And how will AI change the landscape of jobs in the TV industry over the coming years? Panelists include:

• Duan Peng, Former SVP of Global Data and AI, Warner Bros Discovery
• Ian Baer, Founder and Chief Soothsayer, Sooth (Moderator)
• Jonathan Bergman, New Media Consultant, REDspace
• Mallory Armstrong, Head of Global TV Data Strategy, Yahoo

Hot Topic Session, Sponsored by Luminate

While measurement solutions for streaming are becoming more sophisticated and accurate, gleaning meaningful insights remains a complicated process. There are many metrics coming to market, but marrying those datasets, and turning that data from raw numbers to meaningful narratives is difficult. In an environment where everyone has different sources, it’s hard to communicate effectively. Between studio “data-ectodes” and fragmented audiences, defining hits and trends has become harder than ever.

Join Luminate as it brings together two industry experts who are tackling these hurdles head-on, revealing the path towards actionable insights amidst data complexity. Panelists include:

• Cecilia Lara, VP of Audience and Content Research and Insights, Warner Bros. Television Group
• Jimmy Doyle, Director of Business Development, Luminate (Moderator)
• Kate Coke, Executive, Analytics and Insights, Creative Artists Agency (CAA)

In this session we will look into the evolving world of TV as it moves further into the programmatic future. The panelists will each have 10 minutes to focus on their own unique perspective from each side of the transaction: Buy, Sell and Tech. We will dive into the good, the complex, and the realities of the market. Following the three 10-minute sessions, we will bring all our panelists together for a spirited discussion that focuses on collaboration and exploring a digital future for a linear marketplace. Topics to be addressed include: Moving linear to programmatic and how this impacts workflow across the Buy, Sell and Tech sides of the business; changing investment strategy and how the ability to buy converged television via programmatic channels impacts reach and frequency; advancements in television operations and how they impact measurement and currency models; the future of linear inventory and the unit vs. the impression. Participants include:

• Evan Adlman, EVP of Commercial Sales and Revenue Operations, AMC
• Julian Zilberbrand, Former EVP of Advanced Television, Paramount (Moderator)
• Larry Allen, VP and GM, Data and Addressable Enablement, Comcast Advertising/Chairman, Go Addressable
• Rob Jayson, EVP of Insights and Analytics, USIM

FAST channels have swiftly grown over the past few years, both in overall scale and audience, but there remain many misgivings about the format: who watches, why they watch, the value of the audience, and more. In this panel, executives from AMC Networks, Vevo and Plex will discuss some of the common myths around FAST and lay out the actual facts behind the emergence of a new viewing trend. Panelists include:

• Bethany Atchison, VP of Distribution Partnerships, Vevo
• Gavin Bridge, VP of Media Research, CRG Global (Moderator)
• James Brown, EVP of Content Distribution and Marketing, REVOLT TV
• Melissa Bidgoli, Distribution and Marketing, OTTera
• Scott Hancock, VP of Marketing, Plex
• Ying Wang, GM, Xumo Advertising

As the video ecosystem continues to evolve, measurement solutions are advancing to accurately and holistically report on consumer behaviors. During this session we will discuss the key components of measurement, why each is important, how marketers are adapting to changes, and how their solutions are evolving to meet the needs of the marketplace today and in the future. Panelists include:

• Ben Vandegrift, VP of Measurement Solutions, VAB (Moderator)
• Dallas Lawrence, Chief Strategy and Communications Officer, Telly
• David Algranati, Chief Innovation Officer, Comscore
• Jesse Redniss, CEO, Qonsent
• Joshua Lee, CTO and Head of Product, EDO

Hot Topic Session Sponsored by Centriply

When looking for media advantages, successful campaign managers ask questions like: Who are the people without whom we cannot succeed? Where are the people who are most likely to respond to our message? What do these people need to feel, to support us? Centriply likes to answer with: Audience (Who) + Location (Where) + Message (What) = delivering media advantage for political campaigns that understand the value of local linear TV aligned with CTV and other channels.

2024 is going to be a blockbuster, with an anticipated $10-15 billion spend on TV ads. TV ad campaigns matching specific audience segments to the correct hyper-local location will be more intense than ever. And understanding how TV campaigns work effectively alongside digital channels in a media plan will become even more valuable.

This session will explore the evolution of the importance of audience matching—in the right location and with appropriate content placement—for political campaigns. Hear why knowing the “rules and regulations” of political buying on TV, plus using great adtech, delivers massive advantages when time is of the essence, and how data-driven, audience-first, local linear TV complements CTV/digital buys. It’s not one or the other, it’s both. This buy-side perspective will help media owners understand the changing—yet familiar—face of political ad planning/buying on TV. While “all politics are local” still resonates, it’s the scale of local linear/broadcast TV that can support campaigns, so people can take a campaign message to their voting booth. You’ll have questions—they’ll have answers. Panelists include:

• Albert Thompson, Managing Director of Digital, Walton Isaacson (Moderator)
• Clayton Banks, CEO, Silicon Harlem
• Keith Reidy, Senior Media Buyer, Centriply
• Scott Stansfield, CEO, Centriply
• Shalonda Hunter-Harris, Senior Director of Digital, Social and Creative, The Leadership Conference
• Zulema Baez, VP of Strategic Accounts and Political, Adsmovil

About Centriply: Centriply is an independent media agency on a 25-year mission to give communication organizations, federal/local coalitions, brands, and agencies the technology that taps into the scale of linear TV with the abilities that digital marketers expect. For more information, visit www.centriply.com

Streaming TV is increasingly being monetized by advertising, as is evidenced by the ongoing growth of FASTs and ad-supported tiers. Yet how can brands get an audience that has grown up with ad-skipping and ad-blockers (according to a survey by Ypulse 69% of 13- to 39-year-olds actually stream content to avoid ads) to watch that advertising? Branded entertainment—historically associated with the early days of television (see, for example, “soap operas”)—has re-emerged as a solution to this problem, with brands such as AB InBev, FootAsylum, Mailchimp, Nike, Saint Laurent, Home Depot and others launching branded-entertainment offerings and, in many cases, even setting up in-house studios. Catalyzing the growth of branded entertainment has been CTV’s support for data-generation, shoppable TV and other interactive enhancements. This session will explore the latest developments in branded entertainment; examine the new programming formats, new interactive experiences, and new business models it is giving rise to; and attempt to predict how this space will evolve over the coming months and years. Panelists include:

• Albert Thompson, General Manager of Digital, Walton Isaacson (Moderator)
• Chris Pizzurro, Principal, Leap Media
• Dan Kelly, VP of National Sales, BrightLine
• Diana Horowitz, CRO and Co-COO, Driver Studios
• Kevin Kurtz, CEO, Taste Buds Entertainment
• Michele Fino, Head of Branded Entertainment, Crackle

This session will explore how TV stations are launching streaming services devoted to news and other local content, in a bid to build and monetize new audiences and to counter the impact that pay-TV cord-cutting has had on their reach. Local TV’s embrace of streaming already appears to be meeting with some success: according to research from TVREV, not only do 68% of Gen-Zs and younger-Millennials regularly seek out local TV news on streaming platforms, but 36% of 65-and-olders have streamed their local news. Panelists will explore such questions as: How successfully are local streaming services catering to the advertising needs of small businesses, and can those services build a viable business on such hyperlocal advertising? What new advertising formats and what new technologies and services for buying, producing and targeting ads are emerging in this space? What kinds of granular data are being generated by local streaming services and how is that data being used? What kinds of news programming and other content are proving popular on these new services and how are local stations and their newsrooms adapting to meet the demand for that content? Panelists include:

• Adam Ostrow, Chief Digital Officer, TEGNA
• Jeff Haley, Principal, NeighborhoodTV
• Keith Kazerman, President of Streaming, Locality
• Kristin Wnuk Crawford, SVP of Sales, MadHive
• Tim Hanlon, CEO, The Vertere Group (Moderator)

This session will bring together some of the most prominent and experienced researchers in the advanced-TV and advertising industries to share what they have learned during their careers, and to answer such questions as: What emerging developments are you following closely and why? What is the biggest change you’ve witnessed or experienced over your career? What do you see as the biggest challenge our industry is facing (or should be facing)? Come hear more from people with a collective century of wisdom! Panelists include:

• Helen Katz, EVP of Research, Publicis (Moderator)
• Howard Shimmel, Head of Strategy, datafuelX/Ex-Chief Research Officer, Turner Broadcasting
• Josh Chasin, Member, Board of Trustees, ARF
• Leslie Wood, Chief Research Officer, iSpot.tv
• Pete Doe, Chief Research Officer, Nielsen

Register: https://tvotsf2024.rsvpify.com
Schedule: https://itvt.com/events
Grid Schedule: https://itvt.com/tvot-sf-2024-schedule-grid/

This session will explore the new business models that are emerging around streaming—exploring such topics as the roles that AVOD/FAST and SVOD respectively are likely to play going forward; the increasing importance of ad-supported tiers to subscription-based streaming services; strategies for countering—or living with—churn; strategies for differentiating services in an increasingly crowded market; the economics of niche streaming services; how contextual data in the bidstream can be used to drive monetization; the move from a la carte to rebundling and the roles played by aggregators and telco bundlers; best practices for marketing advertising- and subscription-supported steaming services respectively; and the emergence of shoppable TV, gaming and other new streaming-monetization methods beyond subscription and advertising. Panelists include:

• Alexis Gai, SVP of Sales and Revenue, Cleeng
• Evan Bregman, GM of Streaming, Tastemade
• Luisa H.B. Muneratti, SVP of Sales, Bango
• Marco Frazier, COO and CRO, Pando Analytics
• Michael Cerda, Chief Product Officer, Streaming, TelevisaUnivison
• Paul Erickson, Principal, Erickson Strategy & Insights (Moderator)
• Sean Riley, General Manager of Ultimate Trivia, Stingray

On its journey to become 50% automated and addressable as a business, Disney Advertising has doubled down on scaling access to data and self-service automation to advertisers of all sizes. With the acceleration of streaming, advertisers are looking to unify their view of audiences across linear, digital and connected TV—and Disney’s decade-long investment in its advertising technology stack is aiming to drive new access and innovation for buyers.

In this session, executives from Disney Advertising will provide an inside look into how the company is embracing technology-enablement across its advertising portfolio, building access to premium inventory at the intersection of entertainment and sports through self-service capabilities and solutions like the company’s Campaign Manager. Participants include:

• Michelle Marchewka, VP of Addressable Solutions and Enablement, Disney Advertising
• Sylvester J. Phifer, VP, Self-Service Platform/Disney Campaign Manager, Disney Advertising
• Tameka Kee, Deputy Managing Director, CIMM (Moderator)

As the TV industry becomes the CTV industry, it is not firing on all cylinders. Fill rates are not quite what they should be, and available inventory never quite matches right with opportunities. Some of these issues are strategic. But for many in the CTV business it’s a multitude of little things that chip away at performance: perhaps the pacing on a campaign is not quite right, or a supply source is missed, or campaigns are bidding against themselves as they try to make their numbers at the end of a month. And these events often go unnoticed, don't get fixed, and pile up. And each one costs just a little bit of revenue: death by a thousand papercuts.

The winners of this transformation won’t necessarily be the organizations with the most popular offerings and biggest audiences. Rather, it may be the ones that can, so to speak, run the trains on time. In conversation with Rick Howe, The iTV Doctor, Zeev Neumeier, founder of Gray Swan Systems, a start-up just now emerging from stealth mode (note: Neumeier previously founded Inscape, now part of VIZIO), will discuss why the CTV business looks more and more like running an airline, and what tools business should load up on if they want to survive and thrive through the transformation.

• Rick Howe, The iTV Doctor, The Friday Fireside (Moderator)
• Zeev Neumeier, CEO, Gray Swan Systems

In the first part of this session, Jon Giegengack, Founder and Principal of Hub Entertainment Research, will share findings from the first wave of Hub’s new study, “What’s the Score: The Evolution of Sports Fans and Sports Media.” Then, a panel composed of representatives of companies that are helping drive sports’ shift to streaming and creating the new viewing experiences that this shift makes possible will debate and discuss those findings. Questions to be addressed include: How important are sports to viewers, and which sports matter more to them than others? What new ways of watching, engaging with and interacting with sports programming is the shift to streaming enabling? And how will shifts in sports content from linear to streaming impact the rest of the TV ecosystem? Panelists include:

• Andy Reif, SVP, Tennis Channel International
• Jon Giegengack, Principal, Hub Entertainment Research (Moderator)
• Peter Scott, Chief Strategy Officer, Play Anywhere
• Sabine Bravo, VP of Business Development, Synamedia

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

• John Mergen, Chief Media Officer, The Shipyard
• Kathy Newberger, Contributor, MediaVillage (Moderator)
• Michele Fino, Head of Branded Entertainment, Crackle
• Rian Durham, Account Group Director, Situation Interactive
• Sarah Squiers, EVP of Client Partnerships, TelevisaUnivision

As traditional streaming platforms express increasing interest in Over-the-Air (OTA) broadcasting, this session seeks to uncover the reasons behind the surge in inquiries and the potential of broadcast IP channels. Why are established streamers turning to OTA, and how does NEXTGEN TV (ATSC 3.0) facilitate this shift? What can the new interactive environment facilitate? Speakers will share insights on integrating streaming content over the air, highlighting the symbiotic benefits for broadcasters and streamers alike. Panelists include:

• Nick Colsey, VP of Business Development, Sony
• Peter Scott, Chief Strategy Officer, Play Anywhere
• Michael Gregor, CEO, Velope.tv
• Rick Howe, The iTV Doctor, The Friday Fireside (Moderator)
• Rob Lewis, CEO, ROXi

This session will be an in-person extension of TVOT CONNECT, the twice-monthly webinar series/online networking and business-development community that TVOT/ITVT and analyst company, nScreenMedia, launched last year.

The session will discuss and debate the most significant industry developments of the past year, including developments that were highlighted in the nominations and voting for the Most Significant Impact Award of the Awards for Leadership in Interactive and Multiplatform Television (the winner of that award will have been announced the previous day), and developments that have figured large in the panel discussions at TVOT SF 2024 over the past two days.

The discussion will be led by a panel of experts with expertise in advanced advertising, streaming, content distribution, technological infrastructure, consumer behavior and other key areas. However, audience members will be strongly encouraged to take part in the conversation—so expect a lively, highly interactive session where controversial opinions will be welcomed. Chatham House rules—where participants and attendees are free to use information from the discussions, but not allowed to reveal who voiced any particular opinion—will apply. Panelists include:

• Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia (Moderator)
• Jon Giegengack, Principal, Hub Entertainment Research (Moderator)
• Sherry Brennan, Principal, S. Brennan Media
• Tracy Swedlow, Editor-in-Chief, ITVT
• Additional panelists TBA

This session will explore the evolving landscape of over-the-air (OTA) local measurement within the context of NEXTGEN TV’s advancements. As we stand on the brink of a significant shift in how broadcasters understand and leverage audience metrics, this panel will delve into the methodologies, benefits, and transformative impact of the Run3TV/Application initiative on immediate issue resolution and value addition. Join our speakers as they discuss the practicalities, challenges, and prospects of implementing advanced measurement techniques in the OTA broadcasting environment. Panelists include:

• David Algranati, Chief Innovation Officer, Comscore
• Jason Patton, SVP of Sales and Marketing, Verance
• Jonathan Steuer, CEO, Anonymous Media Research (Moderator)
• Monica Faz, VP of Product Management (Local), Advanced Advertising, TelevisaUnivision

When discussing measurement in our industry, practitioners tend to think in terms of one or the other of two approaches: output-based media measurement, which focuses on audience, in-target reach, frequency, viewability—often referred to as “currencies”; and outcome-based measurement, tied to business objectives such as sales, site visitation, viewership and other forms of conversion.

There are plenty of experts on both sides—and a whole lot more debates, with the participants’ views naturally influenced by the part of the business they represent. As a consequence, we seldom evaluate both sides of the measurement coin with a more unified view. Each side seems to operate without connecting to the other, harming brands’ ability to optimize. And when the two sides have to join together, the implementation is often forced and mismatched, and the result is confusion and inaction. It’s time to recalibrate our thinking and approach the two sides of the measurement coin together. Join a group of measurement experts for an open discussion. Panelists include:

• Helen Katz, EVP of Research, Publicis
• Leslie Wood, Chief Research Officer, iSpot.tv
• Sable Mi, VP of Analytics, Epsilon (Moderator)
• Saqib Mausoof, Chief Data Officer, Affinity Solutions
• Zainab Jamal, Director of Data Sciences and Digital Analytics, Hewlett Packard Enterprise

Our TVOT SF 2024 “Grand Finale” plenary session brings together representatives of agencies, community/advocacy organizations and providers of new technologies and services for political advertising, in order to explore not only how advanced-TV advertising is being used in this general election year, but also to debate what its potential could be for advocacy advertising after the election. Can advanced TV be a force for positive change? Panelists include:

• Chris Vail, VP of Political Ad Sales, Effectv
• Clayton Banks, CEO, Silicon Harlem (Moderator)
• Fred Godfrey, CEO, Origin
• James Lance Taylor, Professor, University of San Francisco
• Scott Stansfield, CEO, Centriply
• Shalonda Hunter-Harris, Senior Director of Digital, Social and Creative, The Leadership Conference

The US TV audience measurement industry has spent decades honing the ways it can best capture the viewing habits of actual people. The task grew monumentally harder as viewing fragmented across screens, devices and platforms. Now, with the rapid expansion of AI, the question to consider is whether or how we can incorporate AI into our audience measurement practices. This panel will delve into that, sharing what is being done with AI, what is planned, and what this all means for the buying and selling of TV audiences. Panelists include:

• Helen Katz, EVP of Research, Publicis Media (Moderator)
• Josh Chasin, Principal, KnotSimpler
• Michael Vinson, Chief Research Officer, Comscore
• Michelle Gelman, Global Head of N1 Content and Core Products, Nielsen
• Steven Millman, Chief Scientist, iSpot.tv
• Yan Liu, CEO, TVision

The growth of multicultural streaming services, particularly services targeting the Black and Hispanic communities, is arguably not surprising. While those communities are more likely to subscribe to and watch streaming TV than is the population at large (per Nielsen, Hispanics spend 27.3% more time with CTV than does the general population and, per Horowitz Research, 52% of Black viewers accessed a FAST service every month in 2023, compared to just 45% of viewers in general), they are also more likely to feel under-represented on the TV screen: according to data from Gracenote, Hispanics, for example, who make up nearly 20% of the US population, had only 8.5% of screen time on streaming services in 2023.

This session, featuring representatives of some of the services that have emerged to address such under-representation, will provide insights into the current state and future prospects of the multicultural streaming space. Panelists will examine such issues as how to carve out and maintain an audience in a sea of streaming competitors; emerging programming and monetization strategies; and the extent to which multicultural streaming services—many of which are upstarts in a media environment dominated by large conglomerates—may need to work together to attract viewers and advertisers. Panelists include:

• Clayton Banks, CEO, Silicon Harlem (Moderator)
• Dorina Amina Abubakar, Program Specialist, African Creative TV Initiative, USC School of Cinematic Arts
• Jennifer Turner, CEO, Mad Cool Media
• Micha Cooper-Edwards, CEO, Soleil Space
• Rashaun Hall, VP of Streaming and Partnerships, Fuse Media

This session takes a deep dive into the critical role quality plays across the entire advertising ecosystem—from data and metadata to brand safety, ad fraud, ad environments, creative, and content. We’ll explore how quality is currently measured, how it can be better defined, and what standards are emerging. Most importantly, we’ll address the fundamental questions: Does quality really matter—and why should it? This conversation will bring clarity and reveal how quality can impact effectiveness, trust, and outcomes across the media and marketing landscape. Panelists include:

• Ben Vandegrift, VP of Measurement Solutions and Innovations, VAB (Moderator)
• Joshua Lee, CTO, EDO
• Kate McGregor, VP of Revenue Enablement, FreeWheel
• Lindsey Woodland, SVP of Client Data Science, iSpot.tv

Social content creators have emerged as the new tastemakers, entertainers and culture setters for increasingly diverse audience types—well beyond Gen Z—while consumer viewing preferences continue to shift toward short-form snackable formats discovered across YouTube, TikTok and IG. With increasingly sophisticated production values and mastery of consumer programming preferences, social video creators represent a new opportunity for TV and streaming companies to keep pace and meet audiences where they are.

In this panel discussion, we’ll explore: How streaming platforms are evolving their content and services to accommodate new creator talent and content sources; what data reveals about viewing preferences for premium content, and differences between short-form video vs. traditional 30-min. and 60-min. TV programming; which types of social video creators are best positioned to make the leap to longer narrative formats on TV platforms; unexpected wins and growing pains as digital creators expand from producing for social platforms to other formats and channels like podcasts and TV; the important role of brands and marketers in the development of original episodic TV content for new audiences; how social influencer marketing is evolving and innovating for TV, and what’s next on the horizon as the worlds of TV and social media entertainment continue to be bridged. Panelists include:

• Andrew Tight, CEO, Katch
• Charlie Ibarra, Chief Creative Officer, Creator TV
• Kevin Kurtz, CEO, Bigger Bolder Baking
• Sarah Bolton, Principal, Sarah Bolton Media Consulting (Moderator)
• Tinashe Chaponda, CEO, Sosani Studios

In exploring the tough short-/long-term tradeoffs that marketers are faced with, a just-completed VAB study sheds new light on how an advertiser might “win at both simultaneously”—including a novel way of looking at category-specific and advertiser-specific traffic spikes that can come as an advertiser chooses brand-building in equal priority to filling their sales channels with productive leads. Presenter:

• Sean Cunningham, President and CEO of the VAB

Our panel of industry analysts will dig into the risks and opportunities in the Great Industry Consolidation of 2025; spanning the view from 35,000 feet to the most arcane of financial indicators. The information provided is for entertainment purposes only, and should not be considered—and cannot replace—investment advice. Panelists include:

• Brian Ring, Principal, Ring Digital
• Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia
• Matthew Keys, Publisher, TheDesk.net
• Rick Howe, The iTV Doctor (Moderator)
• Tim Hanlon, CEO, The Vertere Group

In conversation with Colin Dixon, Senior Analyst at nScreenMedia, Matt Durgin, VP of Content and Services at LG Electronics, will highlight how LG’s webOS CTV platform is supporting Super Bundles and other new models for growing audiences and reducing churn. Not only is the platform building audiences for TV programming by enabling such business models and providing enhanced personalization and discoverability features, it is also transforming those audiences into customers for a range of new services, including shopping, gaming, fitness and more. Hear how webOS is enabling CTV to become a monetization engine not just for television content but for multiple areas of our lives.

• Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia (Moderator)
• Matt Durgin, VP of Content and Services, LG Electronics

This session will explore how content is being packaged, presented, curated, marketed, distributed and viewed in the streaming-TV ecosystem, as well as the impact of all this on the kind of content that gets made. How fundamentally is streaming changing the television programming business? What new challenges and opportunities could emerge in the streaming-TV programming space in the coming months and years? And how should we expect the streaming content ecosystem to evolve going forward? Panelists include:

• Brendan Canning, Chief Commercial Officer, Triple B
• Daniel Schnider, Head of Business Development and Distribution Partnerships, Revry
• Dilip Bala, SVP/GM, US, Merzigo
• Evan Bregman, General Manager of Streaming and Direct-to-Consumer, Tastemade
• Jennifer Turner, CEO, Mad Cool Media
• Sherry Brennan, Consultant, S. Brennan Media (Moderator)

With all the advanced data and 1:1 targeting capabilities available in advanced TV today, why are so many agencies still defaulting to basic demos? This session takes a fresh look at what could drive audience decisions—is it outcomes like awareness or purchase, how we define personas, or just sticking with what’s familiar? Panelists include:

• Amanda Bates, VP of Client Growth, Epsilon
• Josh Chasin, Principal, KnotSimpler
• Kemal Bokhari, Head of Data, Measurement and Analytics, DISH Media
• Mari Tangredi, SVP of Global Business Development, Cadent
• Tom Morgan, CEO, CTV1 (Moderator)

In this, the first of two sessions presented by TVOT CONNECT—the online discussion, networking and business development community that TVOT launched last year in partnership with nScreenMedia—participants will be randomly matched with one another and with TVOT speakers for a series of 4-minute meetings. During these meetings, each executive pair will get to ask each other up to 3 questions from a pre-set list of questions that are designed to catalyze informative conversations about their respective roles in the industry, their latest projects, the opportunities and challenges they see emerging in their industry sectors, and more. This 1:1 Speed Meet session and the session the next day will be open to all attendees, regardless of whether they’re already CONNECT members. Session facilitators include:

• Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia
• Sable Mi, Chair of the Analytics Council, ARF
• Tracy Swedlow, Editor-in-Chief, ITVT

Local CTV advertising has been enjoying rapid growth recently due to a number of factors, including the decline of traditional pay TV, the increasing centrality of FAST and ad-supported subscription tiers to the streaming economy, and the ongoing migration of sports programming to streaming platforms. Significantly, it offers small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) the opportunity to take advantage of new technologies and methodologies—such as interactivity, personalization, targeting, contextuality, AI, programmatic buying, granular measurability and more—that have the potential to make their advertising more engaging, cost-effective and accountable. This session will explore how well businesses are taking advantage of the capabilities of local CTV advertising, how broadcasters and other players can build awareness of those capabilities in the business communities they serve, how new technologies could further enhance local CTV advertising, and how we should expect this emerging space to evolve in the coming months and years. Panelists include:

• Aria Began, VP of Enterprise Success, Madhive
• Brian Hunt, Head of National Digital and CTV/OTT Advertising Sales, Sinclair
• Peter Jones, VP of Revenue, Premion
• Tim Hanlon, CEO, The Vertere Group (Moderator)
• Tom Sly, Managing Partner, Media Inno, LLC

This session will present key findings from Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) research, offering valuable insights into the viewing habits and preferences of Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z, and Gen Alpha. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of how each generation engages with longform content in a media environment dominated by shortform video—can they co-exist (friends), do they cannibalize each other (foe) or can they work together for mutually beneficial outcomes (frenemy)? The discussion will shed light on where longform content fits into the evolving media landscape and how it continues to drive engagement across generations. Key takeaways will help inform content and marketing strategies, equipping attendees with actionable insights to maximize engagement and future-proof their approaches in an ever-evolving media landscape. Panelists include:

• Christina Parish, EVP, TV and CPG Group, Screen Engine/ASI
• Holly Leff-Pressman, Chief Client Engagement Officer, Screen Engine/ASI (Moderator)
• Vera Chien, Executive Director of Global Corporate Strategy and Insights, Warner Bros Discovery

From its founding 11 years ago to becoming the operating system of over 250 million devices worldwide, webOS, which exemplifies LG Electronics’ commitment to monetization growth through transparency and targeting, has been driving value and building audiences for its partners across the industry—in no small part via its expansion into new verticals and business models. This session will feature webOS partners drawn from multiple areas explaining how they are taking advantage of the operating system and its rich and evolving feature set to grow their businesses and significantly expand their audience and customer bases. Panelists include:

• Ish Harshawat, Co-Founder and President, Haystack News
• Jesse Fargo, VP of Global Sales and Business Development, Frequency
• Matt Durgin, VP of Content and Services, LG Electronics (Moderator)
• Mark Lee, Sr. Director, Head of NA Content Business Development, LG Electronics (Presenter)
• Rick Bergan, Head of US Content Distribution, Stingray

As media companies look to modernize their sales models, audience trading provides the opportunity to change how inventory is valued, sold, and scaled across linear and digital platforms. Panelists include:

• Ben Vandegrift, VP of Measurement Solutions and Innovations, VAB
• Howard Shimmel, Founder, datafuelX
• Inderpreet Sandhu, Global Head of CTV Partner Development and Growth, Google
• Robert Farazin, CEO, tvbeat
• Steve Reynolds, CEO, Imagine Communications (Moderator)

The CTV ecosystem is rapidly maturing, presenting both unprecedented opportunities and complex challenges for advertisers and publishers alike. This session will delve into the forefront of CTV innovation, drawing on real-world experiences and actionable insights from the Google Ad Manager team and their extensive work in the space. We will unpack the dynamic world of live ad insertion (LAI), sharing a candid look at the wins and crucial learnings gleaned from LAI implementation. Attendees will gain a deeper understanding of the technical and strategic nuances involved in delivering seamless, impactful live advertising experiences within CTV environments. Participants include:

• Inderpreet Sandhu, Global Head of CTV Partner Development and Growth, Google
• Kevin Connelly, Senior Director of Programmatic Sales and Business Development, FanDuel Sports Network

Whether it’s generating content, enhancing the viewer experience, or improving discovery, the capabilities of AI are advancing faster than many expected. But is there a price to pay for the benefits AI could deliver? In this session, Hub Entertainment Research Founder and Principal, Jon Giegengack, will present the latest research on which AI applications consumers are excited about, which they’ll tolerate, and areas they’re uncomfortable with AI being used. Then we’ll discuss the report’s findings with a panel of experts to learn more about where AI can have the biggest and most positive impact in today’s TV ecosystem. Panelists include:

• Andre Antonelli, CEO, Machina Sports
• Andreas Hofmann, Senior Director of webOS Product Management, North America, LG Electronics
• Carlos Sanchez, Head of Global Business Development, Media, Protege
• Colin Petrie-Norris, CEO, Fairground Entertainment
• Jon Giegengack, Principal, Hub Entertainment Research (Moderator)

This conversation will focus on challenging the traditional approaches to media buying and selling. As we look ahead to H2 and beyond, the imperative for deeper, more effective buy-sell collaboration has never been clearer. This panel will provide a candid retrospective on the past year, identifying key challenges and successes, and charting a roadmap for necessary adjustments to unlock the full potential of CTV advertising. Panelists include:

• Evan Bregman, General Manager of Streaming and Direct-to-Consumer, Tastemade
• Inderpreet Sandhu, Global Head of CTV Partner Development and Growth, Google (Moderator)
• Jon Levinson, Senior Director of Product, Ad Experiences and Monetization, Samsung Ads
• Mari Tangredi, SVP of Global Business Development, Cadent

Advancements in streaming TV allow media buyers to reach audiences with more precision than they ever have before in this now mainstream advertising channel. Data partnerships, clean rooms and programmatic technology enable advertisers to marry rich data sets with their CTV ads and more accurately measure the impact of those exposures. Whether advertisers are looking to audience-based buys to target one-to-one or broaden their audience reach, this technology is changing the way that streaming TV ads are bought and utilized. In this session, we'll explore how audience-based buying is evolving and shed light on the ways that advertisers are evolving their streaming TV ad campaigns with its use.

Key topics we'll cover include: New advancements in audience-based buying and measurement capabilities; how audience-based buys can enable CTV to be a full-funnel advertising play; how to balance precise targeting with audience scale; and how advertisers are combining CTV with other channels via the use of audience-based insights. Panelists include:

• Howard Shimmel, Founder, datafuelX
• Lauren Fisher, GM of Business Intelligence, Advertiser Perceptions (Moderator)
• Mari Tangredi, SVP of Global Business Development, Cadent
• Nicole Scaglione, Global VP of CTV/OTT and Online Video, Pubmatic
• Patrick Gacoscos, Director of Advanced-TV Sales, Vevo

How is AI impacting advertising? It’s hard to stay up to date on all the innovations in AI. This panel looks at the most immediate changes AI will bring to advertising. We’ll discuss how agencies are using it to build campaigns, the best things brands can provide as training data, whether creating media plans and building realistic cohorts is safe, and whether we really expect personalized advertising generated by AI to be a thing. Panelists include:

• Ashish Baldua, Co-Founder, Anoki
• Chris Hock, Global Head of Monetization, Whale TV
• Dan Kelly, VP of National Sales, BrightLine
• Filiz Bahmanpour, Head of Media and Entertainment, Tavant
• Kevin Hague, SVP of Emerging Technologies, The Coca-Cola Company
• Nadine Krefetz, Principal, Reality Software (Moderator)
• Will Trowbridge, CEO, Saylor

With an emphasis on practical wisdom and lessons from the field, this session will address such questions as: How do targets typically originate—sell-side or buy-side? On the buy-side, what is the typical agency/brand interaction? What are the challenges—in such areas as target propagation and sell-side pricing—entailed by scaling targeted advertising? What proportion of transactions will be audience-target based at equilibrium? And more. Panelists include:

• Chris LoRusso, Chief Business Officer, OpenAP
• David Algranati, Former Chief Innovation Officer, Comscore (Moderator)
• Danielle Zazula, VP of Sell-Side Revenue (Digital Platforms), VideoAmp
• Joe Ruthruff, SVP of Linear Television Product Management, Comscore
• Matt Weinman, VP of Product Management, Advanced Advertising, TelevisaUnivision

After being away from the television business for nearly 10 years, Kym Frank joined Fox back in October. Come hear her fresh perspective on the TV business now, especially focused on where measurement is and where it needs to go, as well as major initiatives at Fox, including their recent announcement of OneFox, an AI-Driven converged media platform. Participants include:

• Howard Shimmel, Founder, datafuelX (Moderator)
• Kym Frank, SVP of Ad Sales Research, Fox

The Awards recognize individual and corporate achievement in the following categories, each of which is judged by a who’s who of advanced-TV industry leaders:

Individual Leadership: An individual who has demonstrated notable leadership in the interactive/multiplatform TV industry over the past year, and whose efforts helped move that industry forward.

All-Star: An individual who has a long-term track record of leadership in the interactive multiplatform television industry, and who is an appropriate candidate for membership in an Interactive/Multiplatform TV Hall of Fame.

Most Significant Impact: The company or organization that has had the most significant impact on the interactive and multiplatform TV industry as a whole over the past year (i.e. February 16th, 2024 through May 1st, 2025).

Most Significant Newcomer: The company or organization that was the most significant newcomer/breakthrough player of the past year.

Most Significant Technology—Infrastructure: The company or organization that launched the most innovative and disruptive television/video-infrastructure technology of the past year. This would include, for example, technologies for enabling and enhancing broadcast/OTA, streaming or mobile TV.

Most Significant Technology—Content: The company or organization that launched the most innovative and disruptive content-related technology of the past year. This would include, for example, technologies for programming production, enhancement, presentation or discovery.

Most Significant User Interface or User Experience: The company or organization that created the most innovative UI/UX of the past year.

Programming Innovation: The company or organization that created the most innovative and disruptive programming/content offering of the past year, including new formats, new types of interactivity, content for new platforms, and more.

Achievement in Measurement and Data: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in measurement/attribution or data collaboration this past year. The achievement can be, for example, in the form of a new technology, a new initiative, a new industry collaboration or some other significant development in the space

Achievement in Advanced Advertising: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in advanced advertising this past year. The achievement can be, for example, in the form of a new technology, a new campaign, a new industry collaboration or some other significant development in the space

Achievement in Shoppable TV: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in shoppable TV/tcommerce this past year. The achievement can be, for example, in the form of a new technology, a new campaign, a new industry collaboration or some other significant development in the space

Achievement in Local Broadcasting: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in local broadcasting this past year.

Achievement in Streaming: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in streaming, this past year.

Achievement in CTV: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in Connected TV this past year.

Achievement in Furthering the Social Good: The company or organization that demonstrated the greatest achievement in furthering the social good (including aocial mobility, diversity, education, and the improvement of people’s lives in general) through advanced-TV technologies and initiatives this past year.

In an era defined by unprecedented choice and shifting viewer habits, the original purveyor of television is not just surviving; it’s evolving. On this panel, we will bring together key content distributors, innovative technology companies, and insightful content owners to explore how free over-the-air television, supercharged by advancements like NEXTGEN TV (ATSC 3.0) and the strategic use of multicasting, is staking its claim against traditional cable, the rapidly expanding universe of Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV (FAST), and the premium content kingdoms of Subscription Video on Demand (SVOD).

For decades, broadcast television was the undisputed king of home entertainment. The rise of cable brought channel proliferation, followed by the on-demand revolution ushered in by SVOD giants. More recently, FAST channels have emerged as a significant force, offering a lean-back, linear experience with no subscription cost, often fueled by library content. This session will delve into how digital broadcast television is navigating this complex and competitive arena. Discussion topics will include:

The NextGen TV Advantage: We’ll explore how the rollout of ATSC 3.0 is a game-changer for broadcasters. With capabilities like 4K Ultra HD picture quality, immersive Dolby Atmos sound, enhanced localism through targeted advertising and content, interactive features, and robust emergency alerting, how are these technological advancements being leveraged to offer a compelling alternative to other platforms?

Multicasting as a Competitive Tool: Digital television’s ability to offer multiple channels (multicasting or “diginets”) from a single broadcast frequency has unlocked new revenue streams and content diversification. How are broadcasters utilizing multicasting to serve niche audiences, expand their reach, and offer a breadth of free content that rivals the curated channels of cable and FAST services?

The Value Proposition in a Subscription-Fatigued World: As consumers navigate multiple streaming subscriptions, “subscription fatigue” is a growing reality. How does the free, high-quality, and increasingly sophisticated offering of digital broadcast television present a compelling value proposition? How can broadcasters effectively market this advantage?

For Content Owners: What are the evolving strategies for creating and licensing content in a landscape where broadcast, FAST, and SVOD all represent viable distribution paths? How does the reach and local connection of broadcast factor into these decisions?

For Content Distributors (Broadcasters): How are you curating a mix of network programming, syndicated content, local news, and multicast channel offerings to compete for viewer attention minute-by-minute? How are data and analytics from NEXTGEN TV informing these content strategies?

The Technology-Driven Future: Beyond NEXTGEN TV, what other technological innovations are critical for digital broadcast to maintain and grow its competitiveness? How are technology companies empowering broadcasters in this evolution?
Navigating the Ad Sales Battlefield: With FAST services rapidly capturing ad dollars and SVOD platforms introducing ad-supported tiers, how can digital broadcast leverage its unique strengths—including local reach and emerging NEXTGEN TV capabilities like targeted advertising—to compete effectively for advertising revenue?

Defining Localism in the Digital Age: Local news and community programming have long been cornerstones of broadcast television. In an increasingly globalized media environment, how is digital broadcast reinforcing its commitment to localism, and how does this differentiate it from national or international streaming services?

The panel will offer unique perspectives on these critical questions, shedding light on the challenges and, more importantly, the significant opportunities that lie ahead for digital broadcast television. Join us as we explore the strategies, technologies, and content innovations that are ensuring over-the-air television remains a vibrant and essential part of the media ecosystem for years to come. Panelists include:

• Anne Schelle, Managing Director, Pearl TV
• Bill Hague, EVP, Magid (Moderator)
• Ravi Kapur, CEO, Major Market Broadcasting
• Rob Folliard, SVP Government Relations and Distribution, Gray Television
• Scott Warren, President and General Manager, KPIX/CBS San Francisco

Back when TV was broadcast, you had no idea who was watching what without a sample (diaries, meter, panel, etc.) Without the Nielsen ratings, video consumption was a total unknown. Ratings made the unknown known. Hence their value.

But Amazon and Hulu and Disney+ and Peacock all know exactly how many streams they sent, to which devices, and for how long, In this context, a Nielsen isn’t making the unknown known. Consumption (at least for stuff distributed digitally) is inherently known. So what are the implications of this for the currency measurement space? Panelists include:

• Alyson Sprague Shields, VP of Measurement Science, Samba TV
• Josh Chasin, Principal, KnotSimpler (Moderator)
• Kym Frank, SVP of Ad Sales Research, Fox
• Lindsey Woodland, SVP of Client Data Science, iSpot.tv
• Noelle Huynh, SVP of Measurement and Research, Warner Bros. Discovery

Monetization in the world of video content has changed. What was formerly defined as “Pay TV” continues to erode as streaming platforms become a daily part of in-home entertainment. The “Streaming Revolution” was bolstered during the COVID pandemic. It changed how audiences consume content along with the sources providing that content. The video marketplace hasn’t been the same since. A common thread in all conversations is monetization and how producers, networks and platforms can properly establish an ROI while delivering premium quality content. This presents a dilemma for all parties seated at the table—producers, licensors and distributors. That uncertainty creates hesitation in the advertising pipeline which has dragged down CPMs industry-wide. This panel seeks to address how producers can evolve their content-creation process and how those licensing and distributing that content can further entice advertisers and subscribers to come to the table as the audience for streaming continues to overtake cable, satellite and also broadcast sources. Panelists include:

• Alexis Gai, CRO, Cleeng
• Eric Mittleman, Executive Producer, Fluffy White Dog Media
• Mike Nagle, CEO, Ashling Digital (Moderator)
• Rick Bergan, Head of US Content Distribution, Stingray
• Sherry Brennan, Consultant, S Brenan Media
• Tom Ashley, CEO, Invincible Entertainment

It’s time to end the linear vs. digital debate and embrace a unified future. As viewer habits evolve rapidly, how has linear television adapted to the surge of digital and streaming platforms? With major live sports migrating from traditional broadcast to digital streams, what shifts are reshaping the advertising landscape?

This dynamic panel brings together executives from broadcast, streaming, AdTech and leading media buying agencies to explore: How linear and digital TV advertising strategies can seamlessly integrate; practical approaches to unify ad buying and scheduling across linear TV and connected TV; the transformative impact of live sports moving to streaming platforms; and what this means for the broader media ecosystem. Panelists will share their firsthand insights and discuss actionable steps to navigate and leverage the convergence of linear and digital TV. Get ready to engage, challenge assumptions, and gain clarity on the future of television advertising. Panelists include:

• Bob Gold, CEO, Bob Gold & Associates (Moderator)
• Daniel Spinosa, President, Premion
• Drew Kane, Chief Transformation Officer, Mediaocean
• Jeff Blaszak, SVP of Business Operations and Strategy, ShowSeeker
• Kate Scott-Dawkins, Global President of Business Intelligence, GroupM
• Steve Reynolds, CEO, Imagine Communications
• Vibhor Kapoor, Chief Business Officer, AdRoll

As CTV becomes increasingly central to the business and viewer experience of television, this session will examine the role the TV OS will play in the future of television. Issues to be discussed include: the home screen as the nexus of the viewer’s entertainment world; balancing the needs of advertisers, service providers, TV manufacturers, and viewers; the close relationship between the TV OS and the integrated FAST; the role of the TV OS in ad innovation; and the growing importance of universal search in programming discovery. Panelists include:

• Briana Larsen, VP of Content Partnerships and Business Development, Xperi
• Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia (Moderator)
• Jim Turner, VP of Product Management, Streaming Platforms, Synamedia
• Matt Durgin, VP of Content and Services, LG Electronics
• Rashaun Hall, VP of Streaming and Partnerships, Fuse Media

In this fireside chat, leaders from the branded-entertainment industry will share their successful—and not-so-successful—experiences of blending a brand’s story into an entertaining storyline; discuss how brands are taking their branded content from social media to TV and vice versa; reveal how projects get funded and greenlit; share their success criteria for branded-entertainment campaigns; and more. Participants include:

• Chris Pizzurro, Principal, Leap Media Group
• Kevin Kurtz, CEO, Bigger Bolder Baking
• Michael Dutcher, CEO, bspoketv
• Zach Blume, Co-founder and President, Portal A

The streaming industry is at a breaking point. Interfaces are indistinguishable, personalization is shallow and outdated, and discovery has become a frustrating game of search, scroll, and settle. While legacy platforms obsess over CPMs and FAST expansion, the next generation of viewers is already gone—deep in ecosystems like YouTube, TikTok, Discord, Spotify, and Instagram, where content is context-aware, algorithmically agile, and socially integrated.

This panel brings together leaders across product, UX, creative tech, content, marketing, and operations to ask the hard questions: What happened to the promise of streaming? And what does it take to rebuild it for the audiences of tomorrow?

Together, we’ll explore how AI can reshape content experiences, enabling smarter discovery, adaptive UI/UX and interfaces that evolve with audiences—not against them. From immersive fan engagement and social-native integration to real-time personalization and design systems powered by generative and agentic AI, we’ll look at how to leap ahead instead of patching what’s already outdated.

The future of streaming isn’t just about what you serve—it’s how, when, and why you serve it. If platforms want to matter to the next wave of viewers, they’ll need to think less like networks and more like ecosystems. Panelists include:

• David Baron, COO, Mindshow
• Jenny Stiven, Director of Business Development and Marketing, Lilac Grove Entertainment
• Liz Huszarik, Managing Partner, Maverix Insights
• Shawn Johnson, Founder and President, SocioPunk and Seicho Syndicate (Moderator)
• Taniesah Evans, CEO, Lake Park Girl Productions
• Tomasz Opasinski, Creative Technologist, Machine Intelligence and New Technologies, Adobe

While advertisers have always recognized the value of television for their brands (sight, sound and motion; broad reach, etc.), the desire to prove its (immediate and longer term) value has grown exponentially stronger over time. This panel will look at a few of the newest ways to show the power and value of TV and consider where the gaps and challenges remain. Panelists include:

• Kym Frank, SVP of Ad Sales Research, Fox
• Lara Stone, VP of PMX Lift Measurement, Publicis
• Maggie Zhang, Head of Global Video Measurement, Amazon
• Rob Jayson, EVP of Insights and Analytics, USIM (Moderator)

Contextual advertising, which presents CTV viewers with ads that are tailored to the programming they are currently watching, is intended to provide an efficient and effective way to reach a targeted audience, while avoiding the privacy and brand-safety concerns that can be associated with other forms of data-driven targeted advertising. A major factor in its recent growth has been AI, which enables increasingly granular and sophisticated analysis of programming content, metadata and viewer behavior, and thus allows advertisers who employ contextual campaigns to target increasingly nuanced audiences.

This session will bring together representatives of companies that have been at the forefront of contextual’s rapid growth, in order to share best practices and lessons from the field; identify any emerging challenges that could impact the medium in the coming months and years; and provide insight into how contextual might evolve going forward, as well as into how its evolution could impact media-buying, creative and other elements of the advertising ecosystem at large. Panelists include:

• Ashwin Navin, CEO, Samba TV
• Daniel Church, Head of CTV, Seedtag
• Gary Mittman, CEO, KERV
• Matt Weinman, VP of Product Management, Advanced Advertising, TelevisaUnivision
• Rohan Ramesh, VP of Data Science, Vevo
• Sarah Bolton, Principal, Sarah Bolton Media Consulting (Moderator)

This session will showcase the innovative products, technologies and methodologies of five emerging companies in the research and measurement space. Panelists include:

• Anjali Midha, CEO, Diesel Labs
• Beatriz Ribeiro, SVP of Client Success, Mediaprobe
• Christina Parish, EVP, TV & Digital Entertainment Group, Screen Engine/ASI
• Howard Shimmel, Founder, datafuelX (Moderator)
• Ian Baer, CEO, Sooth
• Joanna Drews, CEO, HyphaMetrics

Shoppable TV has been having a moment recently, with high-profile product roll-outs, deployments and campaigns by a range of networks, streamers, platforms and brands, including Warner Bros. Discovery, Disney, The CW, Hulu, Amazon, LG, Samsung, Walmart and Kroger, to name but a few. At the same time, there appears to be considerable interest in shoppable TV on the part of consumers, with a recent report from LG Ad Solutions finding that 60% of CTV viewers would like to be able to complete purchases directly through their TV sets; and with recent research from Emarketer finding that 63% of consumers discover new brands and products through the TV and that over 40% plan to increase their TV-inspired spending over the coming year.

This session will bring together representatives of companies that are playing a key role in the ongoing explosion of interest in shoppable TV to address such questions as: What impact are AI and other emerging technologies having on the shoppable-TV space? What role will single- and two-screen approaches respectively play in the space going forward? What considerations should guide the user experience and user interface of shoppable-TV applications? What kinds of advertising and programming content are most effective for shoppable TV? And to what extent do advertising formats—and even programming content—need to be rethought in order to take full advantage of the emerging medium? Panelists include:

• Chloe Morawski, Head of Agency and Brand Partnerships, Origin
• Dan Kelly, VP of National Sales, BrightLine
• Gary Mittman, CEO, KERV
• Laura Frankel, Director of Streaming Platform Experience, QVC/HSN
• Mark Lee, Senior Director of North American Content Business Development, LG Electronics
• Matthew Keys, Publisher, TheDesk.net (Moderator)

The FAST (Free Ad-Supported TV) ecosystem is evolving fast—but where is it going next? In this forward-looking panel, we’ll examine several breakthrough innovations shaping the next generation of streaming experiences: GameLoop brings a new kind of interactive CTV experience to FAST; Future Today shares how dynamic ad formats and interactive advertising are redefining viewer engagement; and Blue Ant Media showcases its global approach to FAST distribution and niche audience strategy. Discover how these trailblazers are reinventing how content is distributed, monetized, and experienced in the FAST future. Panelists include:

• Julio Sobral, SVP of Channel Distribution, Blue Ant Media
• Vikrant Mathur, Co-Founder, Future Today
• Zane Vella, Chairman, GameLoop

This session will outline the challenges and opportunities presented to the addressable-advertising ecosystem by television’s transition to a primarily streaming medium. Questions to be addressed include: How to ensure interoperability of ad servers and creative versioning in the transition from linear to streaming? What new benefits does streaming-first addressability provide (e.g. improved targeting and measurement), and what new problems does it create (e.g. a proliferation of walled gardens that force advertisers into siloed buys)? How effective are the solutions that have been put forward to these problems, such as programmatic pipes, unified ID and consortia such as OpenAP? What tensions are emerging between publishers and buyers, as the former seek control and the latter seek simplicity and scale? And how will new developments—including household graph-based addressable targeting, shoppable TV, AI-enhanced predictive targeting, and early experiments with “addressable live sports” and real-time dynamic creative—impact the evolution of streaming-first addressable advertising? Panelists include:

• Buck Cram, Director of National Political Ad Sales, Comcast Advertising
• Chris LoRusso, Chief Business Officer, OpenAP
• Greg Pomaro, EVP of Media, Mediasmith
• Guy Southam, Senior Director of Product Management, Synamedia
• Rob Jayson, EVP of Insights and Analytics, USIM (Moderator)

In this, the second of two sessions presented by TVOT CONNECT—the online discussion, networking and business development community that TVOT launched last year in partnership with nScreenMedia—TVOT attendees and speakers will have an opportunity to discuss key takeaways from the show, identify important themes that have emerged in the course of the last two days, offer new insights that the show’s debates and discussions have inspired, and share their thoughts on topics they would like to see explored at future TVOT shows and TVOT CONNECT sessions. Chatham House rules will apply. This session and the 1:1 Speed Meet session the previous day will be open to all attendees, regardless of whether they’re already CONNECT members. Discussion leaders include:

• Colin Dixon, Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia
• Sable Mi, Chair of the Analytics Council, ARF
• Tracy Swedlow, Editor-in-Chief, ITVT
• TVOT CONNECT Members
• Other Invited Speakers (TBA)

Earlier this year, the NAB filed a petition with the FCC, urging the agency to establish a clear, industry-wide transition plan for the full deployment of ATSC 3.0, the new broadcast standard—also known by the consumer-facing brand, NEXTGEN TV—that is designed to bring interactivity and significantly improved picture and sound quality to over-the-air TV. In this opening presentation, Anne Schelle, Managing Director of Pearl TV, a broadcast-industry organization that has been at the forefront of the push to implement NEXTGEN TV in the US, will update attendees on the state of the ongoing NEXTGEN TV rollout, explain the significance of the NAB petition, and outline the opportunities the new standard is opening up for broadcasters, content providers and device manufacturers.

This session will explore how NEXTGEN TV is already being used by broadcasters to enhance local sports coverage and increase viewer engagement, and how this in turn is driving viewership growth and market penetration for the new standard. Panelists include:

• Anne Schelle, Managing Director, Pearl TV (Moderator)
• Peter Scott, Chief Strategy Officer, Play Anywhere
• Rob Folliard, SVP of Government Relations and Distribution, Gray Television
• Tim Carroll, Senior Director, AV Ecosystem, Americas, Dolby Laboratories

This session will explore how NEXTGEN TV is already transforming the broadcast landscape by enabling interactive viewer experiences, data-enhanced advertising, and advanced watermarking capabilities that support measurement and digital advertising models for OTA viewing. Panelists will discuss how audiences are engaging with these emerging features and services, and how broadcasters are leveraging the platform to unlock new content formats and monetization opportunities. Looking ahead, the panel will offer insights into how these innovations are expected to shape the evolution of NEXTGEN TV over the coming months and years. Panelists include:

• Anne Schelle, Managing Director, Pearl TV
• Bill Hague, EVP, Magid (Moderator)
• Nick Colsey, VP of Business Development, Sony Electronics
• Tom Morgan, CEO, CTV1.tv
• Zane Vella, Chairman, Game Loop TV

As NEXTGEN TV rolls out across the country, a new frontier is emerging—not just for broadcasting, but for interactive user experiences that blur the line between watching and participating. This panel explores cutting-edge case studies redefining the viewer experience: GameLoop TV has launched a “watch and play” game discovery channel; Aquimo has launched real-time, motion-controlled “tilt games” for CTV; and public television leaders are embracing interactivity to better serve their audiences. Together, these innovators will unpack how NEXTGEN TV can transform passive viewing into active engagement. Panelists include:

• Mark Jeffery, CEO, Aquimo
• Michael Gregor, Founder, Velope
• Sherry Brennan, Consultant, S. Brennan Media
• Zane Vella, Chairman, Game Loop