2018 Agenda

Trends to Watch in Television and Video
In our opening session, NYME Chair Ned Sherman will highlight several key trends to watch in television and video.

PRESENTER:
Ned Sherman, Counsel & Director, Manatt Digital / Founder, Digital Media Wire

Visionary presenters give their perspectives on the future of television followed by Q/A.

PRESENTERS:
Kirstine Stewart, President and CRO, TribalScale
Seth Geiger, President, SmithGeiger LLC

This panel of industry leaders will discuss how video content will be made, distributed, marketed, consumed and monetized in the future. What are the key factors contributing to the continued growth of revenue? What developments are expected in the value-chain for content monetization? What areas are poised for the greatest growth? What innovations and business models will fuel growth in the marketplace?

PANELISTS:
David Beck, EVP, Corporate Strategy & Operations, Turner
Dwayne Benefield, Vice President, Head of Playstation Vue, Sony Interactive Entertainment
Jonathan Barzilay, Chief Operating Officer, PBS
Kristen Finney, EVP, EMEA, 20th Century Fox Television Distribution
Moderator: Todd Spangler, New York Digital Editor, Variety

The lines between linear television and OTT services are blurred more than ever with digital services offering network/cable streams with DVR capabilities. Alternately, traditional linear services have their own apps and are buying into OTT services and content. What does this say about the viewing habits of today’s consumers? Are broadcasters and distribution companies responding effectively? Where do advertisers fit in?

PANELISTS:
Jonathan Skogmo, Founder & CEO, Jukin Media
Bart Spriester, VP & General Manager, Video Platform, Comcast Technology Solutions
Bernarda Duarte, Director, Content Acquistion, Roku
Domenic DiMeglio, SVP of Distribution and Operations, CBS Digital Media, CBS Interactive
Moderator: Colin Dixon, Founder and Chief Analyst, nScreenMedia

This panel of leaders will discuss the hardware and software, including sensory interfaces, applications, and infrastructures, that are enabling immersive content creation for virtual reality (VR), mixed reality (MR), augmented reality (AR), and cinematic reality (CR). How are these tools being used to generate new forms of reality by bringing digital objects into the physical world and bringing physical world objects into the digital world? The panel will focus on what is available in the market today. What are the available apps, content, devices, and headsets?  What is the current state of consumer adoption?

PANELISTS:
Russ Schafer, SVP & General Manager, Technology, THX
Alexander Rea, Creative Technology Officer, DDB
Moderator: Mike Gold, CEO & Co-Founder, Holojam

The mobile video market continues to grow at a record-breaking pace. This panel will discuss what is required today to make and distribute successful video content for IOS, android, and emerging mobile platforms. How important are storytelling, creativity, and innovation? What developments are expected to fuel future growth in the market?

PANELISTS:
Benoit Vatere, CEO & Co-Founder, Mammoth Media
Preeya Vyas, Managing Partner, Digital, Saatchi & Saatchi New
Pete Soldinger, Senior Director of Creative Strategy, Fullscreen

This panel of investors, who are actively investing in digital media companies, discusses the latest investment trends, valuations and recent deal flow with a focus on video innovation and technologies.

PANELISTS:
Todd Klein, Partner, Revolution
Rick Heitzmann, Founder & Managing Director, FirstMark Capital
Moderator: Mike Vorhaus, President, Magid Advisors

This panel of leading television and entertainment executives will discuss the future of the video business as it continues to grow and reach new heights. What kind of deals are being done today? How is the business evolving as digital services take a bigger piece of the original content pie and broadcasters and studios go direct to consumer with their own services? What does media consolidation mean for the business? What does the future hold?

PANELISTS:
Marty Moe, President, Vox Media
Tom Christie, Chief Operating Officer, Showtime Networks
Christy Tanner, Executive Vice President & General Manager, CBS News Digital
Moderator: Ned Sherman, Counsel & Director, Manatt Digital / Founder, Digital Media Wire

David Gandler, Co-Founder & CEO, fuboTV

Competitive gaming tournaments have been packing stadiums and drawing record viewers online for some time, and are increasingly becoming part of the network and cable television mix. What do the next few years look like for the growth of Esports programming in television broadcast? How are esports rights deals likely to evolve after the restructuring of the Riot deal with Disney/ESPN+ and the announcement of Overwatch-Twitch deal? What is the opportunity for shoulder and behind the scenes content? When will we see the first mainstream cross-over talent? What is the expected esports monetization mix in the years to come?

PANELISTS:
John Lasker, Vice President, Digital Media Programming, ESPN

Content marketing is essential to building and maintaining a loyal consumer base. Today more than ever, brands need to produce engaging, shareable content to connect with consumers. This panel will provide examples of how brands are creating engaging content and building social community and the impact it has on customer relationships and brand loyalty. 

PANELISTS:
Brad Spychalski, Creative Strategy Lead, Pinterest
Soniya Monga, Global Agency Partnerships, Snap
Jennifer Prenner, Global Head of Marketing, Growth & Engagement, Amazon Fire TV
Sarah Stringer, SVP, Head of Innovation, Carat US
Zihla Salinas, CEO, Trailer Park
Moderator: Paul Kontonis, Chief Marketing Officer, WHOSAY

While Netflix continues grow its market share, there are a growing number of video services with programming and business models designed for targeted audiences that are gaining traction. This panel of experts in Over-the-Top (OTT) monetization will discuss monetization strategies being used by successful services today, both subscription based and advertiser supported. What’s working and what’s not? How is programming being designed and rolled out to attract and retain new audiences? What are some of the best strategies for monetizing video content in the OTT ecosystem?

PANELISTS:
Jeff Shultz, Chief Business Officer, Pluto TV
Enrique Olives, Global Business Development Head & Business Unit Head – TFC Online, ABS-CBN International
Erick Opeka, Executive Vice President, Digital Networks, Cinedigm
Mark Jocson, SVP, Strategic Initiatives and Business Development, Rakuten Viki
Moderator: Rick Howe, The iTV Doctor, Interactive TV Today

Voice-activated artificial intelligence (AI) is going beyond telling you the weather and turning on your lights – it’s now helping you navigate media and entertainment experiences. What is possible when media and entertainment companies begin to tap the power of voice-activated devices? How are consumers reacting to the new technologies, including Amazon Echo, Google Home and voice-based set-top boxes, consoles and smartphones? What does the future hold for this exciting area of innovation?

PANELISTS:
Chuck Fletcher, Chief Technology Officer, Barbarian
Moderator: David Berkowitz, Head of Marketing, Storyhunter

Quality video content is in demand with digital, television and cable networks competing to capture and retain viewers. This panel of industry experts will discuss the formats, genres and storytelling techniques that are in most demand, how competition is driving innovation and creativity and the winning formulas for success.

PANELISTS:
Evan Shapiro, Founder, eshapTV
Emma Cooper, Global President, Non-Fiction, Pulse Films
Rafi Fine, President and Co-Founder, FBE
Daniel Tibbets, President & General Manager, El Rey Network
Marissa Ronca, EVP & Head of Programming, trutv
Moderator: Sahil Patel, Senior Reporter, Digiday

Trends to Watch in Games and Entertainment
In our opening session, NY Games’ Chair Ned Sherman will highlight several key trends to watch in games and entertainment.

SPEAKERS:
Ned Sherman, Counsel/Director, Manatt Digital; Founder, Digital Media Wire

Visionary presenters give their perspectives on the future of the games business followed by Q/A.

The Future of Gaming and Robotics
Presenter: Nader Hamda, CEO, Ozobot 

The Future of the Games Business
Presenter: Joost van Dreunen, CEO & Co-Founder, SuperData Research

The Satoshi Future: The Case for Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Investing and Its Impact on Entertainment
Presenter: William Quigley, CEO, Clearstone Ventures, OPSkins, and WAX

Industry leaders discuss the future of the games industry as the business continues its transition towards a multi-platform future. What does it take to make a successful game these days across platforms? What emerging platforms will be the most important in the years to come? How do you acquire and retain users and make money in this increasingly complicated gaming universe?

PANELISTS:
Tim Fields, CEO, Kabam
Craig Donato, Chief Business Officer, Roblox
Jon Radoff, CEO & Founder, Disruptor Beam
Moderator: Eric Goldberg, Managing Director, Crossover Technologies

SPEAKER:
Dr. Songyee Yoon, President, NCSOFT
INTERVIEWER: Mike Vorhaus, President, Magid Advisors

This panel will discuss how ICOs and blockchain disrupting the gaming and entertainment industries.

PANELISTS:
Mitch Liu, Co-Founder & CEO, Theta Labs and SLIVER.tv
William Quigley, CEO, Clearstone Ventures, OPSkins, and WAX 

This panel will discuss the growth of game-related content on video platforms, the networks that provide the content, and the communities of gamers around the world that are tuning in great numbers to view gameplay videos, trailers, original series, live streams, and news. What are the opportunities — both for marketing and monetization — to connect with the gamer generation through video content?

PANELISTS
JR McCabe, Chief Digital Officer, Poker Central, PokerGO and ESP Gaming
Curt Marvis, CEO & Co-Founder, QYOU Media

This panel of leading game and entertainment executives and investors will discuss the future of AR/VR/MR for the game and entertainment industries. What investments are being made by VCs? What are brands, movie studios and media companies doing in AR/VR/MR? What’s happening with mixed reality location based experiences? What does the future hold?

PANELISTS:
Stephanie Llamas, VP of Strategy / Head of XR, SuperData Research
Chris Donahue, Senior Director, Strategic Alliances, AMD

This panel will discuss how to make a successful game for iOS, Android and emerging mobile platforms. How important is creativity? What are the metrics that matter when judging product success?

PANELISTS:
Amir Lotan, Creative Director and Head of Production, FTX Games

This panel of leading game and entertainment executives will discuss the future of the game business as it continues to grow and reach new heights. What kind of deals are being done today?  How is the business changing as more entertainment brands and talent are getting involved in the business?  What does media consolidation mean for the business? What does the future hold?

PANELISTS:
Paul Martino, General Partner, Bullpen Capital
Matthew Wang, Managing Director, Evercore
Jon Goldman, Managing Partner, Skybound; Venture Partner, Greycroft
Moderator: Ned Sherman, Counsel/Director, Manatt Digital; Founder, Digital Media Wire

SPEAKER:
Simon Sim, President, Netmarble US
INTERVIEWER:

SPEAKER:
Nick Earl, CEO & President, Glu Mobile

2018 is seeing the roll-out of a number of new LBE ventures in the U.S. market, providing a near-term monetizable platform for mixed reality. This panel will discuss the types of experiences consumers can expect from MR-based location based entertainment as well as the business models and content players entering the market.

PANELISTS:
Lee Simpson, Head of TV & Entertainment, ustwo

From new engaging ad formats and platforms and even new types of games, brands are realizing the value of advertising in game environments.  Driven by a desire to engage with consumer in more organic and native ways and, importantly, in brand safe environments, game advertising is taking off by leaps and bounds.  Hear from IAB Game Committee leaders from Activision Blizzard Media, Electronic Arts, Unity and Zynga who will discuss today’s game advertising landscape and what we might expect in the years to come.

PANELISTS:
Vida Mylson, Sr. Director of Brand Sales and Marketing, Electronic Arts 
Jonathan Stringfield, Global Head of Business Marketing, Measurement, & Insights, Activision Blizzard Media
Gabrielle Heyman, Head of Global Brand Partners, Zynga
Julie Shumaker, Vice President, Advertiser Solutions, Unity Technology
Moderator: Susan Borst, Vice President, Mobile, IAB

Providing a potent mix of real-life spectatorship and digital entertainment, today the worldwide phenomenon of competitive gaming counts over 200 million spectators annually and presents a unique, new avenue in the entertainment market. This panel will discuss best of brand activations of eSports teams, leagues, competitive gamers and streamers. What is the opportunity for brands, agencies and marketers?

PANELISTS:
Craig Levine, Global Chief Strategy Officer, ESL
Ari Segal, President & COO, Immortals LLC & Los Angeles Valiant
Matt Edelman, Chief Commercial Officer, Super League Gaming
Damon Lau, Head of Esports, United Talent Agency

Our annual panel of influential game industry writers discuss the hot topics of the day.

PANELISTS:
Dan Ackerman, Section Editor / Reviews – PCs & Laptops, CNET
Sherri Smith, Staff Writer, Tom’s Guide
Harold Goldberg, Founder & Editor in Chief, Video Games Critics Circle

PRESENTER:
Paul Sweeting, Co-Founder, RightsTech Project; Founder & Principal, Concurrent Media Strategies

Media and technology industry leaders offer a big-picture view of the current state of media rights management and licensing for rights owners and users, how technology is changing the way rights are cleared and paid for, and whether new technologies such as crypto and A.I. can make rights markets more efficient, scalable and transparent.

PANELISTS:
Jarrod Dicker, CEO, Po.et

Machine-to-machine rights management requires machine-readable rights data. A look at how different media industries are tackling the challenge of assigning standardized, machine-readable identifiers and metadata to creative works, how those data are registered and made available, and the relationship between private registries and public records.

PANELISTS:
Vaughn Mckenzie-Landell, CEO & Co-Founder, JAAK
Mario Pena, Product Manager, Safe Creative Ltd.

As digital platforms and devices create ever-more use cases and licensing opportunities for copyrighted content, rights owners rights owners face an ever-more complex task of matching rights-out to rights-in. How are media companies meeting the challenge of enterprise-scale rights management in an increasingly complex licensing landscape?

From photographs and paintings, to musical work sand poetry, the value of many types of creative works lies in their attribution and provenance. But the lack of reliable records of ownership and authorship makes buying and selling them risky and leaves authors and creators uncredited and often unpaid. This panel will examine how entrepreneurs are leveraging blockchain and other technologies to create verified records of a work’s origin and history.

Digital technology did away with scarcity, upending many media industry business models. But the economics of scarcity may be poised for a comeback thanks to blockchain. This panel will explore how artists, entrepreneurs and developers are leveraging blockchain technology to create new businesses around digital collectibles, limited editions and unique digital assets.

PANELISTS:
Mark Willis, Co-Founder and Chief Design Officer, Texel
Alex Bulkin, Co-Founder & Chief Alchemist, CoinFund

Copyright legislation in the U.S. and Europe is poised to bring the most sweeping changes in decades to how media content is distributed, licensed, and used. Industry leaders, policymakers and legal experts will discuss how the changes will the changes affect artists, rights owners, content users, and consumers, and where the debate goes from here.

PANELISTS:
Amelia Wang, Vice President, Government and Industry Affairs, NMPA
Ben McEwen, Commercial Director, ICE (London)
Keith Kupferschmid, CEO, Copyright Alliance

Fireside Chat with Merck Mercuridias and Nile Rodgers of Hipgnosis

PANELISTS:
Merck Mercuridias, CEO, Founder, & Managing Partner, Hipgnosis Music Ltd.
Nile Rodgers, Grammy Award-Winning Producer, Songwriter, Musician, and Singer

Many users of copyrighted works in mixes, mashups and user-generated content go uncounted and uncompensated. Others never happen because they can’t be licensed. This panel will explore how entrepreneurs and developers are tackling some of the most confounding and complex challenges in rights management.

PANELISTS:
Noah Becker, President, AdRev
Rasty Turek, CEO, Pex

Leaders from the worlds of finance, startups, and venture capital provide an overview of the M&A and investment climate for rights management companies, and discuss the valuation of rights and royalties and their potential as an asset class in their own right.

PANELISTS:
Richard McBeath, VP – Marketing, Masterworks.io

The music business has its notorious “black box” money problem, but creators and licensors in many rights-based industries lack effective tools to track the money their works generate as it makes its way back upstream. This panel will examine how entrepreneurs, developers, artists and agents are trying to bring greater transparency to the system of accounting and payments.

PANELISTS:
Eugene Mopsik, CEO, American Society for Collective Rights Licensing (ASCRL)

Artists and entrepreneurs discuss how technology is enabling creators to manage and finance their own careers and retain control of their work.

PANELISTS:
Jennifer MacArthur, SVP, Global Marketing + Strategic Partnerships, TREETI
Dae Bogan, CEO & Founder, TuneRegistry

Courts say monkeys can’t own copyrights, but what about machines? As artificial intelligence systems increasingly are used to create music, photographs, news articles, and artworks, who or what owns the copyrights? If not that machine then whose creative input controls and how should it be credited? Can an A.I. system join a CMO?

PANELISTS:
Christopher Sprigman, Professor, NYU School of Law, Co-Director, Engelberg Center on Innovation Law and Policy
Taishi Fukuyama, Co-founder, COO, Amadeus Code
Ahmed Elgammal, CEO, Artrendex