Monday, April 27th, 2015

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Track II - Poolside Tent I

MCNs, Multichannel Networks, the Next Wave in Entertainment and Media Programming

John Holdridge, VP of Channel+, Fullscreen, Inc

Patrick Cole, Director of Marketing, AwesomenessTV]

Evan Weiss, EVP of Strategic Alliances, Collective Digital Studio

Jody Simon, Partner. Entertainment Department Production Practice Chair, Fox Rothschild

Kathleen Hahn, Director, Creator and Business Development, Victorious, Inc.

Alan H. Resnikoff, Principal, Shamrock Capital Advisors

Sam Gilchrist, CEO, PluraVida

Mark J. Kapczynski, Chief Operating Officer, Kontrol Media, Moderator

Jody Simon is a seasoned and savvy entertainment law attorney who has been helping clients in the industry produce innovative and sophisticated television and new media content for more than 25 years. From the early days of his career in the mailroom of the William Morris Agency in New York to his current status as one of the industry's go-to lawyers and chair of the Entertainment Department's Production Practice, Jody is a passionate advocate for his clients, negotiating the deals that bring to life many of today's popular entertainment vehicles. Throughout his tenure as an entertainment lawyer, Jody has actively counseled his clients in nearly every type of legal matter spanning the spectrum of the industry: television (including a special focus on reality television and Canadian and international co-productions), digital media outlets, publishing, live stage, live action and animated programming and graphic novels. For his clients who are content creators and owners, such as television networks, production companies and executive producers, Jody assists in all aspects of financing, development, production, distribution and the exploitation of projects across multiple media and platforms. Jody also facilitates licensing, branding and merchandising deals on behalf of a wide range of clients - including marquee performers, video game publishers, visual artists, auto manufacturers and universities - to help them monetize their brands. Some of his well-known clients include BBC Worldwide Productions (producer of Dancing with the Stars), PB&J Television, DiGa Vision, Six Point Harness, 310 Entertainment, Titmouse Animation, leading comic book writer Mark Wald, Thunderbird Films, Sphere Media, Clay Newbill, Sara Rea and Liquid Theory.

 

Kathleen Hahn is currently Director, Creator and Business Development at Victorious, Inc., where she oversees the Entertainment, Gaming and Emerging verticals and Monetization team. Kathleen is focused on driving Creator and Fan engagement on Victorious’ proprietary interactive mobile app platform for partners such as Ryan Higa and Machinima. Kathleen formerly led the West Coast MCN Partnerships team at YouTube, driving growth among major networks such as Maker Studios, AwesomenessTV, Defy Media and others. In addition, Kathleen has extensive content licensing experience through her work at Comcast and Universal Music Group.  Kathleen is a proud Philadelphian at heart, and currently lives in Hermosa Beach with her husband and 10 month old son.

 

Evan Weiss, EVP of Strategic Alliances, Collective Digital Studio:  Evan's career has taken some interesting twists and turns, and the common thread has been advocacy for talent and the creative process.  His pivot into digital media started with the representation of creators, while forming partnerships with them to facilitate production and distribution of content on a global level.  Evan looks at audience as a primary asset and resource, and has opened up a marketplace to utilize audience engagement for traditional publishers, broadcasters and consumer brands through digital channel management content and optimization strategies and execution.  As an agent at UTA from 1992-2000, Evan founded and ran the Television Packaging Dept. and worked with clients such as Drew Carey, Ben Stiller, Larry David, Gregory Hines and writers Chuck Tatham, Don Foster, Jhoni Marchinko, Jon Beckerman, Rob Cohen, and Rodney Rothman and director/producers Gary Halvorson and Joel Gallen to name a few.  In 2001, Evan founded Handprint TV with Handprint partners Jeff Pollock and Benny Medina; among projects executive produced by Evan were "The Tyra Banks Show", with Telepictures; "Pamela: Girl on the Run" with E!, "The Show: With AJ Calloway" for UPN as well as other scripted and reality projects.  Evan joined The Collective in 2009, with an emphasis on overseeing the company’s television operations and development. Evan signed internet sensation Lucas Cruikshank in 2009, creator and performer of the YouTube character “Fred Figglehorn.” Lucas and “Fred” went on to be the first YouTube channel to reach one million subscribers. Under Evan’s guidance, the “Fred” property turned into a successful motion picture franchise, co-financed and produced by the Collective. The emphasis on digital platforms and audience building was a precursor to next phase of business development at The Collective. Evan also packaged and Executive Produced the hit TV series, “Marvin Marvin” for Nickelodeon.  Evan currently manages a diverse roster of clients, including innovative YouTube performers and traditional television writers and directors. Clients include Gary Halvorson, Chuck Tatham, Don Foster, Jon Ross, Frank Lombardi and Big Boy; as well as digital icons Lucas Cruikshank, Elliott Morgan, Steve Zaragoza, Jaboody Dubs, E and P Hudson, Paint, and Hollywire TV.  Having paved the way for You Tube stars to use their talents and the power of their audience to impact and disrupt traditional entertainment models, Evan's contribution was integral to the launch of Collective Digital Studio. Today, CDS is a full-fledged media company accounting for well over 1 billion views per month of premium video content from its family of creator-partners. As SVP of Strategic Alliances, Evan has spearheaded initiatives that include CDS as provider of digital Channel Services to major brands and broadcasters such as Estee Lauder, National Geographic, Verizon, Spike, and NBCUniversal, specifically, Jimmy Fallon and Meredith Vieira. Evan works at the forefront of CDS outreach;  creating, presenting and executing opportunities for premium publishers to grow audience engagement and independent entertainment destinations designed to build relevancy for their brands with millenials and well into the future.  Evan is a graduate of Scarsdale High School, The George Washington University and hold a JD from Brooklyn Law School.  He was an associate at Blumenthal and Lynne in NYC, Head of Business Affairs for The Gersh Agency in Beverly Hills, and VP of Business Affairs and Production Finance for Walt Disney Television before joining UTA in 1992.  He lives in Los Angeles with his wife Gayle and their children Marisa and Samuel.

 

Alan H. Resnikoff is a Principal of Shamrock Capital Advisors with over 8 years of media, entertainment, and communications investment experience. Alan currently serves as a Director of FanDuel, Giant Creative/Strategy and Screenvision. Previously, Alan served as a Director of Learfield Communications and as an advisory board member for the Spark Program in Los Angeles. He also previously worked with Harlem Globetrotters International, Media Storm, RealD, NextWave Media Group, and Modern Luxury. Prior to joining Shamrock in 2004, Alan was a management consultant with Bain & Company in Los Angeles. Alan graduated with distinction from Stanford University where he was a senior walk-on goalkeeper for the men’s 2001 final four soccer team. He earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he was named the Henry Ford II Scholar for graduating first in his class. Alan was also recognized as an Arjay Miller Scholar and as a Siebel Scholar.

 

Mark J. Kapczynski, Chief Operating Officer, Kontrol Media: Mark Kapczynski has a successful track record as a serial entrepreneur, chief executive and media industry expert. His current venture, Kontrol Media Corp., is an idea incubator for startups and senior professionals in the media and technology markets including Web 2.0, mobile, and television. Prior to that, he was founder and CEO of MESoft, a media and entertainment software company, for which Kapczynski raised two rounds of seed and venture capital funding exceeding $8MM. Under his leadership, the company also grew its distribution to a global level and partnered with leading IT companies, such as IBM, Sun and AMD, and media companies that include Avid, Ascent Media and Sony. Additionally, he received a patent for a digital media workflow process. From 1995 to 2002, Kapczynski worked at Microsoft Corporation as their Director of Worldwide Media & Entertainment Solutions Group. During that time, he worked with numerous digital media and internet start-ups such as Homestore (now Move.com), Movielink, and MeTV. Mark Kapczynski got his first taste at being an entrepreneur in 1993 when he founded Digital Genesis-a pioneer in the internet/e-commerce space-which was sold to publicly-traded Netgateway, Inc. (NGWY, now IIG) three years later. Mr. Kapczynski graduated from UCLA film school and continues to be active in multiple industry associations that span media, mobile telecom, technology, and Internet Web 2.0. In his free time, Mr. Kapczynski enjoys car racing and playing the drums.

 

John Holdridge serves as Vice President of Channel+ at Fullscreen. A digital media veteran with 10 years of web, social, and video experience, John oversees the team that executes strategy and growth for the YouTube channels of Fortune 500 brand and media clients such as NBC, Turner Entertainment, 20th Century Fox and GE. Prior to Fullscreen, John has worked at Universal Music Group and Village Roadshow pictures.  John has been awarded two New York Academy of Interactive Arts Awards, one in 2010 and another in 2011. John received his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Southern California, where he studied Communications with an emphasis in Media and Entertainment. You can find him at @JohnHoldridge.