The Digital Hollywood Experience

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Wednesday, November 13th, 2019

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Track I: Herscher Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 303-304

Hollywood - The Disruption: The OTT Multiscreen Experience Goes Mainstream

Colby Smith, Senior Vice President and General Manager, ABC News Digital and Live Streaming, Disney DTCI

Chris Carey, Chief Revenue Officer and Managing Director for the Americas, IYUNO Media Group

Matthew Van Houten, Vice President, Advertising Product Development, AT&T’s Xandr

Robert Rodriguez, CEO, Natcom

Joerg Bachmaier, SVP, Head of Premium Studios, Rooster Teeth/ Warner Bros

Matt Smith, Executive Director, Business Development & Strategy, Comcast Technology Solutions

Erik Ramberg, VP Head of Global Business Development, MediaKind

Moderator - Terry S. Bienstock, CEO, Mobilactive Media, LLC.

 

Colby Smith serves as Senior Vice President and General Manager of ABC News Digital and Live Streaming. He reports into Salil Mehta, General Manager, Digital Media, for Direct-to-Consumer & International at The Walt Disney Company. In this position Smith manages Disney’s digital news brands – ABC News, Good Morning America, FiveThirtyEight and the 24/7 streaming channel ABC News Live. He oversees business operations, publishing strategy, partnerships, audience development, distribution and marketing. In this integral role Smith

has retooled ABC News’ content and distribution strategy and revamped its suite of products to grow reach, engagement and monetization around the world. In 2018, he spearheaded the launch of ABC News Live, a new 24/7 channel for breaking news and live events. In one year, it has become America’s #1 streaming news channel with distribution on Hulu, The Roku Channel, and Facebook Watch. In that same year he oversaw the launch of a new digital portfolio for “Good Morning America,” which has grown to become one of the largest global lifestyle brands for young women. Smith also led the integration of FiveThirtyEight into ABC News to supercharge its political coverage with new real-time election night forecasts. Smith joined The Walt Disney Company in 2011 with Disney – ABC Television’s business development team where he focused on mobile products. In 2015 he was promoted to Vice President of ABC News Digital, where he instituted a new data-driven approach to editorial and product design to drive monthly video views from 60 million to over 1 billion. Under Smith’s leadership ABC News received the prestigious Edward R. Murrow award for ‘Best Website’ for the first time since 2001 and became the first digital team to win back-to-back News and Documentary Emmy Awards in the history of the TV news industry in 2016 and 2017.  Smith’s career in media began at KPSP in Palm Desert, California as Senior Executive Producer. He is a graduate of Stanford University and received his MBA from UCLA.

 

Matthew Van Houten is Director, Ad Sales Strategy for AT&T AdWorks, the advertising sales division of AT&T Entertainment Group (EG).  Matt joined AT&T AdWorks in 2012.  In this role, he is responsible for leading the product marketing and sales support teams responsible for developing go-to-market ad solutions, sales strategy, sales development and marketing communication for AT&T’s TV and digital advertising platforms. Matt has more than a decade of comprehensive advertising industry experience, serving as a publisher (Viacom), operator (AT&T), educator (CUNY Baruch College) and thought leader (IAB’s Advanced TV Advisory Board). For the past five years, Matt has also served as an adjunct professor at the Zicklin School of Business at CUNY Baruch College, where he teaches an advanced media, entertainment and technology course in the school’s Department of Marketing and International Business. Prior to joining AT&T AdWorks, Matt spent eight years working throughout Viacom’s portfolio of media networks. As the Director of Ad Sales Strategy & Business Development at Nickelodeon, he worked alongside the network’s executive management team, providing the strategy, analysis and operation involved in leading its international cable TV and digital ad sales business. Originally from Orange County, California, Matthew graduated magna cum laude from the University of San Diego with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Economics. He is also a former collegiate athlete and WCLL national champion in lacrosse. Matthew earned an MBA in Marketing from CUNY Baruch College. He currently lives in Manhasset, New York with his wife and son. He is based in AT&T EG’s New York City office.

 

Matt Smith, Executive Director, Business Development & Strategy, Comcast Technology Solutions: Matt Smith is a recognized digital media industry evangelist and thought leader, having spoken at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show, IBC, TVNext, Streaming Media East & West, NewTeeVee and Digital Hollywood among others. Matt has held a variety of key roles in video technology in his career.  He’s presently involved in Strategy and Business Development for Comcast Technology Solutions, helping to solve the most complex problems facing video providers today, leveraging the massive scale and expertise of the Comcast platform. Previously, Matt was part of the leadership team at Brightcove, one of the largest online video platforms on the market. He also served as senior staff and Chief Evangelist for Anvato – a turnkey video platform solution that was acquired by Google in 2016. Prior to Anvato, Matt was Vice President, Technology for Chideo – a next generation network for charitable giving, connecting fans with the personalities they follow and providing exclusive media experiences on any screen.  Chideo is founded by Internet pioneer and billionaire philanthropist Todd Wagner. Previously, Matt was Vice President, Internet Television at Envivio, Smith worked closely with premier customers and technology partners like Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, to ensure that key digital media strategies are carefully planned and brought to market quickly & successfully. In addition to his architectural duties, Matt has deep expertise in the adaptive bitrate technologies that are revolutionizing the streaming and digital media spaces. Prior to joining Envivio, Smith was an Architect at Cisco Systems and Vice President and Chief Systems Architect at Inlet Technologies. Prior to Inlet, Smith served as a key video architect and evangelist for Yahoo!, where he worked for 9 years, designing, delivering and managing leading-edge video compression technologies and workflows to execute live events and create other digital media offerings. Prior to Yahoo!, Smith spent several years at NBC, first at the affiliate level and later with the network.

 

Chris Carey, Chief Revenue Officer and Managing Director for the Americas, IYUNO Media Group: Chris Carey recently joined IYUNO Media Group as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) and Managing Director for The Americas.  Chris oversees global revenue for IYUNO as well as all U.S. operations at the newly established offices and facilities in Burbank. Chris joined IYUNO from Verizon, where he held the position of CRO and Head of Business Development and Strategy for their Digital Media Services business unit, helping monetize and grow the digital media platform. Prior to Verizon Carey served as Executive Vice President of Worldwide Technical Operations at Paramount Pictures where he oversaw all technical and post production services, archiving and restoration programs and established the technology strategy and content protection policies for the famed studio. Carey also was bestowed with the combined role of CMO and CTO at Technicolor, bringing together the company’s marketing efforts with its technology offering during a very important time in the company’s history. Prior to Technicolor Carey spent more than 16 years at Walt Disney Studios in charge of Worldwide Technical Services and major initiatives including the formation of the DVD production group. Carey is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and has been a member of Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE), Cinema Audio Society (CAS), and the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE). He has served on the Board of Directors for the DVD Copy Control Association (DVD CCA), DVD Forum, Blu-ray Disc Association (BDA), Digital Cinema Initiatives, LLC (DCI), and the Advanced Access Content System (AACS).

 

Erik Ramberg, VP Head of Global Business Development, MediaKind: Erik is a seasoned product management and business development executive with over 15 years of experience in the media and technology industry. He is the Director of Product Management for Ericsson's MediaFirst TV Platform. In this role, he oversees the product and business strategy of Ericsson Mediaroom's new cloud TV technology product. Erik joined Ericsson as part of the Mediaroom acquisition from Microsoft. During his 10 year tenure at Microsoft, Erik led various initiatives involving new business opportunities, product management, and product planning of the TV and Media (TVM) organization, including Xbox and Windows Media Center. At Microsoft, Erik managed key operator and consumer electronic partnerships, including Sony, Best Buy, Samsung, Toshiba and Panasonic. Prior to Microsoft, Erik presided as General Manager and Vice President of MovieBeam, a video-on-demand service started with major investment from the Disney Corporation, specifically its subsidiary Buena Vista Datacasting. Erik's entertainment and wireless communications industry experience also includes working at Dotcast and Cellnet Data Systems. Erik received a Bachelor's degree in engineering from Harvey Mudd College.

 

Joerg Bachmaier, SVP, Head of Premium Studios, Rooster Teeth/ Warner Bros: As SVP, Head of Premium Studios at Rooster Teeth/ Warner Bros. he currently signs responsible for premium content development, production & distribution. This includes original developments, IP and format acquisitions, premium content production and distribution for TV and digital platforms. Leads and directs creative teams tasked with developing, packaging and producing TV and digital series or features such as “Transformers - Prime Wars Trilogy”, “Mortal Kombat X”, “Street Fighter”, “Happy Wheels”, "Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles", “CW - Chasing the Cup" or the latest “Transformers – War for Cybertron” Trilogy for Netflix Previously, as EVP International Production he oversaw BBC Worldwide's global production network, formats business, original development and content acquisitions across all platforms (TV and Digital) including: “Dancing with the Stars”, “Bake Off“, "BBC Earth", "The Office” and “Top Gear”. Before joining the BBC in London, Joerg worked for companies such as Endemol USA in Los Angeles or CNN International/TBS and ZDF in Germany.

 

Robert Rodriguez, CEO, Natcom: A 30 year seasoned expert in the area of entrepreneurial business leadership in the fields of marketing and multi-media content for large platforms such as broadcast television stations, internet sites, telecom companies and other digital organizations throughout the world. Robert brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in content related to health, tourism, technology, e-commerce and social media for the new challenges and opportunities of modern times. He has managed complex acquisitions and work force integrations in the U.S., the Caribbean as well as international regions such as Asia, Latin America and Europe. Currently Robert is the CEO of Natcom Global, a multi-platform video content producer and distributor. Natcom is one of the leading fact based short form content producers and distributors in the U.S. Natcom clients include nearly 75 broadcast stations in the U.S., 1,000 Internet sites around the world, international telecom operators and Fortune 500 companies. Some of Natcom clients include CBS, Disney/ABC, AOL/Verizon, Citibank, Baidu, Humana, the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury, to name a few. In addition to his overall responsibilities he is also responsible for acquisitions and international expansion that includes establishing operations for Natcom in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to Natcom, Robert was the CEO of NPN Media, a company he and other investors acquired from NBC Universal. NPN produces and distributes fact based news related segments to broadcast stations as well as digital outlets in the U.S. NPN became part of Natcom in 2014. Before NPN, Robert co-founded and was CEO of National Communication LTD (NCL) where he successfully attained an Inc.500 ranking twice. (fastest growing privately held companies in America) NCL is a diversified marketing communications agency that has developed hundreds of marketing and media initiatives for global companies such as Citibank, Burger King and Chevron to name a few. In addition to the private sector NCL provides or has provided strategic consultancy services to governments including the United States, regional government agencies in Spain and the government of the Islands of the Bahamas. Some of NCL’s work with the U.S. Federal Government included micro economic development research and implementation initiatives providing different federal agencies with best practices and recommendations for contracting to small and disadvantaged businesses. In 1995 NCL produced the award winning world record program, “Around the World in a Day” using an Air France Concorde to break the world aviation speed record which currently still stands.

 

Terry S. Bienstock, CEO, Mobilactive Media, LLC.: a New Jersey-based distributor of managed application publishing and secure remote access solutions for business and consumer markets. WorldExtend has revolutionary products to deliver to a business a low cost software-based VPN, and has developed a virtual computer on a TV set to bridge the Digital Divide. He also manages and advises other ventures relating to new media platforms, such as Video-on-Demand, digital video recorders, broadband and mobile services. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Law and Government Affairs, for Comcast Cable Communications in Philadelphia. In this position, he maintained business responsibility for Comcast's Video on Demand platform, Comcast University and claims management. He was also responsible for overseeing the Law department for the country's leading cable and broadband communications provider, advising senior management on legal and business issues, and for Comcast's state and local government affairs in the 5000 communities and 41 states in which it did business. Prior to joining Comcast, for 23 years Bienstock was in private practice, serving as lead counsel on numerous major communications, First Amendment and property rights cases for most of the top media and cable companies, and lead high visibility cases, from the first fully televised trial in the U.S. to the Noriega tapes case for CNN. He pioneered litigation in the cable television industry for operators, programmers and equipment manufacturers, and successfully prosecuted cases on theft of service, copyright and trademark, premises access, franchising, franchise modifications, transfers, renewals, leased access and other constitutional and Cable Act issues. He has over 100 reported decisions to his name. A graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1975 and the Rutgers-Camden School of Law in 1978, Bienstock has authored several articles in leading legal publications on cable issues such as theft of service, franchising and access to premises. He regularly lectures at numerous national trade associates and legal conferences on various communications, media, regulatory, law department management and litigation topics, and at business conferences on new media topics