The Business of Content Distribution in the Age of Digital Media: The Impact of OTT on Bedrock Programmer-Distributor Relationships Becomes Key Focus of March 20 NYC Event

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• Latin America - español

NEW YORK, March 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- The formation of new OTT relationships, as well as the transformative changes in the relationship between programmers and content providers and their distributors will take center stage at Horowitz Associates' 14^th Annual Multicultural Media Forum in New York City. On March 20^th, roughly 400 thought-leaders from the media, advertising, technology, and financial industries will gather to address these and other important topics in today's dynamic media environment. This full-day research and strategy-driven event will include a number of stimulating panel discussions with media industry experts. 

Glen Friedman, President & Founder, Ideas & Solutions, will moderate the "Content and Distribution" panel, featuring Emma Brackett, VP, Content & Programming, DIRECTV;  Joel Kliksberg, VP/Chief Strategy Officer, Fusion; Alexis Johnson, VP, Content Acquisition, Time Warner Cable; Michelle Rice, EVP, Sales & Marketing, TV One; Evan Shapiro, President, Pivot; and Sruta Vootukuru, Director, Programming, Dish Network. Says Friedman, "We are experiencing a media tsunami  in terms of the rate of change and consumer alternatives, and the challenge is to prepare and think through the best strategies to maximize opportunities for both distributors and content creators." The discussion will address issues including what types of content resonate most with an increasingly diverse audience, what distribution deals look like in the age of VOD, OTT, and TV Everywhere, and how distributors and networks can partner together to maintain the value and relevance of multichannel subscriptions to consumers in light of these new alternatives.

While "Content and Distribution" will focus on the impact of alternative platforms on traditional multichannel distribution, the "OTT Distribution" panel, moderated by Xposure Media's Chief Distribution Officer Suzanne Rainey, will center on the alternative platforms themselves. "In our increasingly fragmented, multiplatform world of entertainment," explains Rainey, "the challenges of distribution have never been bigger -- from rights issues to TV Everywhere to how the viewer finds content -- and yet the breadth and depth of content has never been better. Innovative companies like Netflix, Roku, Apple and Hulu have forced studios to make changes they perhaps didn't want to make in order to keep up." Expert panelists John Choi, Director, Distribution Strategy, Fox Networks; Lisa Gelobter, VP, Digital Product, Technology & Operations, BET; Scott Rosenberg, VP, Business Development, Roku; and Eric Shih, VP, Business Development, uLive, Scripps Networks, will discuss the present and future of OTT distribution and the role of OTT in serving the needs of today's inherently diverse, globally connected, and culturally fluent new media consumers.

To close out the day, Stuart Lipson, Founder & Principal, Leap Media Group will moderate the "Future of TV" panel, featuring Clayton Banks, President, Ember Media; Artie Bulgrin, SVP, Research & Analytics, ESPN; Keli Lee, EVP, Casting, ABC; Mike Rosen, EVP, Advertising Sales, Telemundo Media; and Michael Teicher, EVP, Media Sales, 20^th Television. In the context of the rest of the day's discussions, these experts will prognosticate about the implications of all these changes on the future of the industry.

For more information and to register: www.multiculturalmediaforum.com or contact Stephanie Wong: (914) 834-5999, [email protected]. All attendees will be eligible for a raffle for a trip for two to Paris, courtesy of French Broadcaster TV5MONDE!

SOURCE Horowitz Associates, Inc.