Blog

Producers Guild of America New Media Council East panel: ‘Gaming the System: Branded Entertainment for Producers’ – Wednesday, September 30th, 7:00-9:00 pm at The New School’s Lang Auditorium

By • Posted & filed under Announcements, News and Press Releases

Join me and six branded entertainment luminaries at my PGA New Media Council East mega-panel during Advertising Week New York, ‘Gaming the System: Branded Entertainment for Producers’ on Wednesday, September 30th, from 7:00-9:00 pm, at The New School’s Lang Auditorium, 55 West 13th Street (between 5th and 6th Avenues), 2nd floor.

In addition to great networking, food & drink, and a gathering of the new media tribes, the following presenters will appear:

  • Ian Schafer, chairman, US CEO and founder, Deep Focus
  • Warren Weideman, founder, First Look Productions LLC
  • Luis de la Parra, senior vice president, partner solutions, Univision
  • Colas Overkott, CEO, Sync
  • Will Misselbrook, head of branded entertainment, Condé Nast Entertainment
  • Andy Oakes, managing director, The Drum

You can RSVP at:

http://www.producersguild.org/events/Sessions.aspx?id=688263

 

I hope to see you on Wednesday, September 30th during Advertising Week New York for this event.

 

 

Content Americas in Miami: Latin American Media Gathers for Inaugural Event

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

For a decade, from 2010-2020, the third week in January meant that television buyers, programmers, and producers met for NATPE (National Association of Television Programming Executives) in Miami. In late-2022, NATPE declared bankruptcy, and London-based C21 Media, hot off their successful Content London event in late-November, announced the launch of Content Americas, which presented a fresh look at the burgeoning Latin American content business. The inaugural event, held at the Miami Hilton Downtown from January 23-26, was sold out; a crowd of 1,500 executives gathered to do business in a post-pandemic landscape that looked vastly different than the last in-person NATPE in 2020.
One of the major inflection points in the LATAM media universe is the migration to Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television, or FAST, models, both with U.S. Latino populations and across Latin America. Wrapping up Day #2 on Wednesday, January 25th was the session ‘FAST Across the Americas: How Latin Brands Are Migrating to Free Ad-Supported Streaming TV,’ which discussed the growth of  FAST models in Latin America and with U.S. Latino populations, and how advertisers and brands are collaborating on models for existing and new streaming audiences.
Left to right: Chris Pfaff, Jorge Balleste, Jasmin Rezai, Tony Kelly, Jonathan French
The OTT landscape across the Americas has, until recently, consisted mainly of operator-driven curation of video channels. Now, the FAST revolution has taken hold, and channels are being launched to support existing OTT brands, including SVOD services, to create upsell momentum and brand recognition amongst Spanish, Portuguese and English audiences alike.
Moderated by Chris Pfaff, CEO of Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC, the session included Jasmin Rezai, vice president content distribution & partnerships, Olympusat; Tony Kelly, CEO, DMD Limited/CINDIE; Jorge Balleste, VP, content partnerships and acquisitions, Vix/Vix+, TelevisaUnivision, and Jonathan French, SVP, sales & business development, MuxIP.
Jonathan French, Chris Pfaff, Jasmin Rezai, Jorge Balleste, Tony Kelly
You can listen to the full session here:
Pfaff kicked off the session discussing what he called ‘FAST Figures,’ including:
  • There are more than 1,500 FAST channels in the U.S.
  • Omdia has reported that FAST channel revenues will each $12bn in 2027
  • According to TVRev, by 2025, more money will be spent on FASTs ($33.7B or 35% of total ad spend) than on cable, broadcast or SVOD. That number will grow to $42.6B or 42% of total ad spend by 2027
  • According to Omdia, two of the top 10 CTV markets are in LATAM: Brazil is #2 and Mexico is #7. Will we see further regional LATAM growth in CTV in the next 3 years
  • In the U.S., leading FAST channels massively increased their Spanish language catalogs during the pandemic (March, 2020-Sept. 2022): Pluto from 389 to 5,529; Roku On Demand from 0 to 3,815 and Tubi from 1665 to 9,455
  • According to GSMA, Take-up of 4G has more than doubled across Latin America in the past 5 years, with more than 410 million connections at the end of 2021. This is projected to peak in 2024, as consumers increasingly migrate to 5G plans.

Pfaff directed the conversation to the emerging FAST strategy in LATAM, including using FAST channels to upsell viewers to premium content, as Tony Kelly acknowledged for CINDIE. Jorge Ballesta’s Vix – which encompasses more than 40,000 hours of content in all genres – became part of the discussion. Pfaff discussed the “FAST is the new cable” mantra with the panel, and even discussed how FAST is also the new “independent TV.” With a shout-out to TelevisaUnivision’s Luis de la Parra, a leader in branded content, Pfaff discussed the growth of FAST channels as a promotional vehicle.

 

 

 

 

Chris Pfaff moderates ‘Producing in XR: How to Navigate Challenges’ panel in-person at Immerse Global Summit Miami at Fontainebleau Hotel

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

Chris Pfaff moderates the ‘Producing in XR: How to Navigate Challenges’ panel at the Immerse Global Summit Miami at the Fontainebleau Hotel on Wednesday, December 7, 2022.

Speakers included:

  • Michael Owen, MediaCombo
  • Grace Ng, ‘Crash Punks’
  • Ian Beacraft, Signal & Cipher

 

 

Chris Pfaff moderates ‘Virtual Theatre: The Metaverse Smashes the Four Walls’ in-person at Immerse Global Summit Miami

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Virtual Theatre: The Metaverse Smashes the Four Walls’ session, which opened Day 2 of the Immerse Global Summit Miami, produced by the VR AR Association, on Tuesday, December 6, 2022, with an all-star panel, featuring:

  • Alyssa Landry, Doubleeye Studios
  • Brandon Powers, BP Projects
  • Kiira Benzing, Doubleeye Studios
  • Sylvana Levy, Sylvana Levy & Co.

The session opened with a salsa entrance – to Marc Anthony’s ‘Valió la Pena’ – that got the crowd up and dancing.

Chris Pfaff appears on CTAM Europe virtual session – ‘Get Ready to Go FAST’ – November 16, 2022

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

Chris Pfaff appeared on the CTAM Europe virtual webinar – Get Ready to Go FAST’ – on Wednesday, November, 16, 2022. Marco Frazier, from Screen+ moderated, and Christian Kneel, from Global Media Consult also appeared. The panel discussion included points regarding the content requirements for FAST and the monetization and tech requirements for FAST channel development.

You can watch the entire ‘Get Ready to Go FAST’ session at:

 

Christian Knaebel (upper left) makes a point as Chris Pfaff (upper right) and Marco Frazier (lower right) look on

Karen Doyle, from CTAM Europe (lower left) introduces the panel

Chris Pfaff moderates the ‘Web3, Blockchain, and NFTs: Separating the Hype From the Reality’ session at Streaming Media West 2022

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

At the first in-person Streaming Media West in three years, Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Web3, Blockchain, and NFTs: Separating the Hype From the Reality’ session on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach, California.

Speakers included:
– Marc Scarpa, founder, DeFiance Media
– Dot Bustelo, founder/CEO, Loupe Art + Music
– Darcy Lorincz, CTO, Barrett-Jackson Auction Company

You can watch the entire ‘Web3, Blockchain, And NFTs: Separating the Hype From The Reality’ panel at:

(Left to right): Dot Bustelo, Darcy Lorincz, Chris Pfaff, and Marc Scarpa after the ‘Web3, Blockchain, And NFTs: Separating The Hype From The Reality’ panel

Dot Bustelo (right) discusses her streaming NFT strategy

Marc Scarpa discusses leading a Web3-focused OTT service

Darcy Lorincz (center) discusses the intricacies of live auction streaming

Chris Pfaff moderates ‘Silicon Beach and Beyond: What Can OTT Services Learn From Tech Startups’ session at Streaming Media West 2022

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Silicon Beach and Beyond: What Can OTT Services Learn From Tech Startups’ session at Streaming Media West 2022 on Tuesday, November 15, 2022 at the Hyatt Regency in Huntington Beach, California.

Speakers on the session included:

  • Eric Smith, from Roku
  • Dana Witt, from Kast Media and Live Current Media Inc.
  • Ben Hoyt, from 47 Games
  • Will Baumann, from Fourthwall

You can watch the entire ‘Silicon Beach and Beyond: What Can OTT Services Learn From Tech Startups’ session at:

 

(Left to right): Ben Hoyt, Eric Smith, Chris Pfaff, Will Baumann, and Dana Witt

(Left to right): Dana Witt, Will Baumann, Eric Smith, Chris Pfaff, and Ben Hoyt

Eric Smith (left) makes a point regarding Roku’s growth

Will Baumann (second from left) discusses e-commerce for influencers

Ben Hoyt discusses the game developer mentality

Chris Pfaff moderates Grand Finale session – ‘Driving Audience Engagement with Interactive Streaming’- at TV of Tomorrow Show in San Francisco

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

Chris Pfaff moderated the Grand Finale/Plenary session – ‘Driving Audience Engagement with Interactive Streaming’ – at the TV of Tomorrow Show at the General’s Residence, at Fort Mason, San Francisco on Thursday, October 13, 2022.

Speakers included:

  • Tom Link, MuxIP
  • Evo Heyning, PlayableAgency
  • Pip Brignall, The Round
  • Gregor Landwehr, Contentflow       
 You can watch the entire session at:
Tom Link, Gregor Landwehr, Pip Brignall, Evo Heyning, and Chris Pfaff after the ‘Driving Audience Engagement with Interactive Streaming’ panel
Evo Heyning discusses Future of Work virtual streaming solutions
Tom Link discusses the “democratization of monetization”
Gregor Landwehr discusses ultra-low latency
Pip Brignall discusses streaming AR solutions
(Left to right): Tracy Swedlow, Evo Heyning, Pip Brignall, Gregor Landwehr
Pip Brignall and Brian Seth Hurst discuss AR
Jim Louderback blows Evo Heyning’s mind

Chris Pfaff moderates ‘Life in the FAST Lane’ pre-MIPCOM panel

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

Chris Pfaff moderated an all-star panel – ‘Life in the FAST Lane’ – as a pre-MIPCOM virtual session on the Media Meet & Greet community, on the Deal Room platform, on Monday, October 10, 2022.

The speakers included:

  • Jonathan French, senior vice president, sales and business development, MuxIP
  • Larry Baird, chief marketing officer, Crackle Plus
  • Richard Young, director of syndication, Little Dot Studios
  • John T. Wells, CEO, Dooya Media Group

The session discussed the accelerated adoption of Free Ad-Supported Streaming Television, or FAST, models, and how advertisers and brands are positioning their content for this growing sector.

Chris Pfaff (upper left); Larry Baird (upper center): Richard Young (upper right); Jonathan French (lower left), John Wells (lower right)

You can watch the entire ‘Life in the FAST Lane’ panel at:

Chris Pfaff moderates virtual panel – ‘Future of Interactive Streaming’ – at Streaming Media Connect

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

Chris Pfaff moderated the virtual ‘Future of Interactive Streaming’ panel at the Streaming Media Connect, on Thursday, August 25, 2022.

The panel discussed the current state of real-time interactive streaming, and the challenges of scale. As ultra-low latency, real-time applications for sports,      e-sports, auctions, and betting gain traction, the future of real-time streaming may embrace a myriad of new applications that deliver on long-held promises of true interactivity.

Speakers on the panel included:

Darcy Lorincz, chief technology officer, Barrett-Jackson Auction Company
Emily Blodgett, head of production, Mainstream Media
Oliver Lietz, CEO, nanocosmos
Erdal Kilinc, CEO/co-founder, Deal Room Events

You can watch the entire panel at:

Chris Pfaff moderates virtual Streaming Media Connect session – ‘SVOD: It’s Not Dead Yet’

By • Posted & filed under Uncategorized

Chris Pfaff moderated the scintillating ‘SVOD: It’s Not Dead Yet’ virtual session at Streaming Media Connect 2022 on August 23, 2022 with Evan Shapiro, from ESHAP; Jennifer Kent, from Parks Associates, and Paul Pastor, from Struum.

The session discussed the slowdown in subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) services, which has led some pundits to declare that the first act of the “streaming wars” is now over. SVOD, though, is in the middle of creative and licensing challenges, and customer retention – in the wake of advertising video-on-demand (AVOD) services – remains challenging. The panel discussed the way forward for SVOD providers, both large and small.

You can watch the full ‘SVOD: Is It Dead Yet?’ session at: