On Monday, October 6, 2025 at the Fairmont Miramar in Santa Monica, Chris Pfaff moderated an expert debate for Streaming Media 2025 – ‘Is the Future of Streaming Free or Paid/Hybrid?’ Jonathan Shrank, from TheSoul Publishing, and John Stevens, from V10 Entertainment appeared as “Team Free” and Rebecca Avery, from Integration Therapy and Jon Giegengack, from Hub Entertainment Research appeared as “Team Paid/Hybrid.” A spirited debate and discussion period ensued over the hour, but Pfaff determined that Team Free had won the day.

You can watch the full session at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gi9FG2oSbhw&list=PLcSb1s2U3uyCrjuw6HtDVgiW2dHvLH1Us&index=11

Monday, October 6 
Debate #1: Is the Future of Streaming Free or Paid/Hybrid?
12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
FAST executives and SVOD leaders square off on the future of free vs. paid streaming.

Moderator: 
Chris Pfaff, Chris Pfaff Tech Media, chris@chrispfafftechmedia.com Pfaff, Chris Pfaff Tech Media, chris@chrispfafftechmedia.com

Panelists: 
Rebecca Avery, Owner and Principal, Integration Therapy, rebecca@integrationtherapy.media
Jonathan Shrank, VP of Streaming & Content Partnerships, TheSoul Publishing, jonathan.shrank@id.thesoul.io, eric@worldsfair.io
John Stevens, CEO, V10 Entertainment, jstevens@v10sg.com, george@therightnow.com
Jon Giegengack, Principal, Hub Entertainment Research, jong@hubresearchllc.com, melissa.remo@beckmedia.com

This year’s IBC will likely have more content producers and distributors seeking solutions in AI, VR/AR, OTT, and cloud management. So, in order to help kick off this year’s show right, we have curated some of the leading players in media innovation today, and they are all at IBC 2017 at our Video Content Innovation Summit.