Thursday, February 9 10:45 AM - Noon Session A: Bridging TV and Broadband: Strategic Relationships - Advertising, Technology & Content Every year brings a "hot button topic" to the industry and this year we return to the days of 1999 and the expectation of the integration of broadband and television. The only difference in the six-year fast forward, is that in 2005, half the homes in America have broadband. In 1999 there was zero penetration of broadband. Today, broadband in the home is a necessity for school, work, communications and entertainment. America is both a broadband nation and a TV nation. The integration of those two technologies is now a necessity and a reality. As the industry moves forward, a real possibility exists that the integration of broadband into the TV – set-top experience may become the primary consumer entertainment, technology and communications experience in the home – and into all devices at all times. In this session, we are pleased to begin and move forward that discussion. Bernard Gershon, Senior Vice President/General Manager, ABC News Digital Media Group Mitch Oscar, Executive Vice President, Carat Digital Ben White, Vice President, Digital Media, MTV Networks Ian Blaine, Chief Executive Officer, thePlatform Bill Correll, Director, Corporate Development, Broadband & Digital Media Technologies, Sun Microsystems, Inc. Greg Verdino, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, ROO Trevor Kaufman, CEO, Schematic, Moderator Bernard Gershon, Senior Vice President/General Manager, ABC News Digital Media Group: Bernard Gershon is senior vice president/general manager of the ABC News Digital Media Group, responsible for developing revenue opportunities and distributing ABC News content to all digital media platforms. He oversees all business initiatives in the narrowband, broadband, wireless, cable, video-on-demand, home video and international markets. ABCNEWS.com, ABC News Productions, and ABC News Video Source report to him. Mr. Gershon joined ABCNEWS.com in 1999 as vice president and general manager. In the last 5 years he has guided ABC News to a leadership position in the programming, marketing and delivery of streaming media. Under Mr. Gershon’s direction, ABCNEWS.com has marked several important milestones, its first two years of profitability and numerous prestigious awards for online journalism, including the RTNDA Edward R. Murrow award for Overall Excellence. In 2002 Mr. Gershon introduced ABCNEWS.com’s first standalone subscription service, "ABC News On Demand," which offers the latest video news content from ABC News programs including World News Tonight and Nightline, and exclusive interviews from Good Morning America, This Week, and news magazines 20/20 and Primetime Live. Acknowledged within the industry as a pioneer in streaming media, as early as 1995 Mr. Gershon started ABC’s first streaming media Internet site—ABCRadioNet.com. In March 2003 he created ABC News Live, the Web’s first 24/7 streaming news network. "Politics LIVE," a political newscast and the first regularly scheduled programming on ABC News Live, premiered in August 2003. In July 2004 ABC News Live was re-launched as ABC News Now—a groundbreaking service available on digital cable, broadband and wireless. Peter Jennings anchored gavel-to-gavel convention coverage and will contribute to special election night programming. This expanded news channel is available to more than 36 million Internet viewers, including AOL, Comcast.net, SBC Yahoo! DSL, and BellSouth FastAccess subscribers—plus over six million digital cable viewers. Ben White is Vice President of Digital Media for MTV. He is responsible for managing the full scope of the MTV brand’s digital business including programming, production and product development. Most recently, he oversaw the launch of MTV Overdrive, MTV's new broadband video network. White joined MTV with an extensive background ranging from new media, to publishing, to film and music. He co-launched and served as Editor-in-Chief for Complex magazine, along with the Target Corporation’s Bullseye magazine. In 1996, he co-founded the youth culture portal Platform Network (Platform.net), which attracted investors including Sony, Warburg Pincus and Chase Capital, He also co-founded Tagworks, a new media development company that worked with AOL, BMG, Conde Nast and more. White is based out of MTV Network's New York office. Mitchell Oscar currently holds the position of Executive Vice President, Director of Carat Digital. Carat Digital is a new division of Carat focusing on new digital platforms and the integration of interactive TV, wireless and online applications with traditional media. Its mission is to explore the potential value of interactive media applications and technologies for the development (ideas and implications) and execution of advertising models by Carat clients: Carat Digital’s presentation "Here, There, Everywhere" is an exploration of emerging digital platforms in the United States including interactive television (personal video recorders, addressability, interactive program guides, video on demand, and the TV portal), and new distribution platforms (digital cable, digital terrestrial TV and broadband). Prior to joining Carat, Mitch was SVP/Director of Media Futures at Universal McCann whose responsibility was the creation and management of a media division dedicated to the investigation, strategic positioning and execution of new digital media. Partnerships included Cox Communications (long form advertising), AT&T Broadband/ACTV (addressability), CNN/Cartoon Network (VOD/cross digital media platforms), Discovery (VOD, SVOD, high definition), TechTV (virtual channel/cross media platforms), Weather (virtual channel), TiVo (PVR), RePlayTV (PVR), ShadowTV (streaming), Wink (enhanced TV), Digeo (TV portal), Invidi (addressability), Visible World (addressability), Vindigo (wireless), Profilium (wireless), LiquidGeneration (Gen Y marketing) and Liberty Media (evolution of new media and commercial production). Since 1991, Mitch has been president of HocusFocus, a media and marketing consultancy whose primary focus is interactive television and television distribution technologies. Client roster includes: ESPN, Fox, Cox, AT&T Broadband, Visible World, CNN, Cartoon Network, Digeo, Navic, RePlayTV, and Cablevision. Ian Blaine, Chief Executive Officer, thePlatform: Ian Blaine is a software industry veteran with experience at large software companies as well as successful start-ups. He has a strong background in product development, having spent over nine years at Aldus/Adobe Systems as a senior manager in the publishing division. In addition, he has proven entrepreneurial experience, having co-founded two successful start-up companies. In 1998, Ian founded an online personal information management company, Uniplanet, which he led as CEO from startup to acquisition by NBCi in 1999. In 2000, Ian co-founded thePlatform, and has successfully guided the company through two rounds of financing, and two mergers. He is a director of thePlatform and in addition to managing day-to-day activities, he sets long- term strategy for the company. Ian holds a B.A. in business administration from the University of Washington. Greg Verdino, Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, ROO: As Senior Vice President of Sales & Marketing, Greg Verdino brings over 15 years of experience in the online media and advertising industries to drive ROO's North American sales and marketing initiatives. In this role, Greg oversees strategic alliances, new business development with affiliates and content partners, advertising sales and marketing strategy. He also represents ROO on the Interactive Advertising Bureau’s Broadband Committee. Greg has worked in streaming media since its inception when in 1998, as Vice President/General Manager of Arbitron NewMedia, he produced a number of groundbreaking studies in consumer online media usage behavior and the impacts on convergence on traditional media channels. He also launched Arbitron's webcast ratings offering. Greg has also worked for Akamai and Globix in strategic sales and marketing positions. He began his career as an advertising executive with Saatchi & Saatchi, Wunderman and EuroRSCG. He is a recognized expert on streaming media, internet broadcasting and media convergence and has appeared on CNBC and Fox News Channel, as well as in BusinessWeek, USA Today and the Wall Street Journal. Greg has also spoken at numerous industry events including Streaming Media East in 1999 and 2001 as well as NAB, the Radio Ink Radio Internet Conference, the Radio Advertising Bureau Conference and many more. Trevor Kaufman, CEO, Schematic: Trevor began Schematic after founding and serving as co-CEO of Kaufman Patricof Enterprises (KPE), a successful New York-based Web design and consulting firm backed by Grey Advertising. Trevor was one of the pioneers of Web site design and has seven years experience managing Internet production teams and creating software applications for the Web, first for Voyager, a pioneering and highly acclaimed New York new media publisher, and then at KPE. He has personally produced some of the Web's most important projects, including an online tour for Paul McCartney, CBS's first network-wide Web site, and the online campaign strategy and site for the President and Vice President in the 1996 national election. Trevor has been featured as a regular technology commentator on television and in numerous magazines and trade publications for his groundbreaking work, including recognition as one of Newsweek's "Net 50: The Fifty People Who Matter Most on the Internet." He is a graduate of the University of Virginia.