Noon - 1:00 PM
Session A- DH11:
Movie Distribution and the Broadband Timeline - Via the PC - Via the Set-Top: Technology, Content & DRM
Movies delivered via broadband Internet! An idea that seemed to be dead on arrival just a year or two ago, is an industry on the verge of busting out. SVOD, VOD - features delivered via the Internet - via the PC and via the set-top is very much a part of our future. A centerpiece of this anticipated future is the expectation that the PVR, the Personal Video Recorder will become a fixture on the next generation of all home PCs as well as in Set-tops. Add to that a wireless connection between the PC/PVR and the Set-top or TV, and it doesn’t take brain surgery to see how the herky-jerky downside of IP delivery of rich media will become a thing of the past or at least a secondary consideration as consumers download content to the PVR and play it back in crisp, full screen DVD quality. Under this scenario, Internet SVOD will become a full competitor to SVOD via the cable or satellite. IP delivery of features is about to reshape the landscape of the film industry.
Steve Shannon, founder and Executive Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Akimbo
Ken Lipscomb, President, DAVE Networks
Curt Marvis, CEO, CinemaNow
Virl Hill, Director of Business Development for Consumer Services, RealNetworks
Alan Citron, SVP Marketing, Movielink
Josette Bonte, Managing Director, Broadband Services, RHK
Bradford C. Auerbach, Senior Entertainment Executive, Moderator
Virl Hill is RealNetworks' Director of Business Development for Cons
umer Services, leading the creation and management of Real's strategic partnerships with news and entertainment media companies. Prior to RealNetworks, Virl lead the Walt Disney Company's network television and television animation strategic planning group, focusing on production and global distribution strategy for prime time and syndicated programming including Home Improvement and The Disney Afternoon and for Disney's direct-to-video feature animation sequel initiative. He began his media career in international home video and merchandising at Hanna-Barbera Productions. Virl also worked in international investment banking with Credit Suisse First Boston in New York and Australia. Virl is a member of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and serves on the Board of the Cable Television Association for Marketing (CTAM) Silicon Valley/Pacific Northwest Chapter. He holds an MBA and a BA from Northwestern University and also studied at the London Business School.Curt Marvis is CEO of CinemaNow, Inc., the leading exhibitor and s
yndicator of feature films available on-demand over the Internet. Marvis took the helm of CinemaNow after a 20-year history of leadership in the television, music, multimedia, and Internet arenas. From music videos to interactive entertainment and video-on-demand, Marvis has been on the forefront of entertainment and technology developments, which influence pop culture. Prior to joining CinemaNow, Marvis led 7th Level in its transformation from a game development company to a leader in Web-based e-learning and communications services. After restructuring the company, Marvis successfully merged 7th Level and privately held Street Technologies, resulting in the formation of Learn2.com (NASDAQ: LTWO). Previously, he served as co-founder and executive vice president of multimedia start-up Powerhouse Entertainment. There, Marvis was instrumental in creating the new interactive entertainment medium called moviegames. For the first time, original film footage and breakthrough voice recognition technology were integrated to create the game genre. It debuted in two live-action CD-ROM games based on the motion pictures THE JUNGLE BOOK from Disney and PINOCCHIO from New Line Cinema. Prior to starting Powerhouse Entertainment, Marvis served as consultant to the IBM Multimedia Publishing Studio and Global Interactive Task Force, where he helped create strategic plans for IBM in their primary development of CD-ROM and interactive software. Marvis initially made his mark in the entertainment industry as CEO of The Company, a privately held LA-based production company that produced and developed more than 200 music videos, concerts, home videos and commercials. During the 10 years he headed The Company, Marvis launched productions for rock legends including Pink Floyd, The Rolling Stones, Janet Jackson and Bon Jovi. He produced many of the most popular rock videos in the history of MTV. His work has been honored during the Grammy's, American Video Awards, Billboard Awards, MTV awards and various international competitions. The industry also recognized him by awarding him the coveted MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1991. Marvis enthusiasm for the world of film began at an early age. At 17, he filmed and produced a television documentary on California that was sold during Marche International Des Producteurs (MIP) in Cannes, where he was the youngest producer to participate in the selling of his own program. Marvis holds a B.F.A. Summa Cum Laude from the UCLA Film School.Steve Shannon, Founder and Executive Vice President, Sales and Marketi
ng, Akimbo: Steve Shannon is the founder of Akimbo™, a consumer video-on-demand service that is delivered to television via the Internet in an easy "Queue and View™ format. Akimbo is the first company to deliver digital quality programs to any television via a broadband-Internet connection. Akimbo lets you choose from thousands of programs specifically suited to your taste, to watch whenever you want. Akimbo partners with leading providers of mainstream and specialty video to deliver more than 50 categories of unique entertainment, including film, comedy, music, fitness, education, foreign language, youth and sports. With Akimbo, your wish is on demand™. A Silicon Valley veteran, Steve was the creative force behind some of the area’s best known consumer technology brands. His most recent post prior to Akimbo, was vice president of marketing at SONICblue, where he was responsible for the success of both the Rio MP3 player and ReplayTV product lines. Steve joined SONICblue through the acquisition of ReplayTV. At ReplayTV he helped found and launch the world’s first digital video recorder, driving marketing strategies. Before ReplayTV, Steve was director of Internet authoring at Macromedia, where he launched Dreamweaver – Macromedia’s popular Web-authoring tool and still the company’s most profitable product line. Steve joined Macromedia when it purchased iband, the company he co-founded. Iband was the original developer of Dreamweaver. Prior to iband, Steve worked for Coopers & Lybrand and Paramount Pictures. Steve holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and an MBA from UC Berkeley.Ken Lipscomb, President, DAVE Networks: Ken Lipscomb has over 20 yea
rs of experience in implementing database, interactive multimedia, and publishing and communications technologies. Most recently, Ken founded and served as Chairman and CEO of ZapMedia. ZapMedia created the industry’s first converged device and IP based broadcasting network for distributing music, videos and web browsing to the living room.At ZapMedia he raised over $270 million in funding and during the Internet hey day, achieved a market valuation of greater than $1billion. Prior to founding ZapMedia, Ken was the founder, President and CEO of InfoGraphix Technologies, Inc. a computer software development company specializing in digital print controllers and Postscript™ printing software, where he engineered printer interface circuit boards and software for color copiers and large format color imaging devices. Prior to founding InfoGraphix, Ken conceived and co-founded ADAM Software, Inc. from 1989 to 1991, and served as its Chief Technology Officer. ADAM Software (now Adam, Inc.) is a publicly traded company that created an interactive graphical program for the presentation of human anatomy and medical related information. Adam (NASDAQ: ADAM), as a public company has had a market cap of up to $240 million over the last few years. Ken has also founded several magazines, including Digital Output Magazine, which won the coveted Folio award for 1996 in its category as a technical publication, and Atlanta Computer Currents Magazine, a regional computer newsmagazine. Ken graduated from Xavier University in New Orleans with a B.S. in Chemistry and Computer Science. Additionally, he has graduate studies in Medicine at the University Of Alabama School Of Medicine in Mobile.Tyler Goldman, VP Business Development, Movielink: As the head o
f Business Development, Tyler Goldman is responsible for guiding the corporate growth of Movielink, including all of its strategic partnerships. Tyler's current focus is on developing partnerships to boost the demand for video content over I/P, add value to Movielink's products, and improve the quality of the Movielink service. Prior to Movielink, Tyler was the Founder and President of Broadband Sports, Inc. (BBS), the leading provider and distributor of proprietary sports content and commerce across digital platforms, including cable, satellite and the Internet. BBS employed over 240 people and was funded by leading venture capital, technology and media companies, including DirecTV and Clear Channel Communications. Prior to BBS, Tyler was one of five members of Steinberg & Moorad, the top sports law firm in the United States, and a corporate attorney at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati. Tyler holds an M.B.A. from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business, Northwestern University, where he received the Dean's Award for finishing first in his class, a J.D. from Northwestern University School of Law, Order of the Coif, and a B.A. from Dartmouth College, summa cum laude.Josette Bonte, Managing Director, Broadband Services, RHK: Dr. Josette B
onte is retained by RHK as an Executive Affiliate servicing the firm’s broadband content and services advisory practice and research programs. Dr. Bonte has twelve years of experience as an executive working in the film and television production and distribution industries followed by ten years in new media and telecommunications. In the eighties, Dr. Bonte served as Executive Director of Unifrance Film, where she represented the French motion picture and television industry in Hollywood for eight years. She subsequently founded EuroScreen Partners, a film production company capitalized by European cable operators and banks. Dr. Bonte most recently served as Senior Vice President, Business Development, for online games company Media Station, Inc. where she headed the technology licensing and broadband affiliate relations department. She previously worked with the PanAmSat Net/36 team, where she concentrated on broadband content strategy and customer acquisition. In 1994, she joined US West as Head of Strategic Marketing, Entertainment and Interactive Services, where she participated in the company’s early interactive media and VoD trials and became the company’s liason with the Hollywood entertainment industry for content licensing. Dr. Bonte received an M.F.A from the UCLA School of Film and Television and a Ph.D. in Telecommunications and New Media from the Sorbonne.BRADFORD C. AUERBACH: Mr. Auerbach is a senior entertainme
nt executive with extensive and unique expertise in production, content acquisition, Intellectual Property law and licensing, both domestically and internationally. He has had success in structuring many groundbreaking deals with a diverse range of rightsholders, including NFL, HBO, MTV, Olympics Committee, Screen Actors Guild, every Hollywood studio, Peter Gabriel, ESPN, Sesame Street/CTW, among numerous others. He has deep familiarity with each aspect of the media business, having sat on all sides of the deal-making table, on behalf of cable, satellite, Internet, hardware, software, distribution and production companies. He has held positions as General Counsel for Philips Media (a division of Royal Philips Electronics, Netherlands) and Head Counsel, Business Affairs for Astro/MEASAT (Malaysia), the premier direct broadcast satellite operator in South East Asia. As the lead attorney of Business Affairs for Programming at Starz/Encore he structured the pay television industry’s largest Hollywood studio output deal, and the first to include SVOD (Subscription Video On Demand) rights. Mr. Auerbach started his entertainment media career at Disney Home Video, where he handled business affairs for the industry’s leading home video company, including the company’s first copy protection deal and the company’s first Pay Per Transaction deal. He has published myriad entertainment articles worldwide, and has presented his views at numerous industry conferences. Mr. Auerbach helped form the DVD Entertainment Group, the industry-wide consortium that was the primary catalyst for the launch and spectacular success of the DVD format. He is the Executive Director of the DVD-Audio Council, and also consults to a handful of cutting edge clients. His recent engagements include Warner Music Group, Macromedia’s Mobile group and the Getty Museum. BA – Hamilton College, JD – Boston College