Noon - 1:00 PM
Session B:
DH12: SVOD and the Set-Top Box - DTV and the Expanded Content Opportunity
In this session, we will take a look at the SVOD, Subscription Video on Demand marketplace primarily as it is being transformed by the cable and satellite industries. The era of three or films-a-night being offered to the consumer is being retired, system by system and in its place, the new digital set-tops are offering up a host of new packages - a host of subscription style services, ranging from an entire month’s package of thirty or so films available on demand to whole new libraries available on an on-demand basis. In this session we will take a look at the packages and the technology behind them that makes these new offerings possible. The transition to an SVOD world is now underway.
Steve Necessary, President, Concurrent Xstreme Division
James Kelso, Vice President/General Manager, Broadband Division, SeaChange International
Andy Beers, TV Business Development, Microsoft
Reggie Bradford, President & CEO, N2 Broadband
Tom Elliott, Senior Advisor, New Business Development, PrediWave
Terri Richardson, Vice President, Business Development & Alliances, nCUBE
David Del Beccaro, President and CEO, Music Choice, Moderator
Andy Beers is group business development manager for the Microsoft TV Group at Microsoft Corporation. In this capacity, Beers works with broadcasters and cable programmers to help them adopt interactive TV technologies and realize new revenue opportunities for enhanced TV programming. In 1998, Beers joined the Microsoft TV Group for the opportunity to work in interactive media and help shape the future of TV. With more than 20 years in the TV news industry, Beers is well positioned to lead Microsoft TV’s business development efforts and further advance the development of interactive TV content. Beers’ extensive background in TV news includes high-profile positions as news director at KING-TV (NBC Seattle) and executive producer of MSNBC.com where he was responsible for both national and international news content. Previously, Beers was the news director at MSN News, the interactive, multimedia news service for the Microsoft Network. He was also an integral player during the launch of MSNBC in 1996 and MSN news in 1995. Beers has recently spoken on behalf of Microsoft TV at Digital Hollywood, the Myers Forum, Kagan Interactive TV Summit, Society of Broadcast Engineers Electronic Media Expo and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Beers holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida State University and is on advisory boards for several universities, advising faculty on the development of new media journalism curricula.
Steve Necessary, 45, is president of the XSTREME Division of Concurrent C
omputer Corporation, a leading provider of high-performance real-time computer systems, software, and servers. Concurrent’s XSTREME Division is the leading supplier in the emerging digital video server marketplace. The Division focuses on the broadband Video-On-Demand (VOD) and rich streaming media markets, which include VOD applications for cable, corporate training, education, hospitality, and digital video-to-the-home. Mr. Necessary has more than 20 years of cable television related experience, including product management, engineering, technical support, and sales efforts in the communications and broadband industry. As president of the XSTREME Division, he is responsible for leading the division’s efforts to expand its leadership position as a recognized worldwide leader of reliable, high-capacity end-to-end VOD systems and services. Bringing with him a wealth of industry expertise and general management experience, Mr. Necessary’s focus is on building Concurrent’s excellent operational performance and identifying new process improvement initiatives to help facilitate the growth of Concurrent’s VOD business. Prior to this appointment, Mr. Necessary was the president, CEO, and director of PowerTV, Inc, a software subsidiary of Scientific-Atlanta. Previously, Mr. Necessary had been corporate vice president and vice president of marketing at Scientific-Atlanta. He also held a number of other positions with Scientific-Atlanta, including vice president and general manager of analog video systems, where he was responsible for the operational P&L, product planning, engineering, and marketing for advanced analog set-tops. Mr. Necessary spent several years at ANTEC Corporation, where his final position was president of the products group. Earlier in his career, he was a team manager for Procter & Gamble. A native of Atlanta, Mr. Necessary received a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering Economic Systems from Georgia Tech and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University. Active in both professional and civic affairs throughout his career, Mr. Necessary is an active member in The Cable and Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE), Women in Cable and Telecommunications (WICT), and Christians in Cable. Mr. Necessary also serves on the board of the Atlanta Ballet Theater and the advisory board of the Georgia Wilderness Institute.James Kelso, Vice President/General Manager, Broadband Division, SeaChange International, Inc.:
James Kelso leads product development and marketing efforts for SeaChange’s video-on-demand and cable advertising systems. Today, SeaChange is a leading provider of interactive television systems for on-demand movies, subscription video-on-demand and other applications. With Kelso’s guidance, SeaChange has achieved thousands of Spot installations which air millions of ads worldwide each day. Prior to joining SeaChange, Kelso was director of engineering operations for one of the largest cable operators in the United States, Atlanta-based Cox Communications, Inc. At Cox, he was responsible for the evaluation and implementation of insertion, management and billing technologies underlying that operator’s multi-million dollar local advertising sales organization. Kelso’s articles and white papers on emergent digital advertising technologies, such as digital cable ad insertion, have been published in various trade journals. An active participant in cable television’s advancement into new capabilities, he chaired the Cable Advertising Bureau’s Digital Advertising sub-committee on methods for video insertion into digital network streams and ensures his product organization’s collaboration with standards bodies such as the Society of Cable Television Engineers’ digital video sub-committees. He regularly participates as a speaker for trade forums, most recently addressing a Western Cable Show audience on the inevitable emergence of advertising in on-demand television. Kelso graduated from the University of Florida with a major in telecommunications management and a specialization in business.Reggie Bradford, President & CEO, N2 Broadband: Overseeing the strate
gic direction and daily operations for N2 Broadband, Reggie focuses on top line revenue growth and bottom line profitability. Reggie has more than 12 years of operations, management and marketing experience in traditional and emerging industry sectors. From 1998 to 2000, Reggie served as the Chief Marketing Officer of WebMD Corp, where he was instrumental in quickly establishing WebMD as the market leader and securing more than 100 strategic partnerships including 10 mergers and acquisitions. Previously, Reggie held management positions in business development, marketing/branding, operations, sales and distribution in the consumer packaged goods industry for Miller Brewing and Philip Morris. Reggie earned a BBA in Finance from the University of Georgia and an MBA from Emory University.Thomas G. Elliot, Senior Advisor, New Business Development, PrediWave: As PrediWave’s senior advisor for new business development, Tom Elliott has spent over 30 years in all phases of technical management involved in the cable system industry, and witnessed the evolution of the cable/broadband industry. Mr. Elliot held high-level positions in all phases of technical management involved in the cable system industry including, Vice President of TCI Communications, Inc. and Senior Vice President of Engineering and Technical Services for TCI Cable Management Corporation, and Director of Research and Development, where he was responsible for all phases of TCI’s microwave operations in eight states. Mr. Elliot also held multiple management levels within Western Microwave, including Chief Engineer and General Manager. Currently, he is overseeing PrediWave’s New Business Development for the company’s VOD technology, which provides economically and logistically feasible VOD with the capacity to service an unlimited number of cable and satellite subscribers. Mr. Elliot has been involved in building the first non-Bell network TV microwave distribution system in the United States; the first commercial transportable video uplink in the world; the engineering, installation and operations of the first commercial fiber link for the U.S. Air Force at NORAD; worldwide consulting on microwave, CATV, voice, data and video systems. Mr. Elliott has been featured as a speaker at Kagan conferences, NCTA shows, Western shows, SCTE EXPOs, SCTE ETs, SCTE chapters, SMPTE conferences, TV Conferences in Europe, ITC conferences, NTC conferences, Scullery's future symposium in Hakone Japan, EEC conferences, and several financial analysts conferences, and has published numerous papers on both microwave and CATV. He is the previous Chairman of the Board and the current Director of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers, founder of the SCTE Interface Practices Committee, and serves on the NCTA Engineering Committee and the Education and Training Committee for the CATV Center and Museum. In addition, Mr. Elliot is Chairman of CableLabs’ TAC Operations Subcommittee, the holder of a patent on F-fittings and along with two co-honorees, was named 1992 CED Man of the Year. He received the 1993 NCTA Vanguard Award for Science and Technology, and was inducted into the SCTE Hall of Fame in 1998. Mr. Elliot holds a degree from the Colorado Technical Institute.
TERRI RICHARDSON, Vice President, Business Development & Alliances, nCUBE Corporation: Formerly Senior Director for Business Development at Oracle Corporation's Interactive Television Division, Ms. Richardson currently works with nCUBE's partners and customers to develop end-to-end streaming media solutions. Since the early trial period of video-on-demand in 1994, Ms. Richardson has worked in the field of interactive television services. Her background includes considerable experience in business development and marketing in the telecommunications and computer industries. Prior to joining Oracle, she spent thirteen years with Digital Equipment Corporation. Ms. Richardson is a graduate of Duke University.
David Del Beccaro is the President, CEO and Founder of Music Choice, th
e world’s largest provider of commercial-free digital music via cable and satellite television. Del Beccaro founded Music Choice when he was the vice president of new business development at General Instrument’s Communications Division (GICD), now a division of Motorola, Inc. At GICD, Del Beccaro’s responsibilities included managing new business opportunities and long-term development efforts, such as the Cable Catalog Store. Before joining General Instrument Communications Divisions in 1984, Del Beccaro served in various marketing and financial positions at General Instrument Corporation for two years. Del Beccaro held positions as controller and as vice president of finance. He also held various financial and strategic planning positions at Ford Motor Company for five years prior to joining General Instrument. Music Choice has realized many successful initiatives under Del Beccaro’s direction, including: • Securing funding for the Music Choice partnership through discussions and negotiations with current partners: Adelphia Cable, Comcast, Cox Communications, EMI Music, Motorola, Microsoft, Sony Corporation, Time Warner Cable and Warner Music Group, Inc. • Achieving 85% market penetration in digital cable homes, and 100% penetration in DIRECTV homes. Music Choice is currently available in 25 million homes and growing at 6 million homes a year. Today, Music Choice is the world’s largest distributor of commercial-free digital music offering 54 channels of diverse music channels. • Unveiling of the New Face of Music Choice that includes new screens featuring album art, music news, artist facts, music history, new releases and TV screen ads that launched without compromising listenership. • Embarking on the company’s first video endeavor with the development of the Music Choice Concert Series that offers exclusive, monthly concerts to cable operators. Presently, 30 million cable homes have access to the Music Choice Concert Series. • Establishing a 24/7 Interactive e-commerce channel that enables customers to shop for music and purchase multiple CD titles at any time using their television remote control. • The creation of a sister company, Music Choice Europe, to service the European market. Del Beccaro received a Bachelor of Science and Masters of Science degrees in industrial engineering from Stanford University and earned a Bachelor of Arts in management engineering from Claremont McKenna College.