2:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Session A:
Movie Distribution and the Internet Timeline - Via the PC - Via the Set-Top
Movies delivered via the Internet! No way! Way! What seemed to be dead on arrival just a year 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 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.
Curt Marvis, CEO, CinemaNow
Mariam Naficy, VP of Marketing, Movielink
Chris Dorr, Senior Vice President, Programming, Intertainer
Jim O'Brien, Global Director, Entertainment & Media, Exodus - A Cable & Wireless Service
Justin McCarthy, Director, Entertainment Vertical, Google, Moderator
Curt Marvis is CEO of CinemaNow, the leader in IP-based video-on-de
mand distribution and technology. Before joining CinemaNow, he was president of 7th Level (now Learn2.com NASD:LTWO.) Prior to this post, he served as senior vice president of business development for 7th Level where he helped lead the successful restructuring of the company from CD-ROM development into its current status as a leader in enhanced learning and communications services for the Web. Marvis created and implemented business partnerships with Real Networks, GeoCities, broadcast.com, IBM, MTV and WAVO while there. He was a founder of multimedia start-up Powerhouse Entertainment and served one year as a consultant on the IBM Multimedia Task Force creating strategic plans for IBM in their continued development of interactive software. From 1985 to 1994, Marvis served as CEO of The Company, an award winning and highly successful privately held production company in Los Angeles. During this time, he and his partner, Director Wayne Isham, produced many of the most popular and critically acclaimed videos in the history of MTV. In 1991, Curt was awarded with MTV's Video Vanguard Award honoring lifetime achievement in his work. Marvis is a graduate with honors of UCLA with a BFA in Motion Picture and Television Production.Jim O'Brien, Global Director, Entertainment & Media, Exodus - A Cable & Wireless Service: As Director of Footprint® Streaming Services at Digital Island, O’Brien has responsibility for developing and driving the company’s market strategy for the delivery of streamed content over the Web. His charter includes defining the technical direction of Digital Island’s streaming services as well as managing revenue growth in this cutting edge area of the Internet. Previous to joining Digital Island in August of 2000, O’Brien was director of Business Development at Channelmatic-LIMT, where he was responsible for strategic product development and and key OEM, distributor and customer accounts. A pioneer in the deployment of computer-based control and video server systems in broadcast, cable, satellite and streaming server markets, O’Brien is a recognized expert in in the field of TV Station control systems, with special emphasis in their integration with Web streaming. He has over 20 years of experience working with many of the world's largest television networks, TV station ownership groups and cable TV MSO's, relating to control systems, video servers and web streaming strategies. O’Brien has extensive industry experience in business development, product management and sales and has held key positions at ASC/Leitch, New Media-Los Angeles, Wexler Video and Visions International. He is an active member of SMPTE, SCTE and ITVA and is a graduate of Kansas State – Pittsburg.
Chris Dorr, Senior Vice President, Programming, Intertainer: As Senior Vice President, Programming Chris Dorr is in charge of acquiring all programming for Intertainer, managing the ongoing relationships with its over forty content providers and overseeing the placement and promotion of programs on the service. Prior to his tenure at Intertainer, Dorr spent nearly 15 years serving as an executive and producer for several independent film companies and major Hollywood studios. Most recently, he spent four years as co-president of Scott Free Productions, where he produced feature films and television series, including "Where the Money Is" and "Clay Pigeons." Dorr has also held positions as an executive with Bedford Falls, Universal Pictures and Walt Disney, where he shepherded such films as "Problem Child" and "Dead Poets Society."
Mariam Naficy leads the Marketing, Product, Customer Service, and C
ontent groups. She is responsible for product marketing at Movielink, including creating the product vision, acquiring and retaining customers, defining user experience, and driving day-to-day revenues. Mariam brings significant new media experience to Movielink from her role as co-founder and co-CEO of Eve.com, a leading online retailer of cosmetics. Mariam raised funding for Eve.com from leading venture capital firms, built the business into a market-leading position, and sold the company successfully in May 2000. Most recently, Mariam was at Columbia Tristar International Television as the interim Vice President, Channels Marketing. Her previous career highlights include Goldman, Sachs & Company in its Investment Banking Division, Gemini Management Consulting, and head of marketing at the Left at Albuquerque restaurant chain. Mariam holds an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a B.A. in Political Economy from Williams College.Justin McCarthy, Director of Entertainment, Google Inc.: As the Director
of Entertainment at Google, Justin McCarthy is responsible for leveraging Google's volume of entertainment searches for the top entertainment marketers. To date, Google has enjoyed productive relationships with Warner Bros, Fox, Disney, USA Networks, Sony, DirecTV, BMG and other leading entertainment brands. McCarthy joined Google from DoubleClick Inc., where he was the General Manager, Entertainment & Travel Networks and responsible for leading the business development and advertising sales effort behind DoubleClick's Entertainment & Youth Network. In that role, McCarthy managed partnerships with Comedy Central, Billboard, A&E Properties, CosmoGirl, Zagat, GamePro.com and directed advertising relationships with Warner Brothers, Sony, Universal, Disney, Fox and other major entertainment customers. Prior to joining DoubleClick, McCarthy was the Marketing Manager at CondeNast Publications Interactive Division, CondeNet, helping to develop the company' s Web brand, Concierge.com. Before that, Justin worked at a number of other media companies, including: The New York Times Company, Time Inc., and Hartford Media. McCarthy earned a BA in English from Trinity College in Connecticut. He currently lives in New York City