11:15 AM - 12:30 PM
Session A:
Program Guides in DTV and Interactive TV
As DTV emerges in the american home as the window to the entertainment universe, the importance of the "Programming Guide" becomes that much more of a challenge. Programming guides are evolving from simple listing and next stage information service and is entering the age of “smart guides” or interfaces that will provide not only content, but also interactive services and windows to a world of communications, commerce as well as content. As the power of the set-top box increases, so does the role of the program guide. In this session, we will hear from the innovators in this growing industry sector.
Alison Green, VP Business Development, Gist Interactive Guides
Devin Hosea, CEO, Predictive
Kathy Marshall, Vice President, Marketing, iSurfTV
George Breen, founder & President, Digital Video Arts
Jack Perry, President & CEO, Decisionmark
Jim Stroud, President, Blackbird Communications, Moderator
Alison Green, VP Business Development, Gist Interactive Guides: As the VP of Business Development at Gist, Ms. Green has helped establish Gist as one of the leading developers of iTV guide applications. Through her efforts, Gist has achieved premiere partnership status with Liberate and Open-TV, obtained a deployment deal with the Digeo interactive television service for its TV Mag application and demonstrated its products at the largest iTV conventions around the world in partnership with the industry’s biggest players including Liberate, Open-TV, nCube, Motorola and Starz/Encore. Ms. Green’s expertise includes interactive television business models, content and functionality with the largest consumer impact and chance for financial return, and the potential for VOD and SVOD systems. Ms. Green has been with Gist since March 2000. Before Gist, Ms. Green was the Director of Business Development at GT Interactive Software where she was responsible for formulating and implementing effective business strategies and policy, including relationships with software studios and developers. Prior to that, Ms. Green was Senior Vice President of Business and Legal Affairs for The Film Office, a Paris-based division of Groupe Hachette.
Devin Hosea is the founder and technology visionary of Predictive Networks. Prior to forming Predictive Networks, Devin was the Vice President of Technology Investment for GE Capital's Equity Capital Group. During his tenure at GE Capital, Devin served as Chairman of the Board and President of Vanguard Automation, a supplier of automated assembly systems integration solutions for high technology manufacturers. Devin directed a dramatic operational turnaround for the company and sold the firm one year later. Before working at GE Capital, Devin was a National Science Foundation Fellow in Artificial Intelligence. He also worked as a buy-side analyst at the New York money-management firm of Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. Inc. Devin earned an A.B. from Princeton University.
Jack Perry, President & CEO, Decisionmark: Jack Perry was the lead in
ventor in the development of the Company's now-patented Geneva technology, a technology allowing consumers to determine broadcast signals received in the home. Geneva is the basis for several of the Company innovations, including TitanTV.com. A second patent was awarded to the Company under his leadership for its Air-to-Web Broadcast Replication (AWBR) technology. ProximityTV.com is an online service used by virtually every broadcast station in the U.S. It offers a suite of online products that provide market analysis, true signal coverage information and internal and external communication tools. Mr. Perry is also a respected figure inside the beltway for educating legislators and members of the FCC on digital and satellite broadcast issues.Jim Stroud is President of Blackbird Communications, a consulting firm
he founded in 2002 to address a growing need in bridging the gap between the entertainment and technology industries. Mr. Stroud's ten year career in marketing, technology, and entertainment began with Great Western Directories (which is now known as Worldpages.com), where he focused on creating ad campaigns for new markets. Mr. Stroud also served as a Marketing Manager for Dolphin Peripherals, a leading PCI I/O card manufacturer. A former literature major at West Texas State University, Mr. Stroud was also Senior Analyst and Editor for The Carmel Group, a leading market research firm. At The Carmel Group, Mr. Stroud edited the company's three regular publications and provided clients with cutting edge information to help them thrive in today's competitive marketplace. Jim Stroud is recognized as an industry expert and has spoken at numerous conferences including Streaming Media East and West, SBCA, Digital Hollywood, NAB, CES, Convergence 2001, Satellite 2001 and the NAB Futures Summit. Mr. Stroud also was the foundation speaker at the University of Southern California's prestigious Annenberg School of Communications' "Covering Entertainment in the Digital Age" forum. He is regularly consulted and his views are consistently quoted in publications and web sites, such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Forbes, Worth, Investor's Business Daily, Wired, CBS Marketwatch, MSNBC, The Denver Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Cable World, Electronic Media, Broadcasting and Cable, among dozens of others. Mr. Stroud has been a featured analyst on such television and radio programs and channels as CNN's Moneyline, PBS's News Hour with Jim Lehrer, TechTV, NPR, and CNET Radio. Additionally, Mr. Stroud was also recently named one of the top ten hot young media industry leaders of tomorrow by Electronic Media magazine.