12:30 PM – 1:45 PM
Track II:
Digital Cable and Satellite Television Strategies: Channel Launches, SVOD-VOD, HDTV, International and Interactive
With DTV having passed the threshold of consumer acceptance, reaching over 40 million homes, the consumer is now first experiencing what the future of cable and satellite programming is all about. For a decade, industry leaders have speculated on the future and market value of the 500 channel universe and now it is here. With DTV, HDTV and broadband rolling out in communities across the country, the opportunity to innovate, to offer unique and exciting new channels and subscription and VOD packages will be the ongoing challenge for the industry. The entire universe of basic and pay services will be up for grabs in the coming five years. The combination of new technologies, new services, new partnerships, content innovation, aggressive marketing, not to mention new investment will remake the landscape of home entertainment.
Greg DePrez, VP, Subscription VOD, Starz Encore Group LLC
Tom Barreca, Senior Vice President, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.
Charles Segars, Senior Vice President, Programming, Production and Network Strategy, FINE LIVING Network
Thomas N. Heymann, Senior Vice President/General Manager, The Biography Channel
Alex Ben Block, Editor, Television Week, Moderator
Additional speakers to be announced
Greg DePrez is vice president, subscription video-on-demand (SV
OD), at Starz Encore Group LLC (Starz Encore). DePrez is responsible for taking advantage of emerging "on demand" opportunities to enhance Starz Encore’s subscription premium television business. This includes supporting the deployment of Starz Encore’s SVOD service offering, Starz On Demand, on cable TV, direct broadcast satellite and broadband platforms. A 22-year cable and new media veteran, DePrez joined Starz Encore from City Media LLC, which he founded to provide cable operators with programming and marketing support for video-on-demand rollouts. Prior to that, DePrez spent eight years as an executive with TCI Communications and United Artists Cable Television managing their pay-per-view businesses. He has headed regional sales and marketing for the Request Television PPV networks, Group W Satellite Communications and Daniels Cablevision. DePrez has developed an industry-wide reputation as a knowledgeable and successful professional in the area of transactional services development and deployment. His experience and industry relationships position him as an ideal candidate for keynote addresses and panel discussions on interactive programming services. DePrez resides in Highlands Ranch, Colorado, with his wife, Susie, and their two children, Stephanie and Danny.Thomas N. Heymann is Senior Vice President/General Manager, The Biography Channel, a position he assumed in September 2001. Mr. Heymann is responsible for the strategic planning, programming, consumer marketing, brand development and day-to-day operations of The Biography Channel. Previously, he was Senior Vice President/General Manager of AETN Interactive, leading the creation of A&E Television Networks Web sites, www.AandE.com, www.Biography.com and www.HistoryChannel.com, as well as overseeing the company’s e-commerce and interactive television initiatives. Prior to that, he served as Vice President, AETN Consumer Products, where he successfully oversaw the rapid growth of the company’s brand extensions such as Biography Magazine, A&E Home Video with VHS and DVD editions, Biography Books, CD-ROMs, music CDs, consumer catalogs, and AETN’s numerous web sites. As Senior Vice President/General Manager, The Biography Channel, Tom Heymann is dedicated to exploring new growth opportunities for the network by building on the strength of the Biography brand, including increasing affiliate distribution, advertising support and consumer awareness for the network. Prior to joining A&E Television Networks in 1992, Mr. Heymann was senior consultant, New Business Development, Lifetime Medical Television, where he was responsible for the strategic planning and development of new business ventures, including video, sponsorship and direct mail. He has also held senior management positions with Lorimar Home Video. Mr. Heymann is an accomplished author. He has created and written six books concerning business, demographic and cultural issues in the United States, the former Soviet Union and Japan. He obtained his MBA in Marketing from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business and graduated from Northwestern University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Communications, concentrating in Radio, TV and Film. Mr. Heymann resides in New York with his wife and three children.
Tom Barreca, Senior Vice President, WWE Enterprises: Tom Barreca joi
ned World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. as Senior Vice President and founder of WWE Enterprises, the company’s new business development unit, in July, 2003. In this position, Barreca is creating and overseeing a comprehensive series of developmental efforts for the WWE® brand, with an emphasis on new digital and video products such as video-on-demand. His primary charter is monetizing WWE’s 75,000 hour library of digital wrestling programming, which has been significantly expanded over the past few years with the acquisition of content from leading national and regional promoters including World Championship Wrestling™, Extreme Championship Wrestling™ and the American Wrestling Association®. Prior to WWE, Mr. Barreca worked extensively in developing new businesses, technology, licensing and interactive TV ventures for AMC Networks, AMC and WE: Women’s Entertainment. While at AMC Networks, Barreca managed all aspects of WE and AMC’s non-network television businesses and ventures, including interactive TV, video-on-demand, digital set top box programming and content licensing. A network and new media business veteran, Barreca also worked on several successful basic cable launches including HA! TV Comedy Network, MTV Europe and Comedy Central. In addition to his career in cable, Barreca worked at leading animation producer Hanna-Barbera, where he monetized the company’s extensive character and video libraries, creating new revenue streams, ventures and partnerships under the Cartoon Network trademark. Earlier, Barreca worked on Madison Avenue at J. Walter Thompson and Ogilvy & Mather. Barreca is also a Board Member and Trustee of the Lockwood Mathews Mansion Museum in Norwalk, CT. He is a graduate of Cornell University and Columbia Business School. A native of Syracuse, NY, he lives in Westport, CT with his wife Eileen and two children, Molly and Mac.Charles Segars, Senior Vice President, Programming, Production and Network Strategy, FINE LIVING Network: Segars is responsible for overseeing all aspects of programming and production, and is a pivotal member of the management team setting the network's overall strategy. He joined FINE LIVING from DreamWorks SKG, where he was instrumental in both traditional television and new media ventures. Prior to DreamWorks, Segars served in high-level positions at CBS and Viacom Enterprises. He began his career as one of the original producers of the Movietime network and helped evolve it into E! Entertainment television.
Alex Ben Block, Editor, Television Week: Mr. Block has served as editor o
f The Hollywood Reporter and was associate editor at Forbes Magazine. Author of the nonfiction book "Outfoxed: The Inside Story of America's Fourth Network," which chronicled the tumultuous birth of Fox Broadcasting, including the battles among Barry Diller, Marvin Davis and Rupert Murdoch, Mr. Block, for the past two years has been executive director of the Los Angeles Press Club as well as editor in chief of Hollywood Star News. He was also a regular contributor to "Call Sheet," a weekly independent look at the entertainment business on KPCC-FM, a major National Public Radio outlet in Los Angeles. Mr. Block was editor of The Hollywood Reporter for seven years -- 1992 to 1998 -- holding that title longer than anyone in The Reporter's history. A native of Syracuse, N.Y., and graduate of Ithaca College, Mr. Block began his career at Forbes Magazine in New York and worked for Forbes again during the mid-1980s in Los Angeles. He has been entertainment editor and movie critic for the Miami News, columnist and critic at The Detroit News, columnist and city editor for the Los Angeles Herald Examiner and movie critic for KGIL-AM in Los Angeles. Mr. Block lives in Encino, Calif., with his wife, actress and producer Jodi Taylor, and is the father of actress, musician and artist Hayley Taylor-Block