Wednesday, March 30 12:30 PM - 1:45 PM Track I: 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. A decade ago, industry leaders 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. Robyn Polashuk, of Counsel, Corporate Media Group, Greenberg Traurig, LLP Michael Kohn, Sr VP Business Affairs & General Counsel, GSN: The Network for Games David Meister, Chairman of the Board and CEO, The Tennis Channel Mitchell J. Weinraub, Senior Director, New Media Initiatives and Implementation, Comcast Craig Engler, Director, Interactive, SCI FI, NBC Universal Anil Srivatsa, SVP, Affiliate Sales & Operations, ImaginAsian TV Chris Marlowe, Associate Editor, New Media/Technology, The Hollywood Reporter, Moderator David L. Meister is chairman and chief executive officer of The Tennis Channel, Inc., which he co-founded with president Steve Bellamy. In this position, he is combining his passion for tennis and innovative business development skills to direct the development and continued growth of cable television’s ultimate destination for everything tennis. Meister brings 25 years of experience in the television industry to The Tennis Channel. He was a key force in building a range of television channels including Sundance Channel, HBO, Cinemax and Financial News Network (now CNBC). He was senior vice president of Time, Inc.’s Home Box Office, Inc. where he established HBO Sports, launched Cinemax, founded HBO Enterprises and served simultaneously as president of Time-Life Films. As president of Financial News Network, Meister led the network to impressive subscriber growth during its early years and was responsible for acquiring and overseeing its two subsidiaries, The Learning Channel and Data Broadcasting Company. Meister created The Sundance Channel, working with Robert Redford to create a cable channel of eclectic films, and eventually establishing the joint venture with Viacom, Inc. A visionary strategist, Meister developed barter syndication more than 30 years ago, and later used that as the basis for orchestrating Procter & Gamble’s unprecedented $50 million acquisition of the Time-Life Films library. His sports background includes serving as Major League Baseball's top television executive where he was responsible for worldwide broadcast and cable activities. Previously, he began his career in advertising, at several major agencies, including Young & Rubicam. Meister’s role as a media director has provided him a solid foothold in the world of marketing. He is recipient of several CableACE Awards and was an Edgar Award finalist. Meister received the National Cable Television Association President’s Award; was Chairman of the Under-30 Program of the International Radio and Television Society; has sat on the International Council of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; and was a Governor of the National Academy of Cable Programming, serving on its ACE Awards Committee. A graduate of Brown University, Meister earned an MBA from Columbia University. He and his wife, Joan, live in Pacific Palisades, Calif., where he continues to be one of the world's most mediocre tennis players. Michael Kohn, Senior Vice President, Business Affairs/General Counsel, GSN: Since joining GSN in November 1999 as Senior Vice President of Business Affairs, Michael Kohn, who added the title of General Counsel in 2002, has played a crucial role in completing new affiliate distribution agreements and headed the network’s negotiations with major program suppliers in both the acquisition of game programming and the development of original game concepts. Kohn has been intimately involved in counseling GSN’s interactive group in its pioneering development of real-time play along programming applications. Kohn also oversees all of GSN’s other legal and business matters, working closely with GSN’s department heads on strategy and negotiations. Kohn joined GSN from PolyGram Filmed Entertainment Distribution, where he served as Vice President and Head of Business and Legal Affairs, overseeing the company’s business and legal activities in merchandising, advertising, promotion and distribution, covering motion picture releases from both PolyGram Films and Gramercy Pictures. Beginning his career in media with Sony Pictures Entertainment in 1992, Kohn was first a member of the company’s Corporate Legal/Litigation department. Moving up the ranks over the next four years, Kohn became Assistant General Counsel, working with the motion picture, television and home video units at the studio. Ultimately, Kohn was named Vice President of Business Affairs at SPE division Columbia TriStar Television, charged with handling business affairs pertaining to the company’s prime time development and production. Kohn completed his undergraduate studies with a Government major and English/Psychology minor at Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and earned his J.D. from Boston University School of Law in 1986. He then spent six years at the Los Angeles-based law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker as a litigation associate. Kohn now lives in Malibu, California with his wife, Kristin, and their three young children. Mitchell J. Weinraub, Senior Director, New Media Initiatives and Implementation, Comcast: Mitchell J. Weinraub is Senior Director of New Media Initiatives for the Comcast Media Center. In this role, he is responsible for all of the Comcast Media Center's production and new media services including the national VOD platform, studios, post-production, live events, web streaming, store and forward delivery and video over IP at the Denver-area facility. Weinraub has 15 years of experience designing facilities, systems and processes for the purpose of managing technology. Before his current assignment, he held roles at PRIMESTAR, DIRECTV, National College Television and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. He has a B.A. in broadcast journalism from The American University, and an M.A. in broadcasting, telecommunications, and mass media from Temple University. Weinraub is co-author of Universal Access to On-line Services: An Examination of the Issue, published as Chapter 6 in The Digital Divide: Facing a Crisis or Creating a Myth by MIT Press, August 2001. Anil Srivatsa, SVP, Affiliate Sales & Operations, ImaginAsian TV: Anil Srivatsa oversees all aspects of distribution and operations for ImaginAsian TV. He joined ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc. with fourteen years of experience in the radio, television, and cable industries. Currently, Mr. Srivatsa also hosts the largest syndicated South Asian radio show, "Anil Ki Awaaz," broadcasting over fifty U.S. cities in six markets, and earning a place for Mr. Srivatsa in the Limca Book of Records (India’s version of the Guinness Book) Prior to joining ImaginAsian Entertainment, Inc., Mr. Srivatsa served as Director of Marketing and Public Relations Worldwide at RTV UK, where he successfully launched several South Asian networks in Europe and the Middle East. He also played a crucial role in new business development, strategic planning, and development of financial structure of RTV UK’s private placement offerings. Prior to his time at RTV UK, Mr. Srivatsa was Director of Cricket and South Asian Programming at Kelly Broadcasting, where he oversaw the creation and development of the Cricket Channel. At Kelly, he also developed the International Premium Network business model, a standard for today’s method of distributing Asian media. Previously, Mr. Srivatsa headed the production for Medical Detectives on the Learning Channel (now Forensic Files on Court TV), which earned the nomination for the Cable Ace Awards. Mr. Srivatsa earned a Master of Science degree in Telecommunications at Kutztown University and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology, Public Administration, and Journalism from Mysore University.