9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
Track I:
OnDemand Television – All-Access All the Time – From the Basic DTV Package, the Premium Package to the PVR Enabled Viewer
Movies may have been the driver in the pay TV universe, but with the arrival of on-demand television, an entirely new set of programming and viewing concepts may be on the verge of breaking through in the marketplace. This panel will explore the opportunity for syndicators, networks, cable, satellite and telco operators to provide the new vision of OnDemand television and what the entirely new wired TV world will look like into the future. With the arrival of DTV and the PVR, the viewer experience will never be the same.
Albert Cheng, SVP of Distribution Strategy & Operations, ABC Cable Networks Group
Paul Colichman, Chairman and partner, Regent Entertainment and President , here! TV, LLC
Mitch Oscar, Executive Vice President, Carat Digital
Jeff Shultz, CEO, CONCERT
Michael Hopkins, Senior Vice President, Affiliate Sales, Fox Cable Networks
Naveen Chopra, Director, Business Development, TiVo
Terry S. Bienstock, Bienstock Consulting, LLC, former EVP & General Counsel, Comcast Cable, Moderator
Naveen Chopra, Director of Business Development, TiVo Inc. Naveen currently serves as Director of Business Development at TiVo where he is responsible for expanding distribution of the TiVo Service with operators and OEMs. He is also chartered to develop partnerships that enhance TiVo’s award-winning consumer experience through new content partners, innovative advertising mechanisms, and multimedia services. Naveen joined TiVo with over ten years of experience in the media-technology space. He was Director of Product Marketing & Business Development at Moxi Digital where he built the company’s first partnerships with cable and satellite operators and negotiated the sale of Moxi to Paul Allen’s Digeo. Prior to Moxi, Naveen worked for Microsoft Corporation where he led the team that, in 1997, developed the world’s first integrated DVR product with EchoStar and eventually Microsoft’s UltimateTV product line. Naveen began his career at Hewlett Packard where he held a number of roles in engineering, product marketing, and business development. He has also worked as a lecturer in the Computer Science department at Stanford University. A graduate of Stanford, Naveen received Bachelors degrees in Computer Science and Economics and earned an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. He resides in Palo Alto, California.
Albert Cheng, Senior Vice President, Business Strategy and Developm
ent, ABC Cable Networks Group: As Senior Vice President, Business Strategy and Development for Disney and ESPN Networks Affiliate Sales and Marketing, Albert Cheng is responsible for developing business strategies to increase distribution and generate revenue streams from new Disney and ESPN products and services. In addition, he will be leading Disney ABC Cable Networks Group Interactive Product Development. Based in Burbank, he works in close association with the Disney ABC Cable Networks Group finance team in sales forecasting and planning for all Disney ABC Cable Networks assets, and with the ESPN finance team, who lead those efforts for the ESPN cable assets. Most recently, Cheng served as Senior Vice President, Distribution Strategy and Operations for ABC Cable Networks Group and was responsible for developing distribution strategies, negotiating deals and creating economic plans for ABC Cable Networks Group. In this role, he was charged with the development and implementation of the division’s video-on-demand strategy and interactive television applications. Cheng joined the company in December 2000 as Vice President, National Accounts and Distribution Strategy. Previously, Cheng was Director of Distribution Strategy for Fox Cable Networks Group, leading business development and implementation of three digital cable channels currently known as Fox College Sports. While there, he also developed strategies in digital cable and broadband services and prepared deal proposals with cable affiliates. Prior to that, he served as the Director of Business Development at Fox/Liberty Networks focusing on business issues and analysis for Fox Sports Net and FX Networks. Before his tenure at Fox, he worked as a business strategy consultant for the Boston Consulting Group. Cheng earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Master in Business Administration degree from Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration. Cheng resides in Los Angeles with his wife.Paul Colichman, Chairman and partner, Regent Entertainment and Presi
dent , here! TV, LLC: Acclaimed filmmaker Paul Colichman is Chairman and partner of Regent Entertainment, a leading independent film company. He is also, President of here! TV, a precedent-setting entertainment destination serving the country’s gay and lesbian audience with quality, star-filled theatricals and video premieres. Recognized as a ground breaking film producer, distributor and entrepreneur, Paul Colichman balances the creative daring of independent films with the pragmatic goals of a movie mogul. His company, Regent Entertainment, Inc. operates like a mini-studio. With a dozen films slated for release this year, he forges a bold niche in the market, creating a haven for originality within budgetary constraints. His achievements include the highly acclaimed "Gods and Monsters" which garnered an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as well as Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress. The picture also received a Golden Globe for Best Actress and a nomination for Best Picture. He also produced the Academy Award Nominated, Tom and Viv; a film version of the off-Broadway hit, Twilight of the Golds, which won three Cable Ace Awards; and My New Gun, which debuted in the coveted Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival. Jeff Shultz, CEO, CONCERT: Jeff is CEO and co-founder of CONCERT, one of the nation’s first VOD television properties and the first television channel dedicated to music performance and documentary. Together with his business partner, Michael Shimbo, Jeff was among the first executives to begin forging relationships in the nascent VOD programming industry in early 2002. Currently he oversees the executive function for CONCERT, managing programming and distribution business development, advertising sales, and affiliate relations. Jeff was previously director of business development for NBC Internet, the online arm of NBC television network. There he focused on new media entertainment and e-commerce deals for one of the nation’s leading broadband Internet portals. Jeff began his career as an attorney for the international firm of Linklaters where he specialized in cross-border mergers and acquisitions and hedge fund management. Jeff graduated with a degree in Economics from the University of Arizona and with a J.D. from Georgetown University Law School.
Terry S. Bienstock, Bienstock Consulting, LLC, former EVP & General Counsel, Comcast Cable: Bienstock Consulting was founded by Terry S. Bienstock to provide strategic and operational advice to media, technology, and telecommunications companies involved with video, data or voice applications in the consumer market. After more than twenty years as a lawyer and consultant to the cable, internet and telephone industries, Bienstock became Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Comcast Cable, where he spent three years as an integral part of the senior management team, reporting to the President. At Comcast, Bienstock achieved numerous significant accomplishments that enabled the successful acquisition of AT&T Broadband, as well as the integration and optimization of that company. Comcast counted on Bienstock to advise on important strategic decisions in all operations of the Cable Division, including deployment of new products, programming, strategic alliances, regulatory policy, sales, marketing, and customer service. Comcast Cable relied on him to lead the legal, state and local regulatory functions. He was also responsible for Comcast University, the corporate-wide training function for all levels of Comcast employees, from senior management to call center employees and service installers. Bienstock also led the development and implementation of Comcast’s Video-on-Demand (VOD) platform, a critical component of the company’s future growth plans.
Mitchell Oscar currently holds the position of Executive Vice Presiden
t, Director of Carat Digital. Carat Digital is a new division of Carat focusing on new digital platforms and the integration of interactive TV, wireless and online applications with traditional media. Its mission is to explore the potential value of interactive media applications and technologies for the development (ideas and implications) and execution of advertising models by Carat clients: Carat Digital’s presentation "Here, There, Everywhere" is an exploration of emerging digital platforms in the United States including interactive television (personal video recorders, addressability, interactive program guides, video on demand, and the TV portal), and new distribution platforms (digital cable, digital terrestrial TV and broadband). Prior to joining Carat, Mitch was SVP/Director of Media Futures at Universal McCann whose responsibility was the creation and management of a media division dedicated to the investigation, strategic positioning and execution of new digital media. Partnerships included Cox Communications (long form advertising), AT&T Broadband/ACTV (addressability), CNN/Cartoon Network (VOD/cross digital media platforms), Discovery (VOD, SVOD, high definition), TechTV (virtual channel/cross media platforms), Weather (virtual channel), TiVo (PVR), RePlayTV (PVR), ShadowTV (streaming), Wink (enhanced TV), Digeo (TV portal), Invidi (addressability), Visible World (addressability), Vindigo (wireless), Profilium (wireless), LiquidGeneration (Gen Y marketing) and Liberty Media (evolution of new media and commercial production). Since 1991, Mitch has been president of HocusFocus, a media and marketing consultancy whose primary focus is interactive television and television distribution technologies. Client roster includes: ESPN, Fox, Cox, AT&T Broadband, Visible World, CNN, Cartoon Network, Digeo, Navic, RePlayTV, and Cablevision.Michael Hopkins, Senior Vice President, Affiliate
Sales, Fox Cable Networks: Michael Hopkins serves as Senior Vice President, Affiliate Sales, Fox Cable Networks (FCN). One of the more significant growth areas of News Corporation, FCN consists of more than 30 major domestic networks in which parent companies Fox Entertainment and News Corporation hold interests. As the Senior Vice President of Affiliate Sales, Hopkins is responsible for negotiating and managing FCN distribution deals with the industry’s top cable and satellite distributors. Through these outlets, Mr. Hopkins helps ensure a combined viewership of more than 335 million U.S. television viewers. In addition, he has responsibility for the group’s sales strategy and alternative distribution areas. Hopkins has also played a key role in the launches of several channels including: National Geographic Channel, Fuel, Fox Reality Channel, Fox College Sports and Fox Soccer Channel. In addition, Mr. Hopkins plays a lead role in the development and distribution of FCN’s high definition and video on demand products. As a key distribution liaison, he serves on the management teams of various FCN channels including: FX, Fox Movie Channel and National Geographic Channel. Previously, Hopkins was the Director of Affiliate Sales and Marketing for Fox Sports West and West 2 before being named Vice President, Affiliate Sales in June 1999. He joined Fox in 1997 as the Director of Affiliate Sales for FX and Fox Movie Channel, overseeing the Pacific Northwest region. Prior to Fox, Hopkins spent time at The Weather Channel and Harte-Hanks Communications, an international media company focused on marketing and direct mail. A graduate of California State University at Long Beach, Hopkins received his Bachelor of Science degree in business administration and earned his Masters of Business Administration from the Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles. A San Diego native, Hopkins lives with his wife and daughter in Hollywood.