10:45 AM - Noon
Session A:
Enhanced TV and E-Commerce - Monetizing the Interactive Experience
As Interactive TV experiments grow and as Net delivered companion programming of TV shows becomes more widespread, the trial and error process of discovering how to monetize this experience is making one thing clear, that Enhanced TV, as a connected two-way conversation with its viewership, is an ideal business model for the future. ETV is going to redefine the direct market industry although how it gets there is still to be determined. In this workshop, the leading companies with hands-on experience in Interactive TV programming will discuss their experiences and take a look into the future.
K. C. Watson, VP Distribution, innovatv.com
Allan Horlick, President and CEO, CNX Media
Mellie Price, Vice President, Strategic Partnerships, New Business Ventures Group, Human Code
Margaret "Mugs" Buckley, Vice President, Program Alliances, RespondTV
Matt Kay, President and CEO, Commerce.TV
Todd Tarpley, Vice President, A&E Television Network Interactive, Moderator
K. C. Watson, VP Distribution, innovatv.com: Joining innovatv.com in January of 1999, K. C. has overseen all aspects of the company's international distribution and syndication efforts. As a result, the company's iMag presentation of content partner videos is now seen by both narrow- and broadband Internet users alike through alliances with Road Runner, Sprint FastConnect DSL, SingaporeOne-iDA and Exodus as well as with syndication specialists iSyndicate and InfoSpace. Prior to joining innovatv.com, K. C. co-founded a pioneering broadband-based sports service that performed early-stage streaming video trials with such groups as the Pacific-10 and Mountain West college athletic conferences. Previously, K. C. served as marketing specialist for both Fidelity Investments and Prudential Securities. innovatv.com provides technology, infrastructure and services to transform video into interactive, rich-media content for mid-band and broadband distribution. The company has packaged and distributed more interactive video content to high-speed Internet users than anyone else – continually refining this complex process over the past two and a half years. Its content partners, ranging from national producers like Bloomberg Television, Twentieth Television, HGTV and The Weather Channel to independent and local producers like Planet Pictures and NBC-7/39 San Diego, all endorse the company’s vision for interactive video and the expertise in how it is delivered using the proprietary iMag format. To view iMags, please visit www.myimag.com.
Allan Horlick, President and CEO, CNX Media: Allan Horlick is President and Chief Executive Officer of CNX Media, a revolutionary, media convergence company which produces and distributes personalized content for television and the Internet. Mr. Horlick assumed his present duties in January, 1999, and is responsible for positioning CNX Media to best serve the needs of its station, Internet and advertising partners. Before joining CNX Media, Mr. Horlick was President and Managing Director of NBC Europe and CNBC Europe in 1997 and 1998, where he oversaw operations, sales, programming and marketing. Between 1987 and 1997, he served as President and General Manager of WRC (NBC) in Washington, D.C., guiding the station to recognition as the primary news source among Washington area viewers. While there, Mr. Horlick also oversaw the creation of the highly-successful, much-emulated "Working 4You" campaign. In 1995 and 1996, he spearheaded NBC’s expansion into Asia as Director of Launch Operations for first CNBC Asia, and then NBC Asia. Mr. Horlick has amassed more than 25 years of broadcasting experience in his career, including roles as Station Manager of WMAQ (NBC) in Chicago and as Director of Sales at WRC. His career began in Chicago and New York, where from 1974 to 1979 he worked for NBC Spot Sales. Mr. Horlick was named one of the "Most Influential People in Private Washington" by Regardie’s Magazine in 1991. In 1994, he was named "Broadcaster of the Year" by the National Hispanic Academy of Media Arts and Sciences (HAMAS) and in 1995, was presented with the illustrious Gene Frey Award to Public Service by the Whitman-Walker Clinic for raising HIV/AIDS awareness in that region. During his tenure with NBC in Washington, D.C., Mr. Horlick served on the boards of numerous non-profit organizations and oversaw the creation of several annual community service events, including the "4 Your Health & Fitness Expo" and "Camp 4 Kids."
Mellie J. Price, VP of Strategic Relationships, Human Code, Inc.: An organic understa
nding of the parallels between biological lifecycles and the world of business enabled Mellie Price to transform herself from a scientist to a leading pioneer of the Internet. Along the way, she’s learned the subtle (and not-so-subtle) nuances of building your own company, surviving and thriving in an acquisition, and becoming Vice President of Strategic Relationships for one of the nations preeminent interactive developers, Human Code. Price graduated from the University of Texas with a Bachelor of Science degree in Natural Sciences, but soon realized the politics and fundraising of academia had amazing similarities to that of the industry. A year before graduation, and on the way to a Masters degree, Price had a notion that the Internet held great potential. Her first clue came in 1993, as General Manager and Director of New Media for a print service bureau, when she nearly doubled the top line revenue by revolutionizing the way customers sent their files for output. Price wrote a business plan and marketing strategy that turned a local company into a national success using a then-little-known protocol called FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and something called a web site. Inspired by the promise of the "Great Equalizer" known as the Internet, Price saw an opportunity to merge her love of the arts, her fascination with computer technology, and her desire to contribute to social change. In 1993, she created Monsterbit Media to provide Internet development and training to the arts, entertainment, and non-profit industries.Matt Kay, President and CEO, Commerce.TV: Matt Kay is the driving force behind Commerce.TV. Before co-founding Commerce.TV, Matt was Senior Vice President of Finance and Operations and Director at Open Development. At ODC, Matt established a deep understanding of how to finance, build and deploy high volume transaction processing systems for telephone companies. As the company grew from 4 employees to 135, Matt assisted in the development of several departments and built a management organization to oversee and facilitate the company's rapid growth. After the Glenayre Technologies acquisition of ODC in November of 1997, Matt assumed the role of Director of Operations ODC/Glenayre. Matt left ODC/Glenayre in May 1998 to pursue personal interests for a year, during which he studied the cable industry and early interactive television trials extensively. Prior to joining ODC, Matt worked as a technology consultant for a Boston based firm specializing in the customization and implementation of order processing systems for wholesale distributors. Matt attended Bentley College, where he studied accounting and computer information systems, and currently lives with his growing family in Boston's South Shore.
Margaret "Mugs" Buckley, Vice President, Program Alliances, RespondTV: A seasoned new media executive, Mugs, as Ms. Buckley likes to be called, comes to RespondTV from ZDTV. Mugs started with ZDTV in its inception, and served as Director of Operations and Director of Special Programming before moving into business development. As Director of Business Development, she was responsible for developing strategic alliances with broadband, streaming media, television syndication and Web content syndication partners. Prior to ZDTV, Mugs was Executive Producer/Director of Production for Discovery Channel Multimedia, where she produced more than 10 CD-ROMs, many of which were award-winning products. She began as an instructional designer and writer at the Discovery Channel in 1991. Ms. Buckley holds a Masters in Technology in Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Tufts University.
Todd Tarpley, Vice President, A&E Networks, manages the company's four major web
sites: A&E Online (www.AandE. com), The History Channel Online (www.HistoryChannel.com), Biography Online (www. Biography.com) and History Channel Traveler Online (www.HistoryTravel.com). In addition, he oversees The History Channel's site on AOL (keyword "History Channel"). Mr. Tarpley is also responsible for the company's new online initiatives. Mr. Tarpley is based in New York. Since October of 1995, he had served as Manager of New Media. Mr. Tarpley joined A&E in 1993 as a consultant for The History Channel, and then became Manager, Research and Planning for The History Channel later that year. Prior to joining A&E, Mr. Tarpley was a production assistant on projects for Lifetime, ABC, NBC and HBO.