The Business of Future TV conference, 2020, is taking place at the H Club in London on the 29th and 30th of January. 

You can see our detailed agenda below. Alternatively, here’s an at-a-glance view plus information on our speakers and panellists.

DAY 1 – Wednesday 29th January

09:00 – 09:05

Welcome to The Business of Future TV — Kauser Kanji, VOD Professional

 

---

 

09:05 – 09:45

Competing for Tomorrow’s Video Customer — Ben Keen, Analyst & Advisor

The mother of all video battles is kicking off and marks a fundamental re-drawing of the media landscape. This clash of the streaming media titans will raise the stakes for all players – big and small. Who will be the winners and losers in the new hyper-competitive video marketplace? Ben Keen, who has 30 years of experience helping companies and investors make better-informed decisions based on data-driven understanding of the future, shares his views. 

 

---

 

09:45 – 10:25

3 Years, 3 VOD Services: Lessons Learned — Kerensa Samanidis, GM and Consultant – International OTT sector

Over the course of her career, Kerensa Samanidis has helped to devise, develop and launch OTT services for the BFI, WarnerMedia and AMC Networks and in this talk, she discusses the commonalities and differences across markets and services.

Samanidis will be:

• Comparing approaches – market launches, market prioritisation, content offer, business models
• Exploring how changing market dynamics are affecting niche services – availability of content, customer expectations, cost of customer acquisition, distribution opportunities
• And analysing different audience types – balancing costs vs. revenue potential and asking whether niche audiences are enough to sustain niche services?

 

---

 

10:25 – 11:00

Riding the Revolution: The Transition from Linear to IP — Ian Munford, Director of Product Marketing, Media Solutions, Akamai

In this session, Ian Munford will cover the key challenges as described by broadcast executives as they continue to transition their business operations from linear services towards a predominantly IP future. Based on original research across 7 European countries and over 23 separate broadcasters, he’ll discuss several areas that could fundamentally impact the broadcast business model. Covering both commercial, regulatory and technical challenges, Akamai will share their insight along with predictions for the future. 

 

---

 

11:00 – 11:30

COFFEE & NETWORKING

 

---

 

11:30 – 12:15

Exit Strategies for Broadcasters — Jolita Kajtazi, Corporate Partner, Sheridans

With rapidly changing viewer behaviours, linear ad revenues on the decline and even the visibility and relevance of their channel brands now in question, will the next decade herald the endgame for traditional broadcasters? And if so, what’s their exit strategy? Jolita Kajtazi, a corporate partner at the law firm, Sheridans, talks about her experience in mergers, acquisitions and disposals and walks us through how media firms can prepare for change. What are the legal processes and structures they need to be aware of? And what can we learn from the acquisitions landscape in the US and the sale of independent content production companies?

 

---

 

12:15 – 13:00

The Business Case for Personalised UI & UX — Renato Bonomini, VP Global Presales, ContentWise and Simon Leadlay, Head of Product Management, You.i TV

With video providers needing to differentiate their services in a world of consolidation and competition, it is becoming increasingly apparent that having a deep video catalogue isn’t sufficient if your viewers aren’t satisfied with the discovery process, or can’t watch on the device of their choice. Join Renato Bonomini, Simon Leadlay, and Kauser Kanji for a discussion of the business merits and real-world examples of high-quality, cross-platform, data-driven and personalised user experiences for both direct-to-consumer and pay TV operator environments. Learn from the panellists’ experience in personalisation platforms and user experience solutions as you consider your next move in the battle for viewership and attention.

 

---

 

13:00 – 14:00

LUNCH

 

---

 

14:00 – 14:40

How Can Content Creators, Broadcasters and Platforms Create New Markets and Revenue Streams by Leveraging their IP? — Wim Ponnet, Chief Strategy & Commercial Officer, Endemol Shine Group

Whilst the title of Wim Ponnet’s talk is self-explanatory, this is a complex and nuanced subject. Hear from the world’s largest independent producer about finding renewed growth in an ever-shifting media landscape. From the role of data, to the creation of ecosystems, how are the successful players thriving in this era of disruption?

In this session Ponnet discusses what IP and ownership really is, and what the opportunities and challenges are when creating value and generating additional revenue streams from new markets with your IP.

 

---

 

14:40 – 15:20

The Streaming Wars… Engaging the Connected Consumer — Carol Hanley, Chief Revenue & Strategy Officer, Whip Media Group

Recognising the power of bringing their own content directly to consumers, media companies are creating their own distribution platforms. We know that consumers are cutting the cord at an ever-increasing rate, but what remains unclear is how they feel about the wealth of OTT choices that will soon be available. In this session, Carol Hanley takes a look at key markets and case studies to better understand:

• Consumer sentiment and intent toward the crowded streaming market
• Opinions on volume of choices, type of content and payment models
• How data can help you understand what content is likely to succeed and the importance of evaluating platform fit 

 

---

 

15:20 – 16:00

Programmatic Coopetion of the New Decade — Aleksandra Wawrzun, Senior Manager Yield & Programmatic at IP Deutschland / RTL Group

When the world changes, you have to change with it. What was once “the enemy”, aka your biggest competitor, may now be the joint venture partner of your choice. “Coopetition” is one answer to the challenges that European media companies face with competition becoming global thanks to Google, Facebook and the FAANG companies. For one very specific segment of media sales, namely “programmatic”, RTL Group in Germany has actively joined forces with ProSiebenSat.1. Here’s their story.

 

---

 

16:00

Wrap & Networking Drinks at the H Club

Join us for 90 minutes of drinks and canapes at the end of Day 1 of The Business of Future TV.

 

---

 

DAY 2 – Thursday 30th January

09:00 – 09:40

AVOD Monetisation: A Global Perspective — Gulliver Smithers, SVP Product & Technology, Sony Pictures Entertainment

With worldwide AVOD revenues projected to double to $56bn by 2024, Gulliver Smithers, an industry veteran with over 20 years of experience in consumer technology strategy, design and UX for digital and VOD products (at Sony Pictures Entertainment, ITV and BBC Worldwide), walks us through the expected consequences for media companies, advertisers, content rights, consumer behaviour and technology / devices across the US, Europe, Latam and Asia.

 

---

 

09:40 – 10:20

A CMS that Grows with Growing OTT — Ralph Wagner, Co-founder and CEO, Axinom

Since the advent of streaming, the VOD industry has been limited by the options for infrastructure development. One can either choose between a single or multi-vendor approach with attached integration, cost, and expansion challenges, or choose to build in-house. The latter, however, needs an in-depth knowledge and expertise in software development and digital workflows. The current competitive and dynamic landscape demands a nimbler approach. VOD services need a robust infrastructure that allows flexible and adaptable digital workflows, and expansion and take-over by internal IT teams.

Ralph Wagner of Axinom explains how you can leverage an expert technology stack to build an infrastructure that fits your needs as well as ambitions.

 

---

 

10:20 – 11:00

TV Then, Now, Next — Kym Niblock, Chief Product & Information Officer, TVNZ

Kym Niblock, former Managing Director of BBC.com and CEO of Spark New Zealand shares her story which has taken her around the world, in an array of roles across TV online and OTT services, across big business and start ups. She will talk about how the TV business has transformed over the course of her career and the implications for how TV will be consumed in the future. And what, in real terms, are the opportunities now and in the future for those willing to take on the risk? 

 

---

 

11:00 – 11:30

COFFEE & NETWORKING

 

---

 

11:30 – 12:15

Building Value & Revenues in a Hyper-Competitive Streaming Ecosystem — Nathalie Lethbridge, Founder, Atonik Digital; Kasia Jablonska, Head of Digital, Endemol Shine Group; Aki Tsuchiya, Founder, Streamhub

Competition is increasingly measured through captured attention across digital platforms – “We compete (and lose) to Fortnite more than HBO” said Reed Hastings of Netflix last year – and Nathalie Lethbridge, along with Kasia Jablonska of Endemol Shine Group and Aki Tsuchiya of Streamhub explores this topic in the context of value creation for broadcasters, film studios, operators and service-providers.

The panel will also explore:

• VOD audience measurement
• CPMs and ad sales revenues
• How the value chain is shifting
• Calculating CLV (Customer Lifetime Value)
• Other key metrics as the market evolves

 

---

 

12:15 – 13:00

Working Together to Promote Addressability — Adrian Stroud, VP Advanced Advertising, Liberty Global

Addressability on linear TV is still new enough for there to be little consensus about the ground rules. What features are supported? What interfaces are required? And who even pays who for doing what?  At this early stage, suggests Adrian Stroud, there’s no point in the different platforms competing to make their offering unique. In fact, the opposite is true, it’s better for everyone if some thought is given to cooperation.

 

---

 

13:00 – 14:00

LUNCH

 

---

 

14:00 – 14:40

The Big Picture in 2030 — William Cooper, Strategy Consultant, Informitv

Looking back at our predictions from 2010 for 2020, we were proved partly accurate but some of the trends are taking longer to play out than we might have expected. We predicted that television would become less dominant, but it has proved surprisingly resilient. Television subscriber numbers are flat or falling in some markets, but the sky is still not falling in. Online video is everywhere, so where does that leave broadcasters? Will there still be a role for traditional television transmissions, or will everything be delivered over new networks? With the pace of change apparently accelerating, what will television and video look like in 2030? 

Dr William Cooper, the founder of the independent consultancy informitv offers his vision of the the future of television and video.

 

---

 

14:40 – 15:20

The Streaming Wars… The Final Disruption? — Simon Thomas, Global Director Audiences Research & Media Investment Management, GroupM

Expansion of the marketplace to ‘Total Video’ has seen ever fragmenting audiences across channels, and now across platforms, devices, screens and locations too. After the SVOD disruption of Netflix / Amazon Prime, the launch of new streaming services from major players will cause more. In parallel, expansion of BVOD players across many countries might meet some consumers’ on-demand viewing needs, but can AVOD offerings build their footprint too? Is there enough premium TV content, how much will consumers pay, what will be the brand advertising opportunities, and the value proposition? Are these business and monetisation models sustainable?

Simon Thomas, who has spent over 40 years in the advertising industry across the media owner, media agency and software/data vendor sides of the business, shares his views. 

 

---

 

15:20 – 16:00

Show me the Money! Financing the Future of Media — Ben Keen, Analyst, Jean de Fougerolles, Managing Partner and Founder of Ascension Ventures and Jonathan Norman, Partner, Stella EOC

Ben Keen leads a full and frank discussion with leading investors and advisors on trends in early and later-stage financing. Why has M&A deal flow been accelerating in the media space? Will it continue? Is there a shortage of capital to fund good ideas in TMT? Is venture-style funding appropriate for content companies or only tech? Joining Keen on the panel are Jean de Fougerolles, Managing Partner and Founder of Ascension Ventures and Jonathan Norman, Partner at Stella EOC.

 

---

 

16:00 – 16:05

Thanks for Coming! — Kauser Kanji