Chris Pfaff moderated the NAB Show Media Meet & Greet session with NAB show director and NAB EVP Chris Brown on April 5, 2022, where Brown details the NAB Show’s reimagined look, and its new networking features, as well as the NAB Show’s four carefully curated collections of exhibits and education illustrating the entire content lifecycle: Create, Connect, Capitalize and Intelligent Content. The session was a special event that kicked off a month-long series of professional networking opportunities, culminating at the in-person event in Las Vegas. Attendees to Media Meet & Greet, produced by Janet Greco, from Broadcast Projects, could meet new colleagues, refresh old friendships, and come together as part of a month-long networking experience.

The NAB Show Media Meet & Greet took place on the premium event platform, Deal Room, enabling attendees to discover who was attending the NAB Show in Las Vegas directly on the platform.

Chris Pfaff moderated the Streaming Media Connect virtual panel – ‘From Small Things: How Niche Services Can Find Mainstream Success’ – on Thursday, February 17, 2022, a discussion on the growth in niche OTT services, with the followingexpert group of panelists:

• Igor Oreper, vice president, solutions, Bitmovin
• Paul Erickson, Director of Research, Parks Associates 
• DeShuna Spencer, CEO/founder, Kweli
• Marc DiLorenzo, CEO/founder, 2GTHR
• Ajit Thakur, CEO, aha 
• Damian Pelliccione, CEO/co-founder,Revry

You can watch the full panel on ‘From Small Things: How Niche Services Can Find Mainstream Success’ at:

ABOUT ‘FROM SMALL THINGS: HOW NICHE SERVICES CAN FIND MAINSTREAM SUCCESS’  

Whether they’re defined by the type of content—science fiction, horror, romance—or the type of audience, niche services are the long tail of the OTT universe. But just because their audiences are limited doesn’t mean their revenue opportunities are. Partnerships with aggregators and “mainstream” services offer pathways to bigger viewership numbers, and innovative marketing approaches can turn small services into big successes.

Chris Pfaff moderated the Streaming Media Connect virtual panel – Connected TV Advertising: The Holy Grail?’ – produced by Streaming Media Magazine, on Tuesday, February 15, 2022, featuring the following speakers:

• Kumar Subramanian, CEO,MediaMelon
• Jessica Masters, director of East Coast sales,Roku
• Aulden Kaye, director of advertising partnerships,Philo
• Tal Chalozin, CTO/co-founder, Innovid

You can watch the full panel at:

ABOUT ‘CONNECTED TV ADVERTISING: THE HOLY GRAIL?’

OTT’s hottest new monetization strategy is CTV. It’s got everything: better reach, increased engagement, improved attribution, and unparalleled targeting. We examine how brands and OTT services can work hand-in-hand to provide the best viewing experience for consumers while delivering the most bang for the buck for advertisers.

Jessica Masters, Roku

Tal Chalozin, Innovier

Alden Kaye, Philo

Kumar Subramanian, MediaMelon

Justin Melillo, co-founder/CEO of Miami-based MoNa Gallery, was the guest in a VR AR Association Storytelling Committee call hosted by Chris Pfaff on Thursday, January 13, 2022. The discussion, ‘Creating Unique 3D Environments on the Blockchain: MoNa Gallery Demonstrates Portable Spaces for the Multi-User Metaverse,’ featured Justin demonstrating the MoNa Spaces, which can be built and minted on Ethereum or Polygon blockchain. Designed to be compostable, social, and interactive, the MoNa Spaces can hold and display other collectibles. Durably designed, with portability in mind, the MoNa Spaces enable basic adjustable artist royalties to be sold. The system will be expanded to provide additional tools for artists across Web3 metaverses. MoNa Gallery, comprised of a team of ex-Magic Leap and Snapchat builders who have worked with the likes of Drake, CharliXCX, and NASA, was a big winner in the Web3 art space in 2022.

Twenty years ago, there were no smartphones (with full web browsers); broadband was 5 MB/s downlink; 1 TB of storage cost $10,000; there were no social networks; the iPod was the hottest tech toy; there were more than 8 Tier 1 cellular carriers in the U.S.; MP3 and BitTorrent were creating headaches for the music industry; Nielsen was still king of ratings; OTT was mostly a cable Internet industry term; AI was still in the labs; DVD defined digital video; HDTV was still a niche offering; mobile video was non-existent; VR was only for industrial customers.

It was at that time – on November 21, 2002 – that I founded Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC. To help bleeding-edge tech entrepreneurs gain market traction. To bring new ideas and approaches to legacy industry segments. To bring global visibility to early-stage ventures. 

From WAP to TikTok; from holographic storage to Flash drives; from contextual content to projected holograms; from facial recognition to virtual humans, and beyond, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC has been there. And – in many ways – was there. At the protean start. 

Many, many thanks to all of the collaborators, colleagues, and clients who worked with us on this epic journey at the beginning of the 21st century and over the past two decades. 

Here’s to the next 20 years.

And beyond.

Thanks to:

William Wilson Kevin Curtis Roy Elkins Moses Asom Eric Petajan George Caravias Narain Gehani Barry Cinnamon Michael Wood George Searle Steve Lubin Duncan Campbell Daniel Goldscheider Larry Henderson Steven Socolof tony Verderosa Edward Boddington Troy Sample Jason George Matt Frost Jani Houponen Sam VashIsht Irwin Kornfeld Paul Smith Mike Folgner Eric Eccles Thanasis Iatrou Nikos Kyriopoulos Chris Gottschalk Robin Rush Harry Kargman Boris Fridman Stein Erik Sorhaug Romain Eude Jacques Edouard Guillemot Stelio Tzonis Hans Eriksson Amorah Sandberg Fredrik Oscarson Michal Suchon Laurent Weill Colas Overkott Paul Amsellem Werner Haan Helmut Bems Agnes Chung David Hoga Tobias Soppa Jonathan Levy Bencheton Thierry Coutanceau Jean-Christophe Perier Christophe de Courson Petri Martikainen Richard Collins Janne Neuvonen Pasi Ilola Tony Hope Heini Vesander Mikki Kuusi Ville Makinen Wilhelm Taht Roope Suomalainen Hannu Anttila Harri Pesola Heikki Rotko Kaius Meskanen Mika Rautiainen Ville Hulkko Hannu Verkasalo Joonas Makkonen Olli Rundgren Topias Soininen Jesse Heikkila Vesa Perala Jani Penttinen Jouni Maaranto Tarmo Virki Laura Avonius Will Cardwell Nilay Oza Tuomas Kosonen Jari Tuovinen Peter Vesterbacka Laurent Martin Vamsi Palukuru Jussi Autio Chris Thur Jussi Harvela Antti Keranen Jari Mieskonen Sami Hyrylainen Jarno Eerola Projjol Banerjea Arkady Fridman Are Traasdahl Helge Hoibraaten Karl Kathuria Miguel Silva Jonathan French Paul Finster Lindsay Stewart Christina Castellano Brian Kline Juraj Siska Oliver Lietz Jason Porath Tom Link Cheng Wu Hal Vogel Jon Vlassopulos Seth Schachner Christian Egeler T.J. Vitolo Mohammad Raheel Khalid Brian Johnson Kanwaldeep Kalsi Jan Ameri Eero Kaikkonen Janet Greco Fred Pfaff Margus Uudam Andrew Knight Rob Rosenberg Suren Pai Sanjay Macwan  Claude Theoret Martin Enault Stephane Rituit Olivier Trudeau Anick Beaulieu Richard St. Pierre Daniel Japiassu Thomas Jelonek Kristjan Laanemaa Urmas Peiker Mike Klyszeiko Kris Kolo Nathan Pettyjohn Anne-Marie Enns Tracy Swedlow Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen Joel Unickow Trygve Refvem Jarno Vanto Sami Paihonen Pekka Parnanen Anton Gauffin Sami Niska Ekaterina Gianelli Andrew Johnston Pia Erkinheimo Beni Cohen JR Dawkins Robert O’Neill Nita Pilkama Imram Ahmed Jakub Majkowski Andrew Bud Peter Northing Ted Iannuzzi Felix Froede Kris Ramanathan Werner Haan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung Christoph Huning Jonathan Levy-Bencheton Thierry Cottenceau Jean-Christophe Perier Christophe de Courson Petri Martikainen Richard Collins Janne Neuvonen Pasi Ilola Tony Hope Heini Vesander Miki Kuusi Ville Makinen Wilhelm Taht Roope Soumalainen Hannu Anttila Harri Pesola Heikki Rotko Kaius Meskanen Mika Rautiainen Ville Hulkko Hannu Verkasalo Joonas Makkonen Olli Rundgren Topias Soinenen Vesa Perala Jani Penttinen Tarmo Virki Laura Avonius Will Cardwell Nilay Oza Tuomas Kosonen Jari Tuovinen Claude Theoret Martin Enault Stephane Rituit Olivier Trudeau Anick Beaulieu Richard St. Pierre Daniel Japiassu Thomas Jelonek Kristjan Laanemaa Urmas Peiker Mike Klyszeiko Kris Kolo Nathan Pettyjohn Anne-Marie Enns Tracy Swedlow Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen Joel Unickow Trygve Refvem Jarno Vanto Sami Paihonen Pekka Parnanen Anton Gauffin Sami Niska Ekaterina Gianelli Andrew Johnston Pia Erkinheimo Beni Cohen JR Dawkins Robert O’Neill Nita Pilkama Imram Ahmed Jakub Majkowski Andrew Bud Peter Northing Ted Iannuzzi Felix Froede Kris Ramanathan Werner Haan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung Christoph Huning Peter Vesterbacka Laurent Martin Vamsi Palukuru Jussi Autio Chris Thur Jussi Harvela Antti Keranen Jari Mieskonen Sami Hyrylainen Jarno Eerola Projjol Banerjea Arkady Fridman Are Traasdahl Helge Hoibraaten Karl Kathuria Miguel Silva Jonathan French Paul Finster Lindsay Stewart Christina Castellano Brian Kline Juraj Siska Oliver Lietz Jason Porath Tom Link Cheng Wu Jon Vlassopulos Seth Schachner Christian Egeler T.J. Vitolo Mohammad Raheel Khalid Brian Johnson Kanwaldeep Kalsi Jan Ameri Eero Kaikkonen Janet Greco Fred Pfaff Margus Uudam Andrew Knight Rob Rosenberg Suren Pai Sanjay Macwan Patricia Steele Bradley Glenn Simon Schatzmann Jonathan French David Hoga Agnes Chung

Chris Pfaff produced and moderated the ‘Building Infrastructure for a Better Metaverse: How to Ensure Seamless VR and AR Experiences’ panel at the VR AR Association’s Metaverse Platforms & Avatars event, on December 17, 2021, with panelists including:

• Cindy Mallory, emerging tech strategist, American Tech Services/chairman, New York Chapter, VR AR Association
• Aaron Pulkka, producer, Pulkka Creative/co-chairman, Location-Based Entertainment Committee, VR AR Association
• Marcin Klimek, CEO/co-founder, ExplodedView/chapter president, Poland, VR AR Association
• Luis Bravo Martins, CMO, Kit-AR/former co-chapter president, Portugal, VR AR Association
• Chris Pfaff, CEO, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC/co-chairman, Storytelling Committee, VR AR Association (moderator)

This session discussed the tools and methodologies necessary for more adaptive and readily integrated VR and AR experiences, across the enterprise, consumer, and industrial domains. Breakthrough design, including UX/UI and UE, as well as accessible WebXR and AR, were also discussed, as pathways to a more inclusive and seamless immersive future.

Cindy Mallory (upper row, left); Aaron Pulkka (upper row, right); Luis Bravo Martins (middle row, left); Chris Pfaff (middle row, right), and Marcin Klimek (bottom row)

Aaron Pulkka shows off recent work, Cryptostream

Aaron Pulkka discusses his work with Amber Labs

Marcin Klimek shows off a cat avatar

Luis Martins shows off some AR for industrial use

Chris Pfaff produced and moderated the ‘Producing in XR: How to Navigate Challenges’ panel at the VR AR Association‘s VR AR Global Summit Online North America, on Friday, June 4, 2021, with three of the leading producers in the VR/AR space, including: Voyelle Acker, from Small Creative; Tupac Martir, from SATORE STUDIO, and Michael Owen, from MediaCombo.

You can watch the full panel at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlWUMPIBNWY

The group discussed how VR/AR producers are having to overcome challenges regarding on-set production, approval in VR app stores, and navigation of evolving mobile AR technologies to deliver compelling stories for audiences that are more distanced than ever.

Voyelle Acker, from Small Creative

Voyelle shows off recent work

Michael Owen, from MediaCombo

Michael Owen shows off the Morgan Library AR tour

Tupac Martir, from Satore Studio

Tupac Martir shows off recent work

Chris Pfaff moderated ‘The Multi-Device, Multi-Platform Challenge’ at Streaming Media West Connect on November 4, 2021, with panelists including:

• Rema Morgan-Aluko from Fandango
• Aaron Rosenthal from Conviva
• Byron Saltysiak from WarnerMedia
• Nick Colsey from Sony Electronics

You can watch the entire session at:

Byron Saltysiak (upper left); Chris Pfaff (upper row, 2nd from left); Aaron Rosenthal (upper row, 2nd from right); Rema Morgan-Aluko (upper row, right); Nick Colsey (lower row, left), and Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen (lower row, right)

Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Subscription Fatigue: Are There Too Many OTT Services?’ panel at Streaming Media West 2021 on November 1, 2021. An incredibly diverse panel that featured Jeff Allen, from ShortsTV; Jeanne Sachs, from Penthera; Rivka Golomb, from WarnerMedia, and Paul Pastor, from STRUUM.

You can view the entire session at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLaKOgdHucQ

Chris Pfaff (upper row, 2nd from left); Jeff Allen (upper row, 2nd from right); Eric Schumacher-Rasmussen (upper row, far right); Jeanne Sachs (lower row, right); Rivka Golomb (lower row, middle), and Paul Pastor (lower row, right).