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Chris Pfaff moderates the ‘Think Big, Program Small: The Importance of Localized Content’ panel at Streaming Media East 2022

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At the first-ever Streaming Media East conference in Boston, Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Think Big, Program Small: The Importance of Localized Content’ panel on Wednesday, May 25, 2022.

Panelists included:

Rob Dillon, Head of Digital Product, Straight Arrow News

Jim Long, CEO, Didja.tv

Aby Alexander, director, Americas, Thomson Broadcast

Ellen Grogan, director, product marketing, media, Brightcove

You can watch the full panel at:

Session Description:

As viewers cut the cord, they’re finding that (much to their chagrin) they’ve sometimes lost local news, weather, and sports, as well as scripted and unscripted content from their local country or region. Savvy OTT services are partnering with local stations and content creators to deliver the best of both worlds, to the delight of both viewers and advertisers.

(Left to right) Ellen Grogan, Brightcove; Aby Alexander, Thomson Broadcast; Jim Long, Didja.tv; Rob Dillon, Straight Arrow News, Chris Pfaff, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC

(Left to right): Ellen Grogan, Brightcove; Rob Dillon, Straight Arrow News; Jim Long, Didja.tv, and Aby Alexander, Thomson Broadcast

Chris Pfaff moderates the virtual WAN-IFRA Asian Media Leaders Summit session, ‘Revenue Growth Syndication’

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Chris Pfaff moderated the virtual ‘Revenue Growth Syndication’ panel at the WAN-IFRA (World Association of News Publishers) Asian Media Leaders Summit on Tuesday, May 24th at 11:30 am Singapore time. Joining him were Aya Uryu, co-founder and COO of Nordot and Jeff Myers, co-founder of Factinate. The session discussed how Fractionate added more revenue with smarter content and distribution strategies by working with Nordot’s intelligent news distribution platform.

WAN-IFRA’S Asian Media Leaders Summit is the leading platform for publishers and news industry leaders from Asia Pacific to hear about and discuss contemporary issues with peers from the region and around the world.

You can watch the full panel at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7dtehBHepDs&list=PLoI_JTd83w-pyW9SqVfsG7yP_jScNw8Yq&index=2

Chris Pfaff moderates ‘The Future of Advertising’ panel at Streaming Media East 2022

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At the first-ever Streaming Media East event held in Boston, Chris Pfaff moderated the ‘Future of Advertising’ session on May 24, 2022 with the following experts:

Brian Kline, president, Penthera

Jessica Masters, Director of East Coast Sales – Roku

Tim Ware, VicePresident of Platform Partnerships and Sales – Crackle Plus

You can watch the full panel at:

https://youtu.be/uq4Gq10mmIY?list=PLcSb1s2U3uyCXba5dvCf6sEnphLdTjq1q

Session Description:

SSAI. CSAI. DLA. FAST. AVOD. It’s a veritable alphabet soup of advertisingtechnologies and models, but they all share one thing in common: opening up a new world of TV advertising leveraging technologies that are only possible in streaming. This panel of industry leaders talks about what’s working, what’s not, and where the smart money says OTT advertising is headed.

(Left to right): Jessica Masters, Roku; Brian Kline, Penthera, Tim Ware, Crackle Plus

(Left to right): Jessica Masters, Roku; Brian Kline, Penthera, Tim Ware, Crackle Plus, Chris Pfaff, Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC

Chris Pfaff hosts Media Meet & Greet live virtual session with Chris Brown, NAB Show director and NAB EVP

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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 moderates the virtual Streaming Media Connect session ‘From Small Things: How Niche Services Can Find Mainstream Success’

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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 moderates Streaming Media Connect Virtual Panel: ‘Connected TV Advertising: The Holy Grail?’ 

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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

VR AR Association Storytelling Committee Call – Justin Melillo, CEO of MoNa Gallery

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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.

Chris Pfaff moderates the virtual TV of Tomorrow Show session – ‘Television Innovators Showcase’

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Chris Pfaff moderated a virtual session for the TV of Tomorrow Show on Thursday, January 13, 2022 that explored how new technologies—and new thinking about narratives, engagement strategies and the viewing experience—are being employed to enable new forms of television programming and new ways of using the medium of television itself, across scripted entertainment, sports, education and other areas.

The session included an expert group of panelists, including:

•    Erik Langner, CEO, Information Equity Initiative

•    Lillian Diaz-Przybyl, Producer, Butcher Bird Studios

•    Roy Firestone, Principal Product Manager, Edgecast

•    Zane Vella, VP of Audience Development and Innovation, Comcast

 

Chris Pfaff Tech Media LLC Celebrates 20 Years!

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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 produces, moderates ‘Virtual Theatre: The Metaverse Smashes the Four Walls’ panel at VR AR Global Summit Online North America – June 3, 2021

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Chris Pfaff produced and moderated the ‘Virtual Theatre: The Metaverse Smashes the Four Walls’ session at the VR AR Global Summit Online North America on June 3, 2021, featuring some of the leading producers of immersive theatre and dance, including: Kiira Benzing, from Double Eye StudiosBlair Russell, from CruxBrandon Powers, from Brandon Powers Projects, and Lorne Svarc, from Technodramatists.

You can view the entire session at:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qQdKsKS3qnw

 

The panel discussed the emergence of XR theatre production, including VR and AR integration with narrative original and adaptive works, as well as how to blend XR technologies with live and virtual audiences.

Kiira Benzing (upper left); Brandon Powers (upper middle); Blair Russell (upper right); Lorne Svarc (lower left), Chris Pfaff (lower right)

Brandon Powers shows some of ‘Queer Skins’

Kiira Benzing shows off some of ‘Finding Pandora X’

Blair Russell demos new work

Lorne Svarc demos new work

Lorne Svarc shows some of ‘AliBi’

Blair Russell introduces a new virtual world