London - IBC, a global trade show for professionals engaged in the content creation, management, and delivery of broadcasting media and entertainment, has announced keynote addresses on every aspect of the future roadmap for the industry, says a spokesperson.
Included in the list are such notable figures as Andrew Barron, COO of Virgin Media UK; Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global; William H Roedy, former chairman and chief executive at MTV International; Joanna Shields, vice president and managing director EMEA of Facebook, and Sir Martin Sorrell, CEO of WPP UK.
Keynote Speakers at IBC2011 include:
Luke Johnson, founder and chairman of Risk Capital Partners; William Roedy, former chairman and chief executive of MTV Networks International; and John Smith, CEO of BBC Worldwide will be debating the challenges and opportunities of current and future broadcast business in "The Future of Broadcasting." Addressing issues, such as how broadcasters respond to the dilution of ad revenues and the threat posed by new mobile and internet delivery platforms; whether broadcasters are pressured to respond in kind as rival operators begin to invest in original content; what forms of partnership with a mobile or internet operator might benefit both parties; and can connected devices provide an opportunity to refresh the business by allowing broadcast brands to reach audiences lost to online?
Andrew Barron, CEO at Virgin Media; Ferdinand Kayser, CEO of SES Astra; and Mike Fries, CEO of Liberty Global will be bringing a high level view of the future for "Cable & Satellite: Future Directions in a Hybrid World." Among the issues to be addressed is the challenge that telco IP delivery is offering in the space traditionally occupied by Cable & Satellite operators. The session will also question whether bandwidth, economic distribution, HD+, standards and security will continue their advantage or will a hybrid, collaborative Connected Home be essential to deliver future audiences and revenues.
Joanna Shields, vice president and managing director, EMEA of Facebook, will take the spotlight at the single most significant session of the IBC2011 Conference Program with the Social Media Keynote. A rising star in the industry, recently being named as Wired magazine's number 1 UK Digital Power Broker, Shields' address will focus on the relationship and revolution social media has developed with broadcasting, and a look to the future implications of the pairing.
Michael Comishn, co-founder and ceo of Blinkbox; Neil Gaydon, CEO at Pace plc; Rômulo Pontual, executive vice president and chief technology officer of DIRECTV Inc.; and Hiroshi Yoshioka, executive deputy president and corporate executive officer of Sony Corp. will be leading the debate on "Connected TV: Remaking the TV Industry." The battle for the home screen: Traditional broadcasters, pay TV operators, OTT players like Blinkbox and Netflix, Google TV, games consoles, and mainstream consumer electronics organisations are all in the fight to be the 'home' EPG for viewers. What are their tactics? What kind of partnerships might be created as audiences demand more flexibility in how they access, view and interact with content? What role will pay and free propositions play? Will they have excellence in service aggregation and navigation/discovery of content, be technically innovative and have breadth of distribution or access to premium content rights? Or is it simply a matter of marketing dollars and brand power that will ultimately win out?
Bernard Pauchon, chairman of Broadcast Networks Europe; Richard Feasey, public policy director of Vodafone; and Gina Nieri, director of Mediaset will contribute their thoughts on the merits of a spectrum compromise in "Radio Spectrum Policy: Can Broadcast and Telecom Worlds Cooperate for the Benefit of the Citizens?" Spectrum is a scarce resource in most of the developed world and particularly so in Europe. Increasing demands by large telecoms operators for additional spectrum for wireless services is putting pressure on conventional over the air broadcasters to make compromises on the spectrum they badly need for HDTV and other important services. The European Union's Digital Agenda is further heating up this debate.
Mainardo de Nardis, CEO of OMD Worldwide; Toby Syfret, chief analyst at Enders Analysis; Nick Thexton, senior VP research & development, new initiatives, at NDS; Sir Martin Sorrell, chief executive of WPP Group; and broadcaster Steve Hewlett will head the session concerning "The Challenges for Advertiser Funded Broadcasting." Traditional TV advertising models are in crisis as media fragments across multiple platforms taking an audience increasingly at home with nonlinear viewing with them. The debate will centre on whether the recession has permanently dented revenues or does the connected TV present a chance to reformulate the relationship with the consumer. As consumers take more control over content at a time of economic uncertainty, will product placement, targeted ads or multi-screen advertising deliver life-saving revenues to commercial broadcasters or is it inevitable that free TV will need to be replaced by some form of payment model?
For more information about the IBC2011 Conference Keynotes visit www.ibc.org/keynotes.