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BY MANSHA DASWANI
Speed Bumps Ahead?
“FAST” was the buzzword of 2023 as SVOD woes and inflation angst set in. Free, laid-back linear channel viewing was the comfort food consumers were clamoring for— and the additional revenue boost distributors sought amid the content business’s great reset. Twelve months since we staged our inaugural FAST Festival, FAST is still proving to be a lucrative business for IP holders. But the sector is challenged by the same issues that are plaguing other areas of media: a crunch on ad revenues, a proliferation of outlets and the discoverability conundrum.
Convening our second edition of the FAST Festival, we’re diving deep into those issues and more as we spotlight where the FAST business is today and where it’s going. If you haven’t registered, there’s still time to do so here. Only those registered will receive access to our Exclusive White Paper featuring key intel from the event in a compact, easy-to-digest format.
A raft of IP owners are on board to discuss curation, the logistics of starting up new services, dealing with the hodgepodge of measurement metrics and finding audiences. We have a wealth of programmers speaking too, including from leading services Pluto TV, Samsung TV Plus, Tubi and Rakuten TV, as well as from independent operators. Reflecting the ability of FAST channels to super-serve niche audiences, we also have two genre spotlights, one on kids’ content and one on the appetite for movie outlets.
Enjoy the show!
TUESDAY, JULY 23
9 a.m. EDT Scaling
Opportunities
The second edition of the FAST Festival will kick off with a spotlight on how distributors with significant libraries are approaching channel curation with BBC Studios’ Beth Anderson, ITV Studios’ Graham Haigh and All3Media International’s Amanda Stevens.
10:30 a.m. EDT Samsung TV Plus’s Jenn Batty
Jenn Batty, director of content partnerships in Europe and the Middle East at Samsung’s FAST channel service, will weigh in on her wish lists and articulate her approach to working with IP owners.
12 p.m. EDT Roku Media’s David Eilenberg
Roku Media’s head of content, David Eilenberg , will discuss what’s driving the gains at The Roku Channel and his strategies for acquisitions and originals.
1:30 p.m. EDT Lionsgate’s Chase Brisbin
Chase Brisbin, Lionsgate’s recently promoted executive VP of international SVOD sales and head of global channels, will showcase how the independent studio is tapping into its extensive library in the FAST space.
WEDNESDAY, JULY 24
9 a.m. EDT Platform Perspective
What are independent platforms looking for in content partnerships? This session will deliver that intelligence from Plex’s Scott Olechowski , wedotv’s Philipp Rotermund and Free TV Networks’ Thanasis Tsiris.
10:30 a.m. EDT Lightning International’s James Ross
James Ross, the CEO of Lightning International, will discuss the traction the company is seeing with its genre-based FAST channels, including services across music, movies, documentaries and news.
12 p.m. EDT Tubi’s David Salmon
On the heels of its U.K. launch, Tubi’s executive VP and managing director for international, David Salmon, will outline the AVOD platform’s global growth opportunity.
1:30 p.m. EDT Cineverse’s Chris McGurk
Led by chairman and CEO Chris McGurk, Cineverse is driving gains with its assortment of streaming services, FAST channels and new search and discoverability tools.
THURSDAY, JULY 25
9 a.m. EDT Pluto TV’s Katrina Kowalski
As senior VP of international content programming and acquisitions, Katrina Kowalski leads Pluto TV’s strategy for serving viewers in markets outside the U.S.
10:30 a.m. EDT FAST Kids
This genre spotlight on opportunities for kids’ IP owners in the FAST space will hear insights from WildBrain’s Lara Ilie, 9 Story Media Group’s Elianne Friend and pocket.watch’s Corinna Fisher.
12 p.m. EDT Rakuten TV’s Marcos Milanez
Marcos Milanez, chief content officer at Rakuten TV, will showcase how the service is driving AVOD usage across Europe with its slate of acquired fare and originals.
1:30 p.m. EDT Movie Time
Amid a wealth of AVOD services and FAST channels for movies, VA Media’s Mark Ashbridge, Candlelight Media Group’s Scott Wiscombe and Nicely Entertainment’s Scott Kirkpatrick will offer their views on curation, cutting through the clutter and opportunities for originals.
FAST FESTIVAL 2024 SPONSORS
GOLD SPONSORS
Lightning International
Lightning International operates a bouquet of 15 FAST channels. They are fully curated to broadcast standards and available for the Asia Pacific and worldwide. They include Universal Music’s NOW 70s, NOW 80s and NOW Rock; GB News; movie channels RCM and Action Hollywood Movies; documentary channels Docsville and Pulse Documentaries; Pet Club TV; Kartoon Channel!; TRACE Urban and TRACE Sport Stars; Concerto TV and Newsworld. Lightning still runs a successful program-syndication business, a managed services business for pay-TV channel clients and a consultancy division. While Lightning runs as a stand-alone unit, the company has been acquired by AsiaSat. www.lightninginternational.net
Samsung TV Plus
Samsung’s FAST service, Samsung TV Plus, is available on Samsung devices with no subscription and no sign-up, delivering thousands of movies and TV shows live and on-demand. Entertainment for every day, at home or on the go. Launched in Europe in 2019, it now features over 1,500 channels across 16 European markets, covering entertainment, news, sports, movies and more. www.samsungtvplus.com
FAST FESTIVAL 2024 SPONSORS
SILVER SPONSORS
Candlelight Media Group
For more than 23 years, Candlelight Media Group (CMG) has brought together filmmakers and professionals to build a production and distribution company focused on high-quality film and TV content. CMG strives to stay in touch with what audiences and viewers want and values relationships with broadcasters and buyers to help tailor productions to fit their needs. CMG is expanding its FAST channels reach, with channels and audiences already in the U.S., Canada, Latin America and Europe. www.candlelightmedia.com
NEW ID
NEW ID is a media tech company that connects content with global platforms. As the first Asian company to enter the FAST/AVOD business, NEW ID partners with the top 30-plus platforms worldwide. The company currently operates 300-plus FAST channels on major platforms such as Samsung TV Plus, LG Channels, Roku and Pluto TV. www.its-newid.com pocket.watch pocket.watch creates global franchises from the world’s most popular kids and family digital creators and characters. From originals like the Emmy-nominated Ryan ’s Mystery Playdate to a growing collection of high-performing creator-sourced content, all optimized and packaged for premium platforms, pocket.watch’s 35,000-plus hour catalog makes it the largest independent kids’ and family studio on the planet. pocket.watch
wedotv
wedotv is a worldwide OTT entertainment and sports streaming network that offers its services for free. It is available across all devices and platforms and has a strong presence in key territories such as the U.K., Germany, Italy, Switzerland and Austria. With its pure AVOD and FAST/free-to-air channels, wedotv reaches over 20 million people every month and has a technical reach of over 40 million homes. wedotv.com
WildBrain
With approximately 13,000 half-hours of filmed entertainment, WildBrain is home to such treasured brands as Peanuts, Teletubbies, Strawberry Shortcake, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Caillou, Inspector Gadget and Degrassi. Its studios produce such award-winning series as The Snoopy Show, Snoopy in Space, Strawberry Shortcake: Berry in the Big City, Sonic Prime, Chip and Potato, Teletubbies Let ’s Go! and more. Enjoyed in more than 150 countries on over 500 platforms, its content is everywhere kids and families view entertainment, including YouTube, where its network has garnered over 1 trillion minutes of watch time. Its television group owns and operates some of Canada’s most-viewed family entertainment channels. WildBrain CPLG is its leading consumer-products and location-based entertainment agency. www.wildbrain.com
Beth Anderson Senior VP & General Manager, FAST Channels & VOD Sales
BBC Studios
Beth Anderson leads BBC Studios’ FAST and catalog VOD sales initiative, developing audience and platform relationships and serving a selection of channel brands and content packages across North America and Latin America, EMEA and beyond. She oversees business development, programming, marketing and sales efforts aimed at developing meaningful paths for library content distribution and ad-based revenue generation.
With over 15 years of experience within BBC Stu dios, Anderson has held a number of leadership roles, most recently as general manager of FAST channels, where she was responsible for negotiating the company’s first FAST and AVOD deals with Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, Samsung TV Plus and Ama z on Freevee, among others. Throughout her career, Anderson has focused on unearthing opportunities for BBC Studios to expand its footprint in North America and LatAm by executing deals to increase the reach of the company’s content and products in the digital space. She was instrumental in establishing BBC Studios’ global EST business, working with Apple, Amazon, Samsung, Sony, Vudu and more to launch content and develop insights tools and marketing campaigns, and contributed to the development of BBC Studios’ SVOD and AVOD short-form businesses.
SESSION
Tuesday, July 23, 9 a.m. EDT Scaling Opportunities
VA Media builds and commercializes entertainment brands across YouTube and other AVOD and social video platforms. Under Mark Ashbridge’s stewardship, VA Media has become a global leader in social video monetization, with the company now owning and operating several leading YouTube channels in specialist genres. VA also provides a broad range of digital services to global broadcast and content companies such as NRL, STUDIOCANAL and more, developing strategies to increase audience engagement and revenue growth for these partners. Over his career, Ashbridge has worked across multiple industries and has launched and grown new digital revenue streams.
SESSION
Thursday, July 25, 1:30 p.m. EDT Movie Time
Jenn Batty Director, Content Partnerships, Europe & the Middle East
Samsung TV Plus
Samsung’s FAST service, Samsung TV Plus, is available on Samsung devices with no subscription and no sign-up, delivering thousands of movies and TV shows live and on-demand.
Launched in Europe in 2019, it now features over 1,500 channels across 16 European markets, covering entertainment, news, sports, movies and more. Jenn Batty’s business remit has since expanded to include the Middle East. Samsung’s FAST service not only entertains but provides a next-generation TV experience for advertisers.
Batty has played a key role in developing the FAST business across Europe, launching the firstever live sports FAST channel with DAZN, featuring live matches from Spain’s La Liga, Italy’s Serie A and France’s Ligue 1. She has worked to forge strategic partnerships across Europe, including with ZDF Studios, Altice Media, Warner Bros. Dis covery Italy, FIFA, Sony Pictures Entertainment, BBC Studios, ITV Studios and more.
Prior to joining Samsung, Batty held senior roles across multiple regions, including North America, Asia and Europe, always at the forefront of programming and channel development.
SESSION
Tuesday, July 23, 10:30 a.m. EDT Keynote
Chase Brisbin is a 12-year veteran of Lions gate. She manages Lionsgate’s growing portfolio of more than two dozen FAST channels worldwide, including MovieSphere, the only global premium movie channel offered by a major studio and the first FAST channel to be ranked by Nielsen. Brisbin is also responsible for licensing and distributing Lionsgate’s deep slate of feature films, strong lineup of premium television series, hit STARZ original series and massive film and television library.
Brisbin previously served as executive VP of international television and digital distribution. Her career has included digital home entertainment, domestic sales and spearheading Lionsgate’s international streaming business. She led the charge in opening up new international markets with strategic film output deals, and also covered worldwide ex-U.S. first-run series sales such as The Continental to Prime Video. Recently, Brisbin has led efforts to expand the company’s footprint of international FAST partners and is now focused on growing the business globally.
SESSION Tuesday, July 23, 1:30 p.m. EDT Keynote
David Eilenberg Head, Content
Roku Media
David Eilenberg is responsible for the overall vision, creative strategy and go-to-market execution, both domestically and in international territories, for content across Roku Media, as well as for setting and achieving long-term growth goals and acquisition of target audiences.
As the leader of Roku Media’s content organization, Eilenberg is responsible for the overall content mix inside Roku’s proprietary AVOD service, The Roku Channel, and oversees the teams responsible for Roku originals, direct licensing and programming, AVOD/FAST, Roku Sports, Roku Brand Studio and This Old House. In his prior role as head of Roku originals, Eilenberg and his team brought highly anticipated titles, including Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Meet Me in Paris, The Great American Baking Show , Die Hart 2: Die Harter and many more to millions of streamers to enjoy for free.
Before joining Roku, Eilenberg served as chief creative officer at ITV America, responsible for the company’s creative strategy and growth opportunities across six production labels and leveraging global formats for the U.S. market.
Prior to ITV, Eilenberg was senior VP of unscripted development, late night and specials at Turner. Before that, he was head of development and current programming for Mark Burnett Productions.
SESSION Tuesday, July 23, 12 p.m. EDT Keynote
Pocket.watch is the leading independent kids’ and family entertainment studio.
Corinna Fisher leads OTT programming for the two most widely distributed kids’ FAST channels and the largest independent kids’ and family SVOD channel. She also manages direct-to-consumer mobile and CTV apps, and AVOD syndicated programming across premium streaming platforms.
Fisher has extensive experience at the intersection of the digital creator revolution across traditional and emerging platforms, having previously held pivotal programming roles at renowned media companies such as Verizon Media, Maker Studios (acquired by Disney) and Emmy-winning cable network Current TV. She was recently an honoree of Cynopsis Media’s Top Women in Media’s “Directors Who Do It All” category, celebrating women who showcase leadership, creativity and determination in the media industry.
SESSION Thursday, July 25, 10:30 a.m. EDT FAST Kids
Elianne Friend VP, Digital & Distribution
9 Story Media Group
At 9 Story Media Group, Elianne Friend created and continues to oversee the compa ny’s robust YouTube business, spanning over 100 channels and IPs. She is also responsible for spearheading and expanding 9 Story’s digital distribution business across various VOD and FAST channel platforms, including Tubi, Roku, Peacock, Netflix and Hulu. Friend has been a part of the 9 Story family for ten years, holding integral sales and digital positions across multiple territories worldwide. With 20 years of experience in the media industry, Friend has also been a producer at Bloomberg Tele vision and CNN in New York City.
SESSION
Thursday, July 25, 10:30 a.m. EDT FAST Kids
Gra ham Haigh leads ITV Studios’ global directto-consumer and digital content strategies and seeks innovative new business opportunities for its 90,000-hour catalog of programming, the second largest of its kind in the world.
He and his team interface with partners such as Samsung, Google, Meta, Amazon, Pluto TV and TikTok to create content and product offerings in the social, FAST and AVOD/SVOD spaces that reach fans of ITV Studios’ high-quality and diverse scripted and non-scripted programming wherever they are and on whichever platform they are watching.
With over 15 years of experience in the TV sector, Haigh was previously director of commercial development at Disney, where he created an optimized EMEA sales strategy and was responsible for negotiating regional sales activity with key clients such as Amazon, Netflix, Sky and HBO. Before this, he held the role of director of branded services and digital distribution for EMEA for eight years, working across the Marvel, Lucasfilm, ABC Studios, Pixar and Disney Animation brands.
SESSION Tuesday, July 23, 9 a.m. EDT Scaling Opportunities
Lara Ili e is responsible for expanding Wild Brain’s content distribution strategy across emerging platform opportunities, including transactional partnerships. Ilie has built a world-leading presence for WildBrain’s kids’ and family content on FAST and AVOD services, with over 100 channels launched on such popular platforms as Roku, Pluto TV, Tubi, Samsung TV Plus and Amazon Freevee in North America, Europe, Australia, Latin America and more. Formerly VP of rights strategy, she developed and spearheaded integrated strategies to monetize WildBrain’s portfolio of intellectual property rights across businesses and territories. Ilie first joined WildBrain in 2007 as senior director of sales, handling content distribution partnerships in Iberia, Italy, Benelux, the Nordics, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.
SESSION
Thursday, July 25, 10:30 a.m. EDT FAST Kids
Nicely Entertainment is a Los Angelesbased production and distribution company that produces original TV movies and scripted TV series. Scott Kirkpatrick brokers major content deals and has executive produced a variety of TV movies, including A Christmas Fre quency, The Recipe Files and Sappy Holiday. Previously, Kirkpatrick served as the senior VP of North American sales and business development for the London-based NENT Studios UK, where he oversaw international television distribution deals on various programs, including BBC One’s The Cry , Channel 4’s Shameless and ITV’s Doc Martin and Manhunt.
Prior to this, Kirkpatrick served as executive director of distribution for MarVista Entertainment. Before shifting to the distribution side of the industry, Kirkpatrick worked behind the scenes on major studio productions.
SESSION Thursday, July 25, 1:30 p.m. EDT Movie Time
Katrina Kowalski Senior VP, International Content Programming & Acquisitions
Pluto TV
Katrina Kowalski is responsible for Pluto TV’s content strategy, programming and content partnerships in all markets outside the U.S.
Most recently, Kowalski served as VP of content for Pluto TV and Paramount+ in Canada. In this role, Kowalski was instrumental to the strategic expansion of Paramount+ and Pluto TV in the Canadian market and was responsible for all content decisions for both streaming services in Canada, including original programming and acquisitions.
For the past two decades, Kowalski has broadened the television landscape in Canada. A chief programming authority and digital strategist, Kowalski has led high-performing teams through comprehensive, multimillion-dollar content launches across linear and digital platforms. She has a passion for leadership and bringing the best content to audiences, always adapting to the everevolving entertainment and media landscape.
Kowalski joined Paramount in November 2021 as senior director of content programming and strategy and was elevated to VP in June 2022. Previously, she worked at Bell Media as director of programming and digital content for four years. In Kowalski’s over 20 years with the company, she held several key roles in programming, research and benefits.
SESSION
Thursday, July 25, 9 a.m. EDT Keynote
Cineverse is a publicly traded entertainment company with dual headquarters in Los Angeles and New York. Chris McGurk leads a team on a mission to uplift storytellers and entertain fans with the power of technology.
Cineverse’s in-house streaming technology solution, Matchpoint, powers the distribution of over 71,000 film, TV and podcast titles to 82 billion unique views monthly for over 4 billion minutes streamed. Among Cineverse’s suite of technology and machine learning products is cineSearch, the conversational generative AI search and discovery tool for film and TV content built as a co-investment with Google Cloud.
Cineverse’s network of channels includes Dog Whisperer with Cesar Millan and Sid & Marty Krofft, as well as Screambox, RetroCrush, the Dove Channel and its flagship service, Cineverse, across SVOD, AVOD and FAST. The company distributes content across all windows, from theatrical to TVOD/DVD/Blu-ray and streaming.
Before joining Cineverse in 2011, McGurk was the founder and CEO of Overture Films and CEO of Anchor Bay Entertainment. McGurk also served as vice chairman of the board and COO of MGM Studios.
SESSION
Wednesday, July 24, 1:30 p.m. EDT Keynote
Marcos
Milanez Chief Content Officer
Rakuten TV
Marcos Milanez is responsible for Rakuten TV’s content strategy, acquisitions and originals. Prior to joining Rakuten TV in 2018, Milanez held senior positions at leading media companies such as Turner/WarnerMedia, Vubiquity, WWE and TV Globo/Globosat, gathering over 20 years of experience in licensing content and TV channels across a variety of rights internationally.
SESSION
Thursday, July 25, 12 p.m. EDT Keynote
As of Q2 2024, Plex has the largest FAST channel lineup worldwide, with more than 1,180 free-to-stream live TV channels available in more than 180 countries. Plex is rapidly growing its ad-supported content, offering consumers a wide variety of free content and advertising partners much-needed reach and transparency.
Scott Olechowski is responsible for product strategy, product management and business development for Plex’s software and services. A pioneer in streaming media, he co-founded Plex as a hobby to make organizing and accessing digital media easy and seamless. Over the past 25 years, Olechowski has applied his entrepreneurial know-how and spirit to several software and internet-focused startups. His professional experience includes executive positions in product strategy, business development, marketing and international sales for a number of established brands, including Cisco, PostX and IronPort. He is an expert in cryptography with six issued encryption and authentication patents.
SESSION Wednesday, July 24, 9 a.m. EDT Platform Perspective
James Ross CEO
Lightning International
James Ross launched Lightning International in 2011 as a content solutions company to help independent producers distribute their programs. In 2019, Lightning launched a bouquet of 15 FAST channels that are now carried on numerous FAST platforms around the world. They are fully curated to broadcast standards and available for the Asia Pacific and worldwide. They include channels such as Universal Music’s NOW 70s, NOW 80s and NOW Rock; GB News; movie channels RCM and Action Holly wood Movies; documentary channels Docsville and Pulse Documentaries; Pet Club TV; Kartoon Channel!; TRACE Urban and TRACE Sport Stars; Concerto TV and Newsworld. Lightning still runs a successful program-syndication business, a managed services business for pay-TV channel clients and a consultancy division. While Lightning runs as a stand-alone unit, the company has been acquired by AsiaSat.
Prior to Lightning, Ross worked for the BBC as an engineer, studio manager and reporter for 12 years. He was then part of the launch team in Tokyo for Bloomberg Television Asia. In 2006, he was appoint ed regional director for Asia for ITV.
SESSION
Wednesday, July 24, 10:30 a.m. EDT Keynote
Philipp Rotermund is a successful entrepreneur with more than 20 years of experience in the media and entertainment sector. He has worked extensively in the pay-TV marketplace, including with the key platforms in Europe. Rotermund has launched a number of broadcast channels and video-on-demand services. He also successfully participated in two IPOs before launching wedotv in 2018.
As CEO and co-founder of the AVOD service wedotv, Rotermund played a key role in the service becoming one of the biggest independent free OTT sports and entertainment streaming networks in Europe. Also, wedotv operates the FAST channels wedo movies, wedo big stories, wedo amor and wedo sports. These services are available across multiple platforms, including broadcast, cable, HbbTV and CTV, in the U.K., the DACH region, Benelux, the Nordics, Italy and the U.S.
SESSION
Wednesday, July 24, 9 a.m. EDT Platform Perspective
Philipp Rotermund CEO & Co-Founder
David Salmon Executive VP & Managing Director, International Tubi
David Salmon is the managing director of Tubi’s international business, responsible for its fast-growing footprint in Canada, Australia and LatAm and its recent launch in the U.K. Prior to joining Tubi in 2023, Salmon spent more than a decade at sports, media and entertainment group Endeavor, focused on founding and scaling digital businesses. He was most recently the founder and CTO of Endeavor Streaming, Endeavor’s video technology group, where he drove the business from inception to market leader.
SESSION
Wednesday, July 24, 12 p.m. EDT Keynote
Amanda Stevens is tasked with identifying new ad-supported opportunities, maximizing existing deals and heading up the team responsible for FAST channel scheduling and AVOD publishing at All3Media International.
Prior to joining All3Media, Stevens was Samsung TV Plus Europe’s U.K. lead for third-party channels, where she was central to the launch of Samsung TV Plus in the U.K. and Europe. Her remit extended to content strategy, rights and delivery of FAST channels and AVOD.
Prior to this, Stevens managed content partnerships for pay-TV channels, SVOD, TVOD and EST at TalkTalk (formerly blinkbox) and has also held senior roles, including head of acquisitions and digital media for Comedy Central and MTV.
She began her career as a content buyer for the channels Living and Bravo at Flextech Television, which became Virgin Media Television.
SESSION
Tuesday, July 23, 9 a.m. EDT Scaling Opportunities
All3Media International
Thanasis Tsiris
Senior VP, Distribution & Partnerships
Free TV Networks
Thanasis Tsiris is responsible for leading the growth of Free TV Networks’ FAST channel business. He has a strong background in digital media, beginning his career in content acquisitions and programming at Fullscreen SVOD, then moving to manage operational partnerships at Verizon’s go90. He most recently served as the VP of content acquisitions at Screen Media Films, where he handled AVOD, FAST and TVOD partnerships for Redbox, Crackle and Chicken Soup for the Soul.
SESSION
Wednesday, July 24, 9 a.m. EDT Platform Perspective
Scott Wiscombe joined Candlelight Media Group (CMG) following 16 years at Adobe, where he managed multiple operations teams supporting the sales organization. Wiscombe now helps drive CMG’s streaming strategy globally, using data to understand performance across multiple countries on various platforms, FAST channels and YouTube.
SESSION
Thursday, July 25, 1:30 p.m. EDT Movie Time
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