November 18, 2005  |  8:30 AM - 5:30 PM  |  New York City

  FUTURE OF TELEVISION:
  Beyond the Box

OVERVIEW
Future of Television: Beyond the Box is a 1-day executive forum presented by NYU's Stern School of Business and Digital Media Wire. An annual conference, this year's event will be held on November 18, 2005 at NYU's Stern School of Business (Schimmel Auditorium) and brings together decision-makers from cable and broadcast networks, cable and satellite operators, high-tech and advertising to focus on the future of television.

Over 800 senior executives have attended the event over the past two years. Speakers have included some of the most powerful players in television from Leslie Moonves (Co-President & Co-Chief Operating Officer, Viacom Inc. / Chairman, CBS) to Mark Cuban (Chairman, HDNet / Owner, Dallas Mavericks) to Lord David Currie, Chairman, Office of Communications (OFCOM), the chief regulator for the United Kingdom's (U.K.'s) communications industries. This is a "must attend" event for decision-makers from cable and broadcast networks, cable and satellite operators, high-tech and advertising.

ABOUT THE PROGRAM
The program consists of 3 industry leadership keynotes and 5 discussion panels on timely topics focused on the industry's future. This year's panels will focus on Killer Apps: Technology Beyond TiVo, Digital Technologies & the Future of Television News, the Explosion of Ethnic Television, Television & the Echo Boomer Generation and Mobile TV: Can You See Me Now?

8:00AM - 9:00AM
Registration, Coffee & Networking

9:00AM - 9:10AM
Welcome & Introductions from the Conference Co-Chairs
Al Lieberman, Executive Dir., EMT Program, NYU Stern School of Business
Ned Sherman, CEO & Publisher, Digital Media Wire

9:10 AM - 9:45 AM
Keynote Address
Larry Kramer, President, CBS Digital Media
As President of CBS Digital Media, Larry Kramer oversees all developing new media operations for CBS, including CBS.com, CBS SportsLine.com, CBSNews.com and UPN.com, as well as a new sales operation that will serve them. He reports directly to Leslie Moonves, Co-President and Co-Chief Operating Officer, Viacom, and Chairman, CBS.
 

9:50 AM - 10:45 AM

Panel 1

KILLER APPS: Technology Beyond TiVo
TiVo rocked the industry by allowing viewers to pause live programming, fast-forward through commercials and record hours of programming without a videotape. What's next in the rapidly changing world of television technology? This panel will discuss technologies from High Definition Television (HDTV) and Video-On-Demand (VOD) to Video Over IP and applications to enable mobile video, including TV broadcasting on wireless phones. How will consumers respond to the introduction of these new technologies?  What are the issues and possible rewards for broadcasters and cable companies? What is the next killer app? What is the impact of new technologies on the future of television?

PANELISTS
Howard Bolter, SVP, Production & Network Operations, E! Networks
David Davies, VP, Strategy & Product Marketing, Scientific-Atlanta
David Del Beccaro, CEO & Founder, MusicChoice
Tracy Dolgin, President & CEO, YES Network
Andrew Wing, President & CEO, Nielsen Entertainment
Moderator: Tom Selz, Founding Partner, Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
 

10:45 AM - 11:10 AM
REFRESHMENT/NETWORKING BREAK

11:10 AM – 12:05 PM

Panel 2
NEWS ON DEMAND: 
Digital Technologies & the Future of Television News
Recent data indicates that Internet portals, mobile phones and devices, blogs, email and instant messaging are increasingly viewed as a primary source of news for adults age 19 to 34, while newspapers and national television news broadcasts fare poorly with this demographic. This panel of experts will discuss the challenges and opportunities facing traditional broadcast news outlets brought on by new technologies and evolving consumer expectations. How are consumer expectations changing concerning how, where, when and from whom they obtain news? Can we expect these changes to spur the roll-out of new products and programming models built around or incorporating digital information services? What role will digital technologies play in the future of the television news business?

PANELISTS
Andrew Heyward, President, CBS News
Lewis D'Vorkin, Editor-in-Chief, AOL News & Sports
Merrill Brown, Founder & Principal, MMB Media LLC
Bernard Gershon, SVP & GM, ABC News Digital Media Group
Mike Vorhaus, Managing Director, Frank N. Magid & Associates
Moderator: Paul Gough, Reporter, Television, The Hollywood Reporter
 

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
LUNCH BREAK
sponsored by

1:30 PM - 2:00 PM
Keynote Address
Joshua Sapan, President & CEO, Rainbow Media Holdings LLC
Mr. Sapan has guided Rainbow Media's growth and success for 18 years, creating and managing some of the country's most compelling and dynamic entertainment services. Rainbow Media's portfolio includes its national networks - AMC, Fuse, The Independent Film Channel (IFC) and WE: Women's Entertainment; its film distribution, production and exhibition division - IFC Entertainment; regional programming through its Rainbow Sports Networks division; industry-leading video-on-demand (VOD) networks including Mag Rack and sportskool; and the largest suite of high definition channels available, the VOOM HD Networks.
 

2:05 PM - 2:50 PM
Panel 3
THE EXPLOSION OF ETHNIC TELEVISION:
Tapping the Potential of Growing Markets
Ethnic programming is on the rise with Spanish, Korean, Chinese, Indian, German, and Arabic language programming being offered, often on a subscription pay basis, through global satellite services focused on meeting the insatiable appetites of expatriates and ethnic populations across the melting pot of America. According to Neilsen, over the past three years, the number of Spanish-Dominant TV households in the U.S. has also grown roughly 19%, from 4.26 million to 5.06 million, and other ethnic groups are increasing in numbers as well. It is no wonder that many see a great potential in tapping these growing markets. What is the outlook for the growth of ethnic television?  Which markets show the best signs for growth? What is the formula for success?

PANELISTS
Peilin Chou, SVP of Programming & Production, Comcast's AZN Television
Lisa Coelho, GM & Executive Director, GlobeCast WorldTV
Chris Crommett, SVP, CNN en Español
Bob Reid, EVP & Network General Manager, The Africa Channel
Anil Srivatsa, SVP, Affiliate Sales & Operations, ImaginAsian TV
Moderator: Simon Applebaum, Editor-at-Large, CableFAX’s CableWORLD
 

2:50 PM - 3:10 PM
REFRESHMENT/NETWORKING BREAK

3:10 PM - 3:55 PM
Panel 4
TELEVISION & THE ECHO BOOMER GENERATION:
How to Attract Viewers from America's Largest Consumer Group
Born between 1981 and 1995, America's Generation Y (also known as Echo Boomers and the Millennium Generation) is more than 57 million strong, making it the largest and most diverse consumer group in the history of the U.S. with annual incomes totaling $211 billion (according to a study from Harris Interactive). More racially diverse, technologically savvy and more skeptical of mass media than past generations, America's Echo Boomers are embracing new technologies in new and powerful ways. This panel will discuss the challenge for television programmers to compete with other entertainment outlets, including the Internet, video games and mobile devices. What is the secret to attracting viewers from America's largest and most diverse consumer group?

PANELISTS
Stephen Friedman, General Manager, mtvU
Bill Morningstar, EVP, Media Sales, The WB
Perry Solomon, Senior Director, Bus. Dev., FAST Search & Transfer
Robert Weiss, Head of Entertainment & Digital Media, Fuse
Greg Demetriades, CEO, Continental Vista Broadcasting Group
Moderator: Lydia Loizides, Analyst / Principal, Paphion Inc.
 

4:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Keynote Address
Jack Abernethy, Chief Executive Officer, Fox Television Stations
Jack Abernethy is Chief Executive Officer of Fox Television Stations, which includes 35 television stations. Prior to this, Abernethy served as Executive Vice President, FOX News, where he oversaw finance, human resources, legal affairs, and affiliate distribution departments, as well as the network's website, foxnews.com. Abernethy joined Fox News in 1996. Prior to that, he spent 15 years with General Electric where he held executive positions at the NBC TV stations division and CNBC.
 

4:35 PM - 5:25 PM

Panel 5