The Broadcast Disruptors Forum brings together senior sports executives who share an interest in the changing media landscape, evolving audience habits, the impact of technology and the challenges of content creation, distribution and monetization. Comprising a private think tank and a wider conference, the Broadcast Disruptors Forum will bring you up to speed with cutting-edge insight, global perspectives and a detailed look at what’s next in sports broadcasting.
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FIRST CONFIRMED SPEAKERS
Gillian Zucker
President of Business Operations
- Gillian is the only female team president in the NBA and oversees all of the Clippers’ business functions, which, in line with all major rights holders, increasingly involves the monetization of content.
- She will be joining Rajiv Maheswaran from Second Spectrum on stage for a presentation detailing how Courtvision works and why it’s a broadcasting game-changer for NBA teams and leagues.
- Gillian’s one of sport’s most senior female executives and she’ll be around all week, also participating in a tech and innovation session alongside WWE at The Sport Business Summit.
Martin Stewart
Chief Executive Officer
- Martin leads Sky New Zealand, the country’s leading sports broadcaster and will be sharing details of the company’s recent acquisition of Rugby Pass, the global streaming platform.
- He previously ran Middle East broadcaster OSN, so has huge experience of the way the market is shifting and how the media landscape is changing.
- His sports credentials include a stint as CFO of the Football Association, serving on the Board of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games for 7 years and playing a key role in successful Premier League and UEFA broadcast renewals on behalf of Sky UK.
Travis Rettke
GM, B/R Football
- Travis is responsible for B/R’s live coverage of the Uefa Champions League in the United States, building out its innovative studio and digital coverage.
- WarnerMedia-owned Bleacher Report launched its B/R OTT spin-off platform, B/R Live, after acquiring the rights in time for the start of the 2018/19 season.
- Travis, who joined Bleacher Report in 2017 initially as Creative Director, will be joining a session discussing pricing strategies and subscription models, particularly when it comes to new streaming platforms like B/R Live.
Rajiv Maheswaran
Chief Executive Officer
- Rajiv is in charge of Second Spectrum, a company which specializes in using optical tracking technology to collect, reorganize and apply data.
- He’ll be joining Gillian Zucker to explain and demonstrate CourtVision, a revolutionary new way of experiencing live sport that utilizes augmented reality and machine learning, allowing fans to choose multiple camera angles and sees live game data woven into the broadcast.
- The Clippers-Courtvision product is a contender in the On-Screen Experience category at the 2019 Leaders Sports Awards.
MAIN PARTNERS
Accedo
Accedo is the trusted video experience transformation pioneer, improving the lives of video consumers by the hundreds of millions. Over the years, Accedo has earned the trust of the world’s leading video service providers – customers to whom two goals are paramount: explore new opportunities to monetise video and transform video services to meet rapidly changing consumer expectations. Accedo customers include global video service leaders Sky, Astro, Telstra, Viaplay, Viasat, MBC, NBCUniversal, Fox, Disney, HBO, Telefonica, Deutsche Telekom, ProSieben Sat1, OSN and Netflix.
Find out moreBlackbird
Blackbird is the world’s fastest, most agile cloud video platform. It enables secure, lightning-fast viewing, editing and distribution of video content by anyone, anytime, anywhere. Blackbird is trusted by many of the world’s leading media companies for easily and quickly getting their content to fans over web, OTT, VOD and social.
Find out moreGrass Valley
Grass Valley’s end-to-end ecosystem of reliable, open standards-based solutions helps content creators, broadcasters and media organizations to produce brilliant content and build successful media businesses. Our award-winning technology and trusted industry expertise empower our customers to create captivating experiences that connect people anywhere, on any device, through the magic of media.
As the industry’s R&D powerhouse, with the most comprehensive suite of solutions for live content, we are the trusted partner to many of the biggest and most creative names in the media and entertainment business. We help our customers transition to IP and cloud-based infrastructures to enable flexible, scalable and smart workflows. Headquartered in Montreal, Grass Valley has been in the broadcast business for 60 years and is part of St. Louis-based Belden Inc.
Find out moreVerizon Media
Verizon Media offers an industry-leading Media Platform that prepares, delivers, displays, and monetizes your online content. It’s built for the future of media with a comprehensive video streaming service that exceeds consumer-demand for speed, reliability, and TV-quality viewing experiences. The platform is built on the world’s largest, most connected delivery network, ensuring high-quality, instant-on viewing of digital content on every device, every time, everywhere. Multilayered content security is built into the platform to keep your origin server and content safe from cyberthreats.
Visit us at https://www.verizonmedia.com/media-platform to learn more.
HOST PARTNER
Gfinity
Gfinity is a leading international esports business. Created by gamers for the worlds 2.2 billion gamers, Gfinity has a unique understanding of this fast-growing global community. It uses its expertise to provide both advisory services and to design, develop and deliver unparalleled experiences and winning strategies for game publishers, sports rights holders, commercial partners and media companies.
Gfinity works closely with leading organisations including Microsoft, EA SPORTS, Activision Blizzard, F1 and the Premier League. Through its owned Media Distribution Channels Gfinity organically connects with nearly 20 million gamers each month.
PREVIOUS SPEAKERS
Barney Francis
Managing Director
Speaker at
The Broadcast Disruptors Premier League and Sky: reflections on a game-changing partnership
- Will participate in a double-header with Richard Scudamore on Sky’s most significant broadcast partnership – charting how the Premier League and Sky have worked hand in hand since 1992.
- Next year will mark a decade since he became Sky Sports’ MD.
- Barney has a wealth of experience of the changing media landscape, media rights and production challenges.
Richard Scudamore
Executive Chairman
Speaker at
The Broadcast Disruptors Premier League and Sky: reflections on a game-changing partnership
- Scudamore is the Executive Chairman of the highest tier of association football in England, the Premier League, a position he has held since June 2014.
- He’ll join Barney Francis on stage to reflect on the long-term partnership with Sky and how it has evolved during a period of significant technological change – think 3D, HD, online streaming, rise of social and more.
Stephen van Rooyen
Chief Executive Officer, Sky UK and Ireland
Speaker at
The Broadcast Disruptors Disrupting the disruptors - how Sky is adapting to a new media world
• Providing an introduction to Sky and examining how the company is adapting to a new media world.
• Formerly Sky’s chief marketing and digital officer before getting the top job.
• Oversees all Sky’s activities in UK and Ireland, including Sky Go.
Marina Storti
Director of Strategy and Propositions
- Marina’s responsible for managing and developing Now TV’s customer proposition and more widely shaping Sky’s OTT offering.
- She’s worked across Sky and News Corp’s various divisions for 18 years.
- She’ll be joining a session examining changing audience habits (Now TV aimed at customers who don’t want to be tied to a long-term contract).
Ralph Rivera
Managing Director
- Ralph will be discussing how broadcasters and OTT specialists are overcoming the many challenges around live sports streaming.
- He’s been on the senior team at Eurosport since 2016 and previously spent six years in charge of the BBC’s digital output, including the launch of iplayer. Before that he spent a decade at AOL.
- Eurosport’s PyeongChang 2018 coverage, broadcast across Europe, included 4,000 hours of live sport across 16 digital feeds.
Chris Mead
Senior Director of Partnerships, EMEA
- Chris will be alongside Marina for the changing audience habits session.
- Amazon-owned Twitch has carved out a leadership position in the esports streaming space and is increasingly active in other areas such as music and ‘real life’ streams.
- They already have an engaged younger audience, so might they even be in the frame to acquire sports rights in future?
Jérôme Parmentier
Head of Broadcast and Media Rights
- Jérôme’s aboard to join a session discussing the future of major event broadcasting – how it’s evolving and how events like the Olympics remain an unparalleled showcase for new broadcast technologies.
- Recent Olympic media headlines have included long-term deals with Discovery across Europe and NBC in the US – each with a strong digital element – plus live VR coverage of events and of course the launch of the IOC’s own Olympic Channel two years ago.
Frank Leenders
Director General, FIBA Media and Marketing
- Frank will be on the Next Gen Broadcast Models session, expanding on his role running the media arm of world basketball’s governing body.
- In 2016, FIBA signed a major long term deal with Perform, which includes rights sales, live production and distribution and other services – Frank’s ideally placed to discuss how global rights holders can develop deep-rooted partnerships with digital media companies.
Stuart Watts
Chief Operating Officer, ATP Media
- As COO and an ATP Media Board member, Stuart presides over the operational running of the company. Along with their CEO he has responsibility for the long term strategy of ATP Media.
- ATP Media exploit the worldwide broadcast media rights across the ATP World Tour, are host broadcast producers/distributors and own & manage Tennis TV, the ATP World Tour’s global direct-to-consumer streaming platform.
- ATP Media have won awards for their broadcast production, Tennis TV and, most recently, were awarded Best Business Serving Sport at the Sports Business Awards. Tennis TV is also shortlisted in the On Screen Experience category of the Leaders Sports Awards.
Lee Walker
Executive Director, Bleacher Report Football
- Joining the session alongside Twitch discussing changing audience habits, Lee Walker is running Bleacher Report’s Champions League coverage in the US, which launched this season as part of UEFA’s deal with Turner.
- He’s right at the heart of creating content that works across both linear and digital and caters to different types of audience.
Dan Miodownik
Chief Content Officer, Host Broadcast Services
- Dan Miodownik is HBS’ Deputy CEO and Chief Content Officer.
- Dan has been with HBS since 2004 and worked on the FIFA World Cups in Germany 2006, South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014 and Russia in 2018.
- His career started in news radio in 1991, before he moved to senior roles at Sky Sports, TEAM Marketing’s Champions League operation in Switzerland and at ITV Sport in the UK.
Carlo De Marchis
Chief Product and Marketing Manager
- Carlo is a digital media executive and marketer who specialises in sport and entertainment.
- He’s an early adopter of the web and now focuses on OTT, digital, social, mobile, AR/VE and the evolution of the beyond TV experience.
- He’ll be part of the OTT challenges and solutions session, alongside executives from Eurosport and Now TV.
WHO ATTENDS
BT Sport
Bundesliga
Bundesliga International plays an integral role in growing the Bundesliga brand and the passion it embodies. Formed as a 100% subsidiary of DFL Deutsche Fußball Liga with the goal of increasing the Bundesliga’s global footprint and revenues, Bundesliga International has signed broadcast deals covering all 211 countries affiliated to FIFA on all five continents, with about 450,000 broadcast hours per year worldwide. Bundesliga International markets the audiovisual media rights for the DFL for all platforms abroad as well as the central sponsorship rights, brand licenses, digital offers of the Bundesliga and is the service provider for more than 80 national and international contract partners.
Discovery
England Rugby
ESPN
Eurosport Digital
NBA
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is the pre-eminent men’s professional basketball league in North America, and is widely considered to be the premier men’s professional basketball league in the world. It has thirty franchised member clubs (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada), and is an active member of USA Basketball (USAB), which is recognized by FIBA (also known as the International Basketball Federation) as the national governing body for basketball in the United States. The NBA is one of the four major North American professional sports leagues. NBA players are the world’s best paid sportsmen, by average annual salary per player.
NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that constitutes one of the four major professional sports leagues in North America. It is composed of 32 teams divided equally between the National Football Conference (NFC) and the American Football Conference (AFC). The highest professional level of the sport in the world, the NFL runs a 17-week regular season from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing sixteen games and having one bye week each season. Out of the league’s 32 teams, six (four division winners and two wild-card teams) from each conference compete in the NFL playoffs, a single-elimination tournament culminating in the Super Bowl, played between the champions of the NFC and AFC.
Premier League
The Premier League is the organising body of the Premier League with responsibility for the competition, its Rule Book and the centralised broadcast and other commercial rights.
The principal objective of the Premier League is to stage the most competitive and compelling league with world-class players who play in vibrant stadiums, full of supporters. Through the equitable distribution of broadcast and commercial revenues, the Premier League aim is to enable all Clubs to be competitive and to develop so that European competition is a realistic goal and, once there, they are playing at a level where they can compete effectively.
Sky Sports
Sky Sports is a group of sports television channels operated by the satellite pay-TV company Sky plc. Sky Sports has played a major role in the increased commercialisation of British sport since 1991, sometimes playing a large role in inducing organisational changes in the sports it broadcasts, most notably when it encouraged the Premier League to break away from the Football League in 1992.
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