Top CEO's tackle TV future at MIPCOM 2005 Superpanel

Televisionpoint.com Team
MIPCOM will launch the very first MIPCOM CEO Superpanel to be held, on October 18. The theme for the Superpanel is, 'The Changing Landscape of Television - The Threats and Opportunities' and will unite some of the most prominent leaders in the global TV and digital media industries.

The team of top-level executives participating in the Superpanel represent a wide range of sectors that play a key role in today’s TV industry. They will share their views on the critical developments facing the fast-changing audiovisual landscape, and focus on how traditional television networks and companies are facing up to the opportunities and threats posed by the proliferation of such new applications as internet TV, mobile 3G and Video-On-Demand.

Central to the MIPCOM conference programme the Superpanel will bring together former BBC Director General and current HIT Entertainment Chairman Greg Dyke, Roger Lynch, CEO of UK-based Internet Protocol Television company Homechoice/VideoNet, Yun-Joo Jung, CEO of Korean national broadcaster KBS, Robert Dowling, President Film and Performing Arts, VNU Business Publications and Publisher/Editor of The Hollywood Reporter and Abe Peled, CEO of UK-based digital pay television solution provider NDS.

The Superpanel will be hosted by the renowned media analyst and Chairman of APAX Media Advisory Board Neil Blackley. "The broadcast free-to-air TV industry has seen a proliferation of channels and the development of the enabled base of VCR/DVDs and game consoles. All of this has created massive competition for the eyeball and fragmented audiences," notes Neil Blackley. "The changes now underway with Internet TV, mobile 3G and VOD are possibly even more profound. The two key questions are how serious are these changes for the networks and how are they dealing with them?"

With over 11,000 television and digital content executives expected at MIPCOM this year, show organizer Reed MIDEM has confirmed its commitment to keeping the industry up to speed on the key issues facing companies.

"The CEO Superpanel is a new MIPCOM initiative which aims to facilitate the flow of information and opinions," says Reed MIDEM CEO Paul Zilk. "I’m honoured to welcome such a distinguished group of industry leaders to MIPCOM. Their vision of the future of audiovisual entertainment, and of the opportunities brought about by the convergence of TV and digital technologies, is of crucial importance to our delegates."

In addition to the CEO Superpanel, the four-day MIPCOM 2005 conference programme, presents a total of 27 panels and will draw attention to the rapid growth and evolution of audiovisual entertainment. Approximately a hundred, high-level conference speakers will provide solid, in-depth information on High Definition, Mobile TV Content, New Formats, Digital Technologies and the Merchandising & Licensing market.

Other highlights from MIPCOM’s 21st edition include three prestigious keynotes from Endemol’s Peter Bazalgette, Howard Roffman from Lucasfilm Licensing and Dan Romanelli of Warner Bros. Worldwide Consumer Products. Also high on the agenda are the first Mobile TV Screenings and Awards, the MIPCOM DVD Awards and Gustavo Cisneros, Chairman and CEO of the Cisneros Group of Companies will receive the MIPCOM 2005 Personality of the Year Award.