Streaming Media 2025 Chair Andy Beach Talks Must-See Netflix and BET+ Keynotes and More at SM 2025
In this exclusive sneak preview of Streaming Media 2025, coming up October 6-8 in Santa Monica’s spectacular Fairmont Miramar, Conference Chair Andy Beach and Streaming Media Editor-in-Chief Steve Nathans-Kelly discuss must-see keynotes from Netflix Head of Live Technical Launch Management Brett Axler and BET EVP & General Manager Jason Harvey and more.
"I couldn't have asked for a better collection of folks to come together for chats," Beach says. In the show’s opening keynote, Launching Netflix’s Live Era, “Brett Axler and I are going to sit down and do a fireside chat and talk through how Netflix has built out its live infrastructure, and lessons that they've learned from the on-demand world moving into live operations. For everybody outside of the industry, when they look at video streaming and they just think video is video. And I think when you get into live, you learn it's a very different beast, and Netflix has learned that lesson this year. They're going to walk us through a little bit of what's coming up in the future as well, as they have new programs that are launching. I believe Brett said, anecdotally, that they had something like 110 new live events in the queue for next year. So that's a massive uptick from where they were a year ago."
The show’s final day, Wednesday October 8, will kick off with BET’s Harvey discussing Storytelling That Sticks: Predictive Modeling With Cultural Connection. "Jason is the EVP and General Manager of BET+, BET’s OTT platform. He's going to speak to a variety of topics really around how they're balancing data-driven personalization with culturally authentic storytelling. He's going to have a specific case study around human creativity and automation working together in order to create that viewing experience and really get into how BET+ is using AI to amplify the process of storytelling. So I'm pretty excited about both of those, if I am not going to lie."
"There's another late-breaking addition to the program: Seth Hallen's 'How Economic Disruption Is Forcing a Media Infrastructure Reset,'” Nathans-Kelly says. “Can you just talk a bit about who Seth is and what he's going to be talking about?"
"Seth is a fascinating guy," Beach says. "He's the founder of Hallstone Ventures, which is a new VC fund that he has started in LA that really is focused on seeding companies that are in the AI and media space." Hallen's talk, Beach explains, will have "a very narrow focus on what he's looking to help fund and incubate. But he's not new to the community. As a matter of fact, his nickname in LA is the Mayor of Hollywood. He shows up everywhere and everybody knows him and everybody loves him to death, and he's going to come in and talk about the economic problems of streaming--not delivery, but the business side of it--and stress where the problems of monetization models and rights systems and frankly outdated infrastructure are causing issues for it. So that will bring about a conversation around what new models are emerging and what we as an industry need to focus on. I think this is going to be really important for both the partners that are there talking at the show and for the attendees to hear, whether we're thinking about things like Trusted Ledger and blockchain, these AI native storytelling tools that are coming out, and of course, the creator platforms that are emerging. So it's not about startup pitches; it's about a strategic roadmap of building a new media tech stack with the emerging companies that are out there."
Closing out the conversation, Nathans-Kelly asks, “What are a couple of key takeaways that you hope that Streaming Media 2025 attendees will come away with from our show this year that they won't learn about anywhere else?”
“Where we stand out against the other shows is a true focus on the streaming space. IBC is a massive show, and it has a lot of different topics that ultimately go into it. We have a pretty narrow focus on creating the content and distributing content through online means and through all of the various devices, and the business models that go behind it. If you've got an interest in that specific part of the space, this is the show for you because this is where those conversations happen. What's also great about it is because it is a smaller show than IBC or NAB, you get to have those intimate conversations. Some of the best conversations happen between the panels in the hallways when you connect with people. I've been attending this show for 20-odd years at this point, and I've made a lot of meaningful contacts and friendships there, and can trace back a lot of the people that I still work with in the industry today to hallway random meetings that I've had at this show."
Register now for Streaming Media 2025 with code snk40 for a 40% discount!
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