Tuesday, October 16, 2018

10:45 AM - 11:45 AM, Herscher Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 303-304, Webcast

Indie TV – OTT and Streaming - The Gateway to Hollywood Content - Phones, Tablets, TV and PC

Daniel Tibbets, President-GM, El Rey Network

Nick Nelson, Head of Product Management, OWNZONES

Seth Shapiro, CEO, AlphaNetworks

Dan Dieffenbach, Chief Content Officer, Rebel Labs

Steve Slome, Co-Founder and CEO, CryptoCake

Colin Whelan, founder, Conveyor Media

Moderator, Jeffrey Thompson, Media & Entertainment, IBM Global Business Services

Daniel Tibbets, President-GM, El Rey Network: With more than 20 years of entertainment programming and producing experience, Daniel Tibbets serves as President and General Manager for El Rey Network, overseeing day-to-day operations for the Latino infused entertainment brand that revels in the courage, capacity, and creativity of ordinary people on extraordinary journeys. Spearheading the overall growth of El Rey, Tibbets manages digital expansion, content strategy and development, program planning and scheduling, productions, acquisitions, talent relations, ad sales, business affairs and business development. Tibbets most recently served as Chief Content Officer at Machinima where he was responsible for the programming organization,

including content strategy and development, program planning and scheduling, production, acquisitions, and business affairs. Prior to Machinima, Tibbets was Senior Vice President Digital Media for Bunim/Murray Productions and led Bunim/Murray’s digital department including developing short-form programming for the web, mobile devices and other online and connected device distribution platforms. Tibbets joined Bunim/Murray after six years serving as Studio Chief at GoTV Networks where he oversaw all programming, development, production, and licensing of video content for mobile and broadband, as well as new distribution models. Tibbets led GoTV Studios to become the largest producer and distributor of original video content accessible to mobile users in streaming and on-demand formats on all U.S. based wireless carriers, mobile operating systems, as well as for online and internationally.  Before joining GoTV, Tibbets held the position of Vice President, Production at Twentieth Television, and oversaw FOXLAB, Inc. While at Fox, Tibbets developed a number of successful television programs including the first convergence program to air on broadcast television, “Classmates” with Classmates.com. Tibbets is also credited with creating the "mobisode™" including Executive Producing the first two original content mobisodes™ Love and Hate and Sunset Hotel (winner of the Golden Eagle Award for Excellence). Previously, Tibbets served as Vice President, Entertainment for Fireworks Television, where he developed live-action dramas for syndication with Tribune Entertainment and children’s half-hour series’ for Nickelodeon and NBC/Discovery Kids. Tibbets was also responsible for the U.S. sale of the eight-hour miniseries Robocop: Prime Directives to the Sci-Fi Channel as well as the two-hour MOW Stolen Miracle to Lifetime. From his work at Papazian-Hirsch/Rysher Entertainment Tibbets is credited with the development and sale of the HBO series “ROME” and television films A Mother’s Testimony and Determination of Death for Lifetime and Face Value for Court TV. Earlier in his career Tibbets served as a writer and producer on a number of notable television programs and specials including the Emmy-Award winning Streetwise, World Champions of Golf and BuzzTV, and the BBC/PBS mini-series Signs and Wonders starring James Earl Jones. Tibbets has produced and/or contributed to the production and development of other award-winning, made for television series, including: Martha Stewart Living, Bob Vila, Pensacola: Wings of Gold, Psi Factor - Chronicles of the Paranormal, News for Kids, The Extremists, George Michael’s Sports Machine, America’s Most Wanted, Good Day Live, Judge Alex, On-Air with Ryan Seacrest, and many others. Tibbets has a Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing with an emphasis in International Marketing and Business from Arizona State University. Tibbets is Co-Founder of e-publishing company Premier Digital Publishing, orchestrating a successful exit in 2012.

Colin Whelan is the founder of Conveyor Media, a content production company focusing on Linear and Digital Content.  Conveyor’s credits include the Netflix series Cooking On High, the hit DIY/HGTV seriesBargain Mansions, the Justin Bieber Roast Red Carpet for Comedy Central along with Inked Roulette and Beauty Wars for Snapchat. In addition he produced the American Influencer Awards for YouTube and the record-breaking video game event Robokong for Twitch, with additional projects including the series New Girls on the Block for Discovery and Hollywood 911for Reelz.  Other linear and digital clients include Paramount, Time Inc, Amazon, Awesomeness TV, Game Show Network, Warner Bros, Lionsgate, Freeform/ABC Family and Z Living. Prior to Conveyor, Colin was the Vice President of Alternative at Syfy where hedeveloped and oversaw a variety of series such as Haunted Highway with Jack Osbourne, Scare Tactics with Tracy Morgan, Destination Truth, Exit and Viral Video Showdown. Leading up to Syfy, Colin was an Executive Producer at TLC, where he was responsible for numerous hit shows including Sarah Palin’s Alaska, LA Ink, New York Ink, Ultimate Cake-Off, Surprise Homecoming with Billy Ray Cyrus, and Mall Cops.  Before joining TLC, he was a freelance Executive Producer whose credits include House Hunters, American Idol Tonight and many others for VH1, Disney, Travel Channel, Fine Living and USA. Colin graduated with an MFA from the UCLA School of Film and TV Producers’ Program.

Dan Dieffenbach, Vice President & Chief Content Officer, Rebel Labs Inc.: Dan is Rebel Labs’ chief content man. One of the wittiest human beings alive, Dan has a gift for storytelling that goes far beyond just words and pictures.  A five-time Emmy-nominated producer and creative director, Dan has over 20 years of experience at top industry brands including the NFL, Discovery, Nike, and Fox Sports. A wizard behind the scenes and a showman in front, Dan personifies the Rebel lifestyle with a willingness to stand up, speak up and go against the grain.  When he’s not finding ways to smack people over the head with awesome content, you’ll find Dan going beast mode in his basketball rec league, or running marathons just for the hell of it. Dan lives in Los Angeles with his wife, dog, and three rebel boys in training.

Seth Shapiro, CEO, AlphaNetworks: A two-time Emmy® Award winner Seth Shapiro is a leading advisor in business innovation, media, and technology. He is an Adjunct Professor at the USC School of Cinematic Arts and has served as a Governor of the Television Academy and member of its Executive Committee. His clients include The Walt Disney Company, Comcast, DIRECTV, Intel, AT&T, IPG, NBC, Showtime, RTL, Telstra, Universal, Slamdance, Goldman Sachs, government bodies, and a wide range of startups. In the blockchain space, he is Head of Strategy at VideoCoin.io, Head of Business Development at Alphabit Digital Currency Fund, and an Advisor to projects including KodakCoin, WorkCoin, Verses, and EBoost. Shapiro has been quoted in outlets including The Economist, The New York Times. The LA Times, CNBC, The Boston Globe, Bloomberg, The Associated Press, PBS and The Daily Mail. As Head of Production at DIRECTV Advanced Services, he launched over 25 services, including NFL Sunday Ticket Interactive and TiVo by DIRECTV, the world’s first major DVR platform. His first book, Television: Innovation, Disruption, and the World’s Most Powerful Medium, was published in 2016 and is a bestseller on Amazon.

Steve Slome, Co-Founder and CEO of CryptoCake: The world’s first 24/7 solely dedicated cryptocurrency, blockchain and fintech news and entertainment streaming TV channel. Slome is an experienced content producer and creator of various television formats.  Steve’s format creations and production experience has been optioned and sold to cable, broadcast and content outlets such as Fox, Sony/Crackle and CMT. His well-rounded television and film experience ranges from creation, production to distribution. Slome is also the CEO and Co-founder of the Publicly traded company Web Global Holdings which currently trades under OTC ticker: WEBB. Slome possesses strong micro-cap stock and management backgrounds. However, his greatest production consists of his wife Rebecca, daughter Zoey, and youngest son Jonah.

Nick Nelson, Head of Product Management, OWNZONE: Nick Nelson serves as the guiding force behind the innovation of OWNZONE’S suite of products and services. He is focused on both creating a better consumer-to-content experience by refining the company’s OTT interface and evolving the A/B testing framework and product development intelligence. Nick is highly regarded in the industry for his knowledge in the building and rolling out of impressive OTT and streaming offerings. When he served as Head of Product Creative at Netflix, from 2012 to 2016, Nick transformed its Creative Services department from a process-driven acquisition operation to a highly strategic, cross-functional team focused on improving creative while operating at a global scale. As one who is a strong believer in collaborative relationships, Nick recruited more engaged employees and grew his Netflix team from 5 to over 50. This was during a critical evolution period for the global streaming service, which saw first-hand how team building is good for company culture and boosting the bottom line. Nick previously held positions at other leading digital rights management organizations including Cognizant Technologies, Deluxe Entertainment Services and Ascent Media. Prior to joining OWNZONES, Nick served as the Owner of Technically Creative, a Los Angeles-based company he founded in October 2016. Away from the office, Nick has spent the last 10 years honing his skills as a “Brewmeister.” He takes special pride in concocting his favorite style – Pumpkin flavored beer. On the opposite end of the fountain, Nick owns a milkshake shop with his family called Great Shakes with locations in Palm Springs and Riverside. Nick is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in Information Systems and Technology Management.