Wednesday, May 23rd, 2018

12:30 PM - 1:30 PM

Track I: Herscher Hall, 3rd Floor, Room 303-304, Live Webcast

The Disruption: The OTT Multiscreen Experience – Internet TV Goes Mainstream

Ryan Nugent, ‎VP of Content Strategy, Gunpowder & Sky

Robert Rodriguez, CEO, Natcom

Eric Berman, Head of Business Development and Partnerships for VRV, Ellation

Brendon Thomas, Vice President of Distribution, Pluto TV

Moderator - Terry S. Bienstock, CEO, Mobilactive Media, LLC.

Ryan Nugent - VP Content Strategy, Gunpowder & Sky: Ryan joins Gunpowder & Sky from YouTube where he was most recently the Global Head of Creator Trends and Research. During his YouTube tenure, Ryan combined art and science to help hundreds of partners generate fandom across major entertainment, music, and pop-culture channels. His expertise was distributed to mass audiences when he authored the first-ever YouTube Creator Playbook, published in 2012 and translated into seven languages. He began his career in digital content launching brands and building audiences at the pioneer online video company, Next New Networks (acquired by YouTube in 2011). Ryan is an avid cyclist and obsessed with music like Brazilian tropicalia, all the jazz greats, hip/hop beat-makers, and indie innovators. As a recent Brooklyn transplant, Ryan is looking forward to body surfing in the Pacific as much as possible.

Robert Rodriguez, CEO, Natcom: A 30 year seasoned expert in the area of entrepreneurial business leadership in the fields of marketing and multi-media content for large platforms such as broadcast television stations, internet sites, telecom companies and other digital organizations throughout the world. Robert brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise in content related to health, tourism, technology, e-commerce and social media for the new challenges and opportunities of modern times. He has managed complex acquisitions and work force integrations in the U.S., the Caribbean as well as international regions such as Asia, Latin America and Europe. Currently Robert is the CEO of Natcom Global, a multi-platform video content producer and distributor. Natcom is one of the leading fact based short form content producers and distributors in the U.S. Natcom clients include nearly 75 broadcast stations in the U.S., 1,000 Internet sites around the world, international telecom operators and Fortune 500 companies. Some of Natcom clients include CBS, Disney/ABC, AOL/Verizon, Citibank, Baidu, Humana, the United States Department of Homeland Security and the Department of the Treasury, to name a few. In addition to his overall responsibilities he is also responsible for acquisitions and international expansion that includes establishing operations for Natcom in Asia, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean. Prior to Natcom, Robert was the CEO of NPN Media, a company he and other investors acquired from NBC Universal. NPN produces and distributes fact based news related segments to broadcast stations as well as digital outlets in the U.S. NPN became part of Natcom in 2014. Before NPN, Robert co-founded and was CEO of National Communication LTD (NCL) where he successfully attained an Inc.500 ranking twice. (fastest growing privately held companies in America) NCL is a diversified marketing communications agency that has developed hundreds of marketing and media initiatives for global companies such as Citibank, Burger King and Chevron to name a few. In addition to the private sector NCL provides or has provided strategic consultancy services to governments including the United States, regional government agencies in Spain and the government of the Islands of the Bahamas. Some of NCL’s work with the U.S. Federal Government included micro economic development research and implementation initiatives providing different federal agencies with best practices and recommendations for contracting to small and disadvantaged businesses. In 1995 NCL produced the award winning world record program, “Around the World in a Day” using an Air France Concorde to break the world aviation speed record which currently still stands.

Brendon Thomas is Vice President of Distribution at Pluto TV, having previously held roles overseeing business development and revenue. In his current role, Brendon is responsible for Pluto TV’s rapid audience growth via partnerships with OEMs, platforms, publishers, and other strategic partners. Prior to Pluto, Brendon co-founded and served as CEO of Shindig, a crowdfunding platform. Shindig was acquired by content monetization platform provider Okanjo, where he then served as President until joining Pluto TV.

Eric Berman, Head of Business Development and Partnerships for VRV, Ellation: Eric Berman is the head of business development and partnerships for Ellation’s audience-focused SVOD channel aggregation platform, VRV. Available across all major connected-devices, VRV offers fans a next-gen entertainment experience featuring premium SVOD channels including Crunchyroll, Funimation, DramaFever, Rooster Teeth, Shudder, and more, alongside exclusive series like “Bravest Warriors,” and “HarmonQuest.” In his current role, Berman leads all VRV’s content and strategic marketing partnerships in addition to driving distribution strategy, with a focus on growing audience and subscriber acquisition. Before the launch of VRV, Berman lead distribution and strategic partnerships for Ellation’s platform Crunchyroll, the world's largest streaming destination for anime and manga, growing the business from 250 thousand subscribers to over one million subscribers today. Prior to joining Ellation, he worked at Hulu for four years, where he oversaw the Hulu Plus living room distribution strategy from inception, growing the business to more than five million paid subscribers. Before joining Hulu, Berman worked with various digital media companies such as Sling Media and ZillonTV. Berman graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was a member of the UCLA Men’s Basketball Final Four Team in 2008.

Terry S. Bienstock, CEO, Mobilactive Media, LLC.: a New Jersey-based distributor of managed application publishing and secure remote access solutions for business and consumer markets. WorldExtend has revolutionary products to deliver to a business a low cost software-based VPN, and has developed a virtual computer on a TV set to bridge the Digital Divide. He also manages and advises other ventures relating to new media platforms, such as Video-on-Demand, digital video recorders, broadband and mobile services. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel, Law and Government Affairs, for Comcast Cable Communications in Philadelphia. In this position, he maintained business responsibility for Comcast's Video on Demand platform, Comcast University and claims management. He was also responsible for overseeing the Law department for the country's leading cable and broadband communications provider, advising senior management on legal and business issues, and for Comcast's state and local government affairs in the 5000 communities and 41 states in which it did business. Prior to joining Comcast, for 23 years Bienstock was in private practice, serving as lead counsel on numerous major communications, First Amendment and property rights cases for most of the top media and cable companies, and lead high visibility cases, from the first fully televised trial in the U.S. to the Noriega tapes case for CNN. He pioneered litigation in the cable television industry for operators, programmers and equipment manufacturers, and successfully prosecuted cases on theft of service, copyright and trademark, premises access, franchising, franchise modifications, transfers, renewals, leased access and other constitutional and Cable Act issues. He has over 100 reported decisions to his name. A graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton in 1975 and the Rutgers-Camden School of Law in 1978, Bienstock has authored several articles in leading legal publications on cable issues such as theft of service, franchising and access to premises. He regularly lectures at numerous national trade associates and legal conferences on various communications, media, regulatory, law department management and litigation topics, and at business conferences on new media topics