Wednesday, November 19, 2008
7:30
Exhibits Open
Registration
Continental Breakfast
8:30
Welcome and Opening Remarks
Richard Weiss, Publisher, SportsBusiness Journal
Rick Wolf, Chairman, Fantasy Sports Association
8:45
Sports Properties Media Strategies
Leagues and regional sports network executives will delve into such topics as how sports properties will handle broadband and wireless rights in the future; when leagues should partner or go solo on TV deals; and why it makes sense for properties to develop and hold onto media assets. During this round-table discussion, Tracy Dolgin, YES Network; Steve Hellmuth, NBA; Howard Katz, NFL; Gil Kerr, PGA Tour; and Jon Litner, Comcast Sports Group, will provide their perspectives.
9:45
Featured Interview: Tim Brosnan, Tony Petitti and MLB Network
One of the biggest stories of the upcoming year is the launch of the MLB Network. As the network is gearing up for the inaugural year, the two executives spearheading the project, Tim Brosnan and Tony Petitti, will share their vision for the new network, including programming strategies and marketing.
10:30
Networking and Refreshment Break
11:00
Digital Rights and Media Asset Management
The surge in new media has triggered plenty of questions about who owns the rights to photographs, audio and video content; what are the rights worth; how are rights measured; and how is revenue shared. During this session, you will hear from Doug Perlman, Accrue Sports & Entertainment Ventures; Jimmy Pitaro, Yahoo! Sports & Entertainment; Jeff Price, SI Digital; Brian Rolapp, NFL; and Bruce Wilson, Covington & Burling.
12:00
Featured Interview: Jim Nantz
Jim Nantz is the voice of CBS Sports. He has covered virtually every sport for the CBS Television Network since joining CBS in 1985. He is currently the lead play-by-play announcer for the NFL on CBS, joining lead analyst Phil Simms; anchor of CBS' golf coverage, including the Masters and the PGA Championship; and lead play-by-play announcer for college basketball, including the Final Four and Championship game. Nantz is also the author of his first book, Always By My Side, which climbed the highest ranking achieved this year by a sports book. In his one-on-one interview, Nantz will share his views on the direction of sports on TV.
12:30
Luncheon hosted by
2:00
Fantasy Sports 2013: Charting the Course of Content and Programming Over the Next Five Years
Growth trends in fantasy sports have reached double-digit annual percentage increases. The potential seems limitless! So, what does the future really look like to the people who know the industry best? You will hear from Matthew Berry, ESPN; Rick Cordella, NBC Sports & Olympics; Jeff Gerttula, Sporting News; Chris Russo, Fantasy Sports Ventures; Brenda Spoonemore, Atomic Moguls Inc.; and Ben Strong, Yahoo! Sports, as they provide their perspectives on fantasy sports over the next five years.
2:45
Featured Interview: George Kliavkoff and Gary Zenkel
The emerging digital landscape poses challenges as well as vast opportunities for entertainment, media and content providers. During this dual interview George Kliavkoff along with Gary Zenkel, will discuss furthering NBC's digital media strategies; developing new business models and markets and the media and entertainment landscapes in the age of media fragmentation, multi-platform distribution and consumer control.
3:15
Networking and Refreshment Break
3:45
Mobile Content Distribution
Mobile plays an increasingly major role in distribution of content. You will hear from these industry experts: Mike Bailey, MediaFLO USA; Jennifer Byrne, Verizon; Boris Fridman, Crisp Wireless; Andy Nulman, Airborne Mobile; and Craig Vaughan, CAA, as they discuss and debate, what consumers want and expect from their mobile devices; how to monetize mobile content among an array of handset and network combinations; and what's in store for this medium.
4:30
Case Study: Sporting News
Sporting News, one of the most venerable American sports brands dating back to 1886, has reinvented itself in 2008, by introducing Sporting News Today, the country's first (and only) daily digital sports newspaper. With multiple delivery platforms -- Sporting News Today, Sporting News Magazine, Sporting News Radio and online offerings -- how does the SN franchise stand out in a cluttered sports media landscape and how do they effectively manage the flow of their content to consumers? That will be the focus of a presentation from Sporting News' Ed Baker.
5:00
Cocktail Reception hosted by
Thursday, November 20, 2008
7:30
Exhibits Open
Continental Breakfast
8:30
The New Frontier For Sports Networks
With fans now consuming sports in a variety of mediums, often simultaneously, it's a challenge to develop a media strategy that continuously engages viewers. You will hear from Sean Bratches, ESPN; Bryan Biniak, Jacked, Inc.; Jamie Davis, Versus; Richard Greenfield, Pali Capital; Steve Herbst, CBS College Sports Networks; and Bob Thompson, Fox National Cable Sports Networks, as they discuss how they maintain value in a linear network while rolling out broadband, VOD and wireless video services; how they monetize broadband and wireless services; and the trends they see in content consumption.
9:30
Case Study: The NHL's New Media Initiative
Coming off a tremendously successful '07-'08 season in which the NHL had its highest TV ratings in years, launched a seven-channel digital network on its Web site and hosted the unprecedented outdoor Winter Classic, one would wonder what's next? You will hear from John Collins, NHL, as he outlines what's in store for the upcoming season as the league continues to expand its digital content and efforts to engage fans.
10:15
Networking and Refreshment Break hosted by
10:30
Social Networking and the Sports Industry
Social networking continues to grow in popularity with new sites emerging daily and many leagues and teams developing their own community sites or partnering with global operators such as Facebook or MySpace. You will hear from Daniel Aronson, IBM; Pat Coyle, mycolts.net; Steve Hansen, Weplay; Mike Kerns, Citizen Sports Network; and Nick Mehra, YouTube, who have developed vibrant sites that are engaging fans and generating revenue streams.
11:30
Fantasy Sports: Advertising and Commerce
Greg Ambrosius, National Fantasy Football Championship, will provide a few key fantasy sports facts to kick off the session.
Fantasy sports offers a unique platform to reach fans that are engaged and passionate, and these fantasy fans have distinct buying traits. The niche market provides enormous opportunities for on-line marketers and advertising. You will hear from Derrick Heggans, AOL Sports; David Katz, SportsFanLive; Ted Moon, Pathfinder; Peter Schoenke, Rotowire; Bobby Tulsiani, JupiterResearch; and several corporate brands as they discuss their marketing strategies surrounding fantasy sports.
12:15
Conference Concludes
