Media, tech and entertainment changemakers unite for inaugural summit

The inaugural Media and Entertainment Leaders Summit (MELS) from Informa Tech properties Omdia, Digital TV Europe and Television Business International assembled 250 media, tech and entertainment changemakers at Church House Westminster in London on 16 November for a full-day event to incubate what it takes to win at the critical intersection of content, technology and strategy.  MELS saw these television and streaming industry leaders come together to discuss and share their experience, knowledge, and ideas on topics such as FAST channels, the future of sports, live-streaming, production, TV-as-an-app, and super-aggregation.  The event will return in 2023, with exact timing and details yet to be announced.

Omdia Senior Research Director Maria Rua Aguete provided opening remarks at MELS, revealing TikTok as the most popular social media platform for streaming video, stating, “Advertisers are moving away from META and Youtube towards TikTok.”  Takeaways from Aguete’s remarks also included the facts that global media revenue will surpass a trillion dollars in 2027, that online video advertising is projected to generate over $331B in 2027, 2X more revenue than TV advertising that TikTok ad revenues will be higher than META and YouTube’s combined video ad revenues in 2027, that online video (including YouTube, Meta and TikTok) will be worth 20% more than traditional TV ads by 2027, and that, by 2027, Netflix will generate more than $7B in ad revenues, while Disney+ is projected to generate $2.4B in ad revenue.

CEO of STARZPLAY Maaz Sheikh keynoted the Summit with a presentation on STARZPLAY’s journey, and how the platform has emerged as one of the biggest streaming players in MENA & Pakistan through its robust content strategy which included live sports, third party channels, and advertising. Joining Sheikh at the Summit was an impressive lineup of 36 speakers including Patrick Holland (CEO, Banijay UK), Jean-Baptiste Casta (Head of Strategy & Business Operations, Eurovision Sports), Deep Bagchee (Chief Product Officer, ITV), Jean-David Blanc (President, Molotov), Akhila Khanna (VP, Partnerships and Business Development, UK, Paramount), Laura Chaibi (Director of Ad Marketing and Insights – International, Roku), Caroline Cooper (COO, Sky Studios), Yannis Ioannidis (Head of Global IP Rights, TikTok/ByteDance), Bea Hegedus (Executive Managing Director, Distribution, Vice Media Group), David Bouchier (Chief TV and Entertainment Officer, Virgin Media), and many more.

“The aim of the Media and Entertainment leaders Summit was to bring in the room thought leaders across the M&E industry in a  intimate event that allowed them to share ideas and connect between them, we are very proud to have achieved that, showing the respect and trust that our Informa Tech brands: OMDIA, DTVE and TBI have in our industry,” said Maria Rua Aguete, Senior Research Director, Media and Entertainment, OMDIA. “We are very grateful to our keynote CEO STARZPLAY Maaz Sheikh and all the other speakers who travel to London to be with us on this day, we are already looking forward to MELS23.”

MELS was bookended by the Content Innovation Awards (CIAs) taking place the night preceding the summit and the VideoTech Innovation Awards (VIAs) taking place the night of the summit, both also at the Church House Westminster. Irvine Welsh’s Crime, Once Upon a Time in Londongrad and The Masked Singer were among the stand-out shows celebrating success at the 8th Content Innovation Awards. Companies including YouTube, Cineflix, Banijay Rights and BBC Studios took home prizes in key Awards categories at the annual CIAs, which are run by Television Business International. The CIAs are a highly-coveted awards programme that celebrate the best content and those behind it, as well as the wide-ranging achievements of the individuals who are transforming today’s streaming & TV industry around the world. Special Award winners honoured this year included Viaplay’s CEO Anders Jensen, Viaplay’s EVP and Chief Content Officer Filippa Wallestam, Creative Diversity Network’s CEO Deborah Williams and Banijay Rights’ VP of Digital Shaun Keeble.

Comcast Technology Solutions, Verimatrix, Media Distillery, JW Player and more were winners at Digital TV Europe’s VideoTech Innovation Awards (VIA). Launched in 2019, the VIAs programme recognises innovation and achievement in video distribution and the underlying technology platforms that enable it.

All sessions from the 2022 Media and Entertainment Leaders Summit can continue to be viewed online; all those interested in virtual passes can still register online at https://tmt.knect365.com/media-entertainment-leaders-summit/.  MELS will return in 2023 so keep an eye on their website for more information.