NEW YORK—Satellite has been one of the key distribution methods for broadcasters for the last 40 years, but the last few years have seen growth in new technologies and services that are changing the status quo.
An artist's rendering of the SES-11 Satellite, courtesy of exhibitor SES
The sessions in the SATCON track will focus on a number of these new technologies and just what satellite providers can do to make sure they stay current and relevant in the new landscape.
The session “The Great Transition to OTT: What's the Impact?” will take a look at how content providers can us satellites to get the most out of OTT delivery. Panelists include Crystal Chief Operation Officer Alan Young and Globecomm Chief Commercial Offier Bryan McGuirk. Robert Bell, executive director for the Society of Satellite Professionals International, will moderate.
Like other technologies, satellites are also getting smaller, with companies launching constellations of smaller satellites that can handle broadband communications or RF monitoring. Satellite Industry Association President Tom Stroup will talk with Bruce Chesley, vice president global broadband for Boeing, about the impact of smaller satellites on traditional media applications.
In the first SATCON keynote session “IOT—Tapping Into the World's Most Profound Communication Tools—Easy as Delivering a Pizza,” session moderator Catherine Melquist, president of the Mobile Satellite Users Association and senior vice president of the satellite division at Sage Communication, unfortunately made it clear there wouldn't be pizza at the session. She said the title refers to the efforts by sessions panelist Nathan Kundtz and his company Kymeta Corp. to make satellite connectivity convenient.
“It's one thing to get information fast—our whole world has sped up a lot. But what Kymeta also wants to talk about is how their innovation is going to help make our life easier, [enabling us to] access the information that we have grown to rely upon on a day-to-day basis,” Melquist said.
The second SATCON keynote, “Above and Beyond—The Transformative State of the Satellite Industry,” will feature a panel that tackles the ways the satellite industry can adapt to the changing media landscape.
“How are the satellite industry and the satellite operators really going to accelerate their entry into their transition? And what services do they really need to consider to be a key part of the ecosystem?” posed Richard Wolf, executive vice president, sales and marketing, for The Switch/Beers Enterprises Inc., one of the keynote's panelists. He will be joined on the panel by Mike Antonovich, CEO Eutelsat Americas; Kurt Riegelman, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Intelsat Global S.A.; and Brent Stranathan, vice president, broadcast distribution, CBS; with moderator Susan Irwin, president of Irwin Communications.
The final SATCON session, “Analyze This—Capital Market Trends Impacting the Satellite Sector,” will be a series of Lightning Talks with PJT Partners' Jim Murray, Milbank Tweed's Peter Nesgos and GH Partners' Noel Rimalovski on a number of different market trends. J. Armand Musey of Summit Ridge Group LLC will moderate.
All SATCON sessions will take place on Tech FWD Stag 1, except “Above and Beyond,” which will take place on the Focus FWD Keynote Stage.
