Date: Tuesday, March 16th
Time: 9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.
Where: SXSW Conference, Austin, TX

Panelists:

Silvia Lovato Director, PBS KIDS GO! Interactive
Silvia Lovato is the director of the PBS KIDS GO! Web site (http://pbskidsgo.org), PBS’s Web destination for elementary school kids, where she works with media producers in the creation of fun, interactive, educational content for children. Silvia started out in online news and has been a Web producer for over 12 years. She came to PBS in 2000, after completing an MA program in Communication, Culture and Technology at Georgetown University. Silvia is originally from Brazil and is interested in how public media ideas and educational resources can be shared across borders.

Dan Manco Sr. Vice President – Digital Media, 4Kids Entertainment

James Milward Executive Producer, Secret Location

Moderator:

Marty Roberts Vice President – Marketing, thePlatform

SEATTLE and SAN FRANCISCO – March 3, 2010 – At the “TV of Tomorrow Show 2010” today in San Francisco, thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, unveiled a new social media player enabling media companies to embed and share premium online video across leading social networks. In addition, thePlatform’s newest Player Development Kit (PDK 4.2) provides standard features that enable consumers to more easily share their favorite clips of premium online video, while preserving the financial obligations between content owners, advertisers and distributors.

“With the right tools in place, media companies can embrace the notion of consumers becoming the best distributors of their video,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “With our new Player Development Kit, audiences can clip and share a favorite portion of video with a few simple clicks. Historically, there has been some resistance from traditional media companies to fully empower consumers to share their videos across social networks because of the need to maintain some control over branding and monetization. Our video management system gives them this control. The advertisements can travel with their virally syndicated content, no matter where it has been embedded.”

Premium Video Goes Social

Customers who use thePlatform’s new PDK 4.2 will be able to place their entire video player experience – with all of its features, add-ins and components – into a single Adobe Flash file for embedding into social networks, blogs, and affiliate sites. Customers can immediately launch video players that are pre-integrated with 10 leading social media sites. Customers can also easily expand to more social media sites by using thePlatform’s fully documented APIs.

The pre-integrated social media sites include:

• Facebook
• MySpace
• Twitter
• Digg
• reddit
• StumbleUpon
• Delicious
• Windows Live
• Yahoo! Buzz
• Vodpod

Users can also share video with simple e-mail-to-a-friend features, RSS feeds and embeddable links. In addition, thePlatform’s Community Toolkit enables consumers to comment, rate, tag and create favorites via their players. For Twitter, thePlatform has added additional features including support for automatically adding hash tags based on the video’s metadata and short URLs generation to simplify the experience for consumers.

The new social media player also lets consumers legally share specific sections of a video in a manner that preserves the financial obligations between content owners and advertisers.

“One of the most common types of messages when consumers Tweet or e-mail about an online video is to include a note like, ‘Watch what happens at 2 minutes into the video – it’s hilarious,’” continued Blaine. “Our new social media player provides a win-win for consumers and our customers. Consumers can embed and share the portion of the video that most interests them, but the content owner maintains the ability to show advertising and keep the integrity of the financial model.”

“There’s no question that sharing and other social media capabilities are becoming increasingly important features for video players, and that’s also true on AP’s Online Video Network,” said Bill Burke, global director, Online Video Products, Associated Press. “Right now, we’re building enhanced players for our 1500-affiliate network, and having these features as a standard part of thePlatform’s tool set means faster and less costly player development—a real long-term benefit.”

SEATTLE – Feb. 2, 2010 – SEATTLE – Feb. 2, 2010 – For the past decade, thePlatform has been at the forefront of the online video industry, managing high profile, cross-platform initiatives for some the world’s most recognized media companies and brands. Today, concurrent with the company’s 10th anniversary, thePlatform launched mpx Beta, a radically re-engineered video management system designed to deliver an unmatched combination of efficiency and scalability for publishing online video. In addition, the company unveiled a complementary mpx Dev Kit for companies seeking to enhance and extend their online video platform capabilities.

mpx Beta includes an entirely new and intuitive console for managing video assets; dramatically simplified and faster processes to publish large video libraries across the Web, mobile devices, and set-top-boxes; and advanced personalization features. In addition, the new publishing system is built on a new service oriented architecture (SOA) that provides additional reliability and scalability.

“We’re resetting the bar today,” said Ian Blaine, co-founder and CEO of thePlatform. “Our job is to anticipate and provide solutions that enable our customers to evolve their video businesses in the years ahead. mpx represents the culmination of all of our learning over the past 10 years, and we’ve applied the full resources of the company to develop an easy, streamlined and robust new system to meet the increasingly complex needs of the market.”

Several of mpx Beta’s capabilities represent a marked departure from the conventional approaches traditionally used by “white-label” video service providers. For example, most online video platforms use a basic, linear process for managing and publishing video on an individual basis. While this standard approach was sufficient during the formative years of the online video industry, mpx Beta delivers more efficient and time-saving methods to serve companies with extensive video libraries, syndication requirements and increasingly complex needs.

Unlike other systems, mpx Beta allows customers to upload multiple media files simultaneously and easily distribute video to Web sites, mobile phones and other IP devices – including the newly released Apple iPad. mpx Beta also uses a new and highly efficient, non-linear “publishing profile” that considers a video’s destination point first – in effect, reversing the common workflow. This unique “smart publishing” methodology automates the required steps for video management, including file creation, transcoding, thumbnail generation and more. In the end, this intuitive design eases video publishing requirements, simplifies the process, and makes the system more accessible to a broader set of users.

“As the online on-demand video market matures, thePlatform is continuing to move with the times with the launch of mpx Beta and mpx Dev Kit,” said Adrian Drury, principal analyst, Media, Broadcast and Telecoms, Ovum. “mpx Beta delivers important user interface and content management enhancements that will help content owners and programmers respond to a growing number of channels and platforms, and enable a wider range of non-technical editors and service managers to use thePlatform’s ingest and publishing tools. As for the mpx Dev Kit, if there is a truth in the OVP market, it is that the technical and business requirements of no two media companies are the same. The Dev Kit makes thePlatform’\‘s 10 years of experience in this market available as a library of APIs, and this creates some exciting opportunities for process automation and service innovation. The premium Web video market is growing but the supply chain is becoming more complex. thePlatform is building on its heritage to provide an enhanced set of tools to meet this challenge.”

mpx Beta Features

mpx Beta enables customers to efficiently manage large video libraries more efficiently with personalized user workflows and smart publishing profiles for easy distribution to Web sites, mobile phones and IP-connected devices. Key features include:

• Increased efficiency. Editors and producers have new tools for previewing videos, assigning the requisite metadata to video files, adding business policies, and making publishing easy. Users can quickly upload multiple media files, apply new filter and search features to create specific views, and access files faster through a brand new console with an intuitive user interface (UI).
• Personalization features. Editors and producers can customize their video or media lists by adding/removing columns for quick assessment and sorting establish specific metadata schemas with configurable panels and custom fields, and save optimal system management views with a new shortcut tool.
• Smart publish profiles. Customers can easily distribute video to Web sites, mobile phones and other IP devices with a few clicks. New publishing profiles consider consumer endpoints first and automate the required steps-including file creation, transcoding, and thumbnail generation—for video delivery.

mpx Dev Kit Features

mpx Dev Kit offers programmatic capabilities to manage the complete video publishing lifecycle with standardized APIs, complete documentation and extensive code samples. It enables customers to access the underlying services of mpx Beta to extend its capabilities. Features include:

• Video lifecycle management. Customers can easily ingest media directly into the system through thePlatform’s Watch Folders, Feed Reader, and custom ingest adapters; access complete control over media objects, metadata, policies, advertising, and more; publish media with pre-configured publishing profiles to simplify media delivery to any outlet; and use notifications to receive immediate insight into the process.
• Standardized APIs. REST interfaces provide standard calls, including POST, GET, DELETE and PUT. Groovy scripts can be used to build custom ingest adapters, and Java clients make connecting to the mpx services easy.
• Complete documentation. Extensive documentation guides customers with step-by-step instructions, overviews of different services, and detailed code samples. Procedures cover each required service interaction to accomplish tasks, and code samples are provided to speed development time.

Underlying mpx Beta and the mpx Dev Kit is a new service-oriented architecture (SOA) in which each feature is created based upon its task within the larger whole, resulting in greater reliability and easier scalability for customers. Any media objects added, changed, or managed in thePlatform’s legacy media publishing system (mps) will seamlessly be reflected in mpx Beta, without additional system or service deployments. Customers can use mpx Beta with the wide variety of other online video tools offered by thePlatform (mps) and its ecosystem of partners. These services include optimized content delivery network (CDN) policies, advertising campaign system integration, support for all major video playback technologies such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, and others, reporting capabilities and more.

mpx Beta and mpx Dev Kit are being offered to existing customers at no additional charge, and additional features and capabilities will be added throughout the year. In addition, thePlatform provides robust customer support, including professional services, account management, and industry-leading 24/7 technical support.

Ten Years of Innovation and Service

“Ten years ago there were many questions about how video would be delivered, monetized and consumed,” said Blaine. “We formed our company on the premise that those questions would be answered differently by the individual customers we serve, and we built a platform designed to address them. Today, these same questions remain, but our ability to answer them has expanded dramatically. In 2010 and beyond, consumers will be watching more video with longer durations across an evolving ecosystem of devices. Our customers, in turn, want to reach larger audiences to drive revenues and increase brand loyalty. mpx will enable them to address this growing opportunity in the years ahead.”

SEATTLE – Nov. 18, 2009 – Programming networks face an increasing number of technical options and requirements as they evaluate their “TV Everywhere” plans. Today, thePlatform, the leading white-label video publishing company, announced a new suite of features designed to enable programmers to provide “TV Everywhere” capabilities on their own Web sites, while preserving their financial and content rights arrangements with TV service providers.

“In a world where multiple service providers offer multiple subscription packages on multiple platforms, programmers need a simple, flexible solution that helps reduce complexity and meet the expectations of their service provider partners and consumers,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “This is a natural enhancement of a very successful business model between programmers and TV service providers. Consumers win because there will be far more online video than ever before, and both programmers and service providers win because they can extend their video to the Web in a secure manner.”

To date, most of the public discussion about “TV Everywhere” has focused on the “authentication” of subscribers, in other words, how a programmer’s Web site knows whether an individual consumer is a subscriber to a particular TV service provider. thePlatform’s solution addresses that challenge and then adds the capability to validate and authorize the playback of individual shows. In addition, the company supports adaptive content discovery and monetization policies to support various business policies between programmers and service providers, and offers a range of other tools to improve online viewing for consumers.

Authentication and Authorization

The initial challenge for programmers’ Web sites is to authenticate a consumer is a subscriber to a particular TV service provider. Complicating matters are the various back-end billing systems used by TV service providers. Today, thePlatform introduced a new Authentication Adapter service as part of its media publishing system (mps). The Authentication Adapter will act as a proxy that can authenticate consumers for programmers for the numerous TV service providers’ billing systems. With this adapter, thePlatform will manage the complex cross-referencing and interface required from the various companies involved.

Once a consumer is authenticated as a subscriber, programmers need a mechanism to authorize playback of each show based on the consumer’s subscription package. To accomplish this, thePlatform maps each individual video to each service provider’s channels. By connecting the consumer to a list of approved channel IDs and each video to its channel ID, thePlatform’s video management system can provide robust and flexible authorization tools necessary for “TV Everywhere” video playback. Within milliseconds, thePlaform’s system can verify alignment between the video, the TV service provider’s channel lineup, and the consumer’s subscription package; ensure that media rights associated with individual shows – such as airdates, geographic restrictions, and other business polices – are enforced; and re-verify that the consumer is still an active customer of the TV service provider. This approach will ensure that consumers can start watching their video instantly, while the business policies and financial obligations between programmers and service providers are maintained.

Adaptable Content Discovery and Monetization

Programmers also need flexibility when it comes to personalizing their video Web sites for consumers based on business arrangements with TV service providers. For example, if a consumer visits a programmer’s Web site and searches for a particular show that isn’t included in their TV subscription package, service providers have a choice of what to present to the consumer. These options include: constraining the search results to only those videos the consumer is allowed to watch; providing full search results with an up-sell opportunity to subscribe to a premium subscription package; or offering a pay-per-view option for that online show, similar to today’s TV video on demand (VOD) systems. thePlatform’s “TV Everywhere” solution serves as the source of standardized content access rules across service providers, providing programmers with the versatility to support these various scenarios.

In addition, thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) provides programmers with a wide variety of other online video tools, including comprehensive video management, optimized content delivery network (CDN) policies, advertising campaign system integration, support for all major video playback technologies such as Adobe Flash, Microsoft Silverlight, Move Networks, and others, reporting capabilities and more.

Media companies use thePlatform’s mps as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. thePlatform currently provides online video management services to four of the top five U.S. cable TV service providers, numerous programmers, and other leading media companies. thePlatform is also managing the back-end for Comcast’s On Demand Online trial in conjunction with numerous programming networks.

SEATTLE – Oct. 6, 2009 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, and Tremor Media, the leading online video media company, have partnered to introduce a new set of comprehensive advertising management features for online video as part of thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps). The new Acudeo ad policy and management tools are designed to help publishers increase their advertising revenue, while decreasing the complexity of managing a vast ecosystem of advertising partners.

With thePlatform’s newly integrated Acudeo ad policies, companies with premium online video sites can now manage advertising policies, patterns, formats, and delivery in a single, easy-to-use interface. The new features will serve established companies seeking to integrate multiple advertising networks, or companies building new video sites that want a high-degree of flexibility and adaptability.

“For many professional online video sites, managing advertising policies can be a major headache,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of marketing for thePlatform. “It’s often a very fragmented and complex process. Our new features, however, are specifically designed to simplify our customers’ lives so they can focus on how to best generate revenue for their video.”

“We are thrilled that thePlatform selected Acudeo as their ad management platform to empower publishers with a seamless solution for monetizing video inventory,” said Jason Glickman, CEO of Tremor Media. “Our expanded partnership with thePlatform further demonstrates the value Acudeo brings to the market and validates the need for a single-source inventory management and monetization solution for video publishers”.

Acudeo Ad Policies

Customers can take advantage of an intuitive and easy-to-use control panel to set up and execute video ad policies. The new features offer a comprehensive menu of advertising policy management benefits, including the ability to:

• Manage and prioritize advertising sources: Companies can integrate and optimize the performance of multiple ad networks in order to find the right mix that maximizes advertising revenue. Companies can also set up failover policies to ensure uninterrupted ad delivery.
• Set advertising patterns: Publishers can set the use of pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll ads, and add overlays, companions, and display banners. Ad timing can use chapter points in long-form videos or run ads before a variable number of short-form video plays.
• Control ad formats and ad playback: Ad operation teams can set IAB-compliant in-stream and overlay formats, define playback policies, and sync companion banner ads with ad streams.
• Incorporate new or evolving capabilities: Using Acudeo ad policies helps companies future-proof their ad platform, saving time and effort, by taking advantage of the system’s ever-evolving list of integrations and updates. In addition to Acudeo’s compatible ad source format, Acudeo is designed to support the Digital Video Ad Serving Template (VAST) format as distributed by the IAB. Additionally, Acudeo is pre-integrated with major video ad networks, ad serving and video analytic technologies.

Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. Customers of thePlatform have the option to easily add the Tremor Media ad network as part of the new Acudeo ad policy management and monetization tools.

SEATTLE – Sept. 29, 2009 – Today, thePlatform, the leading white-label video management company, announced that it has been selected to manage and publish online video for the Big Ten Network. Specifically, thePlatform will provide centralized back-end management support for two major video initiatives, one aimed at serving international audiences outside the U.S. and Canada, and the other serving domestic sports fans.

The Big Ten Network, a joint venture between Fox Cable Networks and subsidiaries of the Big Ten Conference, is the first nationally distributed network dedicated to covering one of the premier collegiate conferences in the country. For international fans, the Big Ten Network will utilize thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) to manage the Big Ten Network’s new international streaming package, the “Big Ten Ticket.” All televised Big Ten Network football and men’s basketball games will be available live and on-demand online to viewers living outside of the United States, Canada and the Caribbean on www.BigTenTicket.com. The Big Ten Network will televise between 35-40 football games and 105 regular season men’s basketball games, plus three Big Ten Tournament games, in 2009-10.

For North American audiences, thePlatform’s media publishing system will also support the Big Ten Network’s webcast of a wide-range of other sports video for the fans of the University of Illinois, Indiana University, University of Iowa, University of Michigan, Michigan State University, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University, Ohio State University, Pennsylvania State University, Purdue University, and University of Wisconsin.

“We are expanding our online video efforts to serve the fans of the Big Ten Network worldwide,” said Michael Calderon, director of new media for Big Ten Network. “thePlatform has a proven history of managing large and complex video offerings for many leading content companies, and we believe their system gives us the flexibility, scalability, and ability to monetize video in the way that we need.”

“The Big Ten Network is already the place for fans to stay connected to their favorite teams and sports content within millions of households across the US,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of marketing for thePlatform. “We’re very proud to have been chosen to help them deliver more of their incredible library of collegiate sports video to online audiences around the world.”

thePlatform publishes video, and other media, to PCs, mobile devices, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually.

Seattle, Wash. – September 15 – Today, thePlatform, the leading white-label video management company, announced that it has been selected by Travel Channel Media to manage and publish broadband video across both web and mobile destinations. Travel Channel Media is the premier channel for travel-related content, both on television and the web, serving an aggregated audience of more than 94 million U.S. cable homes and two million unique web visitors per month.

Travel Channel Media will utilize thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) to manage the distribution and playback of short form programming, including original video and clips from popular shows such as: Travel Channel’s Man v. Food, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern, Ghost Adventures, Samantha Brown’s Passport Series, and Dhani Tackles the Globe. In addition to broadband video publishing, thePlatform will also manage the network’s syndication efforts to third-party web destinations and mobile sites including: MSN Video, iTunes Podcast, YouTube, Comcast’s The Fan, as well as the mobile video services of Verizon Wireless, AT&T, and Sprint Nextel. Travel Channel Media is also utilizing thePlatform’s video player to create custom, interactive viewing experiences for their audiences.

“Due to the diverse viewing habits of our consumers, we want to broadly distribute our programs in order to reach the maximum number of viewers,” said Drew Frederick, Sr. Director, IT & Technology at Travel Channel Media. “We turned to thePlatform because of their vast experience in supporting wide spread syndication for online and mobile which allows us to quickly expand our advertising reach and grow our audience.”

“Travel Channel Media is widely viewed as one of the principal destinations for travel-related content, and we’re proud to support their broadband and mobile video efforts,” said Ian Blaine, CEO of thePlatform. “As their publishing needs grew increasingly complex, we were able to step in and help them distribute their content widely, increasing their brand exposure and the number of opportunities to monetize their content library.”

thePlatform publishes video and other media to PCs, mobile devices, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system (mps) as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually.

About Travel Channel Media

Travel Channel Media is an integrated travel media business, and is wholly owned by Cox Communications, Inc., a leading multi-service broadband communications and entertainment company. Travel Channel Media includes: the Travel Channel television network, available in 94 million U.S. cable homes; Travel Channel HD™, the network’s high-definition simulcast; travelchannel.com, the network’s broadband travel hub; Travel Channel’s video-on-demand (VOD) and HD VOD offerings; its mobile content platform, Travel Channel GO™; World Hum (worldhum.com), a leading online travel blog; and FlightDeck™, an innovative content-sharing and advertising network for online publishers and advertisers.

SEATTLE – Sept. 10, 2009 – thePlatform, the leading white-label video management and publishing company, today announced that more than 20 new companies have recently joined thePlatform Framework, the company’s extensive partner program. The vast majority of these newly integrated partner solutions are currently in production or trial with customers of thePlatform. With today’s announcement, thePlatform’s open media publishing system (mps) now has an even broader menu of pre-integrated service and technology choices to serve the professional online video market.

More than 80 companies now participate in thePlatform Framework, which spans the entire ecosystem of online video, including: advertising campaign management systems, ad sales networks, analytics and reporting, content delivery networks, content protection, media formats, transcoding engines, payment processors, syndication outlets, video search, and more.

“In an increasingly robust online video environment, media companies want the flexibility to integrate and test new technologies that best suit their business needs without worrying about compatibility issues,” said Marty Roberts, vice president of marketing for thePlatform. “Our role is to make online video publishing a seamless process for our customers and allow them to easily publish their content regardless of the technical requirements. thePlatform’s Framework is key to that strategy, and it enables our customers to work with a wide variety of best-in-class companies in the online video space.”

thePlatform publishes video, and other media, to PCs, mobile devices, and TV. Media companies use thePlatform’s media publishing system as their open, central hub for managing, monetizing and syndicating billions of professionally produced online video views annually. thePlatform’s customers also benefit from a wide choice of pre-integrated partner services and technologies through thePlatform Framework.

thePlatform Framework gives technology companies full-featured software development kits, engineering support, training, and development sandboxes for a quick implementation. The recent additions to thePlatform Framework include companies in the following specialties:

Advertising and Monetization

• Auditude
• BrightRoll
• EyeWonder
• Google AdSense
• YuMe

Asset Management, Transport, and Protection

• Aspera
• Platformic

Community Creation

• Gloto

Content Delivery

• CDNetworks
• Nokeena Networks
• StreamGuys
• Velocix

Content Syndication and Discovery

• EveryZing
• Goodmail Systems
• Loomia
• The Filter
• Transpond

Mobile

• Azuki Systems
• Transpera

Reporting and Analytics

• MediaMorph
• TubeMogul
• Visible Measures
• Webtrends

Transcoding

• RadiantGrid Technologies

For more information, please visit our partner section.

With Verizon and Time Warner Cable adding TV Everywhere trials to the one already underway at Comcast, early successes in overcoming complex challenges to execution are dramatically improving the prospects for pervasive availability of this new subscription TV service model in the not-too-distant-future.

Read the rest of the interview here.

Listen to this webinar here.

To take your broadband video beyond novelty and into strategy, it’s critical to present a user experience that is compelling, interactive, and aligned with your business. This webinar will show you how to optimize your broadband video players to meet your business goals and provide a great user experience.

Will Richmond of VideoNuze hosted this web conversation with guests who are using thePlatform’s broadband video player solution to meet their goals:

• Bill Burke, Global Director Online Video Products for The Associated Press
• Joshua Kinberg, Director, Video Product Management, PBS Interactive

During this webinar, we discussed:

• Using player technologies to fulfill online video business considerations such as maintaining control of content through geo-restrictions
• Trends in user experience design across the broadband video landscape
• Some of the UI considerations when your business model requires players to be syndicated across broadband video sites
• How AP is able to give its 2000+ affiliates a packaged, customizable player
• How PBS has made it as easy to share broadband video content as broadcast content

Speakers

Joshua Kinberg
Director, Video Product Management – PBS Interactive

Joshua Kinberg is the Director of Online Video Product Management at PBS. He oversees design, development, and execution of rich video experiences for pbs.org, local station and producer web sites, and the video infrastructure of PBS and PBS KIDS. Before joining PBS, Joshua was VP Product Development at Odeo, a start-up focused on podcast search and syndication, and was the Founder & CEO of FireAnt, a startup that created the first RSS-enabled media player for the videoblogging community. Joshua holds an MFA in Design and Technology from Parsons School of Design in New York.

Bill Burke
Global Director Online Video Products, Associated Press

Bill Burke is responsible for global product management of AP’s online video products, including the subscription-based video and the Online Video Network (OVN). Subscription clips are produced for media and other digital companies around the world, while the OVN is an online video network of about 1,800 newspapers and television and radio stations in the U.S.

Burke joined AP in 1997 and until 2007 was Product Manager for ENPS, AP’s newsroom computer system, directing software development and managing enterprise installations such as Tribune and ESPN. Before joining AP, Burke was a news director, manager, and producer at several South Florida television stations, and at WIS-TV in South Carolina.

Marty Roberts VP of Marketing, thePlatform

Marty Roberts’ diverse leadership background includes ten years of product management and marketing. His experience developing strategy, building relationships with development organizations, and creating new products and services helped increase the customer base and profitability for organizations such as GiftCertificates.com and RealNetworks. Since joining thePlatform, Marty has contributed to the company’s success by updating the messaging, redesigning the web site, launching several successful products and increasing the brand awareness through advertising and PR.

Moderated By

Will Richmond
Editor/Publisher, VideoNuze and President, Broadband Directions LLC

Will Richmond is editor and publisher of VideoNuze, a widely-followed online publication which provides daily industry analyses and news aggregation for broadband video decision-makers available at www.videonuze.com. Will is also president and founder of Broadband Directions LLC (www.broadbanddirections.com), a market intelligence, consulting and industry events firm specializing in broadband-delivered video.

Will has worked in the broadband, cable TV, content and technology industries for 20 years. He is an acknowledged thought-leader in the fast-growing broadband video area whose insights are sought out by C-level executives, venture capitalists, journalists and others.

Will has spoken or moderated at numerous industry conferences and webinars. He currently serves on the CTAM New England and CTAM New York board of directors and American Public Television’s board of trustees. Will has a BS from Cornell University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.