May

Striking the Balance between Release Windows and Protection

Conference Moderator: Joe O'Halloran, Editor Rapid TV News (Venue: London United Kingdom)

Increased distribution of compelling content means more revenues for operators. But fear of piracy is still perhaps the biggest single factor deterring content owners from offering premium content to connected TVs and other non-subscription channels. How can premium content be distributed while remaining protected from piracy? What techniques will be used and how can access and control be balanced?

Conference 1
Spain versus Latin America and the reverse

Moderator: Inaki Ferreras, Rapid TV News, Spain (Venue: Madrid, Spain)

Ways of collaborating between the two continents to make money in the audiovisual. What are the means and links of both sides of the Atlantic for the TV companies to collaborate in a stronger way? What are the best examples to follow? How can the Spanish medium and small size companies attack Latin America and the reverse?

June

Winning Technologies and Services in the Connected TV Home

Moderator: Joe O'Halloran, Editor Rapid TV News (Venue: London, United Kingdom)

What will the new Connected Home ecosystem look like in 2012? What types of devices are consumers buying and how are these being integrated within the new world of content consumption around the home? What are the implications and opportunities for the broadcast industry?

July

Cloud-based TV and Video Services

Moderator: Joe O'Halloran, Editor Rapid TV News (Venue: London, United Kingdom)

Even though the just launched iCloud the initial offering will not include video, this will inevitably be addressed. But what affect will the launch of iCloud and the cloud in general have on the media and TV industry in? Should operators be afraid or look to increased ways of monetising content?

Role of the audiovisual clusters

Moderator: Inaki Ferreras, Rapid TV News, Spain (Venue: Madrid, Spain)

Spain's audiovisual clusters are stronger than ever. The economic crisis has made them become an ideal way for the audiovisual companies to promote themselves. What is their real role and the use the associates make of them?

August

Satellite TV: The Shape of Things to Come

Moderator: Joe O'Halloran, Editor Rapid TV News (Venue: London, United Kingdom)

There has never been so much competition for the traditional satellite players. Where once there was a face to face with the cable industry, now IPTV and OTT players are looking to eat in to the markets that satellite players called their own. What can satellite providers do in order to stay ahead? What are the practices and techniques that they will deploy in order to preserve their advantage?

September

The Network Issue: A Fair Deal for All?

Moderator: Joe O'Halloran, Editor Rapid TV News (Venue: London, United Kingdom)

The prospects seem slim for anyone to challenge to net neutrality status quo but it seems almost inevitable that with the continued explosion of online video use and with the likes of YouTube and other over the top services on the increase strain will invariably appear. What will this mean for network providers? Will content suppliers and service providers offing video be forced to pay to ensure that their services are delivered with no compromises in quality?

Pay TV in Germany – Finally on the Road to Success?

Moderator: Dr Jörn Krieger, Rapid TV News Germany (Venue: Munich, Germany)

After years of remaining a loss-making niche business, pay-TV seems to finally prosper in Germany. Sky Deutschland's recovery and the new pay-TV packages created by cable operators have led to a growing number of households signing up for pay-TV subscriptions. International players such as TBS and Fox have increased their investments in Germany by launching new pay-TV channels. Will Germany now catch up with other European markets or remain a difficult territory for pay-TV operators? Is there room for a competitor to Sky? The discussion will evaluate the future of the pay-TV segment in Europe's largest TV market.

October

Can connected TV kill the service provider industry?

Moderator: Joe O'Halloran, Editor Rapid TV News (Venue: London, United Kingdom)

Why are service providers actually necessary in today's TV market? Surely all that consumers will need to do in order to receive advanced TV services is to buy a connected TV and then plug it in. Let's face it, the latest sets form the leading CE giants feature all of the DT channels plus access to the likes of Netflix and Hulu? And with the soon to be launched Apple TV this situation could be worse. Are the days of the service provider numbered?

November

3D: Now or never

Moderator: Joe O'Halloran, Editor Rapid TV News (Venue: London, United Kingdom)

The London Olympics were intended to be the first 3DTV Games, as it has long being envisage that befog the first starting gun was fired, there would be not only a growing 3DTV community but also a flourishing 3DTV ecosystem. Well, it's not panned out like that. What's gone wrong for 3D and most importantly how can things get back on track? Or can they at all?

Will Connected TV make DTH and DTT Obsolete?

Moderator: Dr Jörn Krieger, Rapid TV News Germany (Venue: Munich, Germany)

Market researchers predict that around half of German TV households will use connected TV sets by 2016. The broadband line will open the door to a large variety of TV channels and internet content to enter the TV screen. Could the growing number of connected TV sets along with increasing broadband data rates pose a threat to cordless broadcast infrastructures DTH and DTT? Will there still be a need for the traditional platforms if the majority of households have their TV sets hooked up to the internet? The discussion will focus on the upcoming battle of infrastructures.

Conference 2
New ways of making money in the animation sector

Moderator: Inaki Ferreras, Rapid TV News, Spain (Venue: Madrid, Spain)

IPTV, HDTV and 3DTV are the new technologies the Spanish animation sector is taking profit from. Internationalisation is another way. More and more Spanish animation producers are selling their contents abroad. What are the top examples to follow up? How can medium size Spanish animation producers make their businesses progress? What are the current handicaps and how to solve them?

December

Cord-cutting/recession: What's the biggest threat to pay-TV?

Moderator: Joe O'Halloran, Editor Rapid TV News (Venue: London, United Kingdom)

Even though a noticeable amount of people are cutting the cord and dropping pay-T V services, research suggest that it is occurring in such low numbers as to be insignificant. Yet are there any grounds for complacency for pay-TV provider, especially as economics circumstances don't seem to be improving rapidly. What can pay-TV provider do in order to future proof themselves as much as possible. How hard is it to offer a hybrid strategy combining linear broadcast and we-based content?

The Spanish companies making business in Latin America

Moderator: Inaki Ferreras, Rapid TV News, Spain (Venue: Madrid, Spain)

As the economic crisis is stuck in Europe, Latin America is one of the world's regions where the companies are making nice business, in particular the big Spanish ones such as Telefónica, Grupo Planeta's Antena 3, Hispasat... What are the new opportunities for the Spanish audiovisual companies in this region? How can the Latin American companies make business in Spain in the middle of the economic crisis?