BANFF – “This year, more than any other, has been the year of the digital media executive,” said the organizers of nextMEDIA – The Future of Digital Content, at the end of their show.
Held June 8-10, in Banff and covered by Cartt.ca, it scored record delegate attendance from leading digital media executives from around the world. The sold-out, three-day event, which wrapped on Sunday with a question and answer session with BBC director general Mark Thompson, attracted close to 350 attendees
NextMedia included a tightly-run, comprehensive program of keynotes, panel discussions and briefing sessions. The event hosted back to back presentations from the world’s leading organizations responsible for creating innovative solutions and distributing digital content. Speakers included: Joanna Drake Earl, president, new media, Current TV; Stacey Seltzer, senior vice-president, content strategy, acquisition and operations, Joost; Sean Love, business development manager, media and entertainment group, Microsoft (Xbox Live); Benjamin White, CCO, Sling Entertainment Group (Slingbox); and Peter Bradley, vice-president of business development, Azureus.
Also present at the event were next-generation storytellers and organizations responsible for shaping the way in which we experience entertainment, including: Greg Goodfried, Producer, Lonelygirl15; Peter Cowley, Managing Director of Digital Media, Endemol UK; Michael Hulme, Centre Director, CSMTC; and Dale Herigstad, Executive Creative Director, Schematic.
The show also brought together a collection of international broadcasters and Internet portals looking to partner with content creators from across the spectrum, including Atom Entertainment, Yahoo, Sympatico/MSN, CTV, Divx, Channel 4 and the Sundance Channel.
“The amount of learning and networking that took place this year is a testament to how hot the digital media industry is right now,” said Mark Greenspan, director of digital media, Achilles Media Inc. “We are thrilled to have captured a global piece of it amidst the beautiful mountains of Banff.”
Emerging content creators and web entrepreneurs, whose digital media careers were launched at the event also saw success. Fem.tv won $10,000 in development funding for their winning pitch at the inaugural Telefilm Launch Pad pitching event. Vancouver-based Catherine Pudue and Jessica Dunphy walked away with $10,000 in development funding from Telefilm Canada for their sexy and satirical show Miss Kitty.
“We will be expanding the conversation that was started here at nextMEDIA,” said Robert Montgomery, CEO, Achilles Media, “We looking forward to involving the publishing and advertising industry in our next event in November.”
Achilles Media recently announced the launch of nextMEDIA – Monetizing Digital Content, the first in a series of new events that will address the highest areas of growth in the digital media industry. This inaugural, two-day event will take place November 21 -22, 2007, at the Diesel Playhouse in Toronto, Canada.
