October 22, 2018

Top Speakers to lead HbbTV Symposium 2018

Geneva, October 22, 2018 – The HbbTV Association and Deutsche TV-Plattform have unveiled the impressive line-up of speakers and panellists headlining the 7th HbbTV Symposium and Awards on November 14-15, 2018 in Berlin under the theme Growing Value Through HbbTV.

In keynotes, Vincent Grivet, Chairman of the HbbTV Association, will focus on the current state of HbbTV and its future development, while Andre Prahl, Chairman of Deutsche TV-Plattform, will give an update on the German TV market and its historical and current use of HbbTV. Paul Grey, Research and Analysis Director, TV, Consumer Electronics and Devices at IHS Markit, will discuss the TV industry trends and forecasts, the impact of new technologies and the position of HbbTV in the global TV market.

A roundtable discussion will explore the impact of global VOD players, like Netflix and Amazon, on broadcasters and how HbbTV is being used to improve their competitive position. The participants include Arturo Larrainzar, Strategy Director at Atresmedia, Thomas Follin, Deputy Managing Director in charge of new media channels at M6, Stefanie Lüdecke, Managing Director of ProSiebenSat.1 Digital, and Simon Hunt, Director of Business Development and Strategy at Digital UK.

The future needs of broadcasters, manufacturers and platforms who are using HbbTV to grow their business, will be discussed in another roundtable. The participants include Dr Marcus Dimpfel, Head of Strategy and Business Development at Mediengruppe RTL Deutschland, Dr Andreas Bereczky, Production Director of ZDF, Stuart Savage, Director EU Innovation R&D at LG Electronics, and Peter MacAvock, Chairman of the Steering Board at DVB Project.

Further participants in the HbbTV Symposium are high-level executives from companies such as Google, Eutelsat, NHK, KBS, Fraunhofer FOKUS, Sony Interactive Entertainment, tivù, El Cartel Media, RedBull Media House, Freesat UK, W12 Studios, Eurofins Digital Testing, Kineton and Freeview Australia.

“We are proud of the renowned participants in the two-day conference programme of the HbbTV Symposium and Awards 2018 in Berlin, underlining the significance HbbTV’s open specifications hold for major industry players to secure growth in markets increasingly facing global competition,” said Vincent Grivet, Chairman of the HbbTV Association.