PROGRAM
subject to change
April 11-12, 2024
Renaissance Las Vegas Hotel
DAY 1:
Technology
Deep Dive
Thursday, April 11
All Sessions in Renaissance Ballroom I
8:00am – 9:00am:
Registration, BREAKFAST
9:00am – 9:45am:
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Marc Hand, President & CEO, PMVG
Mare Mazur, President & General Manager, Vegas PBS
Skip Pizzi, Senior Advisor, PMVG
PMVG and local hosts welcome TechConnect participants, and set the stage for the conference’s context and content.
9:45am – 10:30am:
Digital Evolution: Navigating the Transformation from Broadcast to Data-Driven Media
Debasish Mishra, CTO, WNET
Debasish describes WNET's journey from a broadcast-centric, low data maturity organization to a more data-driven organization, from a business and technology perspective.
10:30am – 11:00am:
BREAK
11:00am – 11:45am:
Silver Linings
Albert Lai, Global Strategic Industries Director, Media & Entertainment, Google
The cloud shift from the VM Era to the AI Transformation Era: What, when, why & how?
11:45am – 12:30pm:
New Newsrooms
Kelly Campbell, Engineering Manager, Kentucky Educational Television
Thomas Edwards, Principal Media & Entertainment Solutions Architect, Amazon Web Services
Design and operational ideas for a modern, local, public-media news operation, including the combating of fake news.
12:30pm – 1:30pm:
LUNCH (with remarks)
Joonyoung Park, representing Korean Radio Promotion Association [RAPA]
A brief report on the RAPA agreement and activities with PMVG.
1:30pm – 2:15pm:
Cybersecurity: Part 1 – Infrastructure & Policy
Heather Hankins, Information Security Manager, NETA
Public media thought leaders consider cybersecurity from a management perspective--including development of safe AI-usage policy.
2:15pm – 3:00pm:
Cybersecurity: Part 2 – The 5 Things You Should Do TODAY!
John Reilly, VP, Information Security & Technology, KQED
This session features the top 5 changes you should make to your IT environments ASAP to reduce cybersecurity exposure. The presentation will focus on those options with the greatest impact that are also relatively affordable, to accommodate stations with limited IT budgets and resources.
3:00pm – 3:30pm:
BREAK
3:30pm – 4:15pm:
Implementing New Facility & Infrastructure Design Elements
Joey Kloss, CTO, Rocky Mountain Public Media
Ian MacSpadden, CTO, Arizona Public Media
Chris Ostertag, CTO, Austin PBS
Big pipes; 12G-SDI; Redundant geo-diverse ISPs; Fiber/CAT6A on prem; Zero-trust switch fabrics; 10-40 Gbps networking; Firewall best practices; Virtualization.
4:15pm – 5:00pm:
Evolution Calling: The Emerging Tech Transforming Public Media
Chad Davis, Chief Innovation Officer, Nebraska Public Media
There is a “mediamorphosis” happening on the horizons of our industry. Technology is changing the means to both create and consume content. “Creation” is becoming “generation,” and “consumption” is becoming “experience.” This session will look at three key technologies that are helping evolve public media as we race toward 2030.
5:00pm:
PUBLIC MEDIA TECHNOLOGY RECEPTION
DAY 2:
Technology Management Advisory
Friday, April 12
All Sessions in Renaissance Ballroom I except where noted
8:00am – 9:30am:
BREAKFAST ROUNDTABLES (Renaissance Ballroom III)
Join selected presenters from the TechConnect program and others for conversation over breakfast on topics listed here.
9:45am – 10:30am:
Shared Technology Platforms for Public Media
Marc Hand, CEO, PMVG
Les Levi, CEO, HC2 Broadcast Holdings
This session will present conversations underway with a group of public media organizations focused on the shared operating, distribution and revenue-generating platforms for public media that reflect the scale required in today's media landscape.
10:30am – 11:00am:
BREAK
11:00am – 11:45am:
New B2B Services: Enhancing Mission, Advancing Revenue
John Contestabile, Director, Public Safety Solutions, Skyline Technology Solutions
Erik Langner, CEO, Information Equity Initiative
Alp Sezen, CEO, Peak3
Moderator: Vinnie Curren, Senior Advisor, PMVG
DTV datacasting offers opportunities to enhance the service and revenue profiles of public media; hear from pioneers in the field.
11:45am – 12:30pm:
New Features Coming to ATSC 3.0
Mark Corl, SVP Advanced Technology Development, Triveni Digital
Madeleine Noland, President, Advanced Television Systems Committee
The ATSC 3.0 suite of standards continues to grow; learn the latest status on emerging features like Tower Networking, LDM & MIMO, Audio-only / Radio Services, Advanced Emergency Services, and Automotive Implementations.
12:30pm – 1:30pm:
LUNCH (with remarks)
Zandra Clarke, Content Transmission Specialist, Warner Bros. Discovery / SMPTE
An update on recent changes at SMPTE.
1:30pm – 2:15pm:
ATSC 1.0—Not Dead Yet
Tom Barbeau, VP Engineering, Comark Communications
Jim Stenberg, Principal Engineer / Co-owner, Over The Air RF Consulting
Ling Ling Sun, CTO, Nebraska Public Media
Moderator: Skip Pizzi, Senior Advisor, PMVG
In this session, you will learn how to optimize late-stage ATSC 1.0 performance while readying a 3.0 transition, as well as gain insight into the strategy, approach, and execution of Nebraska Public Media's 'Road to Next-Gen TV'.
2:15pm – 3:00pm:
Technical Briefing on 5G Broadcast
Mark Aitken, President, ONE Media; SVP of Advanced Technology, Sinclair Broadcast Group
Parag Naik, President and CEO, Saankhya Labs
Denise Willsey, Director of Sales & Business Development, Hewlett Packard Enterprise
Moderator: Skip Pizzi, Senior Advisor, PMVG
A survey of the technical aspects of the 5G Broadcast system for television delivery in the U.S.
3:00pm – 3:30pm:
BREAK
3:30pm – 4:15pm:
Master Class with Doug Lung: Analyzing TV Coverage – ATSC 1.0, ATSC 3.0 and 5G Broadcast
Doug Lung, VP of Broadcast Technology, NBC/Telemundo Stations
An analysis of methods for determining ATSC 1.0 broadcast coverage, with examples of how ATSC 3.0 improves coverage, and a comparison to 5G broadcast coverage.
4:15pm – 5:00pm:
Developing a Digital Transformation Strategy for Public Media
Tim Bischoff, CTO, KET
Eric Hyppa, CEO, NETA
Debasish Mishra, CTO, WNET
Brant Wells, Senior Director of TV & Digital Operations, WKAR
Moderator: Skip Pizzi, Senior Advisor, PMVG
A diverse panel of experts considers public media’s holistic migration to a fully multi-platform delivery environment.