Disney has promoted Kevin Plumb to Senior Vice President, Media Engineering in the Technology team at Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED), now reporting directly to Aaron LaBerge, CTO of DMED.

Plumb leads the team responsible for the design and engineering, design and implementation of complex systems that support the creation, production, and distribution of Disney content through a variety of linear and digital distribution channels. That includes global infrastructure and production facilities; programming & distribution of digital and linear networks worldwide; global fiber networking; production and content management systems and services for Disney’s media networks and radio stations; video encoding; media processing; interactive graphics & animation technologies; and the testing and adoption of video formats and standards.

"Kevin is an incredibly talented engineer with experience across multiple roles and disciplines, who has been a critical part of hugely complex technology projects for our Company. His technical acumen, problem-solving, and innovative mindset make him qualified to excel in this new role,” said LeBerge.

Plumb has 25 years of media tech experience with Disney, ABC and ESPN. Most recently, he was the vice president of Media Engineering & and International Operations for Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution (DMED). Previously, had various engineering and operations roles at ABC, ABC News and ESPN, where his increasing responsibilities included many aspects of network, field, infrastructure, and audio engineering.

As a young software engineer, LaBerge joined Starwave. The company’s CTO was one of the creators of the Java programming language and he wanted to work with Java, which was being positioned in the 1990s as technology that would enable users to “connect all the electronic devices in the world, including TVs.”

“It was an exciting vision of the future, and I wanted to work on that future,” he said.

Disney eventually acquired Starwave and LaBerge wound up working on automated products for NFL.com, NBA.com, NASCAR.com and what would become ESPN.com. He became the second CTO of Disney-owned ESPN, overseeing all media engineering, data and advertising.

LaBerge was part of the ESPN team that designed and built the world’s first 1080p, IP broadcast production facility. He also worked on the ESPN app and was a key architect in the design, development and engineering of ESPN’s facilities in Bristol, Conn., Los Angeles, Charlotte, N.C., and Austin, Texas. He was also involved in building the facilities and infrastructure that connects ESPN’s worldwide facilities and the technology design and development to support the SEC Network.

“The scale of our platforms and content is astounding — hundreds of live channels, theatrical and episodic VOD content in a multiplicity of languages, delivered to thousands of partners and hundreds of products, all around the globe,” he said.

His most recent challenge has been coordinating the technology teams from across The Walt Disney Co. and 21st Century Fox, which Disney acquired in 2018. Under LaBerge, the Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution technology team handles the development, engineering and deployment of consumer-facing digital products for the company.

“Right now, we are building a next-generation digital content supply chain that delivers Disney content to our partners [like MVPDs, distributors] and products [like ABC News, TV Everywhere streaming products, and our direct-to-consumer products like Disney+],” LaBerge explained. 

“Between advances in wireless networking, the explosion of smartphones, shifting of media business models, and global access to the consumer,” he summarized, “it’s a great time to work in this industry, and it’s an even better time to be a consumer.”

NEW YORK—TV Technology's sister publication Broadcasting&Cable has announced the full list of executives who will receive its annual Technology Leadership Awards.

B&C has been giving these awards, which are one of the most prestigious tech awards in the TV industry, since 1999 to honor individuals who have made important and innovative contributions to the way TV, digital and streaming media companies use technology in their businesses.

B&C announced the first round of award winners earlier. This week the magazine is proud to round out the 2020 class of Tech Leadership Award Winners with five additional Award winners. These are:

• Chris Blandy, Executive Vice President, Technology Solutions, Walt Disney Television
• Terri Gunnell, Executive Vice President, Monetization & Data Platforms, WarnerMedia Technology and Operations
• Aaron LaBerge, Executive Vice President & CTO, Walt Disney Direct-to-Consumer & International
• Neil Mazur, Vice President of Engineering & Operations, WAGA-TV (Fox TV-owned station in Atlanta)
• Blake Sabatinelli, CEO, Newsy

They join the five winners previously announced by Kent Gibbons, Content Director, Broadcasting&Cable.

The awards will be presented at this year’s Technology Leadership Summit, which is put on by Future plc titles Broadcasting+Cable, TV Technology and Multichannel News.

In addition to receiving their awards at the March 5 award dinner, the winners will sit on panels at the Summit.

With panels on the newest developments on cloud, AI and IP technologies, as well as discussions of news, sports and streaming operations, this conference is designed to help executives at stations, networks and digital companies deploy new technologies and strategies for the future of their businesses.

During the Summit, leading technologists, including the award winners, will share their expertise on new technologies and explain how they are using new technologies to build new business, cut costs and boost profits.

In addition to the panels, attendees will have complimentary access to the award dinner, where they can meet and mingle with the winners and colleagues, as well as free hotel rooms and meals. Attendees must be approved by the organizers and attendance is limited to a relatively small number of technologists.

To apply for access to the Summit or to get more information on the agenda or sponsorship opportunities see: https://www.technologyleadershipsummit.com/.