NEW YORK--What started more than a decade ago as HD World/SATCON, NAB Show New York, Oct. 17-18 at the Javits Convention Center, has now shifted to a platform for the business of entertainment and media, focusing on the most robust parts of the industry that more closely reflect the city’s marketplace.

Chris Brown, NAB executive vice president of conventions and business operations, reflected on how the show has evolved over the years.

“The show had a bit of an eclectic positioning before, with a bent toward traditional broadcast and a legacy satellite component in SATCON,” he said. “SATCON represented the roots of the event, but as the show had grown toward the media space, it was becoming more and more difficult to fully serve the original objectives of that brand.”

This year, NAB Show New York will host 294 exhibitors, with 67 exhibiting for the first time, including ARRI, Bose, Google, Microsoft and Primestream.

“The addition of these new exhibitors reflects NAB Show New York’s continued growth and uniqueness to the overall media, entertainment and technology industries,” Brown said. "We have a great mix of companies and technology. It is balanced and dynamic, reflecting the industry’s most important innovations displayed by its most progressive players.”

One of the most popular features is “Post|Production Conference NYC,” produced in partnership with Future Media Concepts, offering hands-on training that professionals can apply immediately to current projects. The multiday workshops will cover cinematic lighting, corporate in-house productions and UAV, and are designed for film, TV and video editors, graphics designers, colorists and producers.

For the first time, NAB Show New York is introducing the “PILOT Pitch Prize” competition, that will give five early-stage startups the opportunity to pitch business plans to executives from Hearst Television, iHeartMedia, NBC, Accenture and Cox for a $50,000 contract. The winning startup will get the chance to showcase their product at the 2019 NAB Show. Following the competition, notable Silicon Valley venture capitalist Andreessen Horowitz will deliver a keynote.

FOCUS ON NEXT GEN TV

As the first NAB Show New York since the FCC approved the ATSC 3.0 standard last November, the event will feature numerous sessions and presentations on opportunities for Next Gen TV.

The "TV2020: Monetizing the Future" session will focus on opportunities in ATSC 3.0, OTT and automated ad selling, as well as using social media to promote content. Featured speakers for this event include Brad Wall, senior vice president of broadcast operations at Disney|ABC Television group and Howard Homonoff, senior vice president of MediaLink.

Another new feature at this year’s show is “Advanced TV Solutions,” a presentation theater that will allow attendees to learn more about consumer technologies across telco, Gigabit cable Wi-Fi and ATSC 3.0 environments. In the “ATSC 3.0 Update - What, Where and Especially WHEN” session, at noon on Oct. 18, attendees can get updates on the design and deployment of the standard, and who, among broadcasters and content owners, will sign up their first customers.

In a “Fireside Chat with Christopher Ripley,” at 11:30 a.m. on Oct. 18 the president and CEO of Sinclair Broadcast Group will discuss how his company plans to use ATSC 3.0 for live mobile streaming at scale, ad-supported services, and improve delivery on home, mobile and auto devices.

[Read: NAB Show NY: Blackmagic to Showcase the URSA Mini Pro 4.6K]

The “Accelerating on the Road to ATSC 3.0” session at 3:00 p.m. on Oct. 18 will examine how the standard is being tested in several U.S. markets, focusing on Sinclair’s single frequency network in Dallas, the Pearl TV model market in Phoenix and public broadcaster WKAR’s deployment at Michigan State University.

BUSINESS TRACK

Focusing on business, the NAB Show New York’s Core Business Track will feature 13 speakers addressing the topics of advertising, content strategies, Esports and finance. Sessions range from “Influencing the Consumer’s Choices” to “Attracting Revenues for Venues and Facilities.” On Thursday at 3:30 p.m., the session “Can Sports Betting Save Television?” will discuss how the the results of the recent Supreme Court decision legalizing sports betting will change the economics of sports on television. The panel will cover the business models, technology and customer relations aspects of sports betting.

During the keynote session, NAB Show New York will present daytime talk show host Wendy Williams the NAB Show New York Impact Award. It will honor Williams for her 10 years of success as host of "The Wendy Williams Show," which attracts millions of viewers every day and her work with “Be Here Initiative,” a national awareness and call-to-action drug addiction and substance abuse campaign.

Since it began three years ago, NAB Show New York has met the association’s expectations of the importance of having a second annual event. Last year, 14,550 registered for the event, the most in its three-year history.

“Things are moving so fast in this business right now that the industry needed a second domestic gathering to provide another opportunity to touch base with partners and check in on key trends. It is really a vital forum,” Brown said. And “being situated in New York allows us to engage a rich pool of local area talent both to attend and speak in the conference sessions.”

That’s important since Brown said about 76 percent of NAB New York attendees won't attend the NAB Show 2019.

The National Association of Broadcasters has chosen five startup finalists for its PILOT Pitch Prize Competition, a live business-plan pitch event that will take place at NAB Show New York next month.

The first-year competition gives early-stage startups the chance to present business plans to support the operational efficiency, audience engagement, measurement, content distribution or enhanced user experience plans for broadcast and digital media operations. The five finalists will receive individual mentoring from angel investors at the Dingman Center for Entrepreneurship at University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business leading up to their pitch.

The three winners will receive a $50,000 Simple Agreement for Future Equity (SAFE) contract to help with further business development, brand recognition and market awareness, and also have the opportunity to showcase their work at the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas, April 6-11.

“We have had a tremendous response to the PILOT Pitch Prize competition and I’m delighted with the diversity of our five finalists and their work in artificial intelligence (AI), cloud computing work flows, content security, news accuracy, and Next-Gen TV,” said Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer Sam Matheny. “Innovators and attendees alike will learn from and enjoy the live and engaging pitch presentations and feedback from a seasoned panel of media executive judges.”

These media executives will select the three winners:

• Roger Keating - Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer for Hearst Television;
• Michele Laven – President, Strategic Partnerships Group for iHeartMedia;
• Mike Chapman - Managing Director of Accenture Strategy;
• Lora Dennis - Senior Vice President of Digital Media for NBC Owned Television Stations; and
• Tim Clarke - Vice President of Content and Audience for Cox Media Group.

[Read:NAB Launches Third Annual PILOT Innovation Challenge]

The PILOT Pitch Prize finalists are:

Airwavz.TV

Airwavz.tv designed the first digital TV antenna and receiver that enables smartphone users to receive live television broadcast programming directly from TV towers – even in areas without cell, internet, Wi-Fi or satellite service.

nedl

nedl allows radio listeners to search live audio with Speech-to-Text software and directs to a station’s live stream. nedl is live on Amazon Alexa.

Our.News

Our.News is a non-partisan fact-checking resource that provides validated background information on news publishers and determines the public’s view of the reliability of news articles, publishers, and journalists.

PolyPort

PolyPort offers complete digital asset management, tracking, and IP protection through security and encryption algorithms for content owners.

Teamium

Teamium is a cloud-based media production management platform that provides visual collaboration and business process tools that are designed with the latest digital technologies for video production teams.

The event will take place Oct. 17 at 3 p.m. during NAB Show New York at the Javits Convention Center. Click here to register for the show. 

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WASHINGTON—Startup companies in the early stage of their existence with their eyes set on the broadcast market take note; you could receive $50,000 from NAB’s PILOT innovation initiative.

PILOT announced March 7 a competition for such companies to receive seed money and support if their technology offerings are helpful to broadcasters and their digital media operations, especially when it comes to operational efficiency, audience engagement, measurement, content distribution or enhanced user experience.

Entries in the PILOT Pitch Prize will be judged on an entrant’s ability to solve “a well-defined problem for a significant market in a differentiate way,” according to a PILOT announcement. To be considered, companies must show initial progress with their product, a potential revenue model or customer base, a realistic plan for growth, credible financials and the right team to scale.

“PILOT Pitch Prize is our latest approach to support budding startups by providing a vehicle to attain early-stage financial support, executive mentoring and valuable industry exposure,” said NAB CTO Sam Matheny in a press release announcing the contest.

The deadline for application submission is April 30. Five finalists will be named in June. Three winners will be chosen at the live pitch event, Oct. 17-18, during the NAB Show New York, at Javits Center in New York City.

Finalists will receive individual mentoring leading up to their live pitch. Winners will receive a Simple Agreement for Future Equity contract, including $50,000, brand recognition and the opportunity to participate at the 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas.

The first 100 applicants completing a qualified application will receive a complimentary pass to NAB Show New York.

Contest rules are available online, and additional information is available by sending an email to pitch@nabpilot.org.