The 2011 Streaming Media All-Stars
AVNER RONEN
CEO
Boxee
www.boxee.tv
PREVIOUS JOB TITLES
- CEO & Founder, Odigo
- Director of M&A, Comverse
PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS
- Working with friends to build Boxee to where it is today, and finding the best coffee in the U.S.
NEXT BIG THING
BIGGEST TREND
- More and more content coming online, whether ad-supported or behind a paywall.
GREATEST CHALLENGE
- Helping users consistently discover great content that’s relevant to them, and making the over-the-top experience less active and more passive.
STEVE ROSENBAUM
CEO
Magnify.net
www.magnify.net
OTHER JOB TITLES
- Founder and CEO, CameraPlanet.com
- Founder and CEO, Broadcast News Networks
- Curator, The CameraPlanet Archive
PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS
- Gathering, protecting, and meticulously cataloging the world’s largest collection of 9/11 video. Keeping that material safe and donating the museum and educational rights to the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum being built at the site of the World Trade Centers.
- Writing and publishing Curation Nation.
- Building the world’s first, and the largest, video curation network, Magnify.net.
NEXT BIG THING
The web is overwhelmed with undifferentiated data. Computers can’t tell the difference between random data and solid content. So, algorithms are giving way to human curation, which adds value and creates meaning by empowering individuals to create unique collections.
BIGGEST TREND
I think that Chris Anderson has it right. Video accelerates knowledge and learning—we’re just at the earliest stages of how pervasive and important web video is going to be. Entertainment won’t be the killer app—education will be.
GREATEST CHALLENGE
The impending format wars between WebM, H.264, and HTML 5.
KALEIL ISAZA TUZMAN
Chairman & CEO
KIT Digital
www.kit-digital.com
PREVIOUS JOB TITLES
- Managing Partner, KCP Capital
- President & COO, JumpTV, Inc.
- Chairman & CEO, KPE, Inc.
PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS
- Maintaining a steady meditation practice since 1989. Keeps everything in perspective.
- Helping ROO Group (now called KIT Digital), which we took over in late 2007, go from a company generating about $10 million per year in revenues and significant losses to a current level of $200 million in annualized revenues and projected $45-plus million of EBITDA for this year.
- Finishing and publishing my labor of love: The Entrepreneur’s Success Kit: A 5-Step Practical and Spiritual Guide to Starting Your Own Business (St. Martin’s Press, 2005).
NEXT BIG THING
KIT will be going after the world’s most complex and large-scale IP video deployments—building on our existing work with AT&T U-verse, BSkyB SkyPlayer, BBC iPlayer, and Vodafone’s Videothek store.
GREATEST CHALLENGE
I think the increasing complexity of the IP video arena—with the proliferation of devices and OTT consumer offerings—is a creative fulcrum for great customer experiences and successful business models to emerge, though it represents a predictive challenge.
GERARD VIRGA
Co-Founder & COO
PowerStream
www.powerstream.net
PREVIOUS JOB TITLES
Since co-founding PowerStream in 1998, I’ve performed every job title and functional role at the company. The list is way too long.
PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS
When asked, “What is your favorite Porsche?” Ferdinand Porsche replied, “I haven’t made it yet!” That expresses how I feel about personal achievement: Never settle for what’s now and keep pushing for what’s next. Having said that, and without trying to sound high-minded, my proudest moments are our clients’ achievements.
NEXT BIG THING
I’ll give you a hint: “OVU.” Since you can probably guess the first two letters, I’ve said too much already.
BIGGEST TREND
Everything new will be old again, soon. The biggest trend is “Change.” I can guarantee three things about the future of online video: 1) Video encoding technology will change, 2) video delivery technology will change, and 3) video playback technology will change. What’s a video publisher to do? Accept that change will happen, keep educated, and prepare to change when your audience is ready for it.
GREATEST CHALLENGE
I won’t use the term “Net Neutrality” because it’s often misunderstood, but the bottom line is our industry suffers when ISPs charge end users a premium to view one type of content over another (video versus email), or worse yet for one content provider over another. Some say that regulating how ISPs charge for their services works against the free market. I ask, is the market free if users are regulated by their ISPs and can’t access all the internet has to offer?
JEROEN “JW” WIJERING
Chief Digital Architect
LongTail Video
www.longtailvideo.com
PROUDEST ACHIEVEMENTS
Without a doubt the JW Player. The player continues to be a tremendous success, thanks to easy setup and a clean interface. I’m proud we’ve been able to maintain those characteristics, despite the player’s ever-expanding feature set and platform support.
NEXT BIG THING
A hosted version of the JW Player, which will dramatically lower the threshold for publishers to push video live. I think that, over time, more and more publishers will prefer this hosted version to the download. Setup is even easier, and upgrades are built-in.
BIGGEST TREND
Online video advertising has finally arrived, while the costs of hosting and delivery continue to drop. A growing number of videos can be monetized, especially among mid-size and small sites.
GREATEST CHALLENGE
I think it’s time we crack the code to conquering the living room. Boxee, Hulu, and the like are still niche and techy, and they miss the level of linear/preselected programming that makes broadcasting so laid back.
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