Variety returns in-person and virtually for a unique hybrid experience for its annual Entertainment & Technology Summit, presented by City National Bank on September 15. This one-day event will explore advancing technology’s impact on TV, film, gaming, music, digital media and consumer brands. 

This year will bring together top visionaries from Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, Universal Television, Mattel, NBA, Twitch, Paramount, Taco Bell and many more.

Limited seats are available — get your tickets today.

 

Attending with your team? For group rate information, please email hhensler@variety.com

FULL SUMMIT EXPERIENCE

NETWORKING | LUNCH | COCKTAILS | GIVEAWAY

*Attend in person for a chance to win an Apple TV, Apple AirPods, and an Away Carry-On.

1 Hotel West Hollywood

8490 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood, CA 90069
West Hollywood, CA 90069
United States

 

LIVE ACCESS TO ALL CONVERSATIONS

CHAT WITH OTHER VIRTUAL ATTENDEES

Speakers

Nadja Bellan-White

Nadja Bellan-White

Global Chief Marketing Officer

Vice Media Group

Jason Blum

Jason Blum

Founder & CEO

Blumhouse Productions

Lynwen Brennan

Lynwen Brennan

General Manager & EVP

Lucasfilm

Verna Grayce Chao

Verna Grayce Chao

EVP, Treasury Management Solutions

City National Bank

Jennifer Chun

Jennifer Chun

EVP & Head of Content Partnerships

NBA

Jason Clodfelter

Jason Clodfelter

Co-President

Sony Pictures Television

J.D. Crowley

J.D. Crowley

Chief Digital Officer

Audacy

Kareem Daniel

Kareem Daniel

Chairman

Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution

Linda Duncombe

Linda Duncombe

EVP & Chief Marketing, Product and Digital Officer

City National Bank

Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Ellis Ross

Actor, Producer and CEO & Founder

PATTERN BEAUTY

Josh Feldman

Josh Feldman

Global Chief Marketing Officer, Advertising & Partnerships

NBCUniversal

A.J. Feliciano

A.J. Feliciano

Head of Rooster Teeth’s The Roost Podcast Network

Warner Bros Discovery

Jenna Fischer

Jenna Fischer

Actor, Producer & Host

"The Office," "The Office Ladies"

Jessica Gao

Jessica Gao

Executive Producer & Head Writer

"She-Hulk"

Mark Garner

Mark Garner

EVP, Global Content Sales and Business Development

A&E Networks

David S. Goyer

David S. Goyer

Creator, Writer & Producer

Melody Hildebrandt

Melody Hildebrandt

CISO & President

Fox Corp. & Blockchain Creative Labs

Angelique Jackson

Angelique Jackson

Moderator - Senior Entertainment Writer

Variety

Jason Kassin

Jason Kassin

CEO & Co-Founder

FilmTrack

Constance Knight

Constance Knight

SVP, Global Creators

Twitch

Agenda

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Best Business Strategies In the Stream

Jeff Shultz - Chief Strategy Officer & Chief Business Development Officer, Paramount
Annie Luo - EVP, Head of Global Partnerships and Strategic Development, Peacock
Mark Garner - EVP, Global Content Sales and Business Development, A&E Networks
Jason Kassin - CEO & Co-Founder, FilmTrack
Krista Panoff - SVP, Global Enterprise Development, Innovid

Increasingly – music, films, TV, video games and publishing are finding success through a wide variety of business models, ad-supported, subscription and different hybrid models. How are streamers guiding brands, and content distributors to succeed with audiences, across our crowded array of offerings? What are strategies to aid audiences success in discovery and platform stickiness, preventing churn in the process?

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Making Sense of Web3 for Entertainment Industry

Dawn Thomas - Oculus Lab Fellow and CEO, Koi Story Studio
Roberto Stanichi - SVP & Global Head of Hotwheels, Mattel
Melody Hildebrandt - CISO & President, Fox Corp. & Blockchain Creative Labs
Scott Zanghellini - Co-Head of Revenue Strategy & Development, WWE

How should entertainment companies be assessing the opportunities in NFTs and the metaverse? What resources are being put into what sorts of projects across this next frontier of interactive entertainment?

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Keynote Conversation with Kareem Daniel, Chairman Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution

Kareem Daniel - Chairman, Disney Media & Entertainment Distribution
Cynthia Littleton - Moderator - Co-Editor-in-Chief, Variety

Daniel will explore how his team drives the distribution of The Walt Disney Company’s content across its vast portfolio of media platforms and channels, including the Company’s streaming services; portfolio of linear television channels; its ABC owned-stations; its advertising sales business; content licensing and distribution; and theatrical film distribution for the Company’s entertainment studios.

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Producers in the Zeitgeist – Creating Across Platforms

Jessica Gao - Executive Producer & Head Writer, "She-Hulk"
Phil Rosenthal - Creator & Executive Producer, Somebody Feed Phil, Naked Lunch, Everybody Loves Raymond
Jenna Fischer - Actor, Producer & Host, "The Office," "The Office Ladies"
David S. Goyer - Creator, Writer & Producer
Jenelle Riley - Moderator - Deputy Features and Awards Editor, Variety

The sky’s the limit for our storytelling visionaries – where new platforms have widened their creative sandbox for what is possible in entertainment. What projects across film, TV, podcasts, video games, music and more are connecting with audiences? What is their creative process?

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Networking Break

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Opening Remarks

Dea Lawrence - Chief Marketing Officer, Variety
Linda Duncombe - EVP & Chief Marketing, Product and Digital Officer, City National Bank

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Unlocking Gen Z Audience

Jennifer Chun - EVP & Head of Content Partnerships, NBA
Constance Knight - SVP, Global Creators, Twitch
Alexa Levine - US Head of Entertainment, Snapchat
Sara Pollack - Global Marketing Director, YouTube
JP Mallo - VP Marketing, HBO Max

Over the last two years of the pandemic, Gen Z matured quickly into today’s valuable media consumers. However, how they enjoy entertainment and media differs greatly from older generations. What are strategies to break through to this audience group?

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

The Future of Audio is Now

J.D. Crowley - Chief Digital Officer, Audacy

We’re living in a golden age of audio from podcast to streaming to social audio, and digital innovation has made audio’s reputation and effectiveness skyrocket. Join Audacy Chief Digital Officer, J.D. Crowley, as he peels back the curtain behind the media and audio entertainment company’s relentless pursuit to super serve listeners through information, storytelling, entertainment, and community in today’s digital world. Crowley will spotlight Audacy’s burgeoning podcast business, powered by can’t miss content in collaboration with influencers, journalists, celebrities and some of the world’s most recognizable brands. Crowley will also detail how the company has leveraged technology to make its digital platform more immersive for consumers and more attractive for clients.

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Strategies for Accelerating Compensation and Transparency for the Entertainment Industry

Verna Grayce Chao - EVP, Treasury Management Solutions, City National Bank

Find out how rapid innovations in payment technologies are enabling more efficient and transparent compensation to entertainment creative talent, executives and other industry stakeholders.

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Conversation with Omar Zayat, Senior Director & Head of Industry - Entertainment, Meta

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Keynote Conversation with Jason Blum, Founder and CEO Blumhouse Productions and President, Blumhouse Productions Abhijay Prakash

Jason Blum - Founder & CEO, Blumhouse Productions
Abhijay Prakash - President, Blumhouse Productions

Hear about the evolution of prolific entertainment production company Blumhouse whose content spans film, TV, podcasts and more.

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Titans of TV Programming

Erin Underhill - President, Universal Television
Jason Clodfelter - Co-President, Sony Pictures Television
Brandon Riegg - VP, Unscripted and Documentary Series, Netflix
A.J. Feliciano - Head of Rooster Teeth’s The Roost Podcast Network, Warner Bros Discovery

A look at how TV leaders are managing their growing footprint across ad-supported and subscription streaming services. What creatively and strategically is breaking ground with today’s audiences? How are TV leaders measuring success?

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Keynote Conversation with Tracee Ellis Ross

Tracee Ellis Ross - Actor, Producer and CEO & Founder, PATTERN BEAUTY
Angelique Jackson - Moderator - Senior Entertainment Writer, Variety

Ross will speak about her storytelling vision as she moves into creating across different platforms, including executive producing and narrating docuseries The Hair Tales and producing the upcoming podcast I Am America. Joy Mill Entertainment, Ross’s production company, is committed to amplifying stories that reframe assumptions about how people see themselves and each other.

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Networking Lunch

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Cocktail Reception

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Conversation with Lynwen Brennan, General Manager and EVP, Lucasfilm and Janet Lewin, SVP President, Lucasfilm VFX and General Manager, ILM

Lynwen Brennan - General Manager & EVP, Lucasfilm
Janet Lewin - SVP President (VFX) & General Manager (ILM), Lucasfilm
Jazz Tangcay - Moderator - Artisans Editor, Variety

5:00 PM - 6:00 PM PT

Brand Storytelling Elite

Nicole Weltman - Head of Social Media, Taco Bell
Asa Tait - Head of Production, LEGO Entertainment
Nadja Bellan-White - Global Chief Marketing Officer, Vice Media Group
Rahul Sabnis - Chief Creative Officer, iHeart Media
Josh Feldman - Global Chief Marketing Officer, Advertising & Partnerships, NBCUniversal

A look at how consumer and entertainment brands are engaging audiences in a cluttered media environment. How is a combination of social/creator media, experiential, TV and more the right formula for success?

2022 Partners

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SUPPORTING SPONSORS
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Contacts

Health & Safety

To ensure the safety of all attendees and staff Variety will comply with all applicable COVID-19 Federal, State, and local laws.  All in-person attendees must provide proof of vaccination with a valid form of ID OR a negative COVID-PCR or Lucira test taken within 72 hours of the event upon arrival.

Please note that tickets are not refundable.  Should COVID-19 prevent you from attending, Variety will be pleased to transfer your ticket to a future Variety summit taking place within one year thereafter (subject to availability).