MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge Presents "IPTV: The Scrum for the Last Six Feet"

Features Keynote by NBA Dallas Mavericks Owner Mark Cuban and a Panel Discussion With Leading Market Makers From Akamai, Boxee and VideoNuze


CAMBRIDGE, MA--(Marketwire - January 20, 2011) - On February 3, the MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge will present "IPTV: The Scrum for the Last Six Feet" and bring together a renowned group of speakers to address this fast moving market trend. Responding to an on-demand world, IPTV is transforming how and when consumers watch TV and access content. To start this impactful evening, Mark Cuban will be interviewed in a Fireside Chat by Woody Benson, of Prism VentureWorks.

IPTV enables the streaming of TV programs, videos, music and photos onto computers as well as providing mobile access to content. While most pundits believe this trend is inevitable -- the only question is when -- there are many other issues the speakers and panel will address. When will the computer and the TV converge? Will content providers want to switch to the Internet and change their profit model? Who will the big winners and losers be in this newly converged world? Who wins in the fight for new bandwidth? Who is taking the lead in driving this convergence?

The Fireside Chat will be followed by what promises to be a very active and revealing panel discussion by experts in the field.

Panel Moderator:

  • Woody Benson runs Prism VentureWorks' digital media practice. He is also a director for LogMeIn, KickApps, Worldwide Biggies and Expo. Formerly, he was on the board of Maven Networks, acquired by Yahoo! and M:Metrics, acquired by comScore.

Panelists:

  • Mark Cuban is the owner of the NBA team the Dallas Mavericks as well as a serial entrepreneur investing in technology companies. He founded Broadcast.com (subsequently acquired by Yahoo!) and HDTV cable network HDNet, where he currently serves as Chairman.
  • Will Richmond is president and founder of Broadband Directions as well as editor/publisher of VideoNuze, an up-to-date source of broadband video news as well as analyses of breaking news and emerging trends.
  • Avner Ronen is founder and CEO of Boxee, a freeware media software platform that enables full access to TV programs, movies and other content from the Internet. He also co-founded Odigo (subsequently acquired by Comverse).
  • Paul Sagan is the CEO of Akamai, a leading provider of cloud-based services for optimizing Web and mobile content and applications, online HD video, and secure eCommerce. Prior he served as senior advisor to the World Economic Forum, consulting to the Geneva-based organization on information technology for the world's 1,000 foremost multinational corporations. He also was president and editor of New Media for Time, Inc.

When: Thursday, February 3, 2011
5:30-6:10 Registration
6:10-8:00 Program
8:00-9:00 Networking Reception in the Foyer

Where: Tang Center, Building E51, Wong Auditorium

Registration and Information: http://www.mitforumcambridge.org/events/iptv-markcuban/

Pricing: Forum members: $25, Non-members: $45. Students from all universities are free with college ID. Pre-registration is encouraged.

Contact Information:

MIT ENTERPRISE FORUM OF CAMBRIDGE CONTACT:
Trish Fleming
MIT Enterprise Forum of Cambridge
617-253-8240