APOS Unveils Conference Agenda

More than 65 executives from global, regional and local companies operating across the AsiaPac media, telco and sports sectors will take to the stage at APOS, set for April 23 to 25 in Bali.

The packed conference agenda kicks off the morning of April 24 with Vivek Couto, executive director and co-founder of Media Partners Asia, presenting forecasts on the AsiaPac media landscape, highlighting the increasing value of IP creation and curation and identifying key business models. Next up, Kevin Mayer, the chairman of direct-to-consumer and international at The Walt Disney Company, will highlight his plans for the company in Asia and elsewhere. Greg Hart, VP of worldwide at Amazon Prime Video, is also part of the morning agenda, to discuss continued international growth for the platform. His session will be followed by Joe Ravitch, co-founder and partner at Raine, discussing investment potential in the sports and entertainment spaces. Mike Hopkins, chairman of Sony Pictures Television, will weigh in on how the studio is responding to the new media landscape, and then Gerhard Zeiler, the new chief revenue officer at WarnerMedia, will discuss how the company plans to consolidate and grow its footprint in news, entertainment and sports in the U.S. and overseas. A session on China will include Ma Zhongjun, chairman and president of Ciwen Media, and Suman Wang, chief editor at Tencent Video. Netflix’s Bill Holmes, global head of business development, will address the streamer’s pursuit of global scale. Astro’s new CEO, Henry Tan, will take to the stage to share how he is refocusing the business. David Lynn, president and CEO of Viacom International Media Networks, will talk about engagement and new revenue and distribution models. Another morning session will focus on Globe, the Filipino mobile telco, with Ernest Cu, president and CEO; Nikko Acosta, senior VP of the content business group; and Joseph Paul Caliro, senior advisor at Globe Entertainment. The focus on sports will feature a slew of one-on-one conversations, include Facebook’s Dan Reed, One Championship’s Chatri Sityodtong, the International Cricket Council’s Manu Sawhney, NBA China’s Derek Chang, DAZN Group’s John Gleasure and beIN Asia Pacific’s Mike Kerr.

Returning from the lunch break, delegates will hear about the latest developments in Australia from Nine Entertainment’s Hugh Marks, Optus’s Allen Lew and Fetch TV’s Scott Lorson. Next, Janice Lee of PCCW Media Group will talk about maintaining Viu’s momentum. The next session, on online video, will feature Media Prima’s Datuk Kamal Khalid, Mediacorp’s Parminder Singh and YouTube’s Ajay Vidyasagar. Later, Peter Bithos will share the strategy at HOOQ. The afternoon agenda also includes André Kudelski from Kudelski Group, Yves Padrines from Synamedia, Clint Stinchcomb from CuriosityStream, Jane Basas from Cignal TV, Avi Himatsinghani from Rewind Networks, Peter Kaliaropoulos from StarHub and Harit Nagpal from Tata Sky.

The Thursday schedule kicks off with a panel on online video marketing models, followed by sessions on India and China. The OTT in India focus will include Hotstar’s Varun Narang, Zee5 Global’s Archana Anand, Eros Digital’s Rishika Lulla Singh and Shemaroo Entertainment’s Hiren Gada. Later in the morning, delegates will hear from Amazon Studios’ James Farrell, WebTVAsia’s Fred Chong, WattPad’s Allen Lau, Astro’s Agnes Rozario, HBO Asia’s Jessica Kam, HOOQ’s Jennifer Batty and iflix’s Mark Francis. The after-lunch sessions begin with a look at content and distribution with A+E Networks’ Ed Sabin, BBC Studios’ David Weiland and Entertainment One’s Darren Throop. Later, Kazufumi Nagasawa will talk about Hulu Japan’s positioning and growth. A Korea session includes HB Entertainment’s Bomi Moon, SK Telecom’s Hugh Kim and Watcha’s Taehun Park. True Corporation’s Birathon Kasemsri Na Ayudhaya and Line Thailand’s Kawin Tangudtaisak will talk about new developments in Thailand. Closing out the afternoon will be MNC Founder and Chairman Hary Tanoesoedibjo, followed by a panel discussion with investors.