Markets

With less than a month until its kick-off, LA VIRTUAL SCREENINGS (LAVS) announced today a powerful conference lineup. Organized by Prensario International with the support of NATPE, the fifth edition will be held on June 7-16 gathering key global exhibitors and buyers from +120 countries.
LAVS is curating and producing 17 conferences for the VS NEXT portion, which will feature a robust selection of the key global decision-makers. Attendees can expect about two sessions each day during the 10-day event. The full conference portion of the event is exclusively sponsored by Roku Inc., and produced by Nuevos Medios Entertainment (Colombia) and its executive producer, Juan Pablo Morales.
There will be three types of conferences: 40-minute round-tables, covering topics such as streaming, gaming, eSports, media production and distribution as well as kids & teens and factual, two of the top growing genres during pandemic; 20-minute sessions produced by K7 Media, Parrot Analytics, Newzoo and the new partner Whip Media; and the return for its fourth consecutive edition of the Turkish Showcase with the latest drama releases by the largest companies of this country.
The most debated topics of the global industry will be reflected, too. There will be spotlights on key regions MENA, APAC, Latin America and Europe highlighting local and regional trends, along with updated market data & insights.

New Sessions Revealed
The highlights disclosed today include:

• Global Streaming: AVOD/FAST takes the scene – June 7
AVOD/FAST business model is strongly evolving. LAVS assembles some of the main players in the sector to discuss the key elements that are making these platforms more attractive to audiences around the world: Paul Edwards, VP, Content Pluto TV, Europe; Sam Harowitz, Vice President, Content Acquisitions & Partnerships, Tubi; Cristian Liarte, Director of Originals, Rakuten TV; Adriana Naves, Head of Content Distribution, Latin America, Roku Inc.; Bilai Joa Silar, EVP, GM, AVOD Streaming, ViX; and Aline Jabbour, Director of Business Development and Content Acquisition, Samsung TV Plus Latin America.
Moderator & Presenter:
Maria Rua Aguete, Senior Research Director, Media & Entertainment, OMDIA (UK)

• K7 Media's Tracking the Giants: Trends in Unscripted Format Sales – June 7
Each year research consultancy K7 Media compiles sales data in consultation with all of the major distributors to produce the annual Tracking the Giants Report. K7's Trang Nguyen and Patti Linnett will present the key findings from the 2021-22 report. The session will explore trends in unscripted format sales, and reveal the trending titles, genres, and territories to watch, with a focus on the European, US and Hispanic markets.
Speakers:
Patti Linnett, Senior Researcher
Trang Nguyen, Senior Researcher

• The disruptive business models of the new digital platforms – June 8
New digital business models are emerging in the global marketplace and this panel will analyze some of the most disruptive ones: Chris Martin, President, Sator.IO; David Rios, Head of LatAm, US Hispanic & Brazil, Dailymotion; Adrian Garelik, CEO, Flixxo/Carnaval.art; and Yigit Dogan Celik, Chairman, Merzigo.
Moderator:
Nicolás Smirnoff, Managing Director, Prensario International

• Streaming in the Americas: content, partnerships and monetization – June 9
This panel features executives from top platforms covering the streaming business in the Americas. Ana Carolina Lima, head of content, Globoplay (Brazil); Jordan Warkol, Senior Director of Business Development, OTTera (USA); Jacqueline Jimenez, VP of Operations, Pantaya (USA); and Jennifer Vaux, Senior Director, Content Acquisition, The Roku Channel, Roku Inc. (USA) will describe their operations and content strategies, and will discuss plans for growth in viewership, subscriptions, advertising, new markets, and content inventory in 2022.
Moderator:
Fabricio Ferrara, International Business Director, Prensario International

• Turkish Showcase: The Golden Age of Drama – June 9
After three successful sessions at VS Autumn 2020, LAVS 2021 and VSWW 2021, the Turkish leading producers and distributors will promote their new releases in this fourth edition. This key session for Turkish drama buyers will feature pitches and trailers from Ekin Koyuncu, executive director, Kanal D International; Özlem Özsümbül, Head of Sales, MADD Entertainment; Iván Sánchez, Sales Director, Global Agency; Can Okan, CEO, Inter Medya; Jose Luis Gascue, EVP, Calinos Entertainment; and Fredrik Af Malmborg, managing director, Eccho Rights;
Moderator:
Carolina Acosta-Alzuru, College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia

• European streamers: how to compete and evolve – June 10
Three OTTs will describe their strategies in a highly competitive European scenario. Emilio Sánchez Zaballos, online platform and video manager, Atresmedia/ATRESPlayer Premium (Spain); Vanessa Fino Tierno, Director of Acquisitions & Format Management, SIC/OPTO (Portugal); and Massimo Vimini, CEO Good Move / COO iXMedia/Serially (Italy) will explain which are the elements that make them different and have allowed them to evolve
Moderator:
Geraldine Gonard, Conecta FICTION & Entertainment’s founder and director

More panels and sessions will be announced in the coming weeks. The executives interested in being part of LAVS 2022, market and conference, must register at www.virtualscreenings.com to get their free login and password.