I'm thrilled to let you know that we will be launching an inaugural executive conference in September of this year, TheGrill.
We've just put out an official announcement, which follows. I hope you'll check out the pages we've just published about the event, and keep checking it in the coming weeks as we add speakers and panels.
THE WRAP NEWS INC. ANNOUNCES
INAUGURAL ENTERTAINMENT LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
“THEGRILL”
Invited Panelists Include Howard Schultz, Tim Armstrong,
Lloyd Braun and FTC Chairman Jon Liebowitz
(Santa Monica, CA) – July 6, 2010 –TheWrap News, Inc., the leading digital news organization covering the business of entertainment and media, announces its inaugural entertainment and media leadership conference, TheGrill, to take place at the Broad Theatre in Santa Monica, California, September 20 – 21, 2010.
Featuring the most innovative thinkers and commanding voices at the intersection of entertainment, media and technology, TheGrill will be moderated by leading independent journalists including TheWrap.com Editor in Chief Sharon Waxman, AllThingsD executive editor Kara Swisher and PaidContent founder Rafat Ali.
The theme of the inaugural conference is “Content, Interrupted.”
“At a time of unprecedented change, we believe that it is vital to foster high-level discussion about the future of entertainment and the challenges of the digital age,” said Waxman. “While there are many business conferences convened across the country, TheGrill will be the first of its kind placing content at the heart of the discussion about the future of the entertainment economy.”
Conceived to create a high-level forum for discussing the transformational forces in the rapidly evolving entertainment industry, TheGrill will feature a community of influential leaders, deciders and disrupters from across the entertainment and media spectrum.
The panelists and conference advisors comprise leading figures on the cutting edge of change as content grapples with the interruptions posed by technology:
- Tim Armstrong, CEO, AOL
- Joanne Bradford, CRO, Demand Media
- Lloyd Braun, Principal, BermanBraun
- Ryan Kavanaugh, CEO, Relativity Media
- Jon Liebowitz, Federal Trade Commission, Chairman
- Jon Miller, Chief Digital Officer, News Corporation
- Scott Moore, US Executive Producer, MSN
- Bruce Rosenblum, President, Warner Brothers Television
- Howard Schultz, CEO, Starbucks
- Ben Silverman, CEO, Electus
- Andy Wing, President and CEO, Cantor Entertainment
Research Partnership with Ipsos OTX Media CT
TheGrill also will release original research from a leading global consumer research firm, Ipsos OTX, highlighting exclusive insights related to the movie going experience and the consumption of movie marketing and digital media.
TheWrap.com, founded by award-winning journalist Sharon Waxman in 2009, has established itself as the leading voice in entertainment business news, reaching over 1 million unique visitors per month. Winner of the National Entertainment Journalism Award for news in 2009, TheWrap.com delivers high-profile newsbreaks, investigative stories, and authoritative analyses as a reliable and independent source for media and industry professionals.
Founding sponsors of TheGrill include Saban Capital Group, Relativity Media and OTX Research. For more information on TheGrill and a detailed listing of daily conference activity, please visit www.TheWrap.com/TheGrill.
Visit www.TheWrap.com daily to stay abreast of the breaking industry news that matters most. And sign up for TheWrap’s daily essential news summary, First Take.
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About TheWrap.com:
TheWrap.com (www.TheWrap.com) is an award-winning, primary news source focused on the business of entertainment and media. Offering its readers original reporting, exclusive contributions from industry readers and curated news from around the globe, TheWrap.com is led by noted journalist and author, Sharon Waxman. Recently named one of the “Top 100 Most Important Publishers” by OMMA Magazine, TheWrap.com editorial staff also includes veteran editor Lew Harris, as well as respected journalists Dylan Stableford, Steve Pond, Josh Dickey, Daniel Frankel and many others. The Wrap News Inc. is backed by Maveron, a venture capital firm based in Seattle, Washington, and co-founded by Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz and Dan Levitan.
About Saban Capital Group:
Saban Capital Group is a leading private investment firm based in Los Angeles specializing in the media, entertainment and communications industries. Established in 2001 by Haim Saban, the firm makes both controlling and minority investments in public and private companies and takes an active role in its portfolio companies. SCG’s current private equity investments include Univision (the premier Spanish-language media company in the US) and Tiger Gate Entertainment (a joint venture with Lionsgate to operate branded pay television channels across Asia). The firm formed Saban Brands LLC in 2010, a subsidiary, to acquire, manage and license entertainment properties and consumer brands across media and consumer platforms globally.
About Relativity Media:
Relativity Media LLC ("RML") is a media and entertainment company which focuses on creating, financing and distributing first class, studio quality entertainment content and intellectual property across multiple platforms, as well as making strategic partnerships with, and opportunistic investments in, media and entertainment related companies and assets. RML owns and operates Rogue, a company that specializes in the production and distribution of lower-budget genre films, which has had particular success within the horror genre including The Unborn and The Strangers. Building upon its foundation of financing and producing films, RML has grown to include music, sports and television divisions, as well as the Rogue lifestyle brand, including a clothing line and the next-generation social network iamrogue.com. Relativity also owns and operates RelativityREAL, Relativity's television arm, which has become one of the leading suppliers of reality television with over 20 shows in episodic or pilot.
About Ipsos OTX MediaCT:
Ipsos OTX MediaCT is the market research specialization within Ipsos built to reach, engage and more effectively understand today’s digitally-driven consumer in the fast-moving media, content and technology space. The Worldwide Motion Picture Group is part of Ipsos OTX MediaCT and offers a wide spectrum of research services covering all aspects of a film’s lifecycle – from pre-production through theatrical release both domestically and internationally. By integrating new technologies and immersive techniques with extensive traditional research experience, Ipsos OTX MediaCT’s market leading research solutions help clients better understand media and technology consumption, evaluate content, monitor the value of brands and provide guidance for successful innovation. To learn more, please visit www.ipsos-na.com/media
Press Contact:
Claire Gendel
The Rose Group
310-280-3710
Claire@therosegrp.com
