Netflix’s Ted Sarandos, Lionsgate’s Sandra Stern and Showtime’s David Nevins are among the speakers announced for annual State of the Industry Luncheon organized by The Hollywood Radio and Television Society (HRTS).
Netflix CCO Sarandos, Lionsgate TV Group president Stern and Showtime president Nevins will be joined by NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment lifestyle networks president Frances Berwick and ABC Entertainment Group president Paul Lee
“These major industry players have proven track records of success, making for a great conversation about their careers and achievements,” Bela Bajaria, HRTS president and president of Universal Television, said. “We will discuss ‘the state of the industry,’ with each interesting panelist representing a different part of our dynamic business.”
As president of NBC’s lifestyle networks, Berwick spearheads the strategic oversight of Bravo Media, E! Entertainment, Esquire Network and Oxygen Media. Berwick oversees the daily operations for Bravo and Oxygen including production, program planning, marketing, research, digital and communications. She added E! and Esquire to her purview in September 2014.
Since July 2010, Paul Lee has been president of ABC Entertainment Group. In this role he has oversight of all creative and business operations for ABC Studios as well as all development, programming, marketing and scheduling operations for ABC Entertainment. He also oversees entertainment programming for syndication and daytime.
David Nevins is president of Showtime Networks Inc., where he is responsible for developing, acquiring and supervising all aspects of programming for all of the Showtime Networks channels across all genres. Nevins also manages Showtime Sports, and the company’s marketing, creative, digital media, scheduling, research, acquisitions, home entertainment, business affairs and corporate communications teams.
Ted Sarandos has led content acquisition for Netflix since 2000. Before Netflix, Ted was an executive at video distributor ETD and Video City / West Coast Video. He also serves on the Film Advisory Board for Tribeca and Los Angeles Film Festival, the retail advisory board for the Digital Entertainment Group and is a Henry Crown Fellow at the Aspen Institute.
Sandra Stern is President of the Lionsgate Television Group and shares the responsibility in running Lionsgate’s diversified television operations, which encompass more than 30 shows on over 20 different networks. Stern is responsible for running all business, legal, administrative and operational aspects of the division including production, post-production, and music.
The luncheon will be held on Oct. 15 at The Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. HRTS’ partners Digital Rapids and Limelight Networks will present a live stream of the panel.