Exclusive: MIPTV unveils more details of new FAST summit set to debut in April

MIPTV

MIPTV organiser RX France has unveiled further details around its recently revealed FAST “channel summit” set to debut in April, with execs from Pluto TV, Samsung TVPlus, Fremantle and Vevo among confirmed speakers.

The new strand – titled FAST & Global – was unveiled earlier this year and aims to tap into the surging interest in FAST by offering panel and insight sessions, as well as networking opportunities.

RX France said the strand would take “center stage” in the Palais des Festivals on the second day of MIPTV (Tuesday 18 April), with Olivier Jollet, Pluto TV’s EVP & international GM, Jennifer Batty, Samsung TV Plus Europe’s head of content acquisitions, and Fremantle’s international COO, Bob McCourt, all set to take to the stage.

Rob Christensen, Vevo’s SVP of US sales, has also been confirmed, alongside Wurl’s head of strategic content partnerships, Dave Bernath, and Amagi’s SVP of business development Lior Friedman. All are sponsors alongside Okast TV.

Lucy Smith, director of the Entertainment Division at RX France & MIPTV, told TBI that the FAST & Global strand would provide a forum for all players “to focus” on what the international expansion of FAST “means for the industry as a whole.”

She added: “We see FAST channels as the biggest evolution in the distribution business, putting the distributors back in power.

“Traditional distribution, which remember some were questioning not long ago, has never felt more dynamic – not only the emergence of FAST but with studios and platforms changing their stand on rights and licensing to third parties.”

Speakers already confirmed for FAST & Global include Gary Woolf (All3Media International), Shaun Keeble (Banijay Rights), Daniel Nordberg (Playground TV), Cédric Dufour (Rakuten TV Europe), Bea Hegedus (Vice Media Group) and Philipp Rotermund (Video Solutions AG / wedotv.com).

TBI revealed earlier this year that FAST revenues are set to reach $12bn by 2027, while a recent report from Omdia and commissioned by Blue Ant Media found that FAST channel revenues in the UK are expected to quadruple over the next four years.