This June, NEM guests will once again have the opportunity to find out about the current issues in the TV industry from the leading media experts. The panel discussion „The Interplay between Pay TV and Digital Content“ will be attended by leading experts in their respective fields: Salim Mukaddam, General Manager and Vice President of BBC Worldwide for Central and Eastern Europe (CEE); Katharina Behrends, Managing Director of NBCUniversal Networks for Central and Eastern Europe; John Rossiter, General Manager of Sony Pictures Television Networks for Central Europe; Karin Heijink, Vice President of Content and Products at Viasat World Limited; Levente B. Málnay , Senior Vice President of AMC Networks International for Central and Eastern Europe; Bartosz Witak, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Viacom International Media Networks for Central and Eastern Europe and Israel.

The main topic of this panel will be the following: What are Pay TV channels doing to keep up with digital trends and how can content help them in the uncertain battle against those branches within the TV industry that have been cherishing these trends for years? There are many discussions on the impact of SVOD on the sector of traditional Pay TV, but will SVOD eventually subjugate Pay TV or can they both exist together without excluding one another?  Operators have been fighting for years for subscribers using the satellite, cable, terrestrial and IPTV infrastructure, so it comes as no surprise that their goal is to retain the existing subscribers, but at the same time also to attract the new ones by creating content that will satisfy the broader audience. With the emergence of SVOD, Pay TV channels lost a lot of their viewers in a relatively short time. There is no doubt that the Pay TV market is still growing globally; however, SVOD is developing faster.

Will one side in this media game eventually prevail or is coexistence indeed possible? Karin Heijink of Viasat World Limited clarified the goal of the panel: “This panel will look at the key issue facing traditional Pay TV players in the CEE region and explore how they adapt and keep up with the proliferation of digital content in the transformative media landscape. You can expect a lively debate, as is always the case at NEM, which undoubtedly stands out as one of the key TV events in Central and Eastern Europe. NEM is a not-to-be-missed event because it brings together leading decision makers from the region and beyond.”

Wise words came from John Rossiter as well, who is General Manager of Sony Pictures Television Networks for Central Europe: “The tech giants have become the Goliaths as they have exploited Network Effects to their full potential. Audiences are still consuming the same programming but just on different platforms. We have to focus on producing content that just works. Adapt we must.”

Katharina Behrends, Managing Director of NBCUniversal Networks for Central and Eastern Europe highlighted NEM as a leading market event for key content providers, studios and platforms in this area, focusing on important trends and topics specific to this region: “We have been keen supporters and sponsors of the event since its inception and are happy to see it grow in recent years”, said Behrends.