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PROGRAM
subject to change
April 4, 2025
Las Vegas Convention Center, West Hall
8:00am – 9:00am:
Registration, BREAKFAST
9:00am – 9:20am:
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Marc Hand, PMVG
Chris Jansen, Google News Initiative
Dave Arland, Host
9:20am – 10:15am:
Public Media Sustainability Through Innovation
Chad Davis, Nebraska Public Media
An overview of technology applications essential to public media's thriving in a challenging environment.
10:15am – 10:45am:
Creating Operational Efficiency Via Shared Engineering Services
Jim DeChant, Production Distribution and Revenue Group, LLC
Explore how shared engineering services can streamline workflows, reduce costs, and improve overall operational efficiency for local public media facilities.
10:45am – 11:15am:
NETWORKING BREAK
11:15am – 11:55am:
Practical Roles for AI in Public Media
Anshul Kapoor, Google
How can public media collaborate and optimally apply artificial intelligence to production workflows and other mission-aligned operations? How can it best be used to increase revenue and reduce costs? The session will address both policy/governance issues and guidelines, as well as applications such as content recommendation, asset and rights management, content delivery and operational automation, archiving, transcripts and summary generation. Consideration of various LLMs and RAGs along with low/no-code solutions will be included.
11:55am – 12:30pm:
The Shift to Streaming - Early Lessons
Kevin Colligan, Cascade PBS
This session will provide multiple case studies and demos (e.g., Quickplay and LSI) from public media operators that have benefited from streaming through audience acquisition, membership growth and monetization, and how they can be further enhanced to increase system sustainability.
1:30pm – 2:05pm:
Improving Sustainability with the Cloud
Peter Riordan, Amazon Web Services
This session will address cloud applications that can provide relief for potentially radical budgeting shifts, with lessons in cost reduction and streamlined operations using the cloud, including enhancing audience services without reducing choice, AI-assisted metadata management, increased revenue generation, shifting from hardware to software-based systems, and multiplatform repurposing of content.
2:05pm – 2:40pm:
Public Media Cybersecurity & Risk Management
This session will feature real-world incidents, responses and lessons learned, along with guidance on risk management, matching service selection to facility needs and budget, regulating compliance, securing AI, managing third-party risks, and benefiting from the Cyber PLC for rapid response and mitigating attack impacts.
2:40pm – 3:10pm:
NETWORKING BREAK
3:10pm – 3:50pm:
Optimizing Audience Reach Across Multiple Platforms
Mike Schmidt, Heartland Video Systems
Michael Collette, RUN3TV
Licensed broadcasters are the only local entities that can reach audiences via both OTA and OTT mediums, and thereby provide a well-balanced, full service media offering in both linear and on-demand formats. Careful investment in both on-air and online media futures therefore remains essential for public media, particularly at a time when budgets are stressed. This session will cover a wide range of topics addressing today's and tomorrow's multiplatform services, including offering programmatic underwriting, enhancements provided by ATSC 3.0, systemwide cooperative ventures, and more.
3:50pm – 4:15pm:
Broadcast Positioning System
Lynn Claudy, NAB
GPS vulnerability is well-known, and search continues to find another independent system that can provide PNT services when GPS service is denied or unavailable. NAB has invented and has been deploying a terrestrial PNT solution known as Broadcast Positioning System (BPS) that uses the ATSC 3.0-enabled facilities to deliver timing signals. BPS can provide timing to critical infrastructure dependent on GPS time. When fully deployed, this free-to-use service can also be used to complement GPS service for the public.
4:15pm – 5:00pm:
Public Media's Role in Local Emergency Communications​
Dave Arland, AWARN
Ralph Bachofen, Enensys
John Contestabile, Skyline Technology Solutions
George Molnar, SpectraRep
​Skip Pizzi, PMVG (Moderator)
Consideration of scalable and sustainable emergency operations system-wide: Is a universal "templatized" approach possible? How can the value of an interconnected, non-commercial system be optimized, while retaining the necessary local specifics? Updates on AWARN, NWGS, and FEMA are included.
5:00pm:
CLOSING REMARKS and ADJOURNMENT
Marc Hand, PMVG
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