EVENT PROGRAM
THURSDAY, APRIL 16
6:30 p.m. REGISTRATION OPENS
SPONSORED BY
6:30 p.m. OPENING NIGHT NETWORKING RECEPTION
Location: Grand Hall Foyer
FRIDAY, APRIL 17
7:30 – 9:30 a.m. NETWORKING BREAKFAST
Location: Del Mar NOTE: Breakfast is for hotel guests only.
SPONSORED BY
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. NETWORKING BREAK
GENERAL SESSIONS
Location: Grand Ballroom 1 & 2
10:30 – 10:45 a.m. WELCOMING REMARKS
PRESENTED BY:
Mike Davies, Fox Sports, EVP, Technical and Field Operations; SVG U.S. Chairman
Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial Services
Alessandro Reitano, Sky Deutschland, SVP, Sports Production; SVG Europe, Chairman
10:45 – 11:15 a.m. THE BIG PICTURE: Is the Sports Media Landscape Healthy?
We’ll kick off the 2026 SVG Chairman’s Forum with an overview from Caretta Research on the health of the sports media landscape. The comprehensive overview will dive into global rights trends, viewership and consumption trends, and the ripple effect on the sports production community.
PRESENTER: Rebecca Jackson, Caretta Research, Business Development Manager
11:15 – 11:30 a.m. 400G IN ACTION: Scaling Live Sports Networks for a Leading North American Broadcaster
How do you scale live sports production when bandwidth demand keeps accelerating? This session explores the first commercial deployment of a media-ready 400G IP solution with a leading sports broadcaster in North America. Learn how the deployment enables significant capacity expansion, operational simplification, and reliable delivery of premium live content.
PRESENTERS:
Chris Myers, Net Insight, SVP, Sales Americas
Jonathan Smith, Net Insight, Sales Business Development
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. SPORTS PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY TRENDS
Josh Stinehour of Devoncroft will take a look at the hottest (and coldest) trends in production technology investment. We’ll learn about what’s driving those trends as well as the impact those trends have on the financial health of the sports production technology sector.
PRESENTER: Josh Stinehour, Devoncroft Partners, Principal Analyst
12:00 – 12:30 p.m. INTRODUCING THE AI INNOVATION LAB
SVG has launched the AI Innovation Lab, an industry effort that brings together key stakeholders from both the technology and production sides of sports media and creates a collaborative environment designed to help everyone sharpen their AI-based products, services, and applications.
MODERATOR: Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial Services
PANELISTS:
Mike Davies, Fox Sports, EVP, Technical and Field Operations
Jason Dvorkin, AWS, Head of Industry Business Development, Americas, Media & Entertainment, Games, and Sports
Mac Moore, CoreWeave, GM, Media & Entertainment
Chad Rounsavall, Twelve Labs, Director of Sales, Media & Entertainment, Games, and Sports
Matt Smith, Akta, Chief Evangelist
Mark Turner, Entertainment Technologists, President
12:30 – 1:45 p.m. NETWORKING LUNCH AND GOLF AWARDS
Location: Grand Ballroom 3 & 4
1:45 – 2:25 p.m. WORLD CUP 2026: Inside the Massive Host Broadcast Production Effort with FIFA and HBS
The 2026 FIFA World Cup production efforts by FIFA and HBS are well underway. Join us to dive deep into operations and technologies that will be deployed at the IBC in Dallas as well as the 16 stadiums across North America.
INTRODUCTION BY: Robert Erickson, TAG Video Systems, VP, Sales Sports & Live Production
MODERATOR: Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial Services
PANELISTS:
Dan Miodownik, HBS, CEO
Oscar Sanchez, FIFA, Head of Host Broadcast Production
2:25 – 2:55 p.m. THE PLAY. THE PLAYER. THE MOMENT: AI and the New Era of Sports Storytelling
The way fans consume sports has changed faster than most broadcast teams can keep up with. Hear how the industry is modernizing its approach to content, from unlocking decades of archived footage to delivering real-time highlights and personalized fan moments at scale.
MODERATOR: Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial Services
PANELISTS:
Chad Rounsavall, Twelve Labs, Director of Sales, Media & Entertainment, Games, and Sports
Victorien Tixier, ScorePlay, Co-Founder and CEO
2:55 – 3:35 p.m. LIVE PRODUCTION ROADMAP: Defining the Future
The world of sports production technology is changing faster than ever… but that still requires that leading manufacturers and service providers have a plan for the future. Leading manufacturers take to the stage to discuss their latest innovations but also how those innovations set a course for the future.
MODERATOR: Jason Dachman, SVG, Editorial Director, U.S.
PANELISTS:
Josh Arensberg, Verizon Business Group, Global MD Sports, Media & Technology
Colin Coyle, Haivision, SVP, Broadcast
Mickaël Raulet, Ateme, Chief Technology Officer
Evan Statton, Zixi, VP of Strategic Business Development
3:35 – 3:50 p.m. BUILT FOR THE FAST LANE: Engineering Production Ecosystems for Formula 1, SailGP, and Beyond
Explore how Riedel’s Managed Technology supports the world’s most demanding live events by taking end-to-end responsibility for production ecosystems, using examples from Formula 1, SailGP, and large multi-sport/multi venue events.
MODERATOR:
Lutz Rathmann, Riedel, CEO, Managed Technology
Jeffrey Strößner, Riedel, Chief of Staff, Managed Technology
3:50 – 4:30 p.m. SVG EUROPE PERSPECTIVES IN PRODUCTION
We continue with industry leaders from the European sports community. What trends are driving production forward? What are the challenges in production given some fiscal headwinds? And how are they looking to serve the European sports fan (and global fan via world feeds) with the best content?
MODERATOR: Alessandro Reitano, Sky Deutschland, SVP, Sports Production PANELISTS:
Alexander Günther, Sportcast GmbH, Managing Director
Lise Heidal, NEP Europe, President
Jawid Mahmoodzada, Qvest, Managing Director
Phil Marshall, Sky Sports, Executive Director for Production and Operations
4:30 – 4:45 p.m. THE PACERS’ PLAYBOOK FOR UNIFIED, LOW‑LATENCY WORKFLOWS – POWERED BY EVS
Discover how Gainbridge Fieldhouse has reimagined its live-production environment through a unified, IP-first control layer designed for maximum operational efficiency and ultra-low-latency performance.
MODERATOR: James Stellpflug, EVS, SVP, Community Engagement, Live Ecosystem
PRESENTERS:
David Hentz, Pacers Sports and Entertainment, Senior Broadcast Engineer Emily Wright, Pacers Sports and Entertainment, AVP, Broadcast Engineering and Operations
5:00 p.m. SVG CHAIRMAN’S FORUM RECEPTION
Location: Opium Terrace *
MODERATOR: Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial Services
PRESENTERS:
Kevin Callahan, Fox Sports, VP, Field Operations and Engineering
Rob Rees, Fox Sports, VP, Live Production & Post Production Engineering
9:30 – 9:45 a.m. ENGAGING THE NEXT GENERATION OF NBA FANS WITH A CUSTOMIZABLE STUDIO AND PERSONALIZED GRAPHICS
Prime Video built a fully customizable studio space for the NBA season, with impressive LED screens, flexible background and visual element insertion. The Vizrt platform powers both the remote workflow and studio with Viz Trio and Viz Engine, personalizing experiences with real-time graphics displayed in various languages across different regions.
PRESENTERS:
Scott Swim, Prime Video Live Sports, Principal, Tech Graphics
Per von Rosen, Vizrt, VP of Sales, Sports
9:45 – 9:50 a.m. TRANSITION TIME
9:50 – 10:20 a.m. FOLLOW THE MONEY WITH SAM MCCLEERY
Join us for a dive into the current state of sports media, league, and technology investing. Sam McCleery will discuss everything from the role of private equity to the impact of sovereign global funds and where the risks and opportunities lie for a sports industry as well as the broadcast media tech industry.
PRESENTER: Sam McCleery, SVG Follow the Money Podcast, Host
10:20 – 11:20 a.m. COMMON
GROUND:
When Sports Meets Enterprise Video
For decades, broadcast TV and cable networks and systems were the gatekeepers of video content. But the rise of social media and streaming platforms like YouTube have changed the landscape. Representatives from sports media and enterprise video share the stage to discuss similarities, differences, and why video has become such an important brand-building medium.
MODERATOR: Ken Kerschbaumer, SVG, Co-Executive Director, Editorial Services
* Weather permitting. In case of imclement weather, the reception will take place in the Grand Ballroom Foyer.
SATURDAY, APRIL 18
7:30 – 9:00 a.m. NETWORKING BREAKFAST
Location: Grand Ballroom 3 & 4 NOTE: Breakfast is for hotel guests only.
GENERAL SESSIONS
Location: Grand Ballroom 1 & 2
9:00 – 9:30 a.m. WORLD CUP 2026: Inside Fox Sports’ Production Plans
Fox Sports has been waiting for the 2026 World Cup to arrive for more than a decade and, with it, high expectations for audience engagement. Hear how Fox will produce their coverage, look at the technical workflows, and discuss the challenges in covering an event that will span three countries and 16 venues.
PANELISTS:
Mike Davies, Fox Sports, EVP, Technical and Field Operations
Chris Gefken, Goldman Sachs, VP and Senior Engineer, Client and Corporate Production
Greg Harper, Harpervision Associates, President
Gary Schneider, LinkedIn, Lead Media Systems Architect
Peter Thordarson, Advanced Systems Group, Technical Account Executive
9:50 – 11:30 a.m. CONTENT MANAGEMENT ROUNDTABLE
Location: Del Mar 1 & 2
This roundtable is designed as an open forum for individuals responsible for managing, archiving, and protecting sports content. Topics include:
• AI or Die? Real Implementations, Shifting Workflows, and Where We Go From Here
• Beyond the MAM: Manifesting a Fully Integrated, Multi-System Future
• The SAAS Tax: Navigating Licenses, Costs, and Service in Cloud Production
• Sitting on Gold: Strategies and Tools for Monetizing Your Library Content
• Who’s Next? Talent Pipelines, Institutional Knowledge, and the Entry-Level Impact of AI
