SVG’s Sports Content Management Forum is back in person and will be held on July 27 at the Westin New York at Times Square. This event will feature a full day of sessions packed with media-asset–management (MAM) leaders from major sports broadcasters, leagues, teams, streaming outlets, and technology vendors.
Developed by the SCM Advisory Committee and its new Chair Anne Graham (Manager Sports Media Services, Warner Bros. Discovery), this year’s agenda will address the current state of the industry and how sports-media organizations can future-proof their content in an ever-changing world.
Key topics will include adapting to remote and hybrid workflows, storage/archive planning on prem and in the cloud, best practices in metadata assignment and management, sustainable and eco-friendly storage systems, MAM and orchestration planning, and much more.
PROGRAM AT A GLANCE
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27
(All times are in Eastern Time Zone)
9:00 a.m.: Breakfast and Registration Opens
9:30 – 9:40 a.m.: Welcoming Remarks
9:40 – 10:30 a.m.: State of the Industry: Futureproofing Your Content in an Everchanging World
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.: Case Study: More info coming soon
10:45 – 11:30 a.m.: Networking Break
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Keynote Session: Inside NBC Olympics’ Digital Workflows From Tokyo to Beijing
12:00 – 12:45 p.m.: Adapting to Remote and Hybrid Workflows: Are We Ever Going Back to the Office … and What Is the Office?
12:45 – 1:45 p.m.: Networking Lunch
1:45 – 2:30 p.m.: Storage & Archive Planning: On Prem, in the Cloud, and the Impact of Growing File Sizes
2:30 – 2:45 p.m.: Case Study: More info coming soon
2:45 – 3:15 p.m.: Storage Sustainability: Building Better Infrastructure Today To Create a Brighter Tomorrow
3:15 – 3:45 p.m.: Networking Break
3:45 – 4:30 p.m.: Metadata Madness: Best Practices in Metadata Assignment
4:30 – 5:15 p.m.: MAM & Orchestration Planning: Making the Right Decisions for Your Unique Organization
5:15 – 6:00 p.m.: Networking Reception
Featured Speakers
Padraic BoyleMLB Advanced Media, Senior Director, Enterprise Media
Chris CruzCBS Sports, Director of Media Services
Anne GrahamWarner Bros. Discovery, Manager of Strategy and Planning, Sports Media Services; 2022 SVG Sports Content Management Chair
Chris HaltonNBA, SVP, Media Technology and Operations
Adam JaphetMajor League Baseball, Senior Director of Corporate Infrastructure
Dave KleeA+E Networks, VP, Strategic Media Solutions
Jim MilesNBC Olympics, Director, Digital Workflow Systems
Grant NodineNHL, SVP, TechnologyFull Program
The Westin New York at Times Square, NYC
(All times are in Eastern Time Zone)
9:00 a.m.: Breakfast and Registration Opens
9:30 – 9:40 a.m.: Welcoming Remarks
By SCM Advisory Committee Chair Anne Graham, Manager Sports Media Services, Warner Bros. Discovery
9:40 – 10:30 a.m.: State of the Industry: Futureproofing Your Content in an Everchanging World
The pandemic rapidly accelerated many of the technology trends already being seen in the M&E industry, drastically changing many organizations’ media-management roadmaps. Meanwhile, with so much consolidation among both vendors and broadcasters in recent years, how can media managers ensure that content is always available and discoverable by whoever needs it wherever they are? Learn how major sports-media organizations are rethinking their internal workflows, embracing the cloud in order to innovate, and finding new ways to monetize their existing content.
Moderator: Dave Klee, A+E Networks, VP, Strategic Media Solutions
Confirmed Panelists:
Padraic Boyle, MLB Advanced Media, Senior Director, Enterprise Media
Kendall Ginsbach, Riot Games, Global Lead, Content Operations
Anne Graham, Warner Bros. Discovery, Manager of Strategy and Planning, Sports Media Services; 2022 SVG Sports Content Management Chair
Dustin Myers, Fox Sports, SVP, Production Operations
10:30 – 10:45 a.m.: Case Study: More info coming soon
10:45 – 11:30 a.m.: Networking Break
11:30 a.m. – 12:00 p.m.: Keynote Session: Inside NBC Olympics’ Digital Workflows From Tokyo to Beijing
The NBC Olympics team is no stranger to monumental challenges. However, the pandemic-fraught Tokyo 2020 and Beijing 2022 Games took “challenge” to an entirely new level. In this keynote session, NBC Olympics media management leaders take the stage to go inside their groundbreaking digital workflow systems for both Tokyo and Beijing, as well as how they dealt with the ultra-quick six-month turnaround from one Games to the next.
Presenter: Jim Miles, NBC Olympics, Director, Digital Workflow Systems
12:00 – 12:45 p.m.: Adapting to Remote and Hybrid Workflows: Are We Ever Going Back to the Office … and What Is the Office?
Although sports-media organizations had been exploring remote- and cloud-based technologies for several years, the pandemic drastically accelerated their development. Now, as the industry looks to emerge from the pandemic, these workflows have become integral to the media-management and postproduction ecosystem. Hear how cloud and SaaS offerings are changing sports-media organizations’ MAM philosophies and how these technologies are enabling remote collaboration and innovative multi-site postproduction ecosystems.
Moderator: Grant Nodine, NHL, SVP, Technology
Confirmed Panelists:
Byron Chapman, PGA Tour Entertainment, Director of Media Asset Management & Media Workflows
Ed Coleman, CBS Sports, VP, Post Production and Media Services
12:45 – 1:45 p.m.: Networking Lunch
1:45 – 2:30 p.m.: Storage & Archive Planning: On Prem, in the Cloud, and the Impact of Growing File Sizes
Sports leagues, broadcasters, and content producers of all sizes are challenged with The Big Archive Question: Where do I store my stuff? And, with more content being created every single year and file sizes continuing to grow with the arrival of 4K and HDR, this question has never been bigger. Technology leaders and content owners discuss finding a happy medium between on-premises and the cloud, file-format and codec considerations, retention policies and the question of keeping/discarding physical tapes, and much more.
Moderator: Tab Butler, T&P Productions, Media and Entertainment Consultant
Confirmed Panelists:
Tom Blake, Imagen, Commercial Director
Chris Halton, NBA, SVP, Media Technology and Operations
Adam Japhet, Major League Baseball, Senior Director of Corporate Infrastructure
Grant Nodine, NHL, SVP, Technology
2:30 – 2:45 p.m.: Case Study: More info coming soon
2:45 – 3:15 p.m.: Storage Sustainability: Building Better Infrastructure Today To Create a Brighter Tomorrow
Sustainable data storage has become an increasing concern throughout the M&E industry as media workloads increase at an exponential rate. Today, IT and media-management leaders are being asked to implement workflows and technologies engineered to reduce power, cooling, and waste in order to build a sustainable model for the future. This session provides an update on how vendors and users are working together to create a more sustainable ecosystem.
3:15 – 3:45 p.m.: Networking Break
3:45 – 4:30 p.m.: Metadata Madness: Best Practices in Metadata Assignment
What metadata schema are you using to describe your content: a home-grown one or an established schema as a backbone? What taxonomy/ontology do you use to populate it? Are there any emerging industry standards? Media managers and technology leaders take the stage to discuss best practices in metadata assignment.
Moderator: Anne Graham, Turner Sports Library, Assistant Manager, Media Management; 2022 SVG Sports Content Management Chair
Confirmed Panelists:
Ian Owen, University of Notre Dame, Digital Media Asset Program Manager
4:30 – 5:15 p.m.: MAM & Orchestration Planning: Making the Right Decisions for Your Unique Organization
MAM and orchestration systems have never been more integral to the success of a sports-media organization. However, the question of whether to go with a best-of-breed, home-grown, or enterprise-wide system is not an easy one to answer. This panel will address a variety of topics, including how MAM vendors follow the OAIS Reference Model (Open Archive Information System, ISO 14721) and how orchestration systems deal with rights, archive, logging plus data feeds, and taxonomy/ontology management.
Confirmed Panelists:
Chris Cruz, CBS Sports, Director of Media Services
Rex Manning, WWE, Senior Director of Media Management Services
5:15 – 6:00 p.m.: Networking Reception
Featured Speakers
Padraic BoyleMLB Advanced Media, Senior Director, Enterprise MediaChris CruzCBS Sports, Director of Media ServicesAnne GrahamWarner Bros. Discovery, Manager of Strategy and Planning, Sports Media Services; 2022 SVG Sports Content Management ChairChris HaltonNBA, SVP, Media Technology and OperationsAdam JaphetMajor League Baseball, Senior Director of Corporate InfrastructureDave KleeA+E Networks, VP, Strategic Media SolutionsJim MilesNBC Olympics, Director, Digital Workflow SystemsGrant NodineNHL, SVP, TechnologySpeakers
Padraic Boyle, MLB Advanced Media, Senior Director, Enterprise Media
Padraic Boyle joined Major League Baseball in February of 2008 as part of its information-technology transformation. In his role as business relationship manager, he provided technical direction to the business verticals of the Office of the Commissioner and also served as a technical liaison to MLB Productions and MLB Network.
Reaching into his rich media background, Boyle took on the role of technical lead for MLB and architected the league’s digital-asset-management system, the DIAMOND Platform, which was nominated for the 2012 Sports Emmy George Wensel Technical Achievement Award. The DIAMOND Platform is hosted in MLB’s Secaucus facility where it serves MLB Productions and MLB Network. DIAMOND also has a cloud-based presence to facilitate video services for internal departments within the Commissioner’s Office, Clubs, and MLB.com.
Prior to joining Major League Baseball, Boyle was the VP of technology for Venaca. Venaca was a systems integrator with a unique set of applications which primarily addressed digital asset management/media asset management (DAM/MAM) solutions for the broadcast industry. Clientele included Lifetime Television, MTV, Scripps, Turner Broadcasting, and the Paley Center for Media.
Before Venaca, Boyle worked for Lifetime Television and was heavily involved in the architecting, development, and implementation of Lifetime Television’s digital asset management system from the ground up. This involved ingest and archive to tracking and repurposing content owned and/or purchased for distribution on Lifetime’s networks. Boyle was also the co-principal and VP of technology for DataVision, a systems integration and consulting company in the magazine publishing, financial, and television broadcast industries.
Chris Cruz, CBS Sports, Director of Media Services
Chris Cruz is the director of media services for CBS Sports. He is responsible for the proper management of all digital asset management systems developed for CBS Sports studio and remote productions. He also oversees the personnel utilized for the acquisition, distribution, and archiving of all digital content.
Cruz started working with CBS Sports in 2012 as the manager of digital archives. In this role, he developed the division’s first digital asset archive. He also led the team of media managers responsible for the strategic digitization and archiving of CBS Sports legacy programming.
Having developed these systems from the ground up has given Cruz a keen understanding of digital content management. He’s also a key contributor to the development of all cloud and AI initiatives at CBS Sports.
Anne Graham, Warner Bros. Discovery, Manager of Strategy and Planning, Sports Media Services; 2022 SVG Sports Content Management Chair
Anne Graham is the manager of strategy and planning for sports media services at Turner Sports & Bleacher Report, part of Warner Brothers Discovery. Joining Turner Sports in January 2017, she primarily focuses on media workflow analysis, documentation, and project planning.
Graham received her master’s degree in library and information studies from Florida State University and a master’s degree in information systems from Kennesaw State University. She specializes in digital preservation and archival description.
Chris Halton, NBA, SVP, Media Technology and Operations
Chris Halton serves as SVP of media technology and operations at the NBA, where he is responsible for leading technical strategies for the league’s content creation, media acquisition, distribution, and archiving platforms.
Since joining the NBA in April 2014, Halton has implemented new digital and broadcast technologies for NBA courtside stats capture and League Pass linear video and VOD distribution. These include the NBA’s Game Distribution Center, creating continuous multi-angle live game feed production for digital and broadcast licensees, and NBA Content Network, which is a cloud based B2B portal for NBA licensees to search and download finished product, directly from the NBA via self-service API’s.
Halton played a key role in the creation of the NBA Replay Center, which debuted in the 2014-15 season, overseeing all software development for the application. Lastly, Halton was instrumental in the introduction of NBA’s co-located IP multicast linear distribution facilities now distributing NBA League Pass live games, globally.
Before joining the NBA, Halton spent eight years as VP of technology for CNBC. He oversaw software development, infrastructure, and technical operations for CNBC.com; mobile and on-air platforms, including CNBC’s global market data ticker plant; real-time on-air graphic systems; and supporting self-service newsroom publishing tools.
Halton began his professional career in 1995 as a design engineer with Sandvik Coromant in Fair Lawn, NJ. He was promoted to technical lead in 1998, responsible for the build-out and management of the company’s e-commerce web offerings.
Halton graduated from Kean University in 1994 with a bachelor’s degree in engineering and design.
Adam Japhet, Major League Baseball, Senior Director of Corporate Infrastructure
Adam Japhet is the senior director of corporate infrastructure at Major League Baseball. He is responsible for the infrastructure, systems, and platforms that operate the league’s enterprise portfolio of applications, including their digital media archive.
Dave Klee, A+E Networks, VP, Strategic Media Solutions
David Klee is the vice president of strategic media solutions at A+E Networks, a global entertainment and media company with cable television channels including A&E, History, FYI, Viceland, and Lifetime. He is building a new technology team based in New York, focused on engineering and strategy for media supply chain systems, leveraging the cloud to drive agile transformations.
Before joining A+E, Klee was the director of media management technologies for Univision Communications (UCI), the largest Spanish-language media company in the U.S. with a portfolio of broadcast, cable, and digital properties. There, he built a new engineering team focused on software development for media supply chain tools, along with optimizing workflows for entertainment, news, and sports verticals.
Prior to Univision, Klee had the opportunity to work in media management, live production, creative, and operational roles for a variety of organizations including the Arizona Cardinals, ESPN, and most recently NBC News in New York where he managed a team focused on MAM and media software engineering. Klee holds a Master of Science in information management from Arizona State University and is an AWS Certified Solutions Architect.
Jim Miles, NBC Olympics, Director, Digital Workflow Systems
Jim Miles is responsible for the design and implementation of NBC Sports and Olympics systems for intake, postproduction, and asset management workflows for domestic and international sports coverage. He was formerly a project manager for NBC News engineering in New York and has spent the last 15 years with NBC modernizing post production workflows and implementing large scale editing, playback, and MAM systems.
Grant Nodine, NHL, SVP, Technology
Grant Nodine started his career working as a systems librarian at Editel. He moved on to working as a web developer on sites like Rodale Press’s MensHealth.com. He later co-founded a web development firm called Mercury Seven where he worked as the firm’s chief technologist. 20-plus years ago, Nodine arrived at the NHL where he has been involved in building a technology infrastructure that supports NHL.com and all 30 of the team’s websites, numerous systems to produce and deliver streaming media, and many other large technology implementations.