Featured Speakers
Ian Kuchta, NBC Sports Group, VP, BOC and Transmission Operations
Ian Kuchta has been with NBC Sports for 15 years in a variety of different roles and he now manages the Broadcast Operations, Transmission and Ingest teams in the Stamford, CT facility. His teams are responsible for more than 50,000 inbound and outbound feeds yearly, covering all events from Sunday Night Football to the Olympics.
Kuchta is a four-time Emmy Award winner and attended Adelphi University studying communications, film, and media studies. He also played for the men’s lacrosse team.
Eric Poellot, NBC Sports, Senior Manager, Transmission Engineering & Operations
Eric Poellot has been with NBC Sports for 12 years in a variety of different roles and he now manages the Transmission Operations and Engineering teams in the Stamford, CT facility. His teams are responsible for acquisition and quality control of all inbound and outbound feeds, covering all events including the English Premier League, Sunday Night Football, the Olympics, BIG 10 and more.
Poellot attended Western Connecticut State University where he played lacrosse and rugby.
Chris Allen, Red5, CEO and Co-Founder
Chris Allen, co-founder and CEO of Red5, boasts an impressive 20-year career in video streaming software. As a lifelong innovator, he originally co-led a team to successfully reverse-engineer the RTMP protocol launching the first open source competitor to Adobe’s Flash Communication server. With a portfolio of over a dozen patents, Chris is also a prolific software inventor, finding creative yet practical solutions to move the industry forward. Chris now leads a talented team at Red5, where their TrueTime Solutions enable a wide range of interactive, real-time streaming applications for companies such as NVIDIA, Verizon, and FormulaDrift, as well as drive new and exciting experiences in professional sports.
Gordon Brooks, Zixi, Executive Chairman
Gordon Brooks brings more than 30-years of software and services technology leadership to Zixi, where he now serves as executive chairman, advising the CEO on the strategic direction and the day-to-day execution of Zixi’s go to market. He has served as CEO for five different companies – founding, launching, or turning around eight companies in total. Two of Brooks’ IPO’s and five private sales created over $13 billion in value.
Tom Buffolano, Tata Communications / The Switch, Head of Business Development, College Sports
Tom Buffolano is head of business development, college sports at Tata Communications / The Switch. A seasoned expert in the sports broadcasting and entertainment industry, his experience spans business development and partnerships, sales and marketing, rights acquisition, programming and production, distribution, and monetization. Buffolano holds decades of experience growing businesses and driving new partnerships at leading media companies, including MTV Networks, CBS College Sports, LTN Global Communications, BitFire Network/Studios, and LiveU. He co-founded and was Chairman of the SVG College Sports Summit and College Sports Media Awards. Beyond his professional achievements, Buffolano serves as a member of the Board of Directors for the National Blood Clot Alliance.
Kevin Callahan, NBC Sports, Olympics & Paralympics, Senior Director, System Engineering
Kevin Callahan has worked for NBC Sports for over 15 years in several roles. He now manages the System Engineering team, comprising design and advance support teams who design, commission, and support new broadcast systems and production facilities; notably the transition of the facility to ST-2110 and now native ST-2110 infrastructure.
Brad Cheney, Fox Sports, VP, Field Operations and Engineering
Brad Cheney manages technical and operational planning for baseball, boxing, and college sports along with transmission services and advanced-technology projects for Fox Sports.
Cheney is a leader in new technology approaches, including IP-based live and post-production centers, IP over RF, UHD, HDR, and UAS systems. His work includes innovative production approaches and executions for in-ground audio, robotic cameras, and home run productions.
Cheney is a six-time Emmy winner and previously worked for MLB Network, the Late Show with David Letterman, Game Creek Video, and Cox Sports.
Ghislain Collette, Haivision, VP, Product Management
Ghislain Collette has over 20 years of experience in video networking, working in broadcast, cable distribution, and streaming industries. Prior to Haivision, Collette served as a project engineer at Videotron, designing and coordinating the deployment of multi-million-dollar projects. He also worked at Miranda Technologies / Miranda Media Networks where he served as product manager for the transport and multimedia products.
Collette holds a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from University of Sherbrooke (Canada).
Brandon Costa, SVG, Director of Digital
Brandon Costa covers the sports video production industry with a focus on live streaming, over-the-top (OTT), social media, and other digital distribution technologies and platforms. He also directs SVG’s internal digital strategies launching the company’s video outfit, ‘SVG On Demand,’ designing and overseeing its mobile application, ‘SVG Mobile,’ and serving as executive producer and host of The SVG Podcast. Costa serves as program director of networking events serving the SVG College and SVG Digital communities. Prior to his time at SVG, Costa spent five years producing digital content for MLB Advanced Media.
Jason Dachman, SVG, Editorial Director, U.S.; SVG TranSPORT Program Director
Jason Dachman oversees all aspects of SVG’s North American editorial operations – including all news on sportsvideo.org and the daily SVG Insider newsletter – and is one of the primary contributors to SVG’s coverage of the sports-video-production industry. A member of the SVG team since 2009, Dachman also serves as Program Director for SVG’s Esports Production Forum, Regional Sports Production Summit, Sports Content Management Forum, Sports Graphics Forum, and TranSPORT conference, as well as spearheads the SVG NEXT innovation initiative and annual event.
Prior to joining SVG, he covered local sports for The Patriot Ledger in Quincy, MA, and served on the production staff of SiriusXM’s The Ron & Fez Show. Dachman began his career in the Sports Information department at Northeastern University in Boston, where he earned a BA in Media Communications and Cinema Studies. A native of Denver, CO, Dachman currently resides in Queens, NY, with his wife Alyson and children Hank and June.
John Dale, Media Links, Corporate Director, Chief Marketing Officer
John Dale is chief marketing officer of Media Links and also serves on their Board of Directors, responsible for global marketing, product management and business development.
Additionally, he has been a board member of the Video Services Forum since 2003 and recently chaired the JPEG-XS Activity Group which published Technical Recommendations TR-07 and TR-08.
Dale has also co-chaired several other VSF IP Activity groups, including the JPEG 2000 Activity Group which received a Technical Emmy.
He holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in industrial engineering from the University of Dayton.
Scott Davis, CBS Sports, VP, Broadcast Operations
Scott Davis was named vice president, broadcast operations of CBS Sports in January, 2013. Prior to that, he served as executive vice president, media distribution and operations for the National Hockey League.
Davis is responsible for the day-to-day management of all CBS Sports transmission and connectivity needs, including all video, audio, data, and communication paths from and to CBS Sports production sites. He also oversees the CBS Sports coordination rooms, executing full commercial and overall integration for release to the CBS Network and partner distribution networks. Davis also serves as the liaison to Paramount to coordinate for CBS Network and regional affiliate distribution.
A 7-time Sports Emmy winner with more than 50 years of experience in operations, Davis came to CBS Sports from the National Hockey League, where he was executive vice president, media distribution and operations. In that role, he was responsible for developing and continuing operations of all league traditional, and new, media distribution platforms. He also managed budget oversight and fiscal management of content creation for all media platforms.
Prior to that, Davis was president of Ascent Media Network Services, where he was responsible for overseeing the $250M operating division of the world’s largest supplier of services to the film, television, and advertising industries. He has also served roles at Cablevision Systems Corporation and MTV Networks.
Davis graduated from Emerson College with a Bachelor of Science degree. He currently resides on Long Island with his two children.
Ben Hayes, BitFire, Director of Client Services
Ben Hayes is the director of client services at BitFire, working to ensure the execution of the technical and operational solutions that BitFire’s clients have come to expect. With more than two decades of professional experience, he has supported the integration of new production technologies and workflows for the industry’s marque events, networks, and solution providers.
Robin Hérin, Ateme, Director of Standardization, Office of the CTO
Robin Hérin is a director of standardization within the CTO Office at Ateme, where he supports the Research & Innovation team in developing future technologies for video processing and delivery, while also driving partnership projects and standardization initiatives. Now in his ninth year at Ateme and in his career, Hérin has previously worked in both South and North America as a solutions architect, before relocating to New York to focus on expanding Ateme’s presence in the Northeast. He holds a master’s degree in mechanical engineering from the Université de Technologie de Compiègne in France.
Kristian Hernández, SVG, Senior Editor
Kristian Hernández is currently the senior editor of Sports Video Group. In his role, he is responsible for covering team-based and in-venue productions and various other sports technology topics within the industry. In addition, he is the program director for the annual SVG Venue Summit.
Before joining SVG, Hernández served as co-founder of CHC-TV, the first student-run television studio at Chestnut Hill College in Philadelphia, PA. While at CHC, Hernández produced a daily sports show named “On the Hill with Hernández” — covering all men’s and women’s athletics for the college. Also, Hernández spearheaded the college’s newspaper, “The Griffin”, as its Sports Editor. Hernández graduated with a BA in Communications. Born in Brooklyn, NY, he currently lives in Philadelphia, PA.
Julie Morrison, Warner Bros. Discovery, Manager, Content Transmissions – Technology & Operations
Julie Morrison manages a core team supporting transmissions on behalf of Turner Sports. Soon after joining Turner Broadcasting in 1995, she became the first female sports coordinator for live events on TBS.
Now, as manager of Content Transmissions, she leads a team vital to ensuring the success of tent-pole events and high profile shows – including many complex remote productions – across multiple platforms. In addition, she supports various contribution networks, delivery systems, and fiber connectivity into the Techwood NOC. On behalf of Turner Sports, Morrison and team manages transmissions ranging from NBA & NHL to MLB & NCAA March Madness (as well as upcoming soccer), averaging about 25,000 feeds yearly.
With the recent merger of Discovery and WarnerMedia, Morrison is also involved in expanding transmission diversity, business continuity, and acquisition partnerships to leverage strengths of both companies into a robust home for live sports.
Andrew Osmond, Evertz, Director of Business Development for Media Transport
Andrew Osmond has over 30 years of experience in developing and evangelizing solutions used in the transport of professional media. He has headed teams that have designed innovative codec transport systems at multiple companies and worked closely with domestic and international service providers to optimize broadcast network performance and reliability.
At Video Products Group (VPG), Osmond developed platforms that were used for the transport of SDI and NTSC signals over plesiochronous digital hierarchy networks (PDH) and SONET/SDH networks, including first generation network management interfaces for live television applications. He also worked on some of the SMPTE optical interface specifications.
At Nevion, Osmond managed a team that developed a transport platform one of the first JPEG 2000 codecs for transport over Ethernet networks which also incorporated TDM, CWDM, and DWDM technologies.
At Aperi, Osmond successfully developed business with service providers for a recomposable FPGA compute platform that enabled users to modify media edge functionality using a network function virtualization concept.
Osmond was a co-founder of Video Products Group, Nevion, and Aperi. He is currently developing business around the world for Evertz Microsystems next generation transport and virtualized production solutions including the use of low latency JPEG-XS for contribution transport and cloud based production.
Osmond graduated from the University of Plymouth in England gaining a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in electrical and electronic Engineering
Dan Pisarski, LiveU, CTO
Dan Pisarski is an engineering leader in the online, video, and broadcast industries with over 20 years of experience. With a broad background in software and hardware design, product development, research and analysis and quality assurance, Pisarski understands how to take complex technology solutions from inception to delivery and beyond. As a tech visionary, he is a recurring contributor to articles and white papers communicating both practical know-how and forward-thinking knowledge to help bring the live video industry to the next level. Pisarski is also a frequent presenter sharing his technological expertise at industry conferences around the country with sessions ranging from 5G, and open-source solutions to bringing linear channel infrastructure online for OTT services.
Jesse Pitt, Deloitte Media Solutions, Media Engineering Specialists Leader
Jesse Pitt is a live broadcast specialist, with over 20 years of industry experience in telecom, broadcast, cable television, and streaming media. He designed and architected the Deloitte Live Broadcast Streaming platform and defined the processes from creating to consumption and lead all event life cycles. Pitt has been leading transformation efforts as SME for large broadcast clients’ cloud transformations.
Luke Potter, Alpha, Manager of Cloud Solutions
Luke Potter, manager of cloud solutions at Alpha, has built his career at the intersection of media, technology, and content. Leveraging his deep industry expertise and cutting-edge cloud innovations, Potter is driving transformative change across media and live production workflows. His efforts are redefining agility, speed, and innovation in the industry, empowering both customers and partners on their cloud journeys. Potter continues to shape the future of media and sports by pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
Andy Rayner, Appear, CTO
Andy Rayner is currently CTO at Appear. He is responsible for overseeing the company’s technology strategy and its implementation.
Rayner is a regular contributor to many key global broadcast technology events & conferences. He is a SMPTE fellow, sits on the VSF board of directors, and is part of the AIMS TWG. Rayner is an active participant in many standards forums, and is a passionate technology evangelist who dedicates time to helping the industry evolve its media production architectures.
Prior to joining Appear in 2023, Andy was chief technologist at Nevion, a Sony Group company, where he oversaw the technical strategy for the evolution of the company’s media solutions. Before joining Nevion in 2010, he was head of the broadcast technology at BT. In this role, Rayner was responsible for the design of the BT Global IP Media Network and oversaw the development of key video interfacing, monitoring, and protection technology.
Rayner has filed many patents – both with Nevion & BT. During his time with BT, he was awarded the prestigious Martlesham Gold Medal for technical innovation.
Francesco Scartozzi, Matrox Video, VP, Sales & Business Development, Broadcast and Media Group
Francesco Scartozzi is vice president of sales and business development for the Broadcast and Media group (BMG) of Matrox Video. In his current role, Scartozzi is responsible for managing the worldwide BMG Sales and Product Management teams to develop, sustain, and grow revenue.
Extremely loyal, he joined Matrox in 1995 and has held various roles from applications engineer, building his technical knowledge while sharpening his customer support skills, to sales director, managing a sales team and developing performance goals in order to drive opportunities for growth. Scartozzi holds a Bachelor of Engineering in electrical engineering with a minor in management from McGill University.
Paul Spinelli, Sinclair Broadcasting Group, AVP, Engineering
Paul Spinelli is the AVP, engineering for Sinclair Broadcast Group (SBG). Previously, he had been the director, distribution and network systems, starting in 2020. Prior to this, Spinelli served as the director of engineering and engineering manager of Sinclair Television Group’s corporate facilities. He has held various operations and engineering positions with SBG for the past 13 years. Before his time at Sinclair, Spinelli spent time working at WBOC, PSAV, and QVC.
Spinelli is active in many broadcast-related technical organizations such as the ATSC, Society of Broadcast Engineers (SBE), and the Avid Customer Association (ACA). He has been an SBE certified member and an Avid certified support representative for the past 17 years.
Spinelli has expanded SBG’s linear and file-based acquisition, distribution strategies and technologies, and is currently part of the team leading SBG’s cloud transformation. He attended Salisbury University on Maryland’s Eastern Shore where he earned a B.A. in communications, a B.A. in theatre, and played football. Spinelli remains active in the Salisbury University Maroon & Gold Club to support fundraising efforts for student athletes.
Tim Stevens, Verizon Business Group, Global Leader, Strategic Innovation, Media & Entertainment
Tim Stevens is Verizon Business Group’s global leader of strategic innovation for sports, media, and entertainment. Leveraging a deep understanding of business operations, technology, industry trends, and competitive landscape, Stevens is responsible for marketing strategy, product positioning, market intelligence, and business development. Prior to joining Verizon, he held senior technology roles at Newsweek, Viacom/ MTV Networks, Showtime, and New Line Cinema.
Sean Sullivan, Astound Business Solutions, Senior Director, Media Network Architecture
Sean Sullivan is the senior director of media network architecture at Astound focused on network designs, media transport protocols, and fiber network designs customized to meet SMPTE standards and high bandwidth availability. Sullivan has an extensive history and experience in the delivery of sporting events in both international and domestic markets. He started in sporting events in 1994 with the U.S.-based World Cup soccer delivery and distributing remote games and fiber builds at the IBC in Dallas Texas. In 1996, he built and coordinated the U.S. Olympics delivery for CCTV in Atlanta, GA with dedicated optical fiber and satellite delivery backhauls and turnarounds to international markets.
Sean Sullivan spearheaded the adoption of MPG2 broadcast signals over satellite and participated in the terrestrial interface developments of encoded ASI signals integrating teleports with fiber network delivery across the North American market while at Teleglobe. Sullivan subsequently brought that experience to MCI / Verizon and built the first dual rail diverse 10Gig Optical network for a major television network connecting London, Washington D.C., and a major Hub in New York City. Sullivan has brought that experience to Astound, formerly RCN, and implemented extensive optical and media specific network solutions to major stadiums, venues, and studios across the United States. Sullivan is an active member of SMPTE and Video Services Forum and a former member of the VSF Board of Directors.
Adam Whitlock, ESPN, Senior Director, Remote Traffic Operations
Adam Whitlock oversees the daily operation of ESPN’s Remote Traffic department, which is responsible for the acquisition of all live event contribution transmissions for ESPN linear and digital networks, both domestic and international. Since joining ESPN in 2001, Whitlock has provided transmission planning and on-site support to a variety of remote event productions including the Super Bowl, World Cup, World Series, X Games, and NBA Finals, as well as Monday Night Football.
The five-time Emmy recipient also oversees all remote telecom services, managing a voice-over-IP system used to support more than 1,000 remote events annually. In 2014, Whitlock supported the SEC Network launch by designing and implementing a completely fiber-optic video and data network across more than 100 athletic venues within the conference to facilitate unlimited campus productions and ESPN Remote Operations events. In 2019, he launched another conference-wide fiber optic video and data network in support of the ACC Network.
Whitlock is currently focused on seasonal sports and live-from-home production workflows while overseeing more than 100,000 satellite, fiber optic, and IP based transmissions annually.
Sasha Zivanovic, Nextologies, CEO and Co-Founder
Sasha Zivanovic grew up in logistics, passing up the opportunity to attend MIT to take the helm of his family’s trucking business. A decade or so later, he began transferring that knowledge of goods logistics into revolutionizing the management of digital logistics, but first he had to pay his dues. Zivanovic began by fetching coffee for the head of digital at Canada’s largest multicultural broadcaster, and soon he was promoted to engineer, then chief engineer, and ultimately, CTO.
In 2009, he and the Ethnic Channels Group (ECG) partners decided to start a new company, Nextologies, to offer the digital video delivery system Zivanovic had built for ECG to broadcasters all over the world. Today, Zivanovic is the CEO and co-founder of Nextologies, a multinational company that develops its own hardware and software to create a lens-to-screen suite of video delivery solutions.
