LOS ANGELES, CA and MILFORD, CT--(Marketwire - December 16, 2010) - Mobile entertainment is poised for explosive growth, that was the clear message at last week's inaugural LA Mobile Entertainment Summit™, produced by The Bob Dowling Group and Unicomm and presented in association with Variety on December 7-8 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City, CA.
Offering an A-list roster of industry leaders, the summit included keynotes from Peter Guber, Chairman and CEO of Mandalay Entertainment; John Kosner, Senior Vice President & General Manager, ESPN Digital Media; Jeff Husvar, Executive Vice President & General Manager, Fox Sports Interactive; Tim Kring, Master Storyteller and Executive Producer of Heroes and Tim Kring's "Conspiracy for Good," and Brian Seth Hurst, CEO, Opportunity Management Company. The LA Mobile Entertainment Summit™ articulated the impact of content on the mobile industry and identified the opportunities and challenges ahead for this nascent, and potent, entertainment delivery format.
With over 400 top flight entertainment and mobile industry executives, technologists, business strategists, financial analysts, software developers, retail buyers, mobile enthusiasts, and media in attendance, the LA Mobile Entertainment Summit™ established itself as the go-to mobile entertainment conference in the country.
"The growth potential for mobile entertainment is enormous," said Michael Cai, VP of Research at Interpret, LLC, in his introductory remarks delivered on the first day of the summit. Cai reminded the audience that even with the influx of multimedia and smartphones available to the US public, almost half of all cell phone owners (48%) still own basic, voice-centric phones.
"Entertainment on mobile has not even scratched the surface of what is possible," said Peter Guber in his keynote address, adding that "mobile phones are part of our human evolution. They create social cohesion. They allow us to connect with resources and with other people." Guber urged marketers to approach consumers as an audience -- "not just clients, customers or patrons."
According to Summit Co-Producer Bob Dowling, "Embedded radio, live sports streaming, full movies, TV episodes, news and utilitarian apps will ultimately drive consumer interest across the mobile entertainment landscape, but they aren't there yet... navigating that bright future is what the LA Mobile Entertainment Summit™ is all about."
"As the market accelerates, the LA Mobile Entertainment Summit™ will lead the industry thought leaders through the landscape of opportunities and challenges as the industry's de facto event," said John Golicz, CEO of event organizer Unicomm. "We're pleased that the high level of networking we provided at the Summit will help facilitate eventual deal-making across the mobile ecosystem."
"Variety is excited to be a partner in the LA Mobile Entertainment Summit™," said Linda Buckley Bruno, Variety's Publishing Director. "We are always on the vanguard of change in the entertainment industry, helping navigate our readers through fast-moving developments that lead to industry-wide transformations."
ESPN's John Kosner shared an important statistic during his keynote address: in an average week 50% of ESPN mobile users do not visit ESPN's website, adding that 22% of ESPN mobile users prefer mobile to website... because they can take it with them. "Our mission at ESPN is to surprise, excite and engage sports fans," said Kosner, explaining that a "Live, Local and Social" mandate drives the network's mobile strategy.
Official Sponsors of the LA Mobile Entertainment Summit™ included:
The Weather Channel, ESPN, Mocospace, GetJar, Millennial Media, Webtrends, Flycell, Apptera, Waterfall Mobile, Ericsson and AUGME Technologies, Urban Airship, Animation Development, KOTRA, Evil Genius Designs, DTS, ROVI Corporation, Catalonia Trade and Investment, Xtreme Labs and [x] cube labs. Industry and media partners include Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), Mobilized TV, Fierce Mobile Content, Fierce Wireless, Fierce Developer, Mashable, Mobile Monday LA, Interactive Television Alliance, Screen Digest, ReadWriteWeb, Interpret LLC, UCLA School of Management, Parks & Associates, and Gamerlive.tv.
Attendees included executives from these companies:
20th Century Fox, BestBuy, CBS Interactive, CBS Mobile, Dolby, Fox Mobile Group, Fox Sports, Google, Intel, July Systems, Kyocera Communications, Lionsgate, Mayfly Films, Mercedes Benz, North America, Microsoft, MTV, NBC Universal, NCM Media Works, Netflix, Paramount, Qualcomm, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Starcomm, Warner Bros., Yamaha Corporation plus many others.
For more information about future speaking submissions, exhibiting, and sponsor opportunities, please visit: www.lamobilesummit.com or contact Gloria Lombardo, Sales Director, Mobile Entertainment Group at 203-878-2577 (x105) or glombardo@unicomm.org.
More information can be found at www.lamobilesummit.com
Unicomm LLC is an independent business-to-business communications company specializing in originating and managing world class trade shows and conferences in underserved and nascent markets. Founded in 1998 in Milford, CT, Unicomm enjoys an impressive track record of dozens of successful show launches and hundreds of event productions. Unicomm's properties include the 3D Entertainment Summit™ and the 3D Gaming Summit™, both presented in association with Variety; the Los Angeles Times Travel & Adventure Show; the Adventures in Travel Expo in New York, Chicago, Washington, D.C. and Seattle, and the Green Travel Summit. For more information: www.unicomm.org.
The Bob Dowling Group - For 17 years through 2007, Bob Dowling was editor-in-chief and publisher of The Hollywood Reporter and president of the VNU Business Media Film and Performing Arts Group. During Dowling's tenure, The Reporter launched numerous new products, including the HollywoodReporter.com Web site, e-mail edition, weekly edition, THR East, Literary Hollywood, Festival de Cannes dailies and the Oscar Screening Guide, as well as many annual events such as the Women in Entertainment Power 100 stand-alone issue and its related breakfast event, the Next Generation ranking of prominent young executives, the Film and TV Music Conference and the reorganized Key Art Awards. Dowling recently started his own information and consulting firm, the Bob Dowling Group, to serve clients looking to navigate the converging worlds of entertainment and technology.
Variety - Variety is the leading publication for business entertainment news, recognized and respected throughout the world of show business. The Variety Group -- Daily Variety, Daily Variety Gotham, Weekly Variety and Variety.com -- are all owned by Reed Business Information (RBI), the largest business publisher in the U.S. RBI is a member of the Reed Elsevier Group plc (
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