India is playing a key role in changing the dynamics of the world’s entertainment consumption story as OTT platforms gain huge popularity. With 15.9 million paying subscribers and 142 million registered users worldwide, Eros Now is the number one SVOD platform in India and the fourth largest OTT platform globally. More importantly, with over 1.3 billion people, India is expected to be the second largest video-viewing audience globally by 2020.

At the Streaming Summit, taking place April 8-9, at the NAB Show, Rishika Lulla, CEO of Eros Digital will provide an in-depth look at the evolution of the market in India and discuss how the Eros Now platform caters to various audiences, with a library of over 11,000 films across ten different languages.

On Monday April 8th, in conjunction with my Streaming Summit, at NAB Show, we’ll be having a big networking event taking place from 5:00-6:30pm at the Beer Garden, located outside the Convention Center in the Silver Square parking lot. No special tickets are needed, just wear your NAB Show badge and come drink and network with other streaming media executives! We’ll have drinks and snacks thanks to our sponsors Verizon Digital Media Services, Limelight Networks, Brightcove and Penthera.

I’m pleased to announce that the content program for the Streaming Summit, at NAB Show is now live! Check out all the sessions and agenda on the dedicated website at www.nabstreamingsummit.com

Lots of speakers are being placed and we have OTT focused sessions on biz and tech topics including sports, direct-to-consumer, monetization models, video workflows, encoding, packaging, playback and much more. We’ve also got presentations from Amazon Fire TV, CBS Interactive, Comcast, Google, ESL Gaming and others. Here’s a small sample of the topics being covered:

• The Business of Sports Streaming: Challenges & Opportunities
• Free, Subscription and Ad Supported: Hybrid Next-Gen OTT Business Models
• Optimizing Advertising Content Workflows Across TV and Online Video
• Best Practices for Deploying CMAF, DASH and HLS at Scale
• Improving The End-User Experience For Video Advertising
• How Streaming News Services are Disrupting Cable News Networks
• Key Tech Requirements for Building and Managing An OTT Service
• Integrating TV and OTT Into A Single Experience
• Bringing OTT Advertising and Innovation to Local Markets
• Best Practices for Encoding and Packaging for Live Event Streams

Registration for the Streaming Summit (#streamingsummit) is now open (email me for a discount code for 3 or more tickets) and on Monday April 8th, we’re having a big beer garden network event, check out those details here.

Thanks to a great list of Streaming Summit sponsors as including Google, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Brightcove, Verizon Digital Media Services, Qwilt, Limelight Networks, Comcast Technology Solutions, Haivision, Broadpeak, Ciena, Deluxe Entertainment Services Group, Imagine Communications, Penthera.

On Wednesday March 13th, I’ll be hosting another dinner in NYC with Akamai, specifically for those on Wall Street that want to get a better understanding of Akamai’s business in the web performance and security markets. I will be leading a discussion with Rick McConnell, President and GM, Web Division along with Josh Shaul, VP Product, Cloud Security. The discussion will be centered around Akamai’s performance and security solutions detailing customer use cases, how these services are deployed from a technical standpoint, the value they offer to customers and short and long-term trends the company is seeing in the market.

If you are interested in attending the dinner, please reach out to me but note that this dinner is only for those on Wall Street and space is limited.

Back by popular demand the next NYC Streaming Meetup will take place on Tuesday March 19, starting at 6pm at Lillie’s, located in Union Square at 13 East 17th Street (map). There is no RSVP list, just show up and walk to the back of the venue, bring a friend and spread the word! We’ll have free drinks thanks to sponsor Comcast Technology Solutions and I’ll give out some passes to my Streaming Summit, at NAB Show, taking place April 8-9 in Vegas.

[If your company would like to sponsor the meetup and cover $500 of the bar tab, please let me know]

These meetups are a great way to network with others tied to the online video ecosystem. We get a great mix of attendees from companies including AOL, NFL, Showtime, Omnicom, NBC, NBA, Time, HBO, Viacom, CBS, Twitter, WPP, Google, Nielsen, Facebook, FOX, R/GA, Twitch, Riot Games, American Express, Comcast, wall street money managers, government agencies, VR production companies and vendors from all facets of the video ecosystem.

I’ll keep organizing these every month so if you want to be notified via email when the next one is taking place, send me an email and I’ll add you to the list.

I’m excited to announce the new website and call for speakers for the Streaming Summit, at NAB Show, April 8-9 in Las Vegas. The event is in the North Hall this year with 75 speakers over two days across 30 sessions in addition to 10 fireside chats with key executives in the OTT industry. The focus will be on the business and technology of OTT video and will cover both monetization topics and the video workflow via presentations and round-table panels.

Everything you need to know about packaging content, transcoding, media management, playback, analytics and so much more – all from industry leading experts. Learn how to capitalize on direct-to-consumer (DTC) offerings and hear how some of the largest companies in the world are monetizing their video library and building a brand relationship with their customers.

If you are interested in moderating or speaking, please see the website and reach out to me (917-523-4562) ASAP! Thanks to our first round of sponsors Google, Verizon Digital Media Services, Amazon Web Services (AWS), Qwilt and Haivision. #streamingsummit #NABShow

I am conducting a quick anonymous multi-choice survey of CE manufacturers, Mobile Operators, Content Companies and MSOs on their use of DRM technologies and platforms. One respondent will be randomly chosen and will win an Apple TV.