Today, the video industry is facing up to some of the biggest challenges of its history; while two different formats compete to take the packaged media business into the high-definition era, the long-awaited arrival of viable digital delivery services is redefining the whole concept of 'video'.

And PEVE too is evolving. For personal reasons, long-time Presidents Jean-Marie Beauloye and Jean-Paul Commin have decided to step down. The responsibility for the event will pass with immediate effect to the team at Screen Digest that has been responsible for compiling the programme and speaker line-up for many years.

Jean-Marie Beauloye and Jean-Paul Commin, outgoing PEVE Presidents, say "We have confidence in Screen Digest's ability to deliver the best possible conference for our rapidly changing industry. We would like to express our gratitude to all those who have supported us during the past 15 years and, most of all, to the conference attendees who, year after year, through their presence and friendship, have demonstrated their interest in and affection for PEVE."

Ben Keen, Screen Digest's Chief Analyst and PEVE Co-programme Director, who has been a contributor to the event since the earliest days, adds "Screen Digest is proud of its long association with PEVE and looks forward to maintaining the conference's status as a 'must-attend' event for many years to come. In order to make sure that PEVE continues to meet the requirements of a changing business, our first step will be to talk to the industry about what it wants from a conference of this type."

Timing of the next conference

In the past, PEVE has always taken place in the fourth quarter of the year, traditionally the busiest time of year for the video industry. Screen Digest is considering rescheduling the event to earlier in the year. As a result, there will be no PEVE conference in 2007; instead Screen Digest will seek feedback from the industry (both PEVE regulars and those who have not previously attended) to assess how the conference can best meet the needs of the industry in 2008 and the years to come.