Consumers take centre stage at PEVE 2012

02 Feb 2012

PEVE Entertainment 2012: British Museum, London, 27-28 March 2012

The spotlight will fall squarely on the consumer at this year's PEVE Entertainment conference, with two separate, rigorously-selected 'on-stage focus groups' set to generate insights and inform debate at the 20th edition of this key industry event.

IHS Screen Digest is pleased to announce that, thanks to the continuing support of the Digital Entertainment Group Europe (DEGE), delegates at this year's PEVE Entertainment conference will again have the opportunity to quiz the rigorously-selected members of PEVE's unique 'on-stage focus groups' about their attitudes to and consumption of entertainment.

This year's event will host not one but two such opportunities, one at the start of each of the two days of the conference. As in previous years, the consumers on each panel will be handpicked by market researchers Vital Findings to conform to key demographic and behavioural profiles and guided by expert moderators to reveal how they relate to the media around them. PEVE delegates will thus have an unrivalled opportunity to find out first-hand exactly how the behaviour and attitudes of European consumers are being shaped by the latest technological advances and to discuss with a broad cross-section of industry insiders what these findings really mean to the bottom line.

Jonathan Beardsworth, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Technicolor Home Entertainment Services and DEGE board member commented: "The Digital Entertainment Group Europe is excited to support two live consumer focus groups at PEVE this year. We've done similar sessions in the past, and they've proven invaluable to attendees as we don't shy away from tough questions, and our consumer participants don't shy away from providing their candid opinions around their home entertainment consumption. As these panels will be kicking off both days, we hope that they'll provide insights that will enrich the presentations and the discussions taking place throughout the conference."

In addition to the consumer panels, the conference programme will comprise a compelling mix of keynote speeches, fireside chats and panel sessions addressing key issues from across the entire entertainment value chain. Confirmed speakers include Danny Kaye, Fox's EVP Global Research & Technology Strategy, who will be keynoting, as well as executives from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, Warner Bros., BBC Worldwide, Sainsbury, Dixons, Tesco/Blinkbox, DEGE, Vital Findings and many more.

For Matt Brown, Worldwide Commercial Executive VP, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment this will be a return visit. In a keynote speech at PEVE 2008 in Paris, he related how at a recent family Christmas a dozen or so 10-25-year-olds had shown no interest in the pile of DVDs he had brought along, instead 'YouTubing [and] texting, often to each other in the room.' In characteristically forthright style he told delegates 'It scared the crap out of me because I thought "I've got to get those guys back on board".' Four years later, he's coming back to tell delegates how he - and the rest of Hollywood - have been trying to do just that, whether it's working - and what else needs to be done.

Among the other topics scheduled for discussion at the two-day event are:

How has UltraViolet fared since launch and what does the future hold?
Connected TVs: the next disruptive force for entertainment media?
Have smartphone video apps created a real market for mobile video?
How are the different dynamics of 3D production and distribution affecting entertainment business models?
Do subscription streaming services herald the end of the traditional pay TV business?
How can theatrical operators engage with other exploitation windows to increase revenues in all media?