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Sunday, June 10
| 10:00 AM |
BANFF Diversity of Voices Program (by invitation only) (10:00am - 12:00pm)Cascade This curated morning of content is designed to provide insight, information and inspiration to the Diversity of Voices participants. With presentations from some of Canadian TV’s brightest minds, the morning will walk delegates through building international partnerships and financing plans, the art of IP brand-building, and how one Canadian drama snowballed its way from APTN to trailblazing global sales, Netflix and appearances in New York Times’ “Watching” column. Join Solange Attwood, EVP Blue Ant International, Blue Ant Media; Mark Montefiore, President & Executive Producer, New Metric Media (Letterkenny, Bad Blood) and Ron Scott, showrunner, director and founder of Prairie Dog Film + Television (Blackstone) for a bespoke presentation designed to kickstart the Diversity of Voices BANFF experience. These closed-door sessions are only open to applicants who were chosen prior to the 2018 Banff World Media Festival Moderating:
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| 1:30 PM |
Banff 101: How to Deliver the Optimal Pitch (1:30pm - 2:30pm)In Partnership With  Cascade Join Kevin Wright for a customized-for-Banff version of his Optimal Pitch workshop, designed to help emerging and established producers alike nail their big pitch. Wright will outline his “SMART” approach to pitching, including how to dazzle your audience in the first few seconds you have their attention. A career broadcaster who has heard hundreds of pitches, Wright’s inside tips will give you a leg up as you embark on your Banff experience. Featuring:
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| 2:30 PM |
New to Banff Tour (2:30pm - 3:30pm)Cascade Informal guided tours designed to help you make the most of BANFF. Our team members will be on hand to guide you through the festival features that'll help you meet your business goals. Drop in only. No advance sign-up required. |
| 3:30 PM |
KICKOFF SESSION: Int'l Media Leaders - View from the Top (3:30pm - 4:30pm)Cascade While competition in the media business has never been fiercer, for IP, talent, eyeballs and ad dollars, those same things are also cultivating new collaborations to tackle piracy, ballooning production budgets and complex monetization models. This session will see leaders of major companies break down the realities, complexities and strategies of today’s media business: what’s driving investment and greenlights, who’s going to buy who next and how it will affect the industry, what revenue strategies are working and which ones are going the way of the dinosaur, how to win audience share and which winds of change will buffet the industry next. Moderating:
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| 4:30 PM |
In Conversation with the Honourable Mélanie Joly (4:30pm - 5:30pm)In Partnership With  Cascade What has Creative Canada, the federal government’s first-ever strategy for growing the creative sector, done for the screen industries? And what is still to come? Join Canadian Heritage Minister Mélanie Joly for a discussion on the impact of Creative Canada investments to date and an announcement of new initiatives to come. Moderating:
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Monday, June 11
| 9:00 AM |
Company of Distinction Keynote: Kevin MacLellan, Chairman, Global Distribution and International, NBCUniversal (9:00am - 10:00am)Cascade There are few people in the industry who know entertainment dealmaking like NBCUniversal Chairman of Global Distribution and International, Kevin MacLellan. Overseeing a robust remit that includes 36 offices with over 2,600 employees, a distribution portfolio of 120,000 TV episodes and 4,500 feature films, a production studio that creates over 1000 hours of premium TV content, a network of 10 channels that spans 35 countries and a global digital business that includes 20 direct to consumer services, MacLellan has a bird’s eye view of the trends shaping a global business. At BANFF this year, he sits down with Corus Entertainment EVP and COO, Barbara Williams, for a not-to-be-missed conversation on the future of global production and distribution. Moderating:
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| 10:00 AM |
Keynote Conversation: HBO Documentary Films' Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller (10:00am - 11:00am)In Partnership With  Cascade This year marks an evolution for HBO Documentary Films, with Nancy Abraham and Lisa Heller jointly assuming leadership of the premium cable network's highly regarded documentary and family division. Building on a deep history with the broadcaster, Abraham and Heller between them have worked on hit HBO documentaries including Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds and The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst. Join Abraham and Heller at Banff for a conversation about their vision for HBO documentaries, the strategy behind the buzzed-about 2018 slate of films, which includes Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, Say Her Name: The Life and Death of Sandra Bland and I Am Evidence, and what they are looking for now. Moderating:
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Creating a Safe Space for Kids Online (10:00am - 11:00am)Alberta As digital media has become an increasing presence in children's lives, so too have grown concerns around how to keep them safe while engaging with it. This panel will examine questions including: what is the role of the companies who distribute or create content in ensuring safety for kids? What are some of the tools being used to work towards this goal? What are the various elements that comprise a safe digital experience? Why does privacy matter? Moderating:
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| 10:30 AM |
Close up: Starz (10:30am - 11:00am)New Brunswick Join Starz COO Jeffrey Hirsch for a close-up look at the content and business strategy that drives the network behind Outlander, Power and the new and buzzed-about Vida.
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| 11:30 AM |
So You Want to Build A Global Media Business (11:30am - 12:30pm)In Partnership With  Cascade The entertainment business has shifted to a global model and these visionary Canadian business leaders have been busy building models for their companies that can thrive within it. Hear about the origins of their strategy, how it was executed, how they balance a domestic versus international agenda, and where they see the industry moving next. Moderating:
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The Mid and the Short of it (11:30am - 12:30pm)In Partnership With  New Brunswick Short-form content, once second-fiddle to its longer-form sibling, has gone premium and now underscores business strategies for both emerging and established companies. This panel will explore opportunities in the space, for both platforms and producers, and tackle topics including where the biggest opportunities are right now, how (and which) companies have found success/ scale in the space, monetization models and creative challenges and opportunities specific to the format. Moderating:
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Melanie Le PhanExecutive In Charge of Production, Digital Originals Canadian Broadcasting Corporation 
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| 1:15 PM |
Format Innovators: Building the Next Big Thing (1:15pm - 2:15pm)Cascade How are today’s content creators harnessing the potential of multiple platforms to create formats that not only achieve breakthrough audience engagement, but robust international sales as well? Hear from creators, producers and distributors of groundbreaking formats on how they settled on the “big idea,” what it took to bring it to life, sales strategies and trends. Moderating:
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Crime Pays, And Everyone’s Buying (1:15pm - 2:15pm)In Partnership With  Alberta True crime television has been with us for eons, but with an ever-increasing range of platforms hungry for buzzworthy content, crime is at the top of the list for many buyers. And that makes the hunt for original IP in the space, as well as unique ways to approach the genre, as difficult to unearth as clues in a cold case. In this session, you’ll hear from content creators and network executives who are staking out new approaches to true crime TV —from podcasts and serials to Live PD and real-time revelations. Moderating:
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Pivoting your Kids-Biz Business Model (1:15pm - 2:15pm)New Brunswick Kids content is a global business, but many domestic markets are under stress from changing business models and consumer viewing habits. With so much in flux, many producers and media companies are adapting established business models to find and focus on new markets, experiment with new genres or forms of content or break into new categories. Find out how our panelists have built new sandboxes for their companies to play in. Moderating:
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| 2:15 PM |
Working Together To Stand Apart: The New Realities Of Multi-partner Projects (2:15pm - 3:15pm)In Partnership With  Cascade International partnerships are the new rule of the day, as TV production budgets rise, talent shortages increase and everyone fights for audience share. But while partnerships offer many benefits, they also create complex business challenges for those involved, from rights and windows to marketing and premieres. Leaders from broadcasters and producers who export content globally discuss the pros, cons, opportunities and challenges of executing projects in a multi-partner, multi-platform and multi-rights world. Moderating:
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Building a Global Hit (2:15pm - 3:15pm)In Partnership With  Alberta Everyone wants to build a show that can sell and air globally. But what does that mean, exactly? And how do both broadcasters and producers with a successful global track record determine what series will work across borders? There's an art to developing originals that can work internationally, and this session will dive into the creative-focused strategies and considerations that shape successful global series, featuring leading executives from global-facing companies across different genres. Moderating:
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Integrating Brands into the Content Ecosystem (2:15pm - 3:15pm)In Partnership With  New Brunswick The challenges of big production budgets, shrinking ad dollars and consumer advertising-fatigue have brought brands, broadcasters and producers closer together than ever before. This session will examine bleeding-edge strategies for incorporating brands into the world of content, storytelling and entertainment and how the right partnerships on the right content can be a rising tide that lifts all boats. Moderating:
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Tuesday, June 12
| 9:00 AM |
Company of Distinction Keynote: Robert Greenblatt, Chairman, NBC Entertainment (9:00am - 10:00am)In Partnership With  Cascade Inside the mind of one of the most influential television executives of the decade: Robert Greenblatt became Chairman of NBCUniversal in 2011, and took NBC from last to first in the coveted 18-49 demo, where it has been for five consecutive seasons. This season, NBC added the title of “America’s most-watched network” to that, with a lineup that includes This is Us, Will & Grace, The Voice and America’s Got Talent. Greenblatt also oversees Universal Television studios, which produce over 40 scripted and alternative series for NBC, Fox and Hulu, among others. A Golden Globe and Tony-winning producer, Greenblatt also ran Showtime and was a top executive at Fox. This is a can’t-miss conversation on what it takes to run a leading television network and studio in 2018. Moderating:
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| 10:00 AM |
In Conversation with Elizabeth Vargas, A+E (10:00am - 11:00am)Alberta BANFF and A+E Networks are proud to present an in-depth conversation with one of America’s most respected broadcast journalists, Elizabeth Vargas. The longtime co-anchor of ABC’s 20/20 and recent author of a best-selling memoir, Vargas is now at the helm of a new investigative documentary series for A+Networks, called A&E Investigates and will also contribute to the new A&E Originals unit. An Emmy-winning reporter regarded for her hard-hitting interviews, long-form journalism and breaking news coverage, this will be a can’t-miss conversation at the Banff World Media Festival. Moderating:
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The Pull of Premium Non-Fiction (10:00am - 11:00am)In Partnership With New Brunswick With more deep-pocketed platforms fortifying their non-fiction content strategies, linear networks are taking bigger swings on tentpole, event programming. The battle for eyeballs is resulting in more premium, pricier content. But with viewership fragmenting, what are the metrics for measuring success for such content? And how is the pull of premium impacting schedules across the specialty network spectrum? In this session you’ll hear from the networks ramping up their premium non-fiction offerings, and the producers and dealmakers behind them. Moderating:
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| 11:30 AM |
Decoding the DNA of Hit TV (11:30am - 12:30pm)In Partnership With  Alberta This discussion will feature three of TV’s top minds discussing the elusive elements that help make a series culture-defining, game-changing and globe-shaking. Join three of Canada’s highest-profile behind-the-camera talents, Executive Producer Sheila Hockin (Vikings, The Handmaid’s Tale), Director Jeremy Podeswa (Here and Now, Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire) and Writer and Showrunner David Shore (House, The Good Doctor), as they discuss the common elements of hit TV’s genome. Moderating:
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What’s Hot in Global Kids Content (11:30am - 12:30pm)New Brunswick Join internationally influential network executives to hear about what's trending in the kids-content business, including: where the business is headed, what is grabbing their attention and what kids-content producers need to know to succeed in today's complex market. Moderating:
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| 2:00 PM |
In Conversation with Kent Alterman, Comedy Central (2:00pm - 3:00pm)Alberta Join the president of iconic comedy brand Comedy Central for a discussion on the state of TV comedy, how the network is standing out among the competition, recent ratings successes, its ongoing legacy of developing new talent and where Alterman thinks the business of being funny is headed next. Moderating:
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| 3:00 PM |
Company of Distinction Session: NBCUniversal Networks Panel (3:00pm - 4:00pm)Cascade Join NBC Entertainment’s Paul Telegdy (President, Alternative and Reality Group), Lisa Katz & Tracey Pakosta (Co-Presidents, Scripted Programming), and Luis Silberwasser (President, Telemundo Networks) for an insightful and lively panel reflecting on the range of mega-hits across both NBC and Telemundo as well as discussing the competitive landscape and how they keep audiences enthralled. Breakthrough series under the stewardship of this talented group include The Voice, This is Us, The Good Place and El Señor de los Cielos – among many others. Moderating:
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Winning in the War for Creative Talent (3:00pm - 4:00pm)In Partnership With  New Brunswick While overall the explosion in global series orders has been a good thing for producers of content, one effect has been a tight market for top creative talent such as high-profile showrunners, writers, executive producers and directors. This session will examine how stakeholders are addressing the challenge: attracting talent and becoming a destination for it, retaining people between seasons/projects, developing/fostering it, how the tight market for talent is influencing decision-making and the new ways and places talent can be discovered. Moderating:
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| 4:00 PM |
In Conversation with Netflix (4:00pm - 5:00pm)Cascade This featured conversation and case study with Netflix's VP of content acquisition, Larry Tanz, will illuminate how the Internet entertainment service works with Canadian creators to bring their stories to the world. The session will take a close look at Travelers, the Netflix original series made in Canada and streamed in 190 countries. Series showrunner Brad Wright and star Eric McCormack will join Larry in walking you from the original development process to the show’s global popularity on the streaming service today. Moderating:
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Wednesday, June 13
| 9:00 AM |
Company of Distinction Session: NBCUniversal Studios Panel (9:00am - 10:00am)Cascade NBCUniversal’s hit-making creative forces Meredith Ahr (President, Universal TV Alternative), Jeff Wachtel (President, NBCUniversal International Studios) and Pearlena Igbokwe (President, Universal Television), will reflect on their most recent greenlight successes – including World of Dance, The Wall, The Sinner, Mr. Robot, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and Master of None – and discuss how they are adjusting their development strategies to maximize the opportunities of evolving global business models. Moderating:
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