MFM & BCCA Virtual Media Finance Focus 2020 Keynote to Explore Home Entertainment, Gaming

Media Financial Management Association’s Media Finance Focus will host a conference keynote on Tuesday, Aug. 18, at 1 p.m. ET. The two-part session will feature an address by Mark Orne, EVP, Cross Platform Team, Screen Engine/ASI titled, “Entertainment Choice in the Home: Understanding the Impact of Increasingly More Options.”

His session will be followed by a fireside chat, “Mass Appeal: Gaming Entertainment, Esports and the Cultural Zeitgeist” between Jennifer Dill vice president, esports, Turner Sports and Howard Homonoff, a leading media industry executive, strategic advisor, and writer. When it became apparent that an in-person meeting would not be safe for members, MFM and its BCCA subsidiary, the media industry’s credit association, decided to make Media Finance Focus 2020, the associations’ 60^th annual conference, a virtual event.

Orne will open the keynote session with a deep dive into the latest data from Screen Engine/ASI’s GETT (Global Entertainment & Technology Tracker) and Tracktion (weekly film, TV show, and video game title awareness and interest tracking) about the proliferation of home entertainment options.

In part two of the session, Dill and Homonoff will explore the content industry’s embrace of the broader definition of “Gamers.” Recent research indicates that the term now encompasses audiences far beyond the stereotype of a young white male in his parents’ basement. That reality is being recognized in cross-platform content that extends beyond the professional matches known as esports into the wider umbrella of gaming culture.

“We are pleased to host these media industry leaders to take a deep dive into two topics of great interest to our members – home entertainment trends in general and the cultural evolution related to video gaming,” said Mary M. Collins, president and CEO of MFM and its BCCA subsidiary, the media industry’s credit association. “Industry experts like Mark Orne, Jennifer Dill, and Howard Homonoff guarantee that this session will include some exciting takeaways for attendees.”

About The Speakers

With more than 20 years of research experience in the home entertainment industry, Mark Orne leads Screen Engine/ASI’s Cross Platform Team (home entertainment, streaming services, gaming, and technology), providing clients with research solutions, expert analysis, and strategic recommendations on content development, IP/franchise management, sales and marketing, shopper experience, creative explorations, business development, and new technology. Orne was previously executive director for Sony Pictures Home Entertainment, leading its Global Consumer & Shopper Insights group for over 12 years. Before Sony, Orne was a project director in the Entertainment Group at Lieberman Research Worldwide.

Jennifer Dill has served as vice president, esports, Turner Sports since 2019. In this role, she oversees partnerships, operations and strategic planning for Turner Sports’ esports division – including Eleague, Turner Sports’ esports and gaming entertainment brand. Since Eleague’s 2016 launch, Dill has played an integral role in coordinating the internal and external resources needed to drive its premium content initiatives and live events, including global syndication and distribution, finance, production, legal, marketing, digital products, sales, research, and talent.

Howard Homonoff has been an executive and strategic adviser in the media business for more than 20 years, working with traditional and digital media companies, brands, agencies and tech firms with a focus on driving revenue growth and strategic partnerships. He is also a weekly contributor to Forbes.com on media, advertising and entertainment; adjunct professor of media management in The New School’s graduate program; and Senior Fellow at Columbia Business School’s Institute on Tele-Information (CITI). Prior to his work as a strategic advisor at Accenture, PwC, MediaLink, and Homonoff Media Group, Homonoff served as General Counsel for NBC Cable Networks and Vice President and General Manager of CNBC Strategic Ventures, where he was responsible for P&L management of NBCU’s early stage business units including streaming media, satellite radio, broadcast syndication, and interactive TV, and the launch of CNBC World. He also served previously as counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Finance. Homonoff is a graduate of Cornell University and New York University School of Law.