DEG Members attend for free. Price for Non-Members is $795.
WHO ATTENDS ENTECH FEST
Content distributors, marketing executives, platform partners, technology enablers, trend trackers, connected device and display brands, and all innovators across the media and entertainment ecosystem.
2026 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
9:50 AM Welcome and Opening Remarks
10:00 AM EnTech Insights Presentation | Circana – Beyond the Boom: Streaming’s New Core Audience
Streaming entered a new phase where growth is being driven by older, higher income viewers. This presentation explores how economic pressures and shifting demographics are reshaping engagement across SVOD and FAST platforms. We’ll unpack the behaviors and motivations of this maturing audience—how they subscribe, cycle, bundle, and decide what’s worth paying for. Finally, we’ll highlight the strategic implications for studios, platforms, and distributors competing for an audience that delivers both stability and long term value.
10: 15 AM The Expanding Role of Streaming Advertising, A Keynote Conversation with Netflix’s Amy Reinhard
While competition for advertising dollars intensifies across the industry and new ad formats continue to emerge, streaming platforms look to maximize advertising to unlock new revenue streams and elevate the viewer experience. Hear from Amy Reinhard as she discusses Netflix’s expanding advertising strategy, the company’s collaborative approach with partners on advertising opportunities, and how close alignment with the consumer team helps deliver the most compelling offerings to Netflix’s members and clients.
10:40 AM Case Study | Avoiding the AI Visibility Gap: What Entertainment Brands Need to Do to Be Seen
Discovery has shifted upstream to AI assistants for entertainment. emberos has been predicting box office revenue from big tentpole titles to small indie films and has proven that AI Visibility matters.
10:50 AM Panel Discussion | Search & Discovery: Will AI Assistants Become Your Personal TV Concierge?
Consumers, overwhelmed by an explosion of choice and a maze of fragmented platforms, are struggling to figure out what to watch — and where to watch it. Meanwhile, streamers and platforms differ on where discovery should happen. In this fractured landscape, the question is no longer whether viewers need help, but who will step in to guide them. Who has the answer? And could AI be the force that finally cuts through the chaos?
11:15 AM Panel Discussion | Entertainment in Motion: Trends Shaping In-Car Entertainment
As vehicles evolve into a true “third space” between home and work, the cabin is becoming a premium venue for media and entertainment. Panelists will explore the trends shaping this shift—spanning content discovery, personalization, and platform collaboration—to create experiences that are seamless and context aware.
11:45 AM Lunch & Networking Break
11:45 AM UHD Alliance Luncheon & Presentation
Join UHDA president Bill Baggelaar for a dynamic luncheon discussion on advancements in home entertainment, featuring updates on Filmmaker Mode with ambient light compensation and OTT automatic switching. We will also discuss UHDA’s exploration of potential initiatives around HDR Mastering Recommendations to optimize brightness and color for home viewing environments, Fan Mode for an enhanced live sports viewing experience, Audio Creative-Intent Initiatives to establish formal audio guidelines, and HDR Subtitle Specifications to address inconsistent subtitle rendering in HDR content for improved accessibility and viewer comfort.
1:00 PM Introducing DEG.AI Alliance
Get an update on DEG.AI, a new alliance within DEG dedicated to helping guide the media and entertainment industry through its artificial intelligence transformation, with a core mission to amplify human creativity.
1:05 PM Leadership at Mach Speed: AI, Agility, and the Original Top Gun
John Boyd was the first real Top Gun—long before call signs and fighter jets became legend. His OODA loop—the discipline of observing, orienting, deciding, and acting faster than the environment changes—redefined how competitive advantage is created: not through raw power or sheer volume, but through faster, better decisions under pressure. In this high-impact fireside chat, DEG.AI’s Chair, Ian Fried, and award-winning AI and Agile leadership professor, Euvin Naidoo, explore how AI is amplifying Boyd’s original insight for leaders operating in the intelligent age. As AI fuels unprecedented output across media and entertainment, the true differentiator is no longer simply doing what worked before—only faster—but mastering the leadership and operating rhythm that enables individuals and organizations to out-decide, out-adapt, and out-perform both traditional and emerging competitors. Grounded in the latest AI trends and practices shaping the industry today, this session challenges the leaders in the room to shift from outputs to outcomes, and from speed alone to value velocity—showing how AI, when paired with disciplined decision-making, becomes a decisive leadership advantage in the age of intelligent systems.
1:20 PM Panel Discussion | AI, Avatars and the Future of Interactive Video
What happens when content can respond, adapt, and hold a conversation? AI-powered avatars and digital twins are turning passive viewing into interactive experiences, opening new possibilities for how audiences connect with talent and storytelling. This session will explore where AI avatars are already gaining traction, where interactive video is headed and why it matters now.
1:50 PM Fireside Chat | 3 Stages of AI in Media & Entertainment
Leading entertainment lawyer known for his groundbreaking deals in film and television shares his view on how the use of AI in entertainment will develop over the next five years.
2:05 PM Keynote Conversation | Telling Stories with More Power and Flexibility Through AI
Kartel CEO Kevin Reilly, who is known for reshaping network and streaming content over four decades, will discuss with Rick Hack the opportunity to enhance storytelling with AI that extends human creativity. The future of advanced content creation and distribution will be built with more efficient processes for integrated workflows, intelligent systems that support content creators, and frameworks that amplify marketing.
2:30 PM Case Study | Adding AI Layers to Modernize Legacy Product Offerings
How two companies are innovating their legacy offerings by leveraging AWS’s AI Prototyping Team to help make their customers’ workflows more efficient.
4:00 PM DEG Resources
Hear about all of the resources available through DEG written by DEG Committees.
4:05 PM Keynote Conversation | Innovating at the Intersection of Content & Technology
Chris McGurk, in conversation withCynthia Littleton, will discuss Cineverse’s plans for MicroCo, the company’s short‑form content, vertical video JV with Banyan Ventures. Both MicroCo and Matchpoint, Cineverse’s automated media supply chain platform, grew from the content company’s technology evolution.
4:30 PM Fireside Chat | Building Broader Relationships with Consumers and Communities Through D2C Innovation
Content and distribution innovators expand the definition of direct-to-consumer and build communities with multiple consumer touchpoints.
4:50 PM Panel Discussion | Small Screens, Big Opportunity
After launching internationally, vertical micro-dramas are now taking Hollywood by storm. This panel will discuss the business model for a format that generated $11 billion worldwide in 2025 and what makes the soapy content so addictive.
DEG’s Annual Reception
CLICK FOR 2025 ATTENDEE LIST
For sponsorship opportunities, please contact Andi Elliott at Andi@degonline.org.
“The entire day felt full of the kind of enthusiasm and energy that propels our industry forward – and we need more of this!”
-Terri Davies, Trusted Partner Network
“[EnTech Fest] felt refreshingly different from other events I attended.”
-Veronica Pineda, Deluxe
“The DEG community always pushes our industry forward with every one of their events and committees.”
-Matt Durgin, LG Electronics
“What an incredible EnTech event to kick off the summer. These events are truly invaluable.”
-Derek Powell, Orb Group
“This year’s EnTech Fest was fun, engaging, and brilliantly executed with stellar programming and fantastic turnout … DEG really is in a league of its own.”
-Teresa Phillips, Spherex
