Intel's GM to keynote at CONNECTIONS

INTEL's GM for Retail CE, Wilfred Martis, will be the new keynote at the CONNECTIONS Digital Living Conference June 8-10 in Santa Clara. He will be discussing "Smart TVs: Ready for Primetime."

Martis joins other keynotes including:

-- Joseph Ambeault, Director, Product Development & Management, VERIZON - The Service Provider and the Connected Home
-- Scott Birnbaum, VP, SAMSUNG - TV Technology in the New Age of Consumer Buying
-- Mitch Singer, CTO, SONY - Entertainment in a Connected World

Nearly 20% of U.S. broadband households have a PC-to-TV connection and the vast majority is using a DIY solution (like game consoles) to stream online video. Parks Associates forecasts Web-connected consumer electronics will grow from 57 million devices in 2009 to more than 200 million by 2013, with Web-connected TV shipments exceeding 80 million units by 2013.

For advanced advertising, U.S. revenues for online video advertising will exceed $1.3 billion in 2010. Almost 50% of heads-of-household aged 18-34 indifferent to targeted advertising, while 42% aged 25-54 and 25% aged 55 or older are similarly neutral.

For more information about the CONNECTIONS Conference, visit www.connectionsus.com.

Over 100 million households worldwide to have telco IPTV services by 2013

Microsoft keynote to address Customer Service and IPTV at CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit--

Parks Associates welcomed Roger Pitton, Program Director, TV, Video & Music Business, Microsoft Corporation, as the Keynote speaker for CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit, taking place March 31, in Nice, France. It has a full agenda featuring consumer data and expert analysis on advanced video solutions, digital media solutions, and connected consumer electronics.

The worldwide market for telco IPTV services will exceed 100 million households by 2013, a CAGR of approximately 38%, according to international research firm Parks Associates. Mr. Pitton’s keynote “IPTV and the keys to keeping customers” will address the best business strategies to gain and retain customers in the highly competitive European market for these services.

Mr. Pitton has several years of firsthand experience in marketing and selling IPTV services. In his keynote, he will specify the keys to differentiation, including unique content, an unmatched user experience, and the convergence of technology and content, required for sustaining success.
CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit Sessions:
>> European Consumer Trends
>> Broadband and Value-added Services
>> Video Services
>> Digital Media Content & Delivery
>> Connected CE
>> Digital Home Tech Support

Event sponsors include Affinegy, Enure Networks, and HomeGrid Forum. Global Sponsors include ActiveVideo Networks, Affinegy, Cloakware, DSC, HD-PLC Alliance, Icron, Macrovision, MoCA, ProVision Communications, Radialpoint, Telcordia, and Zilog.

For more information, visit http://www.connectionseurope.com/.

Home Networking to reach 168 Million Households Worldwide in '08: CONNECTIONS Europe focuses on entertainment & multimedia services in EU markets

Rapid growth in home networking, approaching 168 million households worldwide in 2008, is laying the foundation for expansion of multimedia services internationally and especially in the European markets, according to Parks Associates.

The market research firm will host CONNECTIONS™ Europe Summit on August 29, 2008, at the Kempinski Hotel Bristol Berlin, to discuss the implications of this market growth and share the latest findings of its Global Digital Living™ (GDL) project.

Parks Associates launched GDL in 2005 to track and analyze international adoption and consumer attitudes toward advanced digital technologies and services. The most recent survey, GDL: Entertainment 2.0 in Europe, studies the growth of entertainment services in the top European markets. The project includes country profiles and consumer surveys and examines adoption and valuation of DVDs, online video and video-on-demand, DVRs, and high-definition TV services, among other topics.

CONNECTIONS™ Europe will provide attendees with international consumer research and feature interactive discussions on advanced television services, new media and digital content, and value-added services.
Advisory sponsors for CONNECTIONS™ Europe: Cisco, Enure Networks, F-Secure Corporation, Macrovision, the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), Neotion, support.com, Toshiba Electronics Europe, WirelessHD, and Zilog, Inc.

The event agenda features speakers from the following companies and organizations:
ActiveVideo Networks
ARM
Cisco
Deutsche Telekom
Enure Networks
F-Secure
Home Gateway Initiative
HomePlug Powerline Alliance
Macrovision
Makewave AB
MoreTV
NEC Europe
Neotion
Nokia Siemens Networks
OSGi Alliance
Qualcomm
Shiny Media
SiBEAM, Inc.
SPiDCOM Technologies
Sonic Solutions
support.com
Texas Instruments
Toshiba Electronics Europe GmbH
WirelessHD
Zilog

CONNECTIONS Releases Press Release Officially Announcing Agenda and Keynote Speakers

Parks Associates and the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) announced Thursday the agenda and confirmed keynote presenters for CONNECTIONS: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase. CONNECTIONS is a strategic conference and showcase focused on the market developments and growth factors for advanced digital lifestyle solutions. The spring CONNECTIONS conference will take place June 24-26, 2008, at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

CONNECTIONS brings together nearly 1,000 executives in the converging digital living industries. The three-day conference provides the ideal venue to learn, network, share ideas, and gain a greater understanding of new business models, industry trends, and future forecasts as the market for digital solutions continues to grow.

Parks Associates forecasts total U.S. revenues for installed home theaters and multiroom audio systems will grow from $6 billion in 2007 to more than $11 billion by 2012, due in large part to the advantages of digital content.

"This year's event features an intense focus on entertainment, communications, control, and the extension of the product purchase and customer support lifecycle," said Kurt Scherf, vice president, principal analyst, Parks Associates. "With an audience of key executives and sessions featuring industry experts and the latest consumer and market analysis, CONNECTIONS is the preeminent event for this industry." Keynote speakers include:
Amy Banse, President, Comcast Interactive Media
Rebecca Jacoby, Sr. Vice President & CIO, Cisco Systems, Inc.
Paul Liao, CTO, Panasonic North America
Phil McKinney, Vice President & CTO, Personal Systems Group, HP

Parks Associates, Motorola, and TM Forum will conduct pre-show workshops and seminars on June 24, prior to HP's opening keynote. CONNECTIONS also features sessions hosted by Motorola, Peak8 Solutions, IBM, and MoCA. Conference sessions, moderated by Parks Associates research analysts, will provide strategic analysis on key digital living categories and focus on the opportunities and challenges emerging in these evolving markets.

Session topics include:
Hollywood and the Digital Age
Digital Solutions for the Automobile
Gaming and Virtual Worlds
Residential Energy Management and Home Systems
Digital Health
Service Support for the Digital Home
Broadband VideoMobile Platforms
New Media and Digital Advertising
User InterfacesTelevision 2.0
Wireless Networking for Multimedia
The Evolution of Social Networks
Broadband Devices
Place shifting and Content Storage
Solutions for Service Providers
Investment Opportunities in Digital Living

For full agenda, visit http://www.connectionsconference.com/.

CONNECTIONS will announce confirmed speakers soon.