Production Management

I.  PRODUCTION & OTHER IMPLICATIONS OF DIGITAL TELEVISION TRANSITION (9:45-12:15)
In June, the ANA Production Management Committee issued a white paper on the production implications of the digital television transition (www.ana.net/digitalTVproductionimplications). This has helped spark a greater dialogue in the industry about the use of center-cut protection as well as the trade-offs.  The AAAA is encouraging the development of a technological solution which would not limit the ability of advertisers and agencies to take full advantage of the wide 16x9 screen.  Meanwhile, NBC has a technology called Active Format Descriptor that provides creative flexibility to content providers and advertisers. There are other important issues too, although not necessarily specific to production, including:

•  About 9% of U.S. households would lose all TV reception if the digital transition happened today - will these those households be prepared by 2/17/09?
•  Hispanic and other minority households are disproportionably impacted.
•  Nielsen has delayed the 1^st quarter 2009 sweeps (for local TV audience measurement) from February to March.
And ANA, AAAA, TVB (representing local TV stations) and NAB have formed a coalition to keep the ad community informed about the DTV transition. This session will bring various industry stakeholders together to discuss the issues noted above, and more. 

9:50-10:20am           Marcellus Alexander, Executive Vice President/Television - NAB with Gary Belis, VP Marketing Communications -TVB: Background and current status

10:20-10:35am         Kathleen Quinn, VP Production Services and Harold Geller, SVP, Digital Initiatives - AAAA: Creative issues with center-cut protection

Break

10:45-11:15am         Steve Milbrod, Director Technical Accounts - NBC: Active Format Descriptor

11:15am-12:15pm   Group discussion

II.  Do the Commercials Sound Loud to you?
Due to consumer complaints legislation has now been introduced to limit the audio levels of ads on television.  These legislators claim that advertisers increase the audio levels to force consumers to pay attention to the ad message.  Some of these legislative offices have asked for our comments and so this is an issue that we need to examine from a technical and policy perspective.
Speaker: Dan Jaffe, EVP, Government Relations - ANA

III.  Update on the SAG/AFTRA Collective Bargaining Agreements
Review of (1) current status of negotiations and consideration of new compensation models; impact on historical production procedures; production planning for 2009 in the event of a strike and (2) celebrity talent negotiations and allocation of pension and health fund contributions.
Speaker: Doug Wood, Partner - Reed Smith