The Paley Center for Media's International Council 2009 NYC brought together the industry's top innovators from across the globe for the most talked about media event of 2009.
The session features a conversation between Ivan Seidenberg (Chairman and CEO, Verizon Communications) and Philippe Dauman (President and CEO, Viacom Inc.). David Faber (Anchor, CNBC) moderates.
Bio
Philippe Dauman
Philippe Dauman was named president and CEO of Viacom Inc., the world’s leading entertainment content company, in September 2006 and has served on its Board of Directors since 1987. Viacom’s global reach includes more than 160 channels and 400 online properties in 160 countries and territories.
Previously, Mr. Dauman was cochairman and CEO of DND Capital Partners, L.L.C., a private equity firm specializing in media and telecommunications investments, and served in several positions at Viacom, including deputy chairman and EVP of Viacom Inc. He is a member of The Paley Center for Media’s Board of Trustees.
David Faber
David Faber is a market news analyst for CNBC, and appears on "Squawk on the Street" (along with Mark Haines and Erin Burnett). He has hosted several documentaries on corporations such as Wal-Mart and eBay; the Wal-Mart piece earned Faber a Peabody Award.
Faber joined CNBC in 1993 after seven years at Institutional Investor. He is a graduate of Tufts University where he earned a bachelors degree in English. In 2001, Faber was considered to be a strong contender for the co-anchor chair of CNN's then-popular "Moneyline".
In addition to "Squawk on the Street," Faber hosts the network's monthly program, "Business Nation."
Ivan Seidenberg
Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO of Verizon Communications, was instrumental in forming the company through a number of mergers and acquisitions, including Bell Atlantic and NYNEX (1997), GTE (2000), and MCI (2006). He also helped create what is now Verizon Wireless in 1999 by bringing together the assets of Bell Atlantic Mobile, GTE Wireless, and the US properties of Vodafone AirTouch.
Prior to the creation of Verizon, Mr. Seidenberg was chairman and CEO of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX. He began his communications career more than forty years ago as a cable splicer’s assistant. In 2007, President George W. Bush named Seidenberg to the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, which advises the president on communications issues related to national security, emergency preparedness, and the protection of critical infrastructure. He is a member of The Paley Center for Media’s Board of Trustees.
I highly doubt home content delivery is going to change much in the next 2 years let alone 10 years. That is, a large viewing screen with content much like T.V. shows and movies; much like the last 60 years. People are accustomed to it. Of course, it will be on demand for recorded content and live for live broadcast. Hulu will be a good fit with this model. On demand content streamed over the Internet; I don't see a near-term problem with this.
The Sixth Sense thing is a bizarre attempt to prove his point. Also, from what I've seen, Sixth Sense is far from being commercially viable. While interesting, the technology isn't close to being ready yet.
I was surprised that Seidenberg refers to the Sixth Sense invention as hilarious. I have no idea what he finds so amusing about that technology and that concept. In his attempted explanation of what it is, he misinterprets what the Sixth Sense concept is about, and even proceeds to say that it is about watching TV on the side of a building... His final conclusion that companies that innovate will do better than companies that don't, wow, deeply insightful stuff (at least for him). :-)
Regarding Hulu, I think Mr. Sedenberg has misinterpreted Hulu's value. Television is still preferred for time-sensitive broadcasts like press conferences and sporting events. But the internet's capacity for search and on-demand viewing makes it more suited for content that is not time-sensitive like movies, sitcoms, documentaries - none of which are diminishing in popularity. Hulu will continue to be relevant as delivery system for NBC's non-time-sensitive content. Whether NBC will remain relevant in its capacities to filter scripts for popular video content and transform them with high production value will depend on NBC's business model and creative prowess going forward.
member. 
