Production Now
Join senior decision-makers from across the industry to explore how new business models are reshaping the media economy.
13 August 2026, Los Angeles
In Person
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Where Creativity, Business and Technology Meet
The economics of entertainment are being fundamentally rebuilt. Value is shifting across content, platforms, and technology. It’s changing who funds, owns, and scales content - as well as how it’s made.
So how are studios, streamers, creators and technology companies repositioning? And which decisions made today will determine tomorrow’s winners?
Held in partnership with leading talent agency UTA at its Beverly Hills HQ, Production Now is designed for senior leaders from both established media and the new content economy. These are the people who are actively engaged in reshaping the future of content.
Together we’ll explore how the business of production is being rebuilt - and what comes next.
Member ticket price - US$399.00
Non-member ticket price - US$599.00
Leila Amirsadeghi
Microsoft
Principal Program Manager AI Innovation
Sean Atkins
Dhar Mann Studios
CEO
Roxanne Avent Taylor
Hidden Empire Film Group
Co-founder
Chris Balfe
Red Seat Ventures
CEO
Alessandra Catanese
Smosh
CEO
Samir Chaudry
Colin & Samir
Co-Founder
Paul Cheesbrough
Tubi Media Group
CEO
Michael Cioni
Strada
CEO
Kasey Esser
Actor & producer
Barbara Ford Grant
M+E Industry Adviser
Fede Goldenberg
YouTube
Head of TV & Film Partnerships
Seth Hallen
Hallstone
Founder & Managing Partner
Melissa Harper
NBCUniversal
EVP, Production Management & Operations, TV & Streaming
Katie Hinsen
Daily Special Studios
Founder & CEO
Michelle Huynh
FOX Entertainment
EVP, Studio Content Operations
Eric Iverson
UTA
Partner & CTO
Vince Kadlubek
Meow Wolf
Founder & Chief Vision Officer
Chris M. Williams
pocket.watch
Founder & CEO
Chuck Parker
Sohonet
CEO
Billy Parks
Fox Entertainment
EVP, Head of FOX Creator Studios
Thai Randolph
NILE & Co.
Founder & CEO
Colin Rosenblum
Colin & Samir
Co-Founder
Jen Sargent
Board Director and Strategic Adviser
Josh Small
Blumhouse
CFO
Deon Taylor
Hidden Empire Film Group
Co-founder
Ed Ulbrich
Moonvalley
Head of Media & Entertainment
Tobias Weber-Ingold
CtrlMovie
CEO
Janet Yang
Creators Coalition on AI
Film Producer & Founding Partner
Jason Zada
Secret Level
Founder & CCO
Production Now Programme
9:00 Registration opens
9:00-9:30 Coffee & Networking Breakfast
9:30-9:45 Welcome
Mark Harrison
Founder & Chief Content Officer
DPP
Sarah Macfarlane
Producer
DPP
Eric Iverson
Partner & CTO
UTA
9:45-10:15
Production Power Shifts
A data driven look at how the economics of production are being reshaped.
Seth Hallen
Founder & Managing Partner
Hallstone
10:15 - 10:55
New Media Moguls
Who is creating the next generation of IP - and which ownership models are scaling?
Billy Parks
EVP, Head of FOX Creator Studios
Fox Entertainment
Fede Goldenberg
Head of TV & Film Partnerships
YouTube
Alessandra Catanese
CEO
Smosh
Further speaker to be announced
10:55-11:25 Networking break
11:25 - 12:00
CEO Encounter: The Battle For Attention
CEOs of two major new content brands share insights on what it takes to succeed in today’s media economy.
Sean Atkins
CEO
Dhar Mann Studios
Paul Cheesbrough
CEO
Tubi Media Group
12:00-12:40
Production without walls: The future of physical production
The studio lot has long been the beating heart of Hollywood - but as production becomes virtual, distributed and cloud-enabled, physical production is changing fast.
Barbara Ford Grant
M+E Industry Adviser
Jason Zada
Founder & CCO
Secret Level
Michelle Huynh
EVP, Studio Content Operations
FOX Entertainment
12:40-13:40 Networking lunch
13:40-15:15 Format Supersession
13:40-13:45 Intro to Format Supersession
How significant are format innovations in the reshaping of the content landscape?
13:45 - 14:15 Vertical Microdramas
Do vertical microdramas offer a new production model with their own economics, storytelling techniques, and platform opportunities?
Kasey Esser
Actor & producer
Roxanne Avent Taylor
Co-founder
Hidden Empire Film Group
Deon Taylor
Co-founder
Hidden Empire Film Group
Sunyin Zhang
Head of Production
Crazy Maple Studio
14:15 - 14:45 Podcasts
An exploration of how podcasts are increasingly operating as IP engines, developing franchises that move across audio, television and live experiences.
Jen Sargent
Board Director and Strategic Adviser
Chris Balfe
CEO
Red Seat Ventures
14:45-15:15 IRL: Interactive & immersive
In-theatre entertainment is evolving fast - and it’s turning audiences into participants, and experiences into live, shared events. But will it scale?
Tobias Weber-Ingold
CEO
CtrlMovie
Katie Hinsen
Founder & CEO
Daily Special Studios
Leila Amirsadeghi
Principal Program Manager AI Innovation
Microsoft
Vince Kadlubek
Founder & Chief Vision Officer
Meow Wolf
15:15- 15:55
Who Funds Storytelling Now?
For decades, film and television relied on a relatively stable upfront financing model. But today those structures are fragmenting - bring both risk and opportunity.
Josh Small
CFO
Blumhouse
Thai Randolph
Founder & CEO
NILE & Co.
Colin Rosenblum
Co-Founder
Colin & Samir
Samir Chaudry
Co-Founder
Colin & Samir
15:55-16:25 Networking break
16:25-17:05
Who Powers Production Now?
As budgets tighten, workflows move to the cloud and AI reshapes production, this session explores which companies will survive, scale and ultimately control the infrastructure stack powering the future of content creation.
Michael Cioni
CEO
Strada
Chuck Parker
CEO
Sohonet
Melissa Harper
EVP, Production Management & Operations, TV & Streaming
NBCUniversal
17:05- 17:40
Reinventing Talent in an AI Age
New kinds of entertainers are emerging at the same time that new technologies are challenging long-standing assumptions about authorship, performance and representation.
Chris M. Williams
Founder & CEO
pocket.watch
Ed Ulbrich
Head of Media & Entertainment
Moonvalley
Janet Yang
Film Producer & Founding Partner
Creators Coalition on AI
17:40-17:45 Close
Mark Harrison
Founder & Chief Content Officer
DPP
Sarah Macfarlane
Producer
DPP
Rowan de Pomerai
CEO
DPP
17:30-18:30 Networking drinks reception
Headline Sponsor
Expert Sponsors
EIKON Group provides a full service and technology provision to media and entertainment co... read more.
Telestream has been at the forefront of digital media innovation for nearly three decades,... read more.