LOS ANGELES–Bob Dowling, President of The Bob Dowling Group, and Unicomm, LLC, a leading event management company, announced Tuesday that Bryan Burns, ESPN’s Vice President, Strategic Business Planning and Development, will address the 3rd annual 3D Entertainment Summit™ presented in association with Variety. Burns will outline the sports network’s commitment to 3D on day two of the summit, taking place September 15-16, 2010 at the Hilton Los Angeles/Universal City.
“Turning The Corner From SD to HD to 3D” – part of DEG: The Digital Entertainment Group’s programming block Home 3D: Solutions and Strategies – will highlight the industry’s first 3D network, ESPN 3D, which launched this past June with a World Cup soccer broadcast, and will carry nearly 100 3D sporting events in its first year.
“With ESPN leading the charge, televised sports is proving to be a powerful driver for consumer adoption of 3D,” said Dowling, “and we are delighted that Bryan Burns, the network’s go-to executive on all things 3D, will address our conference on one of the industry’s hottest sectors.”
“I’m looking forward to examining the events of the last decade that have led ESPN to its industry leading position in 3DTV,” Burns explained, “as well as considering the challenges and alliances that need to be formed between those who have business interests in 3DTV to further ‘turn the corner’ and drive future consumer interest in this new opportunity.”
In addition to ESPN 3D, Burns currently leads ESPN’s domestic high-definition services, ESPN HD, ESPN2 HD, ESPNU HD and ESPNEWS HD, and has been an integral part of creation of the HD services from business planning prior to the announcement of ESPN HD in 2002.
DEG, a Los Angeles-based, industry-funded nonprofit corporation that advocates and promotes the many consumer benefits associated with various home entertainment products, will present four “Home 3D: Solutions and Strategies” panels at the Summit.
Keynote Speakers at the Summit include Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO of DreamWorks Animation SKG; writer/director M. Night Shyamalan (The Last Airbender; The Sixth Sense), Chris Cookson, President of Sony Pictures Technologies, and John Rubey, President, AEG Network LIVE.
The highly interactive, discussion-driven environment of the Summit allows entertainment professionals the opportunity to gain practical insight into 3D technology, market considerations, adoption rates, creative and production strategies, and talent and licensing issues to gain a better sense of how 3D relates to their future. Attendees will experience a variety of product demonstrations at the Summit’s 3D Entertainment Lounge™ and through the interactive technology showcase exhibits.
