New Panel Announced for 2018 Devoncroft Summit – Top Broadcast Executives to Debate Future of Television

Top executives of three major, publicly traded TV station groups will share their visions of where broadcasting is heading — its challenges and opportunities — at the seventh-annual “Devoncroft Executive Summit: The Business of Media Technology.

The seventh annual Devoncroft Executive Summit on April 8 in Las Vegas features a TV broadcasting panel where Brian Lawlor, E.W. Scripps Co.; Kevin Latek, Gray Television; and Steven Pruett, Sinclair Broadcast Group, will discuss what broadcasters are doing to make sure their medium adapts and prospers and how it fits into the larger TV firmament.

The summit will take place the Sunday afternoon of the NAB Show in Las Vegas — that’s April 8 from 1 to 5 p.m. — in the Latour Ballroom of the Wynn hotel.

The broadcaster panel, which starts at 4 p.m., comprises Brian Lawlor, president of local media, E.W. Scripps Co.; Kevin Latek, EVP and chief legal and development officer, Gray Television; and Steven Pruett, EVP and chief development officer, Sinclair Broadcast Group.

“Despite the emergence of cable, satellite and digital competitors, TV stations with their mix of national and local programming continue to capture the largest audiences,” said TVNewsCheck Editor Harry A. Jessell who will moderate the session.

“Brian, Kevin and Steve will talk about what broadcasters are doing to make sure their medium adapts and prospers and how it fits in to the larger TV firmament.”

The Devoncroft Executive Summit features C-Level media executives discussing the commercial issues facing their organizations, and how they have — and will — impact their technology investment and deployment strategies.

“Over the past seven years, the Devoncroft Summit has grown organically into one of the most important events of the year,” said Devoncroft Partners founder Joe Zaller.

“It continues to attract senior executives from across all parts of the media technology business, who come to network, collaborate with partners, and learn from industry thought leaders. We’re excited to be moving this must-attend event to the Wynn hotel, where it will be co-located with Avid Connect.”

The full agenda includes panel discussions featuring thought leaders from across the entire media value chain. Broadcasters, service providers, media tech and IT vendors will offer candid assessments of the business impact of market developments on their business models, operational practices and strategic decision making.

In addition to executive panel discussions, the Summit will also provide an overview of the most up-to-date industry market research and analysis from Devoncroft Partners and its affiliates.

This includes preliminary findings from the 2018 Devoncroft Partners Big Broadcast Survey, the industry’s definitive demand-side market study, the Devoncroft M&E Cloud Adoption Index, and the Devoncroft M&E IP Adoption Index; along with an overview of the latest market sizing and forecasting figures from the widely-referenced Global Market Valuation Report (GMVR) which is published through a 50-50 joint venture between Devoncroft and industry trade association IABM.

Since being named head of local media in 2009, Brian Lawlor has overseen the rapid growth of Scripps’ TV portfolio from 10 to 33 TV stations. Lawlor is also responsible for Scripps four multicast channels.

In 2012, Broadcasting & Cable named Lawlor “Broadcaster of the Year” and one of the “80 Most Influential People in Television.”

He has also been the driving force in the successful launch of Scripps national programming, which includes Pickler & Ben, Right This Minute and The List.

Prior to joining Gray in 2012, Kevin Latek spent 15 years with the law firm of Dow Lohnes in Washington, representing television broadcasters in FCC regulatory and transactional matters. He currently is a member of the CBS affiliate board and he previously served on the Fox affiliate board.

Steve Pruett joined Sinclair as VP and co-COO for broadcasting in April 2013. Prior to that, he worked at the Communications Corp. of America station group, first as CFO, then as president and CEO.

Pruett served as special strategic adviser to DirecTV and Thomson Consumer Electronics from 1998 to 2002. From 1995 to 1999, he was a managing director at Communications Equity Associates.

During his career, he has helped found several broadcast groups as an initial investor, financier, managing partner or board member, including Spanish Radio Group, Excel Communications, Acme Television, USBG and UPI Media.

Pruett is a former chairman of the Fox affiliate board.

The Devoncroft Summit is being underwritten by Title Sponsors Cisco and Intel; and Signature Sponsor Google Cloud. The Devoncroft Summit is co-located with Avid Connect 2018. Avid, Lawo, and AWS Elemental are also event sponsors.