The 2026 Monday Forum at the SMPTE Media Technology Summit takes a closer look at the business and strategies of media technology, bringing executives, technologists, analysts, and innovators together to examine the decisions shaping the industry.
Media companies are making some of their biggest technology decisions at a moment when audience behavior, AI, infrastructure, and business models are all shifting at once. Companies are weighing where to invest, which technologies are delivering real value, and what they need to put in place now for the next several years.
This year's Media Tech Business Forum, taking place Monday, November 16, in Pasadena, will bring together leaders from broadcasting, studios, technology, sports, streaming, and research. The discussions will span changing audience behavior, AI deployment, long-term infrastructure investment, and new technology partnerships. Hans Hoffmann, Deputy Director Technology and Innovation at the EBU, chairs the forum.
"You'll hear from people making some of the most consequential technology and business decisions in media today," Hoffmann says. "The idea is to give attendees a broader view of the choices companies are facing and the factors shaping those decisions."
Three Views of a Changing Business
Three keynote perspectives open the day, each grounded in a different part of the media business.
David Ross, CEO of Ross Video, brings decades of experience growing an independently owned technology company through acquisitions, new markets, and changes in the way live media is produced. His perspective puts leadership, ownership, investment, and long-term growth into the conversation.
David Bermbach, Managing Director and Chief Product Officer at ARRI, comes to many of the same questions from a company with deep roots in cinema. He has helped shape ARRI's direction through digital cinema, virtual production, systems integration, and, more recently, live production and connected workflows. His keynote will explore how the company is responding as cinema and live entertainment increasingly share technologies and production approaches.
Adde Granberg of SVT brings the broadcaster's perspective, with a focus on AI and the competition for audience attention. His keynote broadens the discussion to the changing role of broadcasters as audience habits shift and AI becomes a larger part of media strategy.
Together, the three keynotes set up many of the themes that run through Monday: how organizations recognize change, decide where to invest, and adapt their strategies as established boundaries across media continue to shift.
Following the Audience
Technology investment depends on a clear understanding of the market it serves. Audiences now move between linear television, streaming, social platforms, live events, and other forms of media, influencing distribution, product strategy, and where companies put their resources.
Analysts from Deloitte and IAMT will bring market and audience data into the discussion, giving attendees a wider view of where spending is going, how consumption patterns are changing, and what those shifts may mean for future technology decisions.
How Companies Leverage AI – or Not
AI has moved from experimentation into real media workflows, and organizations now have enough experience to begin comparing results. Monday's discussion will look at measurable business outcomes, unexpected challenges, and lessons from putting AI into everyday operations and applying the guardrails needed to ensure secure operations.
Leaders from studios, broadcasting, sports, and streaming will share what they are seeing inside their organizations, including where AI is creating value, which applications are gaining traction, and what has proved difficult to scale.
"You'll hear what companies are learning from real AI deployments — where it is useful, where value is emerging, and where important questions remain," Hoffmann says.
The Bets Behind 2030
2030 is already within the planning horizon for many media organizations. Infrastructure and platform decisions made now may stay in place for years, and cloud-native production, Dynamic Media Facilities, interoperability, AI at scale, LLM deployment, media exchange, and vendor strategy are already influencing those plans.
Leaders from MovieLabs, Skydance, CBC/Radio-Canada, and Lawo will compare the investments and capabilities they see becoming more important over the next five years. Hearing those priorities side by side can show where the industry is beginning to align, where organizations are taking different approaches, and which ideas are gaining momentum.
"You'll hear how different organizations are planning for 2030 and where they are placing their priorities now," Hoffmann says. "Comparing those approaches can tell us a great deal about what the industry is preparing for."
When Big Tech and Startups Share the Table
The companies influencing media technology now extend well beyond the traditional vendor landscape. Cloud platforms, computing companies, established media technology providers, and startups all play a growing role in how content is created, managed, and delivered.
NVIDIA, AWS, Google, Asteria, and Collage will bring perspectives from across that technology ecosystem into a conversation about AI, cloud, emerging media technologies, and the partnerships forming around them.
For media companies, the discussion gets at practical decisions around what to develop internally, where partnerships make sense, and how a broader technology ecosystem fits into long-term plans.
A Better View of the Decisions Ahead
The Media Tech Business Forum puts people who approach technology decisions from different directions into the same room. Technology leaders can hear more about the business pressures influencing investment, executives and strategists can get closer to the technical realities behind those choices, and vendors and innovators can hear how customers are setting priorities.
For anyone involved in technology strategy, investment, or long-range planning, Monday offers a chance to compare approaches, hear how other organizations are thinking through similar decisions, and bring that perspective back into their own work.
The Media Tech Business Forum takes place Monday, November 16, at the 2026 SMPTE Media Technology Summit in Pasadena.