TVB to Host Two-Day Hybrid Forward Conference for Thousands of Local Broadcast TV Executives, Media Agencies and Marketers

Leaders from AdImpact, ANA, BIA Advisory Services, Comscore, Congressional Leadership Fund, dentsu Media US, General Mills, Guggenheim Partners, Horizon Media, MAGNA Global, Main Street Communications, NADA, Nielsen, RPA and Vivvix/CMAG to speak at Forward 2023

TVB will host a two-day hybrid 2023 Forward Conference with a virtual sales event on September 21, 2023 that will deliver a multi-dimensional, multi-media experience for thousands of industry sales executives. The Forward Sales Conference will follow an in-person live Executive Summit on September 14, 2023 for senior broadcast and agency leadership.

Since TVB re-imagined the Forward conference into a virtual multi-media experience in 2021, nearly 5,000 registrants - broadcast TV c-suite and senior leadership, media agency and brand executives, mid to senior-level media planners and buyers and sales executives – have attended the conference each of the last two years.

The 2023 hybrid conference will include a live Executive Summit at the world-famous Studio 8H at 30 Rock in New York City for executive leadership of TVB-member broadcast groups, rep firms and media agencies. This exclusive event will feature keynote speakers and sessions including political, automotive, measurement and more.

The virtual Forward Sales Conference content will feature thought leader sessions addressing key advertising categories (including Automotive, Home Improvement, Political, Senior Healthcare and a Key Categories update from Vivvix), Business Development strategies (including selling with AI and recruiting diverse sales teams), and Industry Outlooks (including updates from Comscore, BIA, NADA and Nielsen). In addition, content from the Executive Summit will be made available for on-demand viewing during the virtual Forward Sales Conference.

“With thought-leader led content curated to address topics of the highest interest to local broadcast TV account executives and sales managers, the Forward Sales Conference provides its thousands of attendees with the latest information and data on important advertising categories and key topics such as measurement, recruitment, sales training and local OTT/CTV to help them succeed,” said Steve Lanzano, President & CEO of TVB. “In addition, our live Executive Summit sessions will deliver significant insights on topics that will help drive the future of local broadcast TV. As in past years, this year’s Forward Conference will highlight local broadcast TV’s critical and leading role in helping advertisers reach, connect and influence consumers across its various platforms.”

Speakers include:

• Gregory Aston, Director, Research & Data Science, Vivvix
• Dr. Linda Wiley Bing, CEO, Turning Point Leadership Group
• Tom Buono, Founder & CEO, BIA Advisory Services
• Tom Butler, VP, Media and Data, Vivvix
• John Casesa, Sr. Managing Director, Guggenheim Partners
• Joe Cerone, Executive Vice President, Local Investment, MAGNA
• Bridney Cobb, Production Recruiting Manager, General Mills
• Dan Conston, President, Congressional Leadership Fund
• Craig Broitman, EVP, Chief Operating Officer, Katz Television Group
• Pete Doe, Chief Data Officer, Nielsen
• Missy Evenson, Vice President Sales, Local Media, Scripps; Chair, TVB Board of Directors
• Bethany Fife, Senior Director, La-Z-Boy
• Tammi Fraser, Director of National Sales, Southeast, Gray Television
• Sara Gallegos, Senior Director, New Business Development, Scripps
• Tara Gotch, Executive Vice President, Commercial, Comscore
• Tracy Hayes, Multi-Media Marketing Consultant, WTVM, Gray Television
• Dave Heller, President, Main Street Communications
• Carol Hinnant, Chief Revenue Officer, Comscore
• Garrett Hudson, Sr. Multimedia Marketing Executive, Gray Television
• Jennifer Hungerbuhler, EVP, Head of Local Video and Audio Investment, dentsu Media US
• Julia Johnston, Senior Vice President, Commercial, Comscore
• Nancy Larkin, EVP, Managing Partner, LocalONE Investment; DEI Impact Team Leader, Horizon Media
• Don Lanier, Owner, Honest Abe Roofing, Evansville
• Paul LeFort, Senior Vice President, Sales Director, Nielsen
• Bob Liodice, Chief Executive Officer, ANA
• Dan Lyons, President, SureWaves
• Patrick Manzi, PhD, Chief Economist, NADA
• Eric Mathewson, Founder & CEO, WideOrbit
• Brian McCord, SVP/Executive Director, Media Strategy, RPA
• Becky Meyer, SVP, National Sales, Gray Television
• DJ Perera, Chief Media Officer, Ad Council
• Trisha Ripperger, Chief Marketing Officer, Tom Wood Group
• Kyle Roberts, President/CEO, AdImpact & Smart Media Group
• Terri Roberts, Vice President, Business Development, Columbus Hospice of Georgia and Alabama
• Brian Thoman, EVP, Software Technology Development & Managing Director, Marketplaces, WideOrbit
• Jon Watts, Managing Director, Coalition for Innovative Media Measurement
• Mike Weinisch, Vice President, Local TV Insights, Nielsen
• Mitchell West, Director, CMAG, Vivvix

Participating broadcasters include: ABC Owned Television Stations, Allen Media Group, American Spirit Media, CBS News and Stations, Cox Media Group, Graham Media Group, Gray Television, Griffin Communications, Hearst Television, Heartland Media, Hubbard Broadcasting, Imagicomm Communications, Katz Television Group, Locality, Morgan Murphy Media, NBCUniversal Local, News-Press & Gazette Company, Nexstar Media Group, Scripps, Sony Pictures Television, Standard Media, TEGNA and Univision.

As in years past, the following awards will be announced at Forward 2023: the NEXT awards celebrating Tomorrow’s Media Leaders in media sales and buying, and the Ad Council’s 2023 Catalyst Award, presented by DJ Perera, Chief Media Officer, Ad Council. A new award this year, the DEI Leadership Award, will be presented to broadcaster and media agency recipients at the live Executive Summit.

Join the conversation with the hashtag #TVBForward23. For a full list of speakers and sneak-peeks into the virtual experience, follow @TVBTweets or visit online at https://www.tvb.org/conferences/forward-conference-2023/.

Media partners include Broadcasting & Cable, Multichannel News, Radio + Television Business Report, Spots-n-Dots, and TVNewsCheck.

About TVB

TVB is the not-for-profit trade association representing America’s local broadcast television industry, including linear and digital platforms. Its members include the U.S. television stations, television broadcast groups, advertising sales reps, syndicators, international broadcasters, and associate members. TVB actively promotes local media marketing solutions to the advertising community and works to develop advertising dollars for the medium’s multiple platforms, including on-air, online, and mobile. TVB provides a diverse variety of tools and resources, including its website, to support its members and to help advertisers make the best use of local ad dollars. For more information, visit www.tvb.org.

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