Everything will be on the table: finding the right way to take an icon like Harry Potter digital without selling out; getting free from DRM and still getting paid; shifting to digital first without losing traditional values; creating appointment broadband viewing; mixing technology with insight to heighten discoverability; the rebirth of the browser; digital subscription strategies and more.

It’s a lot of ground to cover for a one-day, single-stage event. Luckily, we have a stellar roster of speakers and moderators who are more than up for the task, including:

• Lisa Gersh, president of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
• John Borthwick, Founder & CEO, betaworks
• Jon Miller, Chief Digital Officer, News Corp.
• Fred Wilson, Managing Partner, Union Square Ventures
• Amy Banse, Managing Director & Head of Funds, Comcast Ventures
• Anil Dash, Co-Founder & Managing Director, Activate

  The full list of confirmed speakers is here.

  Just as important as the speakers, though, is the fact that we have great attendees with a lot to add to the discussion.

  But space is limited. This isn’t a ballroom where we can squeeze in a few more chairs at the last minute — so if you want to take full advantage of this jam-packed agenda and the opportunities that come with networking throughout the day from breakfast to closing cocktails, I strongly suggest you register now.

  If you’re interested in sponsoring paidContent 2012, please contact eventsales@gigaom.com.

  

The best part of planning a conference is getting to bring a fascinating mix of innovators and disruptors together with industry vets. I’m pleased to announce our last big batch of speakers for a jam-packed paidContent 2012: At The Crossroads, May 23rd in New York:

• Jim Bankoff, CEO, Vox Media
• Josh Marshall, Editor & Publisher, Talking Points Memo
• Jonah Peretti,  CEO, BuzzFeed
• Mark Johnson, CEO, Zite
• Amit Kapur, CEO, Gravity
• Valla Vakili, CEO, Small Demons

Together with the rest of our stellar roster and high-level attendees, they’ll take part in an energetic day of programming that goes to the heart of issues affecting anyone who creates or distributes content. We’ll look at the challenge of  discoverability; the ease of distributing video and how to make  money from it; a  shifting publishing landscape that levels playing fields while creating new obstacles; how media execs have to change the way they manage; how to manage a brand’s move into new territory; the app economy and the back-to-browser options; and much more.

Check out the agenda for details.

Register today to join us at The TimesCenter in New York on May 23rd for paidContent 2012 and take part in a day-long conversation about the best ways to create, distribute and make money from content. Other recently confirmed speakers include Pottermore CEO Charlie Redmayne and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Richard Russo.

The full list of confirmed speakers is here.

If you’re interested in sponsoring the event, please contact eventsales@gigaom.com.

In a joint message featured on the front page of Current.com, Gore, the network’s chairman, and Hyatt, who took over again as CEO in recent months, tell viewers:

We created Current to give voice to those Americans who refuse to rely on corporate-controlled media and are seeking an authentic progressive outlet. We are more committed to those goals today than ever before.

Current was also founded on the values of respect, openness, collegiality, and loyalty to our viewers. Unfortunately these values are no longer reflected in our relationship with Keith Olbermann and we have ended it.

We are moving ahead by honoring Current’s values. Current has a fundamental obligation to deliver news programming with a progressive perspective that our viewers can count on being available daily — especially now, during the presidential election campaign. Current exists because our audience desires the kind of perspective, insight and commentary that is not easily found elsewhere in this time of big media consolidation.

They also introduced his replacement, former New York Gov. Eliott Spitzer, and went on at length about the wonders of an election-year Current sans Olbermann. (Safe to say, after his performance with Sean Parker at SxSW, the former VP won’t be doing his own interview show any time soon.) What they don’t really address is their own role in a hiring that seemed like a stretch when you got beyond Olbermann’s liberal status and his following.

Olbermann’s reply via Twitter was swift, a series of 11 tweets summed up in one long statement promising legal action:

I’d like to apologize to my viewers and my staff for the failure of Current TV.

Editorially, Countdown had never been better. But for more than a year I have been imploring Al Gore and Joel Hyatt to resolve our issues internally, while I’ve been not publicizing my complaints, and keeping the show alive for the sake of its loyal viewers and even more loyal staff. Nevertheless, Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt, instead of abiding by their promises and obligations and investing in a quality news program, finally thought it was more economical to try to get out of my contract.

It goes almost without saying that the claims against me implied in Current’s statement are untrue and will be proved so in the legal actions I will be filing against them presently. To understand Mr. Hyatt’s ‘values of respect, openness, collegiality and loyalty,’ I encourage you to read of a previous occasion Mr. Hyatt found himself in court for having unjustly fired an employee. That employee’s name was Clarence B. Cain. http://nyti.ms/HueZsa

In due course, the truth of the ethics of Mr. Gore and Mr. Hyatt will come out. For now, it is important only to again acknowledge that joining them was a sincere and well-intentioned gesture on my part, but in retrospect a foolish one. That lack of judgment is mine and mine alone, and I apologize again for it.

Olbermann and Hyatt gave every appearance of a meeting of the minds when I interviewed them together at paidContent 2011. They were still in a honeymoon phase and Olbermann, who stayed off video for several months between MSNBC and Current, was months away from launching his show. That show involved rebuilding studios, hiring a New York staff and more.

It was an attention-getting move that caused some to think again about Current and certainly hiring Olbermann put the network, which has yet to have its real break through, in the spotlight. But it also put it on the hot seat. Building a network on ideals, worth a shot. Hinging it on one volatile personality, not so much. Olbermann is right when he points to a resume that show how long he’s worked with some people and when he challenges his labeling as peripatetic. He’s also charming, amusing, incredibly bright, knows his baseball, reads James Thurber stories out loud, and has seen the Book of Mormon an unfair number of times.

But he’s also had a series of confrontations and missteps that often make the story more about him, than about any network or its goals.

Al Gore and Joel Hyatt knew that when they courted him. Whatever the reasons for the ultimate split — and I doubt it’s as one-sided as either party wants it to appear — they had to know honeymoons end.

As for Olbermann, he may miss cable networks for a while but he always has the Net.

Olbermann and Hyatt spoke at our paidContent 2011 conference, where they explained how Olbermann joining Current was a match made in heaven.

With our intense focus on newsworthiness, paidContent 2012 is being programmed in real time to make sure we capture what’s top of mind for you, today, in your industry. Our theme this year, At the Crossroads, explores convergence — how entertainment, advertising, publishing, television and news companies are finding ways to be meaningful and profitable online, uncovering the overarching lessons applicable to all industries as they forge new paths in the digital space.

The speaker roster includes some of the top leaders in the news and magazine publishing industries, including Bob Sauerberg, President, Condé Nast and John Paton, CEO, Digital First Media; Rob Grimshaw, Managing Director, FT.com and Liz Schimel, EVP and Chief Digital Officer, Meredith (NYSE: MDP) National Media Group. We’ll hear from entrepreneurs, VCs and investors, including Brian Bedol, Founder and CEO, Bedrocket Media Ventures, Bijan Sabet, General Partner, Spark Capital and Amy Banse, Managing Director and Head of Funds for Comcast (NSDQ: CMCSA) Ventures; from executives at the forefront of the e-reader battle, including Jonathan Shar, General Manager, Digital Newsstand and Emerging Content, Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), BN.com; and leading analyst James L. McQuivey from Forrester Research. We’re adding new speakers every day, so stay tuned.

As with all of our events, the conversation is 360 degrees — not only on the stage — so get ready to join your mentors and your peers to take an active role in this networking opportunity. Register today — our early registration discount expires Monday, January 16. For travelers, we’ve made arrangements with hotels near The TimesCenter for special rates.

Contact us if you’d like to suggest speakers (please read this first), if you’d like to advertise with us, or if you have general questions.

Check out coverage of paidContent 2011 and paidContent 2010.

Digital is at the crossroads. While last year’s efforts are starting to show results, other areas are now facing huge disruption. It’s all happening at breakneck speed, making it even more of a challenge than ever to understand what it will all mean for your business. On March 1st, we’ll convene industry leaders, innovators and disruptors across the digital landscape to hear first-hand what’s working, what’s broken, what’s new, and what’s coming next — and to learn from each other.

With that in mind, here are some of the sessions we’re developing:

Discoverability: When everything is everywhere, how do you get the right content to surface at the right time in front of the right people? How do you avoid search-engine syndrome? A look at who’s leading in discoverability, how it ties into branded content distribution, and the results of getting this critical piece of the puzzle right.

Tablets: Not Just an iPad World: A look at the latest research on how tablets are being used–how are people using tablets differently than smart phones? When the post-holiday numbers come in, what other tablets have gained market share and consumer attention? As a content creator/producer/seller/distributor, how do you survive in a world with one dominant player, but where there is increasing fragmentation?

The New Publishing Landscape: Who Profits Now?: Tablet momentum is spreading beyond Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and the iPad with the less expensive Kindle Fire from Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) and other contenders. Add that to the e-reader finally taking hold thanks to the price war between Amazon and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS) and you have a new publishing landscape with e-books bringing in real dollars. But who will win the battle for readers–the standalone or media devices? And how much of an effect will the cloud have in determining the victor?

The App Economy: Holy Grail or Dead End?: Seems like there’s an app for almost everything today–or will be. But is this a deep well or are we headed to rock bottom? Is app success at the expense of the web? Can the “appified” web bring in the same kind of revenue? What are the benefits and limitations of native apps vs. web apps? Is HTML5 the solution? A look at the limits and possibilities of the “app economy.”

Paying the Way: Spotify has 2.5 million paying customers. One year in, The New York Times’ pay wall is proving successful. Once a question of “will they?/won’t they?”, consumer online content payments appear to have a rosier future. In these new frontiers, how do you effectively price your content when there are few comparisons and free alternatives elsewhere? Meet some of the companies making it work globally–and find out.

Getting Creative: Finding the Nexus of Digital Content and Value: Creatives from the advertising, music, film and television industries talk about the changing marketplace, offering first-person accounts of how they were able to take advantage of the accessibility and opportunities the digital space offers–and make money doing it.

You’ll find the rest of the preliminary agenda here. Stayed tuned for more.

At paidContent events, attendees have come to expect unparalleled business intelligence and networking opportunities with bold-faced names both on stage and in the audience. We hope you’ll join us to explore this pivotal moment in the growth of digital. Sign up now to take advantage of our early registration discount.

Register now.

Contact us if you’d like to suggest speakers, if you’d like to advertise with us, or if you have general questions.

Check out coverage of last year’s paidContent 2011 conference and the previous year’s paidContent 2010 conference.

It’s the third year for our one-day, cross-sector signature event bringing together industry leaders and entrepreneurs, innovators and disruptors from across media, book and magazine publishing, entertainment and information — and it couldn’t come at a more pivotal moment.

Tablet momentum is spreading beyond Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) and the iPad with the less expensive Kindle Fire from Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) and other contenders. Add that to the e-reader finally taking hold thanks to the price war between Amazon and Barnes & Noble (NYSE: BKS), and you have a new publishing landscape with e-books bringing in real dollars. Branded content from marketers large and small is becoming more sophisticated and more prevalent. The cloud is shifting the way media is sold, stored, shared and distributed. Meanwhile, efforts to add digital revenue streams with various forms of paywalls, new subscription products, apps and more are multiplying. Coincidentally, we will be meeting at TheTimesCenter just as the The New York Times completes its first year with a meter ticking.

paidContent 2012 isn’t just a conference: It’s where digital media news breaks first. paidContent 2010 participants were the first to meet with New York Times (NYSE: NYT) top brass following the metered paywall announcement. paidContent 2011 heard first hand from Current’s Keith Olbermann during his off-the-air transition from MSNBC (NSDQ: CMCSA) to Current; from NBCU’s Lauren Zalaznick in her first post-Comcast merger interview; from The Daily Publisher Greg Clayman post-launch, and from Arianna Huffington and Tim Armstrong in their first New York City appearance following news that AOL (NYSE: AOL) was buying The Huffington Post.

What stories will break at paidContent 2012? Find out. Get ready to join the conversation and take advantage of our early registration rate.

Register now.

Contact us if you’d like to suggest speakers, if you’d like to advertise with us, or if you have general questions.

Check out coverage of last year’s paidContent 2011 conference and the previous year’s paidContent 2010 conference.

»  @ pcE11: Tercek: The Content Is The Container

»  @ pcE11: Lessons Learned From Netflix And Others On New Digital Video World

»  @ pcE11: Where Do You Build Your Brand?

»  @ pcE11: Cutting Clutter To Build Love, Make Money In Web Video

»  @ pcE11: Google TV Is Not A ‘Cord-Cutting’ Product

»  @ pcE11: So You Want To Be A YouTube Star?

»  @ pcE11: Angry Birds ‘The Movie’ Or ‘The App’? It’s Just ‘The Experience’

»  @ pcE11: The Intersection Of Gaming And Gaming

»  @ pcE11: CBS’ Lanzone: If You Want Our Content, You’ll Have To Pay-A Lot

»  @ pcE11: Measuring The Twitter Effect On TV Viewing And Programming Choices

»  @ pcE11: Dawn Ostroff: Streaming Is Better Than DVRs For Advertising

Many thanks to our sponsors ElasticPath, Google and Freewheel, media partners The Guardian, OPA and PromaxBDA and to everyone who participated in making our second paidContent Entertainment a day to remember.

Tercek began his presentation — slides will be available shortly, along with video — by tapping his inner Marshall McLuhan by telling the audience, “Content is always shaped by the container.” And in the case of the record industry with CDs and cable television with the set-top box, the container is shattering.

He illustrated his point with a description of Charles Dickens revenue model for the novel. The British author, like others of the period, didn’t sell books — he sold serialized chapters. The container of the “serialized pamphlet” influenced Dickens to write chapters with a cliffhanger so readers would be hungry for the next one. Because he was successful, he wrote a great many chapters. Dickens was so good, in fact, interest in his works crossed the Atlantic, where they were packaged as complete books — which publishers in the U.S. produced without paying Dickens royalties for his content. “We complain about China, but once, we were the content pirates.”

Eventually, story structure was determined by TV, which structured scenes around commercial breaks. But as broadcasters create shorter, more frequent commercial pods, they’re ending up losing their audience.

While cord-cutting has been talked about as an emerging threat, if not currently an actual one, to the cable industry, Tercek says that MSOs would do well to prepare for users to turn away from the set-top box.

Even broadcasters (i.e. “content companies”) find themselves in jeopardy, as they face competition from quarters they never had to worry about, such as device makers and telcos and the cable distributors themselves. TV channels like ABC (NYSE: DIS) and NBC (NSDQ: CMCSA) face a future where they are simply apps on a tablet that consumers choose to view.

The move to TV Everywhere, where cable subscribers are given permission to view subscription programming on digital devices, is the way cable believes it can hold on to their value in the eyes of consumers, as device manufacturers, telcos and content providers compete to show programming on their own terms. This will force the unbundling of cable and the MSOs will have to create new services to compete, Tercek said.

Some argue that the telcos will be the winner by “rebundling,” by offering to sell users a basic tier of service and then premium on top of that. “I don’t think the consumer has been asking for that,” Tercek said. “People don’t want a choice between a collection of basic and premium channels. In fact, we’re seeing the end of the channel.”

In the two-way network, channels, are about getting viewers to tune it at a specific time. As time-shifting increases, the value of programming for a specific moment will fall by the wayside. Unbundling will lead to the creation of marketplaces of content. “Every successful business on the web is a marketplace of some sort: Google (NSDQ: GOOG) with search, Amazon (NSDQ: AMZN) with retail products and iTunes with music and apps. They are all marketplaces: efficient mechanisms for matching buyers and sellers. These companies don’t need to monetize content the way TV companies do. Facebook monetizes your social graph and market it to the highest bidder. Google does the same; it’s all about selling consumer behaviors, identities and relationships.”

The end of the channel has been happening for a while, Tercek said. “Broadcast news used to be the flagship of the brand. But we’ve hollowed out newsrooms because of the cost. Reality television was thought to be a fad, but it is here to stay. Every TV programmer has some form of reality show. We’ve also started to notice endless repeats of hits in cable, because it’s cheaper to rerun a show than invest in a new one. About 60 percent of cable viewing on a particular channel is three or four shows; the rest is filler.”

While Tercek expressed a great deal of pessimism for the current state of cable TV, he is particularly excited about the kinds of businesses that will emerge. “What might the service of the future look like? A company called Frequency — I wish I could talk about what they’re releasing next week. I was at a presentation of their’s earlier and it rocked my world.”