LOS ANGELES—Steven Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of Vivid Entertainment, will tell film and digital media industry executives on Wednesday, June 16 in Banff, Canada, that porn can lead consumer acceptance of the new "Smart TV" era—just as it did with VHS, DVD and VOD.
Hirsch will be speaking at The NextMedia Conference during The Banff World Television Festival at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in the Canadian Rockies (June 13-16), the world's premiere television content creation event. He will point out that Vivid is "not waiting to see what happens; we're making sure that we are shaping what happens."
As he hosts a panel on adult entertainment with Scott Coffman, president and CEO of VOD leader AEBN and Darren Roberts, CEO of AVN Media Network, Hirsch will reveal that Vivid is developing new tools to distribute its award-winning adult films, celebrity sex tapes and sex education videos through the web, mobile and VOD, channels that "will be crucial to the future of our company and for the entire adult industry."
"Because at this point an entire generation of consumers is used to getting so much adult content free, we are studying whether or not to change our online subscription model," he will tell an audience at the Banff conference. "We believe that we need to offer our consumers a variety of content that cannot be pirated.
"We've been preparing for Smart TV or true convergence for some time and we're making deals now that will position us for this development. This means working with TV manufacturers, cable companies, and other key players. The future of the adult industry is at stake and we are determined to make this work. In addition, since we were the first in the industry to create a profitable mobile program we will continue to develop this effort. We've been on top of 3D developments and are fully involved in this technology as a growing number of consumers gain access to 3D at home.
"Because of our size and position in the industry, inventors of new technology come to us first. At any given time we have several pilot programs running that explore the feasibility of the latest innovations for the way we do business. Vivid has been a key driver for all types of technology—from VHS and early web-based content, to interactive DVDs, on to a full function interactive website to burning your own DVD. Today we are in a position to be early adopters of delivery vehicles and concepts that are not even off the drawing boards as yet," he said.
Hirsch said celebrity sex tapes, an industry category that Vivid also leads, has become an important element in building new interest in adult entertainment. "Without question, our Vivid-Celeb imprint—through which we have distributed sex tapes of celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, Pamela Anderson, country singer Mindy McCready and Kendra Wilkinson—is a big traffic draw. Celebrity sex works across all platforms and the public's endless fascination with the sex lives of celebrities seems insatiable."
Bringing together the world's largest multi-platform production and development market and Canada's premier television and digital media event, The Banff World Television Festival is the designed to help industry players to grow their business by combining the expertise of traditional television and the in-demand innovation of digital media.
