VideoAge International October 2018

6 World October 2018 V I D E O A G E (Continued on Page 10) will be followed by two panel sessions that will bring together producers, financiers, buyers, and distributors to discuss business strategies in this ever- evolving marketplace. Also new to the line-up is a half-day conference dedicated to blockchain set for Saturday, November 3, with presentations and discussions from companies that are transforming indepen- dent film financing, production, and distribution with this Inter- net technology. This year’s AFM Roundtables, which explore specialized and timely issues, will take place in a larger venue, the AFM Gallery at Le Merigot Hotel, which is adjacent to the Lowes Hotel and also houses some exhibitors. The Writers Workshops will return to the AFM for the second year in a row under the tutelage of academic instructors from the University of California in Los Angeles (UCLA), as well as other institutions of higher learning. These four workshops cover screenwriting and storytelling tips and techniques. Swiss TV Leaves DTT S wiss public broadcaster SRG-SSR will terminate digital terrestrial TV broadcasting (DVB-T) at the end of 2019 — but it will be doing so without a replacement. There will be no transition to second generation (or DVB-T2) digital terrestrial TV (DTT) as in neighboring Germany, Austria, and Italy. SRG-SSR is the Bern-based umbrella organization that encompasses SRF (German- language radio-TV service), RTS (French-language areas), RSI (Italian-language regions) and RTR (Romansh-language areas). All four services will re- quire broadband or cable/satel- lite connection to continue re- ceiving broadcasts. The DTT closedown plans were included in the new SRG- SSR charter recently granted by the Swiss Federal Council as part of cost-saving measures. SRG-SSR currently operates more than 200 DVB-T transmit- ters in Switzerland. However, only 1.9 percent of households still use DVB-T and it is prima- rily for TV reception on second or third devices. Most Swiss homes have high-speed bro- adband and/or cable TV. It is estimated that a total of around 64,000 households that depend exclusively on DTT will be af- fected by the switch-off. T he American Film Market (AFM) is gearing up for its 39th edition, which will take place October 31 to November 7 in Santa Monica, California. While the market — organized by the Los Angeles-based Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) — is rounding up international film and TV buyers to keep the expected 400 exhibitors busy at the Lowes Hotel, it has also announced its programming line-up for its conferences, roundtables, workshops, and spotlight events, and will offer more than 40 sessions. The conferences will take up five days of the eight-day event, which this year will launch with The Global Perspective Conference. The key attraction is going to be a session with Charles Rivkin (pictured at right), the chairman and CEO of the Washington D.C.-based Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). Friday, November 2, will open with a discussion between Rivkin and Jean Prewitt, president and CEO of the IFTA. The theme of the discussion is the major challenges and opportunities facing the film industry and how the MPAA and the IFTA are addressing them. The opening dialogue AFM Focuses on Big Issues and Big Names Visit us at the Buyers’ Club, Palais - 1 ORIGINAL ROBERT STACK EPISODES Licensed from Carsey-Werner CHLOË GRACE MORETZ