Industry CFO's to Discuss Plans for ATSC 3.0 at MFM CFO Summit

Northfield, IL, February 16, 2017 – The media industry’s senior finance executives will explore the new ATSC 3.0 television broadcast standard during a session at the 2017 Media Financial Management Association (MFM)  CFO Summit that will be led by Sandhi Kozsuch, Principal of Strategic and Industry Initiatives for Cox Media Group and Chairman of the Board for the Pearl broadcast consortium, and Jerry Fritz, Executive Vice President, Strategic and Legal Affairs of ONE Media.

Scheduled for March 2-3, at the Hilton Ft. Lauderdale Beach Resort, MFM’s annual CFO Summit provides the media industry’s senior finance executives an exclusive forum for an in-person exchange of ideas and discussions.

 “Many broadcast stations are exploring whether to factor in the process of upgrading to ATSC 3.0 as part of the upcoming broadcast spectrum repack,” said Mary M. Collins, President and CEO of MFM and its BCCA subsidiary, the media industry’s credit association. “We couldn’t ask for two better experts to help the industry’s senior finance executives navigate their way through the issues and opportunities than Sandi Kozsuch and Jerry Fritz, both of whom have been deeply involved in analyzing ways to align the new standard with the industry’s mobile and multiplatform revenue strategies.”          

As Principal of Strategic and Industry Initiatives for Cox Media Group, Sandhi Kozsuch’s work focuses on the next generation of digital, television, radio, and media technologies, including ATSC 3.0, IPTV, TV Everywhere, data-driven and targeted advertising, internet radio, and radio datacasting. He also serves as chairman of the board of directors for Pearl, a consortium of U.S. television broadcast companies with a shared interest in developing forward-looking broadcast opportunities such as Next Gen TV and Digital Media. Prior to assuming his current role at Cox Media Group, Kozsuch spent three years as director of digital for the Cox Television. His more than 40 years in the television and digital industries includes serving as and EVP, SVP and VP of development and marketing for WorldNow, general manager for Cox Interactive Media and 23 years in local television posts, including program director, director of broadcast operations and marketing, production manager, news producer, reporter and camera operator.

Jerry Fritz is Executive Vice President for Strategic and Legal Affairs for ONE Media, LLC, a joint-venture controlled by Sinclair Broadcast Group, where he oversees long-term strategic planning and government relations for the company, including the adoption and implementation of the “Next Generation” transmission standards.  He also plays a critical role in shaping ONE Media’s ideas for the new broadcast platform and Sinclair’s national and international spectrum use positions along with the monetization of its intellectual property.

Fritz joined ONE Media in 2014 after serving as the long-time general counsel to television station group owner, Allbritton Communications Company, and its affiliate, POLITICO. Previously, he served as the chief of staff to former FCC Chairman Mark Fowler and was a primary architect of deregulatory efforts in the broadcasting and telecommunications industries.  Beforehand, Fitz was in private practice specializing in communications law with the Pierson, Ball and Dowd law firm and taught on the adjunct faculty at George Mason University Law School.  He has served on the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Board of Directors, where he chaired the NAB-X.com task force and served on NAB’s Digital Television Task Force as well as its EEO, Web Streaming and Copyright Committees. In addition, he is a past governor of the ABC Affiliates Association, where he chaired its government relations committee and led its NewsOne revision team.

CFO Summit 2017 Co-Chairs are David Bestler, Executive Vice President & CFO for Hubbard Radio, and Brett Fennell, CFO and Executive Vice President of National Ad Platforms for Cox Media Group (CMG). In addition to the session about ATSC 3.0, it will feature sessions addressing economic, regulatory advertising and other technology trends affecting today’s media businesses. Additional information about the CFO Summit and an online registration form may be found on MFM’s website, at http://www.mediafinance.org/cfo-summit.

About MFM and BCCA:

Media Financial Management Association (MFM) is the premiere resource for financial professionals for media industry education, networking, and information sharing throughout the U.S. and Canada. More information about MFM is available on its Web site: http://www.mediafinance.org and via its updates on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter. Its BCCA subsidiary serves as the media industry’s credit association. BCCA’s revenue management services encompass a variety of credit reports on national and local media advertisers, including Media Whys, a credit report for media businesses which offers a credit score based on industry-specific aging combined with trade data from Experian or D+B. More information about BCCA is available at http://www.bccacredit.com as well as its updates on Linkedin, Facebook and Twitter.