2008 Media Summit: Keynote - Robert A. Iger

March 12th and 13th marked the 5th annual Digital Hollywood Media Summit. Hosted at the McGraw Hill buildings in New York City, the event is a major destination for professionals in the television, film, and media oriented web communities. Topics of discussion range from advertising to marketing and emergence of new solutions and services.

On the first day of the conference, the keynote speaker was Robert A. Iger, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Walt Disney Company. While the topics of discussion varied from theme parks to media properties, a significant amount of discussion revolved around the importance of technology in a digitally connected world.

Robert A. Iger, President & CEO, The Walt Disnet Company

As internet accessibility and related technology continues to evolve, user generated and professional digital content is growing constantly. Unlike many traditional companies that have avoided the move to digital platforms, Disney has been an innovator, successfully launching digital portals that span various genres: news, sports, mainstream media, and online-only content. According to Iger, the company has served millions of TV shows and movies via Apple's iTunes music store in the past 18 months. Furthermore, Iger also indicated that sales of digital media exceeded $1 billion.

One key factor that many analysts fail to focus on, is the evolution and growth of high-definition content. According to Iger, this content should not be classified as "old" media, as it is new media that delivers a different experience to the end user. Another key topic of discussion was entertainment via online games. Last year, Disney purchased Club Pengiun, a gaming website oriented towards children between the ages of 6 - 14 for $700 million.

Apart from the keynote itself, many panel sessions and discussions were focused around digital media -- monetization, analytics, and user engagement. As the digital world continues to evolve on all fronts, creative professionals have a tremendous potential to succeed.

Stay tuned to Zoom In Online for coverage of CBS's President and CEO's keynote - Leslie Moonves.