Paris – MIPTV announced on March 6 that Avi Nir, Chief Executive Officer of Keshet Media Group, will give a keynote address on April 7 as part of MIPTV’s Media Mastermind Keynote Series. Organised by Reed MIDEM, MIPTV will take place in Cannes, France, from April 7-10, 2014.
During the keynote, Avi Nir will address how to drive innovation in television in today’s digital age. Core to this discussion is the aim to challenge predictability, and the belief that TV must be innovative and forward-thinking if it is to excite and delight today’s changeable and demanding audience which operates on the move (and expects us to move with it).
Avi Nir
Debating how to innovate and break current paradigms, Nir will address the constant need to find a balance between challenging versus boring the viewer and breaking the cycle of formulaic content with disruptive, engaging ideas that hold viewers’ attention and curiosity – from real-time reality to high-concept drama.
He will cite examples from Keshet’s variety of scripted and non-scripted shows on air and in development internationally, and address the issue of content lifecycles – considering the impact of the digital revolution.
As the head of Israel’s foremost media company and named the First Most Influential Person in Israeli Culture, Nir speaks primarily as a broadcaster and cultural leader; but at his core, Nir speaks as a content evangelist – a buyer, seller, developer and enthusiast of excellence in television.
Besides its track record in broadcasting, dominating local viewing with shares in excess of 40%, Keshet Broadcasting has enjoyed global success with its high-quality shows. Nir is actively engaged in many international adaptations: such as the U.S. productions of its scripted properties Dig, False Flag, and MICE and the U.K. reversion of its successful drama The A Word. Notably, he serves as an Executive Producer on Showtime’s Emmy®-winning drama Homeland, for which he was personally awarded an Emmy®. Keshet’s original Israeli show, Prisoners of War, upon which Homeland is based, has sold to more than 20 territories internationally.
Through forming Keshet International, the company’s global production and distribution arm, Nir has introduced Keshet’s quality content throughout the world and has found widespread international success for its formats including the trailblazing interactive talent show Rising Star, which has sold to more than 25 territories since its launch at MIPCOM 2013.
