Tag: Fast Forward

Cineverse’s Chris McGurk Selected as MPN’s 2026 Fast Forward Honoree

Chris McGurk, chairman and CEO of Cineverse, is this year’s Fast Forward Award honoree, Media Play News announced Jan. 19.

The Fast Forward Award is presented each year by Media Play News, one of the five major Hollywood trades and the only one to focus on “last mile” home distribution of films and shows, to people, technologies, or organizations that move the home entertainment industry forward.

McGurk, who will be saluted in the February 2026 issue of Media Play News, is the architect of Cineverse’s transformation from a digital cinema company to an entertainment and streaming technology company, which is built around the principle that streaming and theatrical are synergistic rather than cannibalistic, and that technology is the engine that allows our industry’s crown jewel, content, to shine brighter than ever.

Cineverse distributes content across all windows and platforms, from theatrical to digital to physical, and has a library of more than 71,000 films, series and podcasts that reach 50 million unique monthly viewers. The company also has a technology organization that it built alongside its content business. Matchpoint is the company’s core technology suite for delivering streaming content, an automated and workflow platform that prides itself on efficiency and also provides tools for scalable app creation, analytics and predictive dashboards, and AI-powered quality control and metadata enrichment.

“Chris epitomizes the new type of studio executive who both understands and welcomes technology as an enabler,” said Thomas K. Arnold, publisher and editorial director of Media Play News. “After I moderated a discussion with Chris at AFM 2024, where we talked about the success of Terrifier 3 and how it was marketed through Cineverse’s own streaming platforms and technologies, I thought he would be an ideal candidate for this annual honor — and everyone I talked to about it later agreed.”

McGurk said, “I’m honored to be a part of an amazing team that continues to innovate, evolve, and surprise the industry. We have pivoted when needed, while staying true to our mission of redefining what a studio looks like in 2026. From bringing franchises back to fans in theaters — like Return to Silent Hill on Jan. 23, Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth, and Air Bud Returns, our first family film — to growing our AI and streaming technology capabilities through our best-in-class engineering team, and strategic moves like our recent acquisition of Giant Worldwide, we are proving what’s possible when creative ambition and technical excellence come together.”

Past Media Play News Fast Forward honorees include Katherine Pond, Group VP at Vizio; Danny Fisher, CEO of FilmRise; Andrea Downing, president of PBS Distribution; and Eddie Cunningham, at the time president of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

The February 2026 issue of Media Play News becomes available in both print and digital editions on Feb. 23.

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Vizio’s Katherine Pond Selected as Media Play News’ 2025 Fast Forward Honoree

Katherine Pond, Group VP, Platform Content & Partnerships at Vizio, will be this year’s Fast Forward Award honoree, Media Play News announced Jan. 30.

The Fast Forward Award is presented each year by Media Play News, one of the five major Hollywood trades and the only one to focus on “last mile” home distribution of films and shows, to people, technologies, organizations, products or services that move the home entertainment industry forward.

Pond, who will be saluted in the February 2025 issue of Media Play News, is a key driver in the CTV realm. She heads distribution, content acquisition, programming, platform partnerships and marketing at Vizio, a top smart-TV maker and leader in the CE industry’s embrace of streaming. Pond has played a key role in getting Vizio to leverage platform data to gain insight into what consumers want to watch and make the right content choices for Vizio’s WatchFree+ FAST service.

“Katherine was an easy choice,” said Thomas K. Arnold, publisher and editorial director of Media Play News. “She’s smart, savvy and strategic, and when we asked industry leaders who they would nominate for this honor Katherine was at the top of virtually everyone’s list.”

Pond said, “Throughout my career, I have taken inspiration from so many technology leaders and entertainment trailblazers, several of whom have received this award before me. I’m truly honored to be named among those who have shaped and formed this industry I am so passionate about.”

Past honorees include Danny Fisher, CEO of FilmRise; Andrea Downing, president of PBS Distribution; and Eddie Cunningham, at the time president of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment.

The February 2025 issue of Media Play News becomes available in both print and digital editions on Feb. 24.

PBS Distribution’s Andrea Downing to Be Honored With Fourth Annual ‘Fast Forward’ Award

Media Play News Jan. 22 announced that Andrea Downing, co-president of PBS Distribution, will receive the fourth annual Media Play Fast Forward Award, which honors people, technologies, organizations, products or services that move the home entertainment industry forward.

With more than 25 years’ experience in the home entertainment business, industry leader Downing is being honored for her exceptional, broad and groundbreaking role at PBS Distribution. She has led the evolution of the organization from a start-up focused on physical goods to a global distribution company of public media content around the world. Her focus on adapting to the media landscape has led to five subscription streaming channels — PBS Masterpiece, PBS Kids, PBS Living, PBS Documentaries and PBS America (U.K.). In addition to licensing content on DVD and Blu-ray, she has also spearheaded the company’s move into transactional video-on-demand; subscription video-on-demand; theatrical releasing; and educational, non-theatrical, inflight and international program sales and co-productions.

“I am extremely honored to be recognized by Media Play News with the Media Play Fast Forward Award — particularly when I consider how many of my peers are doing incredible work in extraordinary times,” said Downing. “The home entertainment market has changed dramatically over the last 10 years, and we have all had to learn to pivot quickly and anticipate what will come next. But no one anticipated a global pandemic, and we have been tested mightily this past year.

“I also recognize that I would not have received the award without the incredible dedication and talent of the PBS Distribution team. I am so proud that they continuously pivot to face our challenges and opportunities and develop innovative ways to address and capitalize on them, all while supporting each other and maintaining our company values. It is an honor to lead this team each and every day and contribute to the public television system’s mission of giving voice to all Americans.”

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Last year, the Media Play Fast Forward Award went to Eddie Cunningham, president of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment. In 2019, the award went to digital retailers Cameron Douglas of FandangoNow, Galen Smith of Redbox On Demand, Google Play Movies & TV’s Jonathan Zepp and the team at Apple iTunes. The previous year, the inaugural Media Play Fast Forward Award was shared by the Fox Innovation Lab and Movies Anywhere.

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The Media Play Fast Forward awards are an outgrowth of the Home Entertainment Visionary Awards, which were launched in 2002 by the now-defunct Home Media Magazine. Comcast’s Brian Roberts was the 2017 honoree. Warren Lieberfarb, the father of DVD, was the first Visionary Award winner, back in 2002. Other honorees have included Sony Pictures’ Ben Feingold, Samsung’s Tim Baxter, and Walmart’s Louis Greth and Chris Nagelson.

Downing will be profiled in the March issue of Media Play News.

Digital Retailers to be Honored in Second Annual Fast Forward Awards

Media Play News Feb. 19 announced that four digital retailers will receive the second annual Media Play Fast Forward Awards, honoring people, technologies, organizations, products or services that move the home entertainment industry forward.

This year’s honorees are Cameron Douglas, VP of home entertainment at FandangoNow; Google Play’s Jonathan Zepp, Head of Media and Entertainment; Galen Smith, CEO of Redbox; and the team at Apple iTunes (the company asked that no individual be singled out).

With streaming continuing to dominate the home entertainment business,  the transactional video-on-demand (TVOD) model is more important than ever to the Hollywood studios.

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TVOD — both electronic sellthrough (EST) and a la carte streaming — also posted significant gains in 2018, thanks in large part to aggressive and innovative digital retailers.

FandangoNow has been revving up its promotional muscle and is aggressively tying in digital purchases and rentals with its movie-ticket-selling sister company.

Google Play Movies & TV is on a big 4K push, automatically upgrading customers’ past movie purchases to the new format, so they can stream them in 4K, even if the movies were originally purchased in standard or high definition.

Redbox has nearly doubled the selection of films and TV shows available on its year-old digital movie store, Redbox On Demand, and last December announced a new deal in which its app is featured on all Vizio Smartcast TVs — in addition to TVs from Samsung and LG.

And Apple’s iTunes service began the year with a game-changing deal with No. 1 TV manufacturer Samsung. New Samsung SmartCast TVs will allow consumers to access their iTunes movie and TV show libraries through a new app. They’ll also be able to buy new movies or TV shows directly through the app.

The Media Play Fast Forward awards are an outgrowth of the Home Entertainment Visionary Awards, which were launched in 2002 by the now-defunct Home Media Magazine. Comcast’s Brian Roberts was the 2017 honoree. Warren Lieberfarb, the father of DVD, was the first, back in 2002. Other honorees have included Sony Pictures’ Ben Feingold, Samsung’s Tim Baxter, and Walmart’s Louis Greth and Chris Nagelson.

The four digital retailers will be profiled in the March issue of Media Play News‘ monthly magazine, available in both print and digital editions, and honored at a luncheon in Los Angeles at a date that has not yet been determined.

A portion of the proceeds of the luncheon will benefit Caterina’s Club, a Los Angeles charity that provides warm meals, affordable housing assistance, and job training to homeless and low-income families throughout Southern California.

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