Distribution

Rick Warren – Managing Partner/CFO, Post Modern Group

Posted on 21.01.12

January 2012 was a rather special month at the Post Modern Group featuring not just one but three notable anniversaries. Co-founders Amir Samnani and Rick Warren both turned 50 and The PME Interview notched up its 50th edition. It seemed therefore a fitting occasion to invite Managing Partner/CFO Rick Warren into the CNBC Studios in London to debate the future for traditional labs as airlines move more and more to a pure digital product.

In a remarkably candid interview, Rick discusses the threat from major hardware manufacturers who want to bypass traditional labs by setting up an iTunes style service for airlines and reveals the true cost to PME of launching a content service provider.

To celebrate the 50th PME Interview, PME is giving away an iPad 2 so keep watching to find out how you can win this gorgeous piece of kit.

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Cindy Phillips – Managing Director, IFE Content & Client Service, Pace Communications

Posted on 07.01.12

The development of inflight entertainment has been the backdrop to the life of our special guest today here on The PME Interview. Cindy Phillips has worked in the industry for more than 20 years, first for a hardware company, then a movie distributor, then various content service providers including Interact, Spafax and Pace. One of Cindy’s more recent projects involved helping to integrate the inflight entertainment offerings of Delta and Northwest Airlines, following their recent merger. Cindy talks to Steve Harvey about life at Sony Transcom back in the early days and brings us right up to date with what’s happening today at Pace Communications.

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Tagged with: Cindy Phillips • content service providers • Delta • entertainment • IFE • in-flight • Interact • Northwest Airlines • Pace Communications • Sony Transcom • Spafax

Michael Reilly – Chief Operating Officer, Stellar

Posted on 08.12.11

It’s taken a while but finally the in-flight iPad is a reality. At least two airlines, Air Baltic and Jetstar are now handing out iPads to business passengers and renting them to economy and coach passengers. Also British Airways recently announced that they would be making iPads available to First Class passengers to supplement the existing in-flight entertainment system. All this must be music to the ears of Content Service Provider, Stellar, who’ve been championing the iPad for some time now and is supplying content for iPads on Jetstar. Michael Reilly, Chief Operating Officer at Stellar, is Steve Harvey’s special guest on today’s PME Interview.

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Tagged with: Air Baltic • airlines • British Airways • Content Service Provider • entertainment • First Class • in-flight • iPad • Jetstar • Michael Reilly • passengers • Stellar

Neal Rothman – Vice President Non-Theatrical, Twentieth Century Fox

Posted on 04.11.11

Twentieth Century Fox is on a roll. A strong slate of movies, a host of exciting new TV shows and an innovative if somewhat controversial licensing policy have all helped Fox maintain a healthy slice of the inflight entertainment content market. Twentieth Century Fox originally came into being on May 31st 1935, the result of a merger between the Fox Film Corporation and Twentieth Century Pictures. Executive Vice President Non-Theatrical, Julian Levin and Vice President Non-Theatrical Neal Rothman both work from an office situated on the Fox studio lot. In fact, as Steve Harvey discovered when he met with Neal recently, the Fox Inflight office has a very interesting past.

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Tagged with: entertainment • Fox Film Corporation • Fox Inflight office • Fox studio lot • IFE • in-flight • Julian Levin • licensing • merger • movies • Neal Rothman • non-theatrical • TV shows • Twentieth Century Fox • Twentieth Century Pictures

Peter George – Vice President, Sales and Acquisitions, Jaguar

Posted on 21.10.11

When it comes to spotting a great airline movie and securing the In-flight rights, you’d be hard pressed to beat today’s guest on the PME Interview. Peter George is a senior member of the team at the independent In-flight movie distributor, Jaguar. Peter is one of the most experienced operators in this very competitive field and today he talks to Steve Harvey about how he came to get into the business and what makes a good In-flight movie.

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Tagged with: airlines • Distribution • in-flight • independent • Jaguar • movies • Peter George • rights

Christine Zhu – In-flight Entertainment Manager, Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd.

Posted on 12.08.10

Cathay Pacific has an enviable reputation for great in-flight entertainment. It’s a member of the elite ‘1,000 IFE Club’, airlines that offer their passengers more than 1,000 choices of in-flight entertainment. Now with a new order for an additional fifteen B777-300ER aircraft, in-flight connectivity is very much on the agenda. Christine Zhu is In-flight Entertainment Manager for Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd., and she joins host Steve Harvey to discuss what’s happening at Cathay Pacific.

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Tagged with: 1000 IFE Club • airlines • B777 • Boeing • Cathay Pacific • choices • Christine Zhu • connectivity • ICE • IFE • in-flight • Inflight Communications and Entertainment • passengers

Richard Wise – Senior Vice President, IMG Media

Posted on 07.06.10

Later this month millions of airline passengers will tune in to recorded highlights of the FIFA World Cup courtesy of IMG Media. But how soon before major events like the Olympics go live on international flights? Steve Harvey poses the question to Richard Wise, Senior Vice President at IMG Media.

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Tagged with: entertainment • FIFA World Cup • IFE • IMG Media • international flights • Olympics • Richard Wise

Jeff Klein – Jaguar

Posted on 03.05.10

Jeff Klein has been in the IFE business for more than 30 years – there’s actually a rather grainy black and white photograph of Jeff appearing on a panel at the very first WAEA meeting in 1979. Jeff’s company, Jaguar, was the first of the independents to supply movies to airlines. Hear how it all started when Jeff was strolling down a street in New York in the early seventies wondering what to do with his life…

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Tagged with: airlines • Distribution • IFE • Jaguar • movies • WAEA

Mark Horton – VP Non-Theatrical Distribution, Paramount Pictures

Posted on 22.03.10

Mark Horton has experienced the in-flight entertainment industry from both sides of the fence. During the ’80s and early ’90s, Mark was in charge of IFE at British Airways and served as WAEA President at the time of the London conference. Nowadays he’s involved in selling rather than buying in-flight movies, as vice-president of non-theatrical distribution at Paramount Pictures. In this week’s PME Interview Steve Harvey talks to Mark about his long association with in-flight entertainment and how he sees the future for in-flight movies.

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