ViewLift, a global leader in end-to-end streaming and OTT solutions, is excited to announce that Jeff Douglas will be joining the company as Chief Customer Officer on April 24. Jeff brings over 16 years of experience in creating innovative, customer-focused products. In addition, he has successfully led cross-functional teams in launching and operating ad-supported and subscription services across all streaming platforms.

Before ViewLift, Jeff served as Senior Product Manager at Amazon Prime Video and supported their debut broadcast of “Thursday Night Football” last year. Prior to his Amazon tenure, as Senior Product Director for Discovery+, he led product development and launched the company’s flagship direct-to-consumer streaming service with over 55,000 episodes of original programming. He also played a pivotal role in Discovery’s TV Everywhere GO apps. With his extensive experience and customer insight-led approach, Jeff’s appointment adds tremendous value to ViewLift customers looking to boost their growth in the OTT space.

“Jeff’s deep understanding of the sports sector and his proven, two-decade-long track record of building customer-centric products make him an invaluable addition to our team,” said Rick Allen, ViewLift CEO. “We are confident that his expertise will help us deliver consistent innovation and accelerated revenue growth for our customers.”

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ViewLift Set to Speak at Prominent Sports Industry Events

ViewLift is also pleased to announce thought-leadership sessions at several upcoming industry events, providing context – and offering solutions – to key sports and OTT challenges. These upcoming events include SportsPro Live in London (April 25) where Rick Allen will present a case study of LIV Golf’s digital success, in dialogue with LIV’s VP Ross Antrobus. Rick will also take the stage next month in Miami at Sportel, with a keynote on sports distribution in light of the upheaval among regional sports networks.

Rick recently also led a panel discussion at the NAB Streaming Summit in Las Vegas titled “The Business of Sports Streaming: Challenges and Opportunities.” Panelists included top sports content and distribution executives Charlie Myers, CTO, Monumental Sports & Entertainment;   industry veteran Steve Byrd,(former senior executive with STATS and SportRadar; Meghan Chayka, Co-Founder, Stathletes, and Brian Brinkmann, Principal Product Manager, Adobe Pass.

The conversation focused on the dipping market share of pay TV bundles and the increased adoption of OTT streaming in sports content distribution. In addition, the speakers debated and shared insights on the challenges in online video monetization; the rising cost of content; how rights-holders analyze streaming media providers and the optimal monetization approaches for sports content across SVOD and AVOD.

The session was exceptionally well received by the audience, providing actionable insights on combining traditional sports distribution models with direct-to-consumer and OTT services.

“This is an incredibly fascinating time for media companies, content owners, sports franchises, and other stakeholders in the industry. With the rapid adoption of OTT among consumers, including the emerging segment of Cord-Nevers, events like the NAB Streaming Summit bring brilliant ideas and opportunities to the forefront,” Allen noted. “By sharing our experiences and learnings from customer successes such as LIV Golf, we are able to drive innovation and help shape the future of content delivery and consumption. We look forward to engaging with our peers, exchanging insights, and discovering new ways to add value to our customers and the industry at these upcoming events,” Rick concluded.

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