StreamTV Insider is excited to announce the distinguished lineup of StreamTV Awards 2024 Winners. Competition was particularly stiff this year among a highly accomplished group of candidates. But following detailed evaluation by StreamTV’s cohort of industry judge results are in, and winning executives and companies stood out for going above and beyond in innovation, expertise and leadership to make positive impacts on their respective companies, clients and the streaming TV industry at large. Winners, who span major media companies and emerging startups, were formally unveiled and celebrated Monday night at an awards event during the StreamTV Show in Denver.
Read on for all of the 2024 winners along with some of their respective key company and industry contributions and entry highlights.
StreamTV Executive of the Year Awards
Executive of the Year awards senior leaders for their direct contributions to success and growth in the realms of advertising, content partnerships, marketing and technology.
Advertising Executive of the Year: Jamie Power, The Walt Disney Company
Jamie Power is SVP of Addressable Sales at the Walt Disney Company, where she is at the forefront for advancing audience-based advertising and automation, leading its multi-billion-dollar global addressable business and contributing company’s significant growth and transformation through industry-leading partnerships and innovation across programmatic and self-service. Power advanced the advertising industry by making it more effective and performant for Disney clients, helping them move the needle on media investments. For her expertise and influence across key advertising facets, Power is recognized as Advertising Executive of the Year.
Content Partnerships Executive of the Year: Amy Kuessner, Pluto TV
Amy Kuesnner is Executive Vice President of Programming at Paramount Global-owned Pluto TV, leading the content strategy for the free, ad-supported TV (FAST) platform, which includes the creative curation and programming of nearly 1,500 channels and content licensing. Kuessner was instrumental in the creation of Pluto TV’s original channel strategy and successfully struck first-ever FAST deals with partners like the NFL, CNN, Discovery, Scripps and BBC. In 2023 she helped the platform expand existing relationships and secured several new partnerships. Under her leadership Pluto grew live events alongside other efforts that drove consistent record-breaking growth for the platform.
Marketing Executive of the Year: Sylvia George, AMC Networks
Syliva George is EVP of Media and Marketing Strategy at AMC Networks, where she combines data-driven insights with creative innovation. George stood out among nominees for leadership and strategic prowess that helped propel AMC Netwroks’ streaming services, including AMC+, Acorn TV, Shudder, Sundance Now, ALLBLK, and HIDIVE to new heights in 2023-2024. That includes marketing and tracking uniquely successful content partnerships, such as with WBD’s Max that brought seven AMC+ original series to the streaming partner for two months.
Technology Executive of the Year: Scott Olechowski, Plex
Scott Olechowski is chief product officer and co-founder of Plex, a privately-held entertainment streaming platform that allows fans to discover, discuss, rate and watch TV shows and movies from all available platforms. Olechowski started Plex in 2009 to help solve his own challenges accessing digital media and has been responsible for product strategy, product management and business development for its software and services. He spearheaded efforts helping to solve the consumer streaming struggle by aggregating content and taming the chaos of fragmentation, combining AVOD, TVOD, SVOD, discovery and community. With Olechowski at the product helm, the multi-faceted Plex platform has grown to 22 million monthly active users.
Emerging Leaders
Emerging leaders honors up and coming leaders aged 35 and under.
Tyler Budd, Blue Ant Media
Tyler Budd is responsible for managing the growth strategy and monetization of Blue Ant Media's intellectual property digitally across its owned and operated FAST channels in North America and YouTube channels globally. He has more than tripled the monthly FAST revenue for the company’s owned and operated channels across North America, which encompasses a suite of PayTV channels in Canada and eight free-streaming channels across the U.S., Canada and Mexico that includes HauntTV, Homeful, CrimeTime, TotalCrime, Declassified, Love Pets, Love Drama and Drag Race Universe. Budd has also secured numerous direct programmatic partnerships with global advertisers and negotiated direct deals, while spearheading partnerships with industry leading ad tech vendors.
Matthew Dominguez, Cox Media Group
Matthew Dominguez is the Director of Digital Distribution and Partnerships at Cox Media Group (CMG), where his leadership been the force behind transformative initiatives that propel the organization into the future of streaming in local news. Several years ago, alongside new strategic vision to expand into the FAST channel business, Matthew stepped into the role with an unwavering commitment to aligning the team for this initiative. His efforts led to remarkable growth for CMG as the number of streaming partners for eight local news TV markets has soared to an impressive twelve, a testament to his strategic acumen and unparalleled leadership.
Isabel Bonebrake, Fubo
Isabel Bonebrake leads content strategy and acquisition as well as distribution for Fubo’s four owned and operated FAST networks including Fubo Movies, Fubo Latino, Fubo Sports and Maximum Effort Channel in partnership with Ryan Reynolds’ Maximum Effort production company. She drove transformation of the Fubo Sports content strategy by diversifying its content mix and bringing on more live events with favorable terms for the network, helping to drive record viewership and growth.
Danny Pruett, Samsung TV Plus
Danny Pruett is a driving force behind the recently formed Strategic Partnership Management team at Samsung TV Plus, working with top-tier content studios on all fronts across its rapidly growing FAST business now with over 330 national channels. He has been key in the growth and expansion of the FAST platform, driving the launch of strategic partnerships including A+E Networks, NBC Universal, and AMC Networks, among many others. With over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry, and prior tenures at Peacock, Disney Streaming, and The CW Network, Danny has made an impressive impact at Samsung, carving out new ways to secure and promote high profile and exclusive content on cutting edge UI features.
StreamTV Innovation Awards
Innovation award winners are stand outs in their field for creating products that made an impact and help solve pressing industry challenges.
Innovation in Advertising: Wurl ContentDiscovery from Wurl
ContentDiscovery is an AI-powered solution for CTV performance marketing that targets relevant audiences across devices who will download an app, tune in to a show, and subscribe. Wurl’s ContentDiscovery stands as a testament to innovation in the CTV advertising landscape, addressing the critical challenge of discoverability while revolutionizing performance marketing on the medium, with results and impact on viewer acquisition and engagement while helping to combat churn.
Innovation in Content Delivery & Distribution: Verimatrix Streamkeeper from Verimatrix
Verimatrix Streamkeeper is one of the first telecom industry solutions to combine digital content protection with app protection to defend against piracy. Verimatrix helps provide unmatched peace of mind for operators, content owners and studios - ensuring that piracy threats can be detected and that countermeasures can be effectively deployed to curb any abuses. Verimatrix offers studio-grade rights management to securely deliver video while also offering robust response capabilities via app shielding that can quickly shut down piracy.
Innovation in Monetization: ChurnIQ from Cleeng
Cleeng’s ChurnIQ is an actionable subscriber retention data solution that predicts churn risk with 95% accuracy - the highest rate in the industry. It is an indispensable asset because it addresses two crucial business priorities: improving revenues and enhancing subscriber retention, allowing broadcasters to nurture their customer base with timely, action based data-driven insights.
Innovation in User Experience: The Digital Vending Machine from Bango
The Digital Vending Machine (DVM) is groundbreaking SaaS product facilitating Super Bundling of content subscriptions on a global scale. Already embraced by leading telcos, it empowers providers to create vibrant content hubs, seamlessly integrating services from the likes of Netflix, Disney+, Max, Paramount+, ESPN, Amazon Prime, and more. Industry giants including Verizon and Optus use the DVM to provide consumers with unparalleled access to a diverse content ecosystem. With its robust features and support for various commercial models, the DVM streamlines the integration process for resellers, ensuring swift market entry and minimal disruption.
StreamTV 2024 Standouts
These StreamTV Awrds winners stood out among a crowded pact to secure the top spot in their respective categories.
Marketing Campaign of the Year: Pluto TV Country
During the 2024 Super Bowl, Pluto TV kicked off a creative and ambitious marketing campaign, which successfully captivated audiences, drove engagement and elevated the brand’s awareness. Grounded in humor and modern viewers’ love of binge-watching, Pluto TV’s 2024 Super Bowl spot takes viewers somewhere between Idaho and a dream: Pluto TV Country, the place that raises the world’s best couch potatoes. The ad artfully expresses Pluto TV's core offering with free, easy access, and boasting a diverse range of content for every taste - serving as the best place for those who love TV in this moment of option overload.
FAST Channel of the Year: Tennis Chanel -T2
Tennis Channel and its sibling network T2, owned by Sinclair, Inc., are the only television-based multiplatform destinations dedicated to both the professional sport and tennis lifestyle. T2 industry leading stats: First-ever year-round, live sports channel launched on Samsung TV Plus in 2022; 42 hours of live action per week; 1,900 hours of live coverage annually; Features all Top 20 stars from ATP, WTA Tours including Novak Djokovic, Carlos Alcaraz, Coco Gauff, Iga Swiatek, and other icons; Airing over 50 top-level tournaments such as Roland Garros and ATP/WTA Masters 1000.
Streaming Platform of the Year: Roku
As Streaming Platform of the Year, Roku has surpassed 80 million active accounts and over 100 billion streaming hours, counting a huge share of the market. One of Roku’s most prominent focuses is improving content discoverability, such as helping consumers find sports content across different platforms while also catering to leagues looking to attract more viewers. Roku created the NFL Zone, a centralized location to find live and upcoming NFL games, as well as The Women’s Sports Zone with sponsor Apartments.com and content zone All Things Food sponsored by Coke. Roku is also a shining example of dual-purpose innovation features designed to meet the demands of both consumers and advertisers, including through efforts like the shoppable ads and The Roku City screensaver.
StreamTV Impact Award: Pluto TV
Formed in 2014 and now owned by Paramount Global, Pluto TV is a free streaming service delivering hundreds of live linear channels and thousands of titles on-demand to a global audience. With over a decade in the industry, the company has secured the 2024 honor of StreamTV Impact Award. Over the years Pluto TV has marked several firsts, including the first FAST platform to surpass $1 billion in revenue for two consecutive years, the first AST service to earn a spot on Nielsen’s platform rankings and the first to earn a Primetime Emmy Award. STV Award entry highlight: “Through its evolution over the last ten years, Pluto remains at the forefront of innovation and today is the global leader with a footprint in more than 35 markets. By reimagining the streaming experience and democratizing access to content, Pluto TV has forged a lasting legacy that transcends industry norms and enriches the lives of millions of viewers worldwide, personifying the spirit of innovation that propels the industry forward.”