New Video Frontiers 2026: What to Expect

New Video Frontiers starts tomorrow and doors open at Kings Place, London at 8.15am for breakfast and networking. At the time of writing there is currently just seven tickets remaining so act now if you’d like to join us.

VideoWeek’s flagship conference brings together the full spectrum of the video and CTV advertising ecosystem – broadcasters, agencies, platforms, tech companies and brands – for what promises to be a compelling two days of debate, data, and deal-making.

Below is an overview of what to expect…

Session Spotlight: Day 1, 9.10am Navigating the Brand Marketer’s Mindset

Opening up on Day 1, we are thrilled to feature a deep dive into the pressures facing the modern advertiser in our opening session on the Main Stage. If our industry can come together to solve their problems, everything else will follow.

What Keeps Brand Marketers Awake at Night?
Day 1, Main Stage, 9.10am

Doors will open at 8.15am After introductions, the conference proper opens at 9.10am with a scene-setting fireside chat between Comcast Advertising’s Stefanie Briec and team x’s (Omnicom) Freddy Clapson, asking the question about what keeps brand marketers awake at night.

Omdia analyst Matthew Bailey then delivers what will likely be one of the most-referenced presentations of the conference, laying out CTV forecasts, consolidation trends, and the growing role of AI across the supply chain. TiVo Ads’ Fariba Zamaniyan follows with VideoWeek’s Vincent Flood for a fireside on the next era of TV intelligence and data monetisation, which will also feature a special announcement.

The mid-morning turns to the buyer perspective, with a panel featuring Havas Media Network and Bicycle asking what media buyers actually want kept, killed, or changed in the next phase of CTV. IAB Tech Lab’s Shailley Singh then introduces what may be the day’s most forward-looking session: a look at how the new AI-powered ad trading infrastructure is shaping up and the industry impact.

After the coffee break, Epsilon’s Catherine Frusher addresses CTV’s fragmentation problem head-on in a much-anticipated session. Epsilon has been one of the shining stars of Publicis Groupe’s stunning success in recent years and we look forward to their take on the TV advertising market.

A panel then unpacks the increasingly powerful role of the CTV OS layer, with Chris Kleinschmidt from TiVo Ads, Omnicom Media’s Melinda Clow, Richard Young, who is MD History Hit and FAST Channels at Little Dot Studios, examining how operating systems are reshaping TV advertising as their role becomes more and more significant.

The pre-lunch slot is given over to a European broadcaster panel which promises to be one of the best of the day with egta’s Anne-Laure Dreyfus, Channel 4’s Rak Patel, PubMatic’s Andy Jones, and Fabrice Mollier from Canal+ Brand Solutions debating whether European players are competing to win in the CTV land grab.

The afternoon opens with one of the day’s meatier panels: Chris Edwards from Rakuten TV Enterprise, ITV’s Rhys McLachlan, Channel 4’s Alex Wright, Viaplay’s David Rasmusson  will be revisiting the build, buy or borrow question when it comes to TV trading and ad tech infrastructure.

Moore Kingston Smith’s Paul Winterflood then steps back to examine agency M&A — asking whether the consolidation wave represents evolution or something more disruptive.

Measurement continues to be the number one issue for the industry and the first day will close with Mediaplus, ITV, Goldvertise, and AUDIENCES attempting to redefine what TV measurement should look like in an outcomes-focused era.

The day closes with a panel on advertising transparency featuring the7stars’ Jenny Biggam, First Party Capital’s Ciárán O’Kane, and JLL Media’s Jonathan Lucas-Lucas — before networking drinks bring day one to a close.

Running in parallel, the Future Stage takes a deliberately different angle, leaning into newer formats, emerging opportunities, creator economics, and longer-term thinking.The morning opens with cognitive scientist Dr Alastair Goode asking whether AI can genuinely improve creative work — a question that feels increasingly urgent across the industry. Caretta Research’s Dan Simmons follows with a data-driven look at sports streaming monetisation, before a panel featuring Index Exchange, DAZN, and Amazon Ads and Bedrock Streaming examines how to unlock ad revenue in live events. Origin’s Steph Marks and Martin Lawson then share what the platform has learned since its live release and where it goes next.

After the break, ITV’s Tom Doidge presents the broadcaster’s award-winning sustainability campaign as a case study in behaviour change through storytelling. A panel on next-wave revenue opportunities follows, drawing together LG Ad Solutions, Goodstuff, Adform, and Piqniq to map where growth is coming from beyond traditional reach metrics.

Reach’s Laurence Mozafari then offers a first look inside the publisher’s new creator network, before a panel with Wavemaker, Haleon, and Starcom looks at where media buyers are actually planning to direct investment in 2026.

The Future Stage afternoon explores formats that are reshaping video consumption. A panel on video podcasts brings together The Times, Spotify, and Global to examine a format that has moved from audio-first to genuinely visual.

Tony’s Chocolonely’s Nicola Matthews and Sky Media’s Sarah Jones then offer a candid account of what it’s actually like to be a new-to-TV advertiser making a first foray onto the big screen — a session likely to resonate with any brand still sitting on the fence about TV.

The stage closes with a panel on vertical video and AI-generated content, featuring Tattle TV, Ampere Analysis, extraVert, and Onset Octopus debating microdramas, monetisation models, and what AI is doing to scripted short-form content.

Day two consolidates onto a single Main Stage and the programme feels noticeably broader in ambition. It opens with a TV Rise Forum launch breakfast in partnership with Nielsen — by invitation only — where a newly structured industry initiative will be unveiled, before the general networking breakfast opens to all attendees.

The morning proper kicks off with a new startup who have identified an opportunity for the TV industry to take control over the second screen. This session will be followed by a panel asking whether the long-promised “easy button” for CTV ad trading is finally within reach, with Scope3, the7stars, and Mediahub examining whether automation and simplification are genuinely arriving or still a work in progress.

That’s followed by a session that could prove one of the most grounded of the conference: two challenger brand founders — TrueStart Coffee’s India Rawlin and ufurnish.com’s Deirdre Mc Gettrick — discussing whether TV is genuinely ready to serve SME advertisers or still too complex and costly for smaller players.

After the coffee break, Snap Inc.’s UK General Manager Jake Thomas sits down with Vincent Flood in a fireside that signals the social-to-TV convergence story remains very much on the agenda.

A data strategy panel then brings together Omnicom Media, Mars Pet Nutrition, Teads, and Dailymotion Advertising to unpack what CTV data approaches are actually delivering results for advertisers — moving the conversation from theory to practice.

In a notably out-of-category fireside, Harlan Mandel of the Media Development Investment Fund joins Vincent Flood to discuss how authoritarian governments capture and control media — a reminder that the health and freedom of the broader media ecosystem sits behind every conversation about ad investment.

Rounding out the pre-lunch session, PwC’s Katie Butcher and Oliver & Ohlbaum’s Sean McGuire examine who the real winners are likely to be once the dust settles on TV’s current merger spree.

The afternoon opens with a panel on how agencies are adapting to the AI era, with PMG’s Josh Krichefski and Stagwell’s James Townsend offering a transatlantic perspective on what the shift means for agency structure, talent, and client relationships.

LBC presenter James O’Brien then joins Vincent Flood for a fireside on what audience trust looks like in a fragmented media landscape — a conversation with obvious implications for brand safety, contextual advertising, and the long-term value of premium content.

The conference closes with a live recording of the VideoWeek podcast featuring BARB CEO Justin Sampson in what’s billed as an exit interview — potentially one of the most candid conversations of the two days, touching on the future of TV measurement at a moment of significant industry transition.