Jana Bennett, Director of Television BBC, will open proceedings at MIPTV and MILIA 2004 (Cannes, March 29 – April 2), with a keynote speech on “The Future of Television Programming in a Cross-Platform World” (March 30).

Jana Bennett replaces former BBC Director General Greg Dyke as the opening keynote speaker. Greg Dyke resigned from the BBC on January 29.

Jana Bennett’s speech will underline the growing importance of convergence to television executives – a subject which is set to be at the heart of this year’s MIPTV and MILIA. Event attendees will come together to explore new business opportunities created by increasing links between traditional television, digital technology and content, and new distribution platforms.

To facilitate this exchange of views, the MILIA 2004 conference programme will offer sessions looking at networked home entertainment, cross-platform content creation, participation television and new distribution opportunities provided by the emerging broadband and mobile channels. In addition, content security solutions, as well as on-line and mobile games, will be featured.

March 31 will see Patrick Kennedy, Executive VP, Sony Pictures Digital Networks (U.S.), make a keynote speech on the “Future of Entertainment for the ‘Always-On’ Generation”.

Heralded in 2002 as one of the “100 leaders of tomorrow,” Joichi Ito, founder and CEO Neoteny (Japan) – the investment company specializing in personal communication and applied technology – will make a keynote speech April 1. “Mobile Lifestyles and the Evolving Content Landscape,” will review sociological changes and the future of content linked to the Internet sector.

The second keynote speech of the day “Mobile Entertainment: The Next Generation”, devoted to the impact of mobile telephony on the entertainment industry, will be given by Lucy Hood, Senior VP Content and Marketing News Corp..

“This year, we are extremely pleased to have been able to bring together the top executives from the fields of television content and digital platforms,” says Laurine Garaude, Director of MILIA. “We want to help speed up the creation of a digital entertainment generation by bringing together broadcasters, producers, content creators and the leaders of mobile, broadband and interactive TV.”

Over 100 experts and decision-makers will be in Cannes this year to present their thoughts on the latest strategic, creative and technological developments that will have an impact on the entertainment industry. Among the speakers :

- Taro Hashimoto, Director and CEO, Softbank Broadmedia Corporation (Japan), will participate in a panel which will focus on the importance of digital rights and the need for securing content, with reference to the latest experiences of the music industry.
-Patricia Langrand, Executive VP and Assistant to the President, France Telecom (France), will showcase her company's pioneering broadband TV delivery service in France.
-Erik Huggers, Director, Windows Digital Media Television (Italy), is set to discuss key technologies that are changing the home entertainment landscape.