Media industry veteran Brian Chavez joins Signiant as VP, Business Development

Signiant is excited to welcome Brian Chavez to the team. Focusing on strategic business development, Brian brings a wealth of industry experience to the team. His work with media titans like Disney and NBC, as well as his time as a consultant overseas, gives him a decidedly global and wide-ranging view of the business dynamics in our market.

Brian was kind enough to sit down with me to briefly explore his time in M&E, and where he sees the industry going as we rapidly approach the new year.

Tell us a bit about your background in media? 

I have been in the M&E industry since 1987, with experience ranging from being a financial controller at radio and TV stations to working as a consultant with new media operations in Asia. I have been on the sales side of the industry since around 1998 working at very successful startup M&E vendors like Omneon (which was acquired by Harmonic) and Elemental (which was acquired by AWS). Additionally, I’ve worked with some of the most prominent M&E companies including Disney (Studios, ABC, ESPN), Warner Bros (Studios, Turner, CNN, HBO), CBS, Fox, Comcast, NBC, Time Warner Cable, Charter, Rogers, and many major TV station groups.

What do you enjoy most about working in the media industry? 

Definitely the excitement of the industry. It’s diverse, fast-paced, and constantly evolving.

Why did you decide to join Signiant? 

I’m very intrigued by the opportunity to work with large media companies to address their diverse infrastructures (cloud, on-premise, hybrid) and workflow challenges. On top of that, I was very impressed with Signiant’s product line, the longer-term strategy, and management team. 

Is there a specific sub-vertical or element of the industry that you find particularly exciting?

There are a number of things that currently stand out, but I’m especially intrigued and excited by the impact of the cloud and OTT technologies on the industry and its major players.

What do you think is the biggest challenge facing media companies today?

The consolidation of providers at a time when consumers want wider content choices. More content is required and consumers may not go to the traditional media companies to get it. Simultaneously, media technology vendors who are still dependent on custom hardware solutions will continue to see an erosion of their market share. The challenge for these vendors will be positioning themselves as a solutions provider as opposed to just a product company.

Give us a prediction – what change do you see coming in media in 2020? 

For better or worse, I think we’re going to see more consolidation with potentially fewer media technology vendors because of acquisitions or various enterprises going out of business.