BRIAN SETH HURST
CEO, The Opportunity Management Company

Brian Seth Hurst - The Opportunity Management CompanyBrian Seth Hurst is CEO of The Opportunity Management Company, a strategic consultancy. He has been referred to as “the father of ‘cross platform’ ” having coined the term in 1998 as MD of Convergent Media at Pittard Sullivan on the team launching TV Guide as the first ever cross platform brand. Hurst and company assist broadcasters, content rights holders and advertisers in building initiatives that reach audiences across emerging content platforms including broadband, interactive television, mobile, and new media devices. Hurst's  credo, “go to where your audience lives”, has transformed the relationship of audiences to brands and has helped clients such as Discovery, BT, AOL, Virgin America, and Lifetime Television take advantage of the opportunities brought about when technology becomes a part of people’s everyday lives. Hurst was on the team that developed the original user experience for TiVo and currently sits on MobiTV’s advisory board.

Hurst served two terms as Chairman of the New Media Council of the Producers Guild of America (’03-’05) and sits on the National Board of the PGA. At the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences he is in his second term as a Governor representing the Interactive Media Peer Group and was instrumental in the establishment of the Prime Time Emmy® Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Interactive Television. April 2006 saw the first International Emmy® Awards for Interactive Television at MIPTV/MILIA presented. They were the realization of an idea brought forward by Hurst and fellow former Governor Chris Swain four years ago. Hurst  served as Chairman of the Judging Panels for the awards. This past spring Hurst spearheaded the initiative that modified the Television Academy by-laws so that original programming distributed via broadband would be eligible for Primetime Emmy® Awards.

A well regarded authority on the subject of emerging entertainment, Hurst has authored articles for Multichannel News and Produced By magazine amongst others, and was contributing author to the book “They Say They Want A Revolution”. He is a regular panelist and key note speaker at conferences including NATPE, NAB, CES, Digital Hollywood, MIPTV and many international events. He also has addressed private broadcaster gatherings in South Africa , Norway , Sweden , the United Kingdom and Australia , briefing them as trends in new technologies, alternative distribution and audience behavior.

Hurst is co-author with Olivia Newton-John of Simon and Schuster’s best selling children’s book “A Pig Tale”.

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