Variety Adds Second Day to CES Programming for Inaugural Business of Creators Summit
Variety returns to CES with the Variety Entertainment Summit, a full day of high-level conversations and exclusive insights into the forces shaping the future of entertainment. Taking place Wednesday, Jan. 7 at C Space at The Aria, the summit convenes global leaders, trailblazing creatives and forward-thinking strategists to break down the trends, technologies and big ideas guiding the business in 2025 and beyond.
This year, for the first time, Variety will feature a second day of programming: the Business of Creators Summit, presented by Samsung Ads on Jan. 8. The half-day program focuses on the intersection of creators and entertainment. Creators, marketers, agencies and brands will explore the dynamic and expanding world of the creator economy, examining trends in storytelling across platforms, opportunities for brands to align with creator content and the unique broad impact creators are making on today’s audiences.
Both summits will be open to all CES registrants at no extra cost.
The Variety Entertainment Summit on Jan. 7, with more programming to be announced, includes:
- Anthony Wood, founder, chairman and CEO of Roku, participating in a headliner conversation moderated by Cynthia Littleton, co-editor-in-chief, Variety. Wood will share his leadership vision for Roku and discuss how the company continues to shape the future of entertainment through innovation and consumer-first thinking. In conversation with Variety, Wood will also discuss the launch of new ad-free streaming service Howdy, and its role in deepening engagement, expanding choice and redefining the viewing experience for today’s consumers.
- Actor, filmmaker and entrepreneur Joseph Gordon-Levitt (“500 Days of Summer,” “Inception,” “3rd Rock from the Sun”) will also participate in a headliner conversation speaking about his passion for the intersection of media and technology. Gordon-Levitt co-founded the two-time Emmy-winning online community for creative collaboration, HitRecord. He recently started publishing “Joe’s Journal” on Substack and is set to direct an upcoming thriller about AI for Rian Johnson and Ram Bergman’s T-Street with Netflix distributing.
In other highlights, Kelly Day, vice president, Prime Video International, will also each be featured in a headliner conversation.
The day also will also include:
The Future of Content Panel
- Bruce Campbell, COO, Warner Bros. Discovery
- Jennifer Witz, CEO, SiriusXM
- Jon Liebman, CEO, Brillstein Entertainment Partners
The New Business of Entertainment moderated by Danny Ledger, Telecom, Media & Entertainment Leader for Consulting Services, Deloitte
- Tim Natividad, president of sales and advertising, TelevisaUnivision
- Jeff Collins, president of advertising sales, marketing and brand partnerships, Fox
- Rita Ferro, president global advertising, Disney
- Mark Marshall, chairman, global advertising and partnerships, NBCUniversal
- Amy Reinhard, president of advertising, Netflix
- Mike O’Donnell, chief revenue and strategic growth officer, Vizio
First Look: Go Behind the Scenes of the forthcoming AMC and AMC+ series “The Audacity” moderated by Cynthia Littleton, co-editor-in-chief, Variety
- Simon Helberg, actor, “The Audacity”
- Billy Magnussen, actor, “The Audacity”
- Jonathan Glatzer, showrunner, “The Audacity,” “Better Call Saul”
- Dan McDermott, president of entertainment and AMC Studios, AMC Networks
Experience This! What’s Next in Events Across Platforms
- Kim Boyd, president, licensing and entertainment, Hasbro
- Javi Borges, global and U.S. media and entertainment sector leader, EY
- Carly Zipp, director, global brand marketing, Amazon Ads
- Jenefer Brown, president of global products and experiences, Lionsgate
- Kevin Chernett, EVP and head of global media partnerships, Live Nation
- Sandra Douglass Morgan, president, Las Vegas Raiders
AI in Overdrive
- Jill Steinhauser, group SVP, platform monetization and partnerships, Warner Bros. Discovery
- John Jelly, SVP, product and user experience, Peacock and Global Streaming, NBCUniversal Media
- Sam Hall, chief product officer, Epidemic Sound
- André Kudelski, chairman and CEO, NAGRA
- Kristen O’Hara VP, agency, platforms and client solutions, Google
Brandmakers Elite Roundtable
- Allison Robl Stransky, CMO, Samsung
- Grace Kao, CMO, Snap
- Monica Austin, CMO, Blizzard Entertainment
- Darren Schillace, CMO, Fox Entertainment
A Conversation with Breckin Meyer, actor and producer; and Jonathan Yunger, co-founder and CEO, Arcana Labs
Fandom in the Zeitgeist
- Nadine Zylstra, global head of programming and originals, Pinterest
- Pat Shah, global head of content acquisition, strategy and partnerships, Audible
- Mitchel Berger, EVP global commerce, Crunchyroll
- Thai Randolph, CEO, LL Cool J’s Rock the Bells
The Big Picture Outlook – What Trends Will Shape 2026?
- Jim Lanzone, CEO, Yahoo
- Chris McGurk, CEO, Cineverse
- Maureen Polo, CEO, Hello Sunshine
- Shahrzad Rafati, CEO, RHEI
- Yong-yi Zhu, VP and head of business operations, strategy and compliance, Tencent Games
The Variety Business of Creators Summit, presented by Samsung Ads, with additional programming to be announced, includes:
A conversation featuring Raina Penchansky, CEO and co-Founder of DBA, co-head of UTA Creators; and Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, co-founders, The Home Edit, co-hosts, Get Organized with The Home Edit and co-hosts, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition
Masters of the Creator-Verse
- Hannah Stocking, award-winning content creator with 73M collective followers
- Alessandra (Ale) Catanese, CEO, Smosh
- Lewis Ball, chief product and strategy officer, RHEI
- Aleen Dreksler, co-founder and CEO, Betches
Audiences Unlocked – The Future of Creator Marketing
- Cameron Curtis, EVP, global digital marketing, Warner Bros Studio Group
- Briana McElroy, head of worldwide digital marketing, Lionsgate
- Robin Tilotta, head of brand and global marketing, Twitch
- Dara Treseder, CMO, Autodesk
“We’re excited to expand Variety’s presence at CES with a second day, the Business of Creators Summit,” said Dea Lawrence, co-president and publisher of Variety. “Partnering with Samsung Ads on this inaugural event underscores the collaboration among creators, marketers and brands to deliver compelling messaging to audiences.”
EY is a Premier partner of Variety’s Entertainment Summit at CES. Zefr is an official partner. Epidemic Sound, RHEI, Nagra and Vizio are supporting partners of the summit. Samsung Ads is the sole presenting partner of the Business of Creators Summit. For more information and programming updates please head to: variety.com/ces.
