GSMA & Nielsen Announce Mobile Backstage

GSMA & Nielsen Announce Mobile Backstage

A Unique Mobile Entertainment Conference at the Mobile World Congress 2008

LONDON, January 24/PRNewswire/ -- The GSMA and The Nielsen Company today announced that Black-Eyed-Peas front man will.i.am and film actress and filmmaker Isabella Rossellini will be among the headline speakers at a brand new mobile entertainment conference, Mobile Backstage at this year's Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (11-14 February 2008).

This one-day event, produced by the GSMA in collaboration with Nielsen's leading entertainment industry magazines Billboard and The Hollywood Reporter, will include top music, film, TV, video and gaming industry insiders in a programme that will get to the heart of challenges and opportunities for the fourth screen, mobile medium. Mobile Backstage will also offer refreshing perspectives on the mobile entertainment revolution from some of today's top artists, filmmakers, producers, entertainment executives and film festival professionals.

The interactive conference taking place on Wednesday 13 February at Barcelona's spectacular National Palace above the Mobile World Congress complex, will feature star powered keynote interviews, innovative case studies, custom mobile entertainment research and panel sessions on provocative topics such as creating content for mobile; value chain control and compensation; business models, and social networking on mobile.

Mobile Backstage confirmed speakers include:

          - will.i.am, singer/songwriter and founder of Black Eyed Peas     - Isabella Rossellini, Writer, Actor, Director     - Craig Palmer, President & CEO, Gracenote     - Mika Salmi, President. Global Digital Media, MTV Networks     - Jeff Hermann, VP of Mobile Media, Nielson Mobile     - Rob Lewis, CEO, Omnifone     - Tero Ojanpera, EVP Entertainment and Communities, Nokia     - Christopher Barry, SVP Digital Media and Business Strategy,       Sundance Channel     - Jerome Paillard, Director, Marche du Film, Festival Du Cannes     - Jody Shapiro, Producer     - Erik Rosenlund, Filmmaker     - Ken Wardrop, Filmmaker     - Javier Perez Dolset, Founder, CEO Zed     - Simon Protheroe, New Media and IT Direct, Eidos  

"Mobile Backstage will provide a unique glimpse behind the content curtain," said Bill Gajda, Chief Marketing Officer for the GSMA. "With master-class insights from artists that create compelling content to operators and others in the value chain that work to deliver it to a global audience on an unprecedented scale."

"This event is a natural fit for the Nielsen entertainment brands," said Tamara Conniff, Group Editorial Director, Billboard. "With these speakers we seek to enlighten, provoke, and inspire the mobile community. We are thrilled to be working with GSMA."

Internationally known actress, Isabella Rossellini will showcase and discuss her role in the making of a brand new series of mobile short films titled GREEN PORNO, conceived, written by and featuring Rossellini and produced in association with Sundance Channel . The films have been selected to premiere at both the Sundance Film Festival and Berlin Film Festival this year. Mobile Backstage will host their mobile industry premiere. Black-Eyed-Peas frontman, will.i.am will provide the perspective of a world leading music artist on the potential to reach a global fan base via mobile phones.

The GSMA expects to announce additional headline artists in the coming days.

About the Mobile World Congress:

The GSMA's Mobile World Congress and Mobile Asia Congress are the world's leading mobile communications conference and exhibition events, where top executives from mobile operators, equipment vendors, IT companies and entertainment providers meet to do business. In 2007, more than 50,000 people attended the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. The Mobile World Congress in 2008 will take place at the Fira de Barcelona, Spain, between 11th and 14th February 2008. For more information please visit http://www.mobileworldcongress.com.

About the GSMA:

The GSM Association (GSMA) is the global trade association representing more than 700 GSM mobile phone operators across 218 countries and territories of the world. In addition, more than 200 manufacturers and suppliers support the Association's initiatives as key partners. The primary goals of the GSMA are to ensure mobile phones and wireless services work globally and are easily accessible, enhancing their value to individual customers and national economies, while creating new business opportunities for operators and their suppliers. The Association's members serve more than 2.5 billion customers - 85% of the world's mobile phone users.

About The Nielsen Company

The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek) and trade shows. The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands, and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, http://www.nielsen.com.

Source: The GSMA and The Nielsen Company

For more information please contact: Mark Smith or David Pringle, GSM Association, Email: press@gsm.org

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Profile: International Entertainment