NBCUniversal's First Down on Developer Connections

In recent years, such events asApple's Worldwide Developer Conference or Google i/O have brought together thousands of developers and business officials to hatch new apps that expand what consumers can do through their computers, smartphones, tablets and smart TV gadgets.

ONE21, NBCUniversal's opening exercise in this arena, will take place March 22^nd and given the realities of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, will be virtual. The event will leverage dynamic production techniques, elevating ONE21 beyond a simple video conference. It will feature a range of guest speakers and highlight leading voices in technology, data, commerce and digital spaces. The format runs parallel to other tech developer affairs, which tend to be a mix of conference sessions, demonstrations, exhibits and carnival atmosphere. Company officials will disclose the agenda and speaker appearances at a later date.

What's certain is that ONE21 will unveil an assortment of partnership opportunities NBCU is ready to bring about among advertisers, content makers and app entrepreneurs, using insights from consumer research and the unveiling of a technology roadmap that takes into account emerging revenue streams such as interactive commerce, and programming/ad sales advancements like Peacock and OnePlatform.

The roadmap will include news about programming service investments, data gathering and a mix of local, national and global initiatives.

"ONE21 will give our partners a full view of the technology that powers their plans, the stories that connect them to consumers, and the commerce tools that drives results," explains Josh Feldman, NBCUniversal's chief marketing officer of advertising and partnerships. Under OnePlatform, for example, "marketers are the developers, partnering with our teams to create amazing experiences for their audiences on every single screen," he adds.

Expect plenty of consumer behavior information to come to light throughout ONE21, whether the information is drawn from viewers watching NBC, Syfy or Peacock. More than 615 million people around the world engage with content provided by NBCU-owned services, parent Comcast's cable systems or Sky Television operations on a regular basis (about 223 million people in the U.S.). That universe of consumers watches over 85 billion hours of NBCU/Comcast/Sky content a year.

Officials putting ONE21 together promise the event, happening in the midst of this year's Upfront season, will combine the appeal of entertainment with the strategic direction and solutions platform developer get-togethers foster. Another big aim: bridge gaps among advertisers, consumers and TV services through the creation of ongoing partnerships.

For Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversal's chairman of global advertising and partnerships, this new annual exercise can have advantages that go far beyond the TV medium's future. "In order to rebuild this economy, radical transformation is both necessary and completely possible," she declares. "For any brand and every business, we hope ONE21 will spark meaningful transformation, empower their entrepreneurship and show them what's possible using all our resources. We're excited to share our vision, and ready to roll up our sleeves to build that future."

And NBCUniversal is bringing everyone in: Officials from a broad swath industries and organizations will be invited to attend ONE21, including content community members, marketers, advertiser representatives, app developers, technology executives and entrepreneurs and non-media business leaders. Press also will receive invitations to observe the event.

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