Sneak Preview: Finder’s Feat: Optimising Search & Discovery With Metadata & Machine Learning at Streaming Media Connect
On Thursday, February 26, Rebecca Avery, owner and principal of Integration Therapy, will moderate the Streaming Media Connect panel “Finder’s Feat: Optimising Search & Discovery With Metadata & Machine Learning.” In this era of constant content proliferation and channel saturation, discovery is critical to content monetisation. This panel will explore how structured metadata and machine learning-powered discovery tools bring great content to light, improving relevance, boosting engagement, and driving measurable revenue impact.
Confirmed panelists include:
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Rebecca Avery is the owner and principal of Integration Therapy, a boutique consulting firm that helps streaming networks diagnose operational friction and redesign their operating models for profitable scale. With over 20 years of hands-on experience across the media supply chain, Avery has led content operations and metadata strategy for major streaming networks, including at Pluto TV and Allen Media Group. She currently chairs the Metadata Working Group for the Streaming Video Technology Alliance and is a frequent speaker on operational efficiency, metadata excellence, and teams/systems design for streaming networks.
“In an era where viewers spend more time searching than watching amid exploding content libraries, our ‘Finder’s Feat’ panel will unpack how structured metadata and machine learning turn discovery from a pain point into a revenue driver,” Avery says. “I’m excited to draw out real-world examples from Cineverse, SUMM8, and Fabric Data on AI-powered personalisation that boosts engagement and ad yield without compromising privacy. Attendees will leave with actionable insights on evolving metadata strategies that make great content unmissable in 2026 and beyond.”
Tony Huidor is president of technology and chief product officer at Cineverse, where he is responsible for establishing the overall technology road map and managing the day-to-day streaming business operations as well as overseeing all software development efforts pertaining to Cineverse’s Matchpoint video distribution platform. In addition, he is responsible for overseeing the product strategy for all consumer-facing video streaming products within the Cineverse portfolio, including SVOD, AVOD, and FAST channels, as well as managing product development, digital content distribution, ad technology, and data analytics.
“The entertainment industry has changed rapidly as the industry has shifted away from DVD/Blu-ray and TVOD, yet content discovery has not changed and has only become less and less effective,” Huidor notes. “It is critical that the industry move away from legacy descriptive metadata and embrace new types of metadata that are better suited at aiding advanced AI-powered search and recommendations. At Cineverse, our belief is that consumers search for content based on their mood or the feelings they wish to experience. As an industry, we need to do a better job investing in more advanced and nuanced forms of metadata.”
Jamie Mackinlay is the founder and CEO of SUMM8. He is a seasoned media technology executive with more than two decades’ experience leading growth, transformation, and M&A across broadcast, OTT, and streaming infrastructure businesses. He has held senior commercial and CEO-level roles, building high-performing teams that deliver recurring SaaS and services revenue in fast-changing markets. Mackinlay is a frequent advisor and contributor in the streaming and broadcast community, known for his pragmatic, commercially grounded view of how to align product, pricing, and partnerships with evolving audience and advertiser expectations.
“The volume and types of descriptive metadata that can help consumers discover and enjoy video content continues to explode—especially with the rise of AI generated data, for example, suitability data,” Mackinlay shares. “However, there are challenges related to metadata quality that impact processes to consolidate metadata from different platforms or sources, much less any efforts to leverage machine learning to improve content discovery.”
Tom Gennari is chief data officer at Fabric. As former CEO at BB Media (acquired by Fabric), Gennari’s leadership skills enabled BB Media to grow into an award-winning company, facilitating strategic decisions for clients including streaming services, content providers, and copyright associations. Aside from BB Media, Gennari has launched ventures like FlickShow and Dondeloveo. He has received several awards, including 40 Under 40 in Home Entertainment from Media Play News and DEG (Digital Entertainment Group), and is a member of industry groups and associations such as EIDR and OTT.X.
“As our libraries grow infinitely larger, the next phase of content discovery isn’t just about ‘what’ to watch—it’s about ‘where,’ ‘how,’ and even ‘what mood we are in.’ We are moving past static recommendations into availability-aware discovery,” Gennari asserts. “I’m looking forward to discussing how combining deep descriptive metadata that adapts to each viewer, and with real-time availability and performance data allows us to predict viewership behaviour, rather than just reacting to it. Attendees should join if they want to understand why the ‘where’ is becoming just as critical as the ‘what’ in the AI-driven future of streaming.”
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