The OTT.X EPG, SCTE & Metadata Roundtables are working-session style discussions designed to bring together senior leaders and practitioners from across the CTV ecosystem to tackle one of the industry’s most foundational — and most complex — challenges: how metadata, signaling, and standards power discovery, monetization, and viewer experience at scale.

Rather than a broad, multi-topic conversation, this session will serve as a deep-dive working roundtable focused specifically on the EPG, metadata, and SCTE-driven standards environment, with an emphasis on the work currently underway across the DSCA and adjacent stakeholder groups. This session will center on real-world use cases and implementation challenges, including:

EPG Structure & Channel Typing

  • Linear, FAST, event-based, and special programming channels
  • Scheduled vs. real-time updates
  • Naming, labeling, aliases, and machine-readable descriptors

Metadata & Discovery

  • Live vs. recorded content attributes
  • Open-ended vs. closed-ended programming
  • Playback latency expectations and viewer experience impacts

SCTE & Signaling Considerations

  • Preemptive changes (sports overruns, breaking news, emergencies)
  • Program replacement, blackout handling, and program gaps
  • Coordination between metadata updates and signaling events

Interoperability & Implementation

  • Where standards align — and where gaps remain
  • Cross-platform consistency challenges
  • Practical considerations for distributors, publishers, and OEMs

DSCA Working Group Update

A dedicated portion of the session will include a working-group update and guided discussion based on current DSCA activity, including:

  • Review of use cases and attributes under discussion
  • Near-term goals and areas moving toward ratification
  • Open questions around artwork, real-time updates, and latency expectations
  • Next steps and how to get involved

Who Should Attend

This roundtable convenes senior leaders and domain experts from across the CTV metadata, EPG, and signaling ecosystem, including streaming platforms and OEMs, FAST and linear publishers, distributors, standards bodies, and technology providers supporting metadata management, SCTE signaling, discovery, and measurement.

Finding Common Ground

Participants will engage in candid discussion around interoperability, update latency, real-time signaling, discovery, and implementation gaps, grounded in active industry use cases and current standards work. The goal is to leave the room with shared definitions, clearer expectations, and concrete next steps that help move the ecosystem forward as live and linear streaming continues to scale.

Event Details

  • Monday, February 23, 2026
  • 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM
  • Fandango Offices — Universal City, CA

Open to OTT.X & DSCA members and select invited stakeholders actively engaged in EPG, metadata, SCTE signaling, live streaming operations, and standards development across the CTV ecosystem.

Moderator

Craig Seidel

Chief Executive Officer | Seidel Media Technology

Craig Seidel is a renowned technology executive working in media, always looking for better ways to do business.

He has transformed film and television distribution by creating novel technologies, known collectively as the MovieLabs Digital Distribution Framework (MDDF), and building consensus to adopt them. For this he received an Emmy award. As a principal at MovieLabs and CTO at Pixelogic Media, Craig has worked with closely with technology leaders in studios, services companies, and streaming platforms.

He has decades of experience including over 20 years in movies and television. Craig holds engineering degrees from UC Berkeley and Stanford.

Request an Invitation

Who Should Attend?

This roundtable is open to OTT.X members, DSCA members, and select invited stakeholders actively engaged in shaping the EPG, metadata, and signaling foundations of the CTV ecosystem.

Participation is intentionally curated to maintain a senior, collaborative, and off-the-record working environment. The discussion is designed for executives and practitioners directly involved in EPG strategy, metadata architecture, SCTE signaling, live streaming operations, and standards development.

Interested attendees may request an invitation to join the discussion.