MEDIA ALERT: Parks Associates Hosts 19th-Annual CONNECTIONS(TM): The Premier Connected Home Conference

DALLAS, TX--(Marketwired - May 18, 2015) - International research firm Parks Associates will bring together more than 500 industry leaders for the 19^th-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference, May 19-21, at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport. The three-day executive conference features keynotes from Comcast's Xfinity Home, Panasonic, Verizon, and Nest, analyst presentations on new consumer research, and panel discussions with high-level executives from start-ups, Fortune 500, venture capitalist, public relations, and media companies. Press are invited to attend.

"The Internet of Things, adoption of connected devices, and use of online video have had ripple effects, impacting companies throughout the connected home ecosystem," said Stuart Sikes, President, Parks Associates. "CONNECTIONS™ provides a complete view of today's connected home with panel discussions on everything from streaming media, mobile apps, and robotics to smart home controls and wearables in one event."

"As the connected lifestyle becomes more prevalent, technologies like Thread have emerged to enhance and simplify everyday life for consumers," said Chris Boross, President, Thread Group. "The ease and convenience of having all of your favorite smart devices working together seamlessly -- in any occasion of life -- is very appealing, and consumers want to feel in control. CONNECTIONS™ offers excellent opportunities to share and discuss solutions to reach these goals."

"The biggest driver for the connected consumer market is technology that solves a real problem -- it's as simple as that," said Adam Sager, CEO & Co-founder, Canary. "A connected coffee table might catch the eye of early adopters, but until it's something that has real utility as a product that makes life simpler and easier than it was before, a product isn't really going to resonate in the mainstream. I look forward to sharing at CONNECTIONS™ insights gleaned from Canary's product launch and early customer feedback."

• What: CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference
• When: Tuesday, May 19 - Thursday, May 21, 2015
• Where: Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport
  1333 Bayshore Highway, Burlingame, CA 94010
• Keynote Schedule:
  • Farooq Muzaffar, VP, Corporate Strategy & Development, VERIZON - Tue, May 19, 10:45 AM
  • Todd Rytting, CTO, PANASONIC - Tue, May 19, 2:15 PM
  • Daniel Herscovici, SVP & GM, Xfinity Home, COMCAST CABLE - Wed, May 20, 10:00 AM
  • Mike Soucie, Head of Consumer Product, NEST - Thu, May 21, 9:45 AM
• Key sessions:
  • Innovative Partnerships: The Connected Home, May 19, 11:15 AM, featuring:
    • Greg Blackett, Senior Product Manager, Tyco
    • Chris Boross, President, Thread Group
    • Seth Frader-Thompson, President, EnergyHub
    • Adam Mayer, Vice President & General Manager, IntelligentHome, Time Warner Cable
    • Amanda Parrilli, Director, Strategic Business Development, The Home Depot
  • Explosion of OTT Services, May 19, 3:15 PM, featuring:
    • Mio Babic, President & CEO, iStreamPlanet
    • Leah Belsky, Senior Vice President of Operations, Kaltura
    • Joseph Hopkins, VP of Sales for Media & Entertainment, Verizon Digital Media
    • Ed Lee, VP of Content Acquisition, Roku
    • Jen Robinson, CTO, AwesomenessTV
  • Winning Channel Strategies for Smart Home Services, May 20, 9:00 AM, featuring:
    • Kris Bowring, Director of Business and Channel Development, Iris Smart Home Business Unit, New Business, Lowe's
    • Scott Burns, Senior Director of Innovation, Reliant, an NRG Company
    • Ryan Petty, Vice President, Product Development & Innovation, ADT Security Services
    • Adam Sager, CEO & Co-founder, Canary
    • Brian Seemann, President, Resolution Products
    • Chris Williams, Senior Director Product Strategy, Time Warner Cable

Parks Associates IoT and connected entertainment research highlights include:

• 57% of U.S. broadband households subscribe to an OTT video service.
• 66% of U.S. broadband households own at least one Internet-connected CE device, and the average U.S. broadband household has more than seven CE devices connected to the Internet.
• 37% of U.S. broadband households intend to buy one or more smart devices in 2015.
• Roughly one-fifth of smartphone and tablet owners use a health app on a monthly basis.
• Approximately 10% of U.S. broadband households have a smart device with energy-related functions -- including 8% with a smart thermostat and 6% with smart lighting.
• 47% of U.S. broadband households have privacy or security concerns about smart home devices.

CONNECTIONS™ Sponsors include Icontrol Networks, CEL, Assurant Solutions, Asurion, HP, Lowe's, Qualcomm, Resolution Products, ROC-Connect, Support.com, Affinegy, Alarm.com, Ayla Networks, EVRYTHNG, INSTEON, PlanetEcosystems, PlumChoice, Prodea, Tyco, ULE Alliance, WeatherBug Home, Z-Wave, Greenwave Systems, Radialpoint, Zipato, AirTies, Amdocs, MivaTek, and Nortek Security & Control.

Media and organizations supporting the event include CEDIA, TWICE, AE Ventures, Appliance DESIGN Magazine, Best Web Design Agencies, BestSEOs.com, Bluetooth SIG, BoogarLists, Cablefax, Conference Guru, Connected Home World, CTIA, Digital Trends, Entertainment Merchants Association, FierceCable, FierceMobileIT, FierceOnlineVideo, FierceTelecom, FierceWireless, HDTV Magazine, Home Energy Magazine, Home Gateway Initiative, HomePlug Alliance, HomeToys.com, Innovation & Tech Today, IOT Insights, IoT Perspectives, Light Reading, Mobile Monday, MoCA, NexTV Latam, NFC Forum, Online Payments Market Guide, OSP Magazine, TelcoProfessionals, The Paypers, Thread Group, topSEOs.com, U-SNAP Alliance, UMTS Forum, Visibility Magazine, and Women Who Code.

Press registration is open and media are invited to register at http://www.parksassociates.com/connections-presspass. For information about CONNECTIONS™, visit www.connectionsus.com. Follow the conference on Twitter at @CONNECTIONS_US, #CONNUS15, and on the CONNECTIONS™ Industry Insights Blog. To schedule a meeting with an analyst or speaker, contact Holly Sprague at hsprague@gmail.com, 720.987.6614.

About CONNECTIONS™
The 19th-annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference will take place May 19-21 at the Hyatt Regency San Francisco Airport in San Francisco. CONNECTIONS™ hosts over 400 executives in the connected entertainment, IoT, and smart home industries in an intimate networking environment.

The event provides networking opportunities and insights from industry players on entertainment, mobile, and smart home market segments. Parks Associates research analysts moderate each session, which feature consumer research on adoption and trends, forecasts of new products and services, evaluation of new business strategies, and concrete recommendations about technology innovations, strategic partnerships, monetization opportunities, and value-added services. Throughout the three-day event, sponsors offer tabletop demos during networking events, spotlighting new technology innovations and services

For more information, contact sales@parksassociates.com, call 972-490-1113, visit www.connectionsconference.com.