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Byron Allen Comes to DPAA Global Video Everywhere Summit with Opening Keynote Conversation: Your Brand’s Best Storyteller is Video

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Founder of One of the Largest Independent Studios in the World to Talk about the Future of Media and Advertising on October 13th in NYC

DPAA to Bring Together Allen, Anthony Scaramucci, Leading CMOs and Agency Executives Around the Theme “Real Connections” and to Discuss the Value of Digital OOH to Brands

NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Byron Allen – founder, chairman and CEO of Allen Media Group, will be taking the stage in the opening keynote conversation at the 14th annual DPAA Global Video Everywhere Summit. Allen will talk about the power of video as the primary storytelling tool for brands looking to meaningfully connect with consumers.

Digital screens and video are now prolific and growing aggressively outside the home, from Times Square and Piccadilly to movie theaters, office buildings, airports, highways plus retail and transit centers. These screen advertising and storytelling opportunities will be showcased and discussed, attracting media and marketing decision makers to the Summit — October 13th in Chelsea Piers, NY.

Curated around the theme of Real Connections, this year’s Summit intentionally brings together influential voices who would not ordinarily share the same stage. From Byron Allen and former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci to agency leaders from Mediahub and Stagwell and CMOs representing American Eagle Outfitters, Major League Soccer, Expedia and more, the lineup spans media, culture, brands, business and public conversation — different worlds connected by a shared understanding of how to earn attention, build trust and ultimately move people to action.

Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital, will join the Summit following the release of his new book, All the Wrong Moves, for a keynote fireside conversation just weeks before the U.S. midterm elections. His appearance alongside Allen and some of the world’s leading marketing and agency executives reflects the Summit’s broader ambition: bringing different perspectives into one room to explore how influence, attention and real connections are created today.

“We are intentionally putting the people shaping media, culture and public conversation in the same room as the key decisionmakers across brands, commerce and investment,” said DPAA President & CEO Barry Frey. “True to this year’s theme of Real Connections is bringing together people who have a deep understanding of how to turn attention, influence, and trust into action.”

While the Summit is designed to provide attendees with perspectives, relationships, and ideas they can apply to their advertising, marketing, media and technology businesses, DPAA also believes that in order to engage and educate you also need to entertain. As previously announced, the Broadway cast of The Book of Mormon will be performing live at the event. (Click HERE for the full lineup for the October 13 event at Pier 60 in New York City.)

The Built-in Connection of Entertainment and Brand Engagement

Byron Allen is one of the most influential media moguls in today’s entertainment and technology space. Among his portfolio are The Weather Channel and its Local Now streaming service, 13 network-affiliated broadcast television stations, cable television networks, a theatrical and digital movie production and distribution arm, and a majority stake in Buzzfeed, at which he is chairman and CEO. Allen Media Group is the largest supplier of first-run syndicated programming and network television in the industry.

Having begun his career as a performer – including being the youngest stand-up comic on The Tonight Show starring Johnny Carson – Allen is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his original show, Comics Unleashed with Byron Allen, which in May replaced The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in the 11:30 p.m. hour, and airs weeknights on CBS, followed by his comedy game show, Funny You Should Ask. This unique life experience has given him an intimate understanding of what it takes to stay engaging as a brand, and is one factor that makes him a much sought-after speaker at leading industry conferences.

“The media industry is going through an enormous transformation,” said Byron Allen, Founder/Chairman/CEO of Allen Media Group and Chairman/CEO of Buzzfeed, Inc. “The disruption is creating both a massive demise and extraordinary opportunities. Without hesitation, this is the moment you must decide – are you a victim or a pioneer? I’ve chosen pioneer.”

Added Frey, who will be moderating the keynote conversation, “We are really looking forward to talking with Byron Allen about how his growing media empire thinks about the state and future of advertising, and why video is key to forming real connections between brands and consumers – although I’d be lying if I didn’t admit to being a little worried that he will ask me to be on Comics Unleashed as I’m not sure my comic repertoire is ready just yet. That said, by adding a pioneer in media to the lineup, we will bring a new dimension of insights to those attending the Summit, which will feature one of our most influential and impactful groups of brand, agency and industry leaders to date.”

About Byron Allen

Byron Allen founded Allen Media Group in 1993. Headquartered in Los Angeles, it has offices in New York and Atlanta. Allen Media Group owns/operates 13 ABC-CBS-NBC network affiliate broadcast television stations in 11 U.S. markets and ten 24-hour HD television networks serving nearly 315 million subscribers: THE WEATHER CHANNEL, PETS.TV, COMEDY.TV, RECIPE.TV, CARS.TV, ES.TV, MYDESTINATION.TV, JUSTICECENTRAL.TV, THEGRIO TELEVISION NETWORK, and HBCU GO. Allen Media Group also owns the digital streaming platforms HBCU GO, SPORTS.TV, THEGRIO, THE WEATHER CHANNEL STREAMING APP, and LOCAL NOW–the free-streaming AVOD service powered by THE WEATHER CHANNEL and content partners, which delivers real-time, hyper-local news, weather, traffic, sports, and lifestyle information. In 2026, Allen’s family office acquired a majority of the outstanding shares of the digital media platform BuzzFeed, Inc., with Byron Allen assuming the role of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer with a vision to build on the iconic foundations of BuzzFeed, HuffPost, and Tasty by expanding into free-streaming video, audio and user-generated content. Allen Media Group also produces, distributes, and sells advertising for 80 television programs, making it one of the largest independent producers/distributors of first-run syndicated television programming for broadcast television stations. With a library of over 10,000 hours of owned content across multiple genres, Allen Media Group provides video content to broadcast television stations, cable television networks, mobile devices, and digital platforms. Our mission is to provide excellent content to our viewers, global platforms, and Fortune 500 advertising partners. For more information, visit: www.allenmedia.tv

About the DPAA Global Video Everywhere Summit

Each year in the heart of New York City, DPAA’s flagship Summit brings approximately 1,000 industry leaders direct access to the people who influence the future of omnichannel marketing. There, people from brands, agencies, media platforms, and technology companies around the world network with others in this vibrant community; discuss marketing trends, challenges, and opportunities; and hear from CMOs, newsmakers, and agency executives. One Day. Real Connections. Year-Round Impact. The people shaping what’s next in DOOH, including real-life experiences, retail media networks, sports marketing, and more, come together at the Summit for conversations that shape the future of advertising for brands and agencies.

Over the years, speakers have included leaders representing companies ranging from Colgate-Palmolive, General Motors, Mastercard, McDonald’s, PepsiCo, Kroger, Danone, Warner Bros., Paramount+, and H&R Block, to WPP, Dentsu, Omnicom, and more.

For more information, or to register to attend the Global Summit – part of Out of Home Week New York – please visit www.dpaasummit.com/global.

About DPAA

DPAA (www.dpaaglobal.com) is the global trade marketing association, driving the growth and digitization of out-of-home (OOH) advertising and its growing role in the Omnichannel mix. Membership in the DPAA community includes many business acceleration benefits and access to a wide array of products. It offers members an extensive database of research, best practices and case studies; tools for planning, training and forecasting; social media amplification of news; insights on software and hardware solutions; and further integration into the advertising ecosystem by connecting DOOH networks, brands, agencies, ad tech, and others – including through its podcast, Launchpad of Innovation. DPAA’s Video Everywhere Summit, the largest one-day media/marketing event of its kind, is October 13, 2026, at Pier 60 in New York City. 

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SOURCE Digital Place Based Advertising Association (DPAA)

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webAI Lands $30 Million AI Deal With Forge as Enterprise AI Services Race Accelerates

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September 24, 2026

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Forge commits $30 million to webAI as the companies partner to build and deploy private, specialized AI systems inside enterprises.

AUSTIN, Texas, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — webAI today announced a strategic partnership with Forge AI Deployment, which is making a $30 million commitment to webAI to build and deploy private, specialized AI systems for enterprise customers.

The partnership pairs webAI’s collaborative intelligence platform with Forge’s enterprise deployment and services operation. Forge will work directly with customers to build AI systems around their proprietary data, workflows and operations, running on infrastructure those customers control.

The agreement comes as the AI market begins shifting from building increasingly capable general-purpose models to putting specialized intelligence to work inside businesses.

Forge is led by enterprise technology veterans, including founder and CEO John Ezzell, who previously built an Oracle-focused services and reseller business that was acquired by Deloitte. Forge is applying a similar playbook to AI: combining a new technology platform with the implementation, integration and operational expertise required to make it useful inside large organizations.

webAI provides the intelligence layer behind that effort.

Rather than relying solely on a general-purpose model, webAI enables organizations to deploy specialized models around their own data, people and operations. Those models can run across infrastructure the organization controls and collaborate as a system.

Forge will design, deploy and operate those systems for customers, from individual specialized AI Personas to company-wide deployments.

“A general model is only the beginning,” said David Stout, co-founder and CEO of webAI. “Individuals and organizations need intelligence deeply specialized to them. We believe the path to super intelligence (SI) isn’t one model that knows everything; it’s specialized intelligence working together. Collaboration gets us there faster.”

From AI models to AI infrastructure

webAI calls this emerging architecture the decision factory: intelligence built around the unique knowledge, expertise and workflows of an organization and deployed wherever decisions are made.

Instead of relying on a single general-purpose model, specialized AI Personas can operate as domain experts and work together across webAI’s Intelligence Delivery Network (IDN), a private network of compute controlled by the organization.

Forge will take responsibility for turning that technology into working enterprise systems, including architecture, secure deployment, model integration and optimization.

“Enterprises don’t need another AI demo,” said John Ezzell, founder and CEO of Forge AI Deployment. “They need AI that actually works inside their business. The opportunity is to take this technology from experimentation to production, and webAI gives us the infrastructure to do that.”

The partnership also expands webAI’s growing ecosystem of systems integrators, software companies and channel partners building, deploying and distributing specialized AI solutions on its platform across commercial and public-sector markets.

For enterprises, the shift is simple: AI stops being something they subscribe to and becomes intelligence they own.

About webAI
webAI is building collaborative intelligence: a private, local-first approach to AI in which specialized models run close to where work happens and collaborate with one another and the people they support. webAI enables individuals and organizations to create, own and deploy specialized intelligence across their own devices and environments. Headquartered in Austin, Texas, webAI’s mission is to make powerful AI accessible, personal and collaborative. Learn more at webai.com.

About Forge AI Deployment
Forge AI Deployment is an official webAI systems integrator that designs, installs and operates sovereign AI systems inside infrastructure customers control, including enterprise data centers, edge sites and air-gapped or disconnected enclaves. Combining more than two decades of work in high-consequence and Fortune 100 environments with webAI’s local-first platform, Forge provides end-to-end architecture, secure deployment, model integration and optimization while keeping institutional knowledge within the customer’s perimeter.

Media Contact
webAI@pinkston.co

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SOURCE webAI

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NAIC Letter Details Proactive State Oversight of Evolving Insurance Landscape

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September 24, 2026

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WASHINGTON, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — In response to a letter from U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), state insurance regulators leading the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) today detailed how the state-based regulatory framework is evolving alongside insurers’ changing investment strategies, ownership structures, and risk-transfer arrangements.  

“Rather than relying on a static regulatory framework, regulators have regularly updated capital requirements, reporting standards, supervisory tools, and analytical capabilities to address emerging risks while maintaining a consistent focus on insurer solvency and policyholder protection,” said NAIC leadership.

Among other actions, this work includes:

Strengthening asset-adequacy testing through Actuarial Guideline 53 (AG 53) to provide greater consistency in evaluating the risks associated with complex and higher-yielding assets supporting life insurance business.

Intensifying oversight of certain life insurance and annuity reinsurance transactions through Actuarial Guideline 55 (AG 55), including setting higher expectations for asset-adequacy analysis and reserve adequacy.

Instituting a 45% risk-based capital charge for residual interests in structured securities to ensure that capital requirements appropriately recognize investment risk.

Creating a formal process for evaluating whether credit rating providers’ methodologies and rating mappings remain appropriate for regulatory purposes.

As NAIC leaders noted, “State insurance regulators continually evaluate whether the solvency framework appropriately captures emerging and changing risks.”

This adaptive approach, built on collaboration and coordination, has enabled state-based insurance regulation to lead for more than 150 years and will continue to guide it in an ever-changing insurance landscape.

Resources

Full Letter

NAIC Resource Center: Private Credit and Insurance Regulation

State-Based Regulatory Timeline for NAIC’s Solvency Oversight

About the National Association of Insurance Commissioners

As part of our state-based system of insurance regulation in the United States, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) provides expertise, data, and analysis for insurance commissioners to effectively regulate the industry and protect consumers. The U.S. standard-setting organization is governed by the chief insurance regulators from the 50 states, the District of Columbia and five U.S. territories. Through the NAIC, state insurance regulators establish standards and best practices, conduct peer reviews, and coordinate regulatory oversight. NAIC staff supports these efforts and represents the collective views of state regulators domestically and internationally.

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SOURCE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF INSURANCE COMMISSIONERS

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INVESTOR ALERT: Pomerantz Law Firm Investigates Claims On Behalf of Investors of ServiceTitan, Inc. – TTAN

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September 24, 2026

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NEW YORK, Sept. 24, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of ServiceTitan, Inc. (“ServiceTitan” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: TTAN). Such investors are advised to contact Danielle Peyton at newaction@pomlaw.com or 646-581-9980, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether ServiceTitan and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices. 

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On September 8, 2026, ServiceTitan reported second quarter 2027 earnings. Among other items, the Company reported that “[b]ecause Max” – ServiceTitan’s AI-powered enterprise software package – “requires substantial change management, we typically do not bill subscription fees for the first quarter of an upsell Max contract, and we have also elected not to charge existing customers an onboarding fee when transitioning to Max. As a result of these factors, we expect both our platform revenue and professional services revenue to grow at a slower pace for the remainder of fiscal 2027.” The Company further reported that “[w]e expect the mix shift to Max to lower professional services revenue by roughly an additional $2 million over the remainder of this fiscal year, which, of course, also flows through to professional services gross margin.”

On this news, ServiceTitan’s stock price fell $24.46 per share, or 29.98%, to close at $57.12 per share on September 9, 2026.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:
Danielle Peyton
Pomerantz LLP
dpeyton@pomlaw.com
646-581-9980 ext. 7980

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SOURCE Pomerantz LLP

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