Host City: What are the hot topics on the agenda at SPORTELAsia this year?
Laurent Puons: It appears that the industry is very concerned about their media rights and current developments in OTT. We have received many requests on these topics and have worked out a very good selection of panels that will shed some light on these issues, especially concerning the Asian territories.
Host City: From your perspective, how does the sport marketing and media industry in Asia compare with that in the rest of the world, in terms of technology use and market demographics?
Laurent Puons: Asia is the home of many exciting emerging markets and leading technology providers. Sports fans across Asia have a diverse variety of platforms to consume sports content, and the fact that the majority of the world’s population lives in Asia provides international stakeholders in sport with an opportunity like no other. The challenge of unlocking the potential of Asia is knowing which specific technology is the best for each sport, in each country and its respective culture.
Host City: Some are concerned that the audience for traditional sports is ageing; what kind of sports content will become more dominant in the future?
Laurent Puons: That is a good question and difficult to answer. It all depends on the available broadcast platforms. Sports television or media is dominated by traditional sports, led by European football and of course the networks must provide content their audiences want to see and their advertisers want to invest in. As these dominated slots are becoming rare, other sport suffers and lacks visibility. Due to new technologies and OTT platforms, new and dedicated channels can be built and offer fans the opportunity to see their sports on different platforms. I believe that MMA is on the rise and eSports is returning because of these new opportunities.
Host City: Why is it so important for event rightsholders to attend major conferences in Asia?
Laurent Puons: As mentioned before, more and more Asian nations are developing more media opportunities and in result of that it is important to be present in Asia to deal and control rights directly. For this reason SPORTEL helps the industry with this spring convention, enabling the elite rights owners to deal direct with different Asian territories and build their business. SPORTEL will always be upfront and centre when it comes to building business opportunities for the sports marketing and media industry. That is what SPORTEL is historically known for.
