CASBAA Convention 09: Sports TV - In the driver’s seat

The other session that focussed on sports in India saw leading broadcasters from across the region discussing various aspects that have worked for the domain in markets such as India. The session was moderated by Ian Carroll, EVP & GM, Turner International. The Speaker line-up included Russell Wolff, EVP & MD, ESPN International along with Jacques Raynaud, Vice Chairman, Eurosport Group; Ma Gouli, CEO & MD, Infront Sports & Media; Arun Poddar, President, Affiliate Sales & Platforms, Neo Sports; Lars Heidenreich, MD, FSA Media; and Olivier Laouchez, Chairman & CEO, Trace TV.

Wolff observed that in the pyramid of hierarchy in sports, live rights to various properties were the key, and they drove the economics of the business; affiliate deals were driven on the back of it. He said, “You get the dynamics and you then don’t end up struggling.” He pointed out that one of the problems at present was that there were buyers and sellers of the properties and different people were playing different games in the same sandbox. He said, “When you do that, it can be very messy. Because some of them have been here building brands for decades and then you suddenly see that some are here for building IPOs; now that changes the rules of the game, and not for the better.”

Heidenreich observed that for a player like ESPN it must have had been easier to pass judgment over the potential of a property and negotiate on it accordingly, but that was not true for many other stakeholders of the game and that this posed its own set of challenges on the business.

Raynaud informed that as the 20-year old Eurosport was entering this region now, there would be more competition, which should be good for the genre. However, he was not sure whether there was more monetisation in advertising as there was is in affiliations.

A bit of an outsider, Laouchez spoke from his Trace TV music channel experience. He explained that paying attention to areas of sports that no one else was looking at could create a space of its own. “Our research to potential launch indicated that there was no need to acquire live events. There is a world outside EPL, and there are smaller celeb stories too; athletes who are not very well known, but have interesting stories to say and we chased this with. It is a very complimentary approach to what is going on in that space,” he observed.

Poddar had to tackle the question of the mandated sharing of big sporting events with the government, and, in the case of India, with Doordarshan. He said, “There is nothing beyond cricket in India and it is true that private channels monetise it better, but you have to accept the regulation and the challenge that comes with it. From our standpoint, hence, the overall packaging of the event makes all the difference. At the same time, our approach in the market is designed to work together with DD and make the most of it.”

The panel was clear that the government should stay away from properties such as these as it is only then that these mediums can be leveraged fully.

Also read:

CASBAA Convention 2009: Of extending reach

CASBAA Convention 09: Subhash Chandra honoured with the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award

CASBAA Convention 2009 kicks off today; Bollywood is theme of Charity Ball this year