GA 2017: ABU Sports Group – Content and Challenges
The increasing cost of sports broadcasting is pointed out as one of the major concerns by sports broadcasters. This was revealed at the 61st ABU Sports Group Conference and the Associated meetings taking place on the sidelines of the 54th ABU General Assembly in Chengdu, China.
Delivering the keynote address to the conference, the Deputy Controller of CCTV Sports, Mr Fang Gang said “we are now in an era of great changes. New technologies are revolutionizing the broadcasting sector day after day. It is a key subject for us to cope with and follow the trends. We have been formulating the strategy of “sticking to the big screen in the Multi-screen Era and seeking integrated development”.
The Chairman of the ABU Sports, Mr Jiang Heping highlighted the role of ABU Sports as instrumental despite challenges of ever increasing right fee to transmission cost and fragmented market. He added that such circumstances call for a re-look at our strategies, embrace new media and innovate production and marketing mechanisms if we are to remain competitive”.
The Director of ABU Sports Mr Cai Yanjiang presented a report of its activities, the current sports broadcasting scenario and presented the strategies of ABU Sports.
The 1st day of the conference on Monday saw several presentations by members. These include Vietnam, India, Mongolia, Turkmenistan, Turkey, China and Thailand.
The Sports Group conference ended on Tuesday with a panel discussion on “Sports of Content: on FTA and other Platforms”. The recommendations of the conference will be presented to the General Assembly on the 3rd of November at the Member’s Forum.