Sports for Media business.

sports production, distribution and sponsorship is on the agenda for the largest gathering of international sporting federations, bidding cities and commercial partners at Sport Accord 2004 in Palais de Beaulieu, Lausanne, Switzerland.The convention will offer broadcasters and rights-holders the chance to develop business relationships with about 250 representatives from 99 international sports federations.


Among the items on the conference program are:

•   Sport Accord keynote address: “Staying in the Game,” a look at sports audiences in a decade and how sports will look in the future;
  
• Panel discussion: “Becoming Television Friendly,” a discussion of the television product, aim of the program, scheduling, length, format and the kind of feed to offer;
  
• Panel discussion: “Understanding World Broadcasting,” an examination of the complexities of getting sports on the air;
  
• Panel discussion: “Solving the Sponsorship Riddle,” a look at creative approaches to solving the difficulty of attracting sponsors before a TV deal is struck.
  
   -source:www.scoreboard.com
  
  During the convention, the conference sessions will look at the symbiosis between television and sports and how it has entered a new phase of development. As the era of big rights fees comes to an end, those responsible for sports and events need to re-think their strategies.
  Instead of rights fees, the focus is increasingly on distribution, brand-building and mutually beneficial partnerships with television. Broadcasters and rights-holders are not only financial partners, but marketing partners, as exposure on television is an advertisement for an event.