REDUCING the BROADCAST FOOTPRINT

REDUCING THE BROADCAST FOOTPRINT - 17/10/2013 The future of sports event host broadcasting was up for discussion at Sportel Monaco earlier this week, as one of the topics debated during the International Symposium. A host of leading decision makers from the global sports media industry were on hand at the Grimaldi Forum to discuss various issues in a session titled Next Generation Event Broadcasting.

HBS CEO Francis Tellier and OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos shared their similar visions for the future of host broadcasting during Sportel Monaco's International Symposium

Moderated by Kevin Roberts, Editorial Director of SportsBusiness Group, the two-hour International Symposium gave its contributors, among other topics, a chance to look back at the evolution of event broadcasting over the past 20 years and how those changes might help to shape the future of the industry.

OBS CEO Yiannis Exarchos explained how the birth of the host broadcaster came from a necessity to provide what one single broadcaster could no longer hope to offer viewers. The Host Broadcasting system is in fact a huge achievement of synergies and efficiencies that has fundamentally changed how big events are covered.

Gathering just 120 days ahead of the Winter Olympics in Sochi, and 240 before the start of the 2014 FIFA World Cup Brazil , Yiannis and HBS CEO Francis Tellier were in the perfect position, at the ideal moment, to explain just how the ever-expanding role of the host broadcaster could eventually lead to a reduction in an event's broadcast footprint.

In France in 1998 it was simply a matter of delivering the matches with ten minutes of preamble, and five minutes after the match, explained Francis. But since then the expectations of broadcasters have changed hugely, we find we are delivering more and more content so that the MRLs can provide and exploit their rights all day long, as well as on second screens, and on mobile devices.

Consequently, with more content produced in a more consistent manner, broadcasters are able to cover the proceedings in greater depth, with more flexibility and with less of a financial and logistical burden on their own shoulders.

The future will only bring a greater level of services, enabling customisation by each MRL for their own market, while increased remote access to live and non-live content can allow MRLs to downscale their own broadcast project on-site. A triumph in both economical and environmental terms.

As host broadcaster we are contributing to the limitation of an event's footprint, continued Francis. It is cost-effective for broadcasters, not only in the increased variety, quality and availability of content, but also in that every additional staff member we recruit saves MRLs from hiring several of their own, every dollar we spend can potentially save them ten dollars.

As the role of the host broadcaster expands the benefits for event organisers and MRLs will also continue to grow. Television remains the prime product but the rise of digital content and the second screen experience should lead to far greater levels of multimedia exploitation. Meanwhile, progressing with improvements in quality such as 3D, 4K and 8K are all very much on the agenda, advancements which will see HBS leading the way in the making of broadcasting's future.

LINK:	http://www.hbs.tv/news-archive/news/article/reducing-the-broadcast-foo...
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