
FutureSPORT 2023: AI and sustainability top the agenda at packed SVG Europe event By George Bevir
Friday, November 24, 2023 - 11:47
Print This Story
Panasonic's Josh Milligan welcomes attendees at FutureSPORT 2023
Artificial intelligence and sustainability topped the agenda at yesterday's FutureSPORT event, with speakers from F1, the Premier League, the BBC, Sky, DAZN and more sharing their insights with the capacity crowd.
Sponsored by Panasonic Connect, some 280 people attended the event at the Oval in south London for a day of panels, presentations, networking and exhibits plus the inaugural Sports Broadcasting Achievements.
We need to be bold and push the boundaries, otherwise we won't engage those younger audiences
After networking and a tour of the famous international cricket ground, Panasonic Connect field marketing manager Josh Milligan delivered some welcome remarks before Caretta Research's Rebecca Jackson spoke about the shift to online viewing and its impact on sports production, and the growing opportunity for the distribution of niche sports.
Left to right: SVG Europe's Will Strauss, Louise Lawler, DAZN, Cliona O'Leary, Sport Ireland, Wendy Hendrickx, F1, Rachael Nightingale, Premier League, Victoria Cotton, BBC Sport.
The first panel of the day featured Wendy Hendrickx, F1, head of live production, Victoria Cotton, BBC Sport, executive producer, live streaming, Louise Lawler, DAZN, VP of production and editorial operations, Cliona O'Leary, Sport Ireland, director of corporate affairs, communications and marketing and Rachael Nightingale, Premier League, head of media operations and innovation who were tasked with identifying - and solving sports broadcasting's future challenges.
Having shared some insights into the Premier League's recent gamification' trials, Nightingale sounded a note of caution: We don't have Game Mode as the main feed, because we know it will alienate traditional viewers. We need to be careful about how we change our products. But, at the same time, we need to be bold and push the boundaries, otherwise we won't engage those younger audiences.
Lawler then spoke about the role of influencers in helping to attract new - and often younger - viewers to boxing.
The reach of social media influencers is insane, she said. And there isn't a sport in the world that wouldn't want to embrace that they are proper fights, and from a commercial perspective I cant's stress how successful this has been. It's been really positive to embrace these fans who might not otherwise be fans. They're now engaging with the sport, and it's bringing entertainment into the ring.
MRMC was technology partner for FutureSPORT 2023, providing robotic cameras and a slider to capture video of the event.
Up next was a case study from Tata on the subject of embracing the future of media, with Carolina Santos, ATP Media, head of broadcast operations and engineering in conversation with Brijesh Yadav, Tata Communications, global head of media business: sales, business development and innovations.
After more networking and lunch, former BT Sport Mobile & Immersive Director Matt Stagg took to the stage to explain the latest developments with generative AI.
He provided delegate with three takeaways: that generative AI will allow production teams to do more for less, particularly in the area of monetisation. Also, that AI tools will help the ongoing democratisation of production, allowing lower tier and grassroots sports to capture and share their content. And finally, that generative AI doesn't moan, so is a perfect tool for completing the kind of tasks that can be considered a burden, thus freeing up time for creatives and those in editorial to be more creative.
Networking at FutureSPORT 2023
The focus on AI continued with a thought leader perspectives panel on the subject of AI for Good', with Ross Munro, WSC Sports, head of commercial UK & Ireland, Alireza Shahrestani, Sponix Tech, marketing director, Imogen Kimberley, Newsbridge, regional sales manager, Alain Polgar, Chyron, SVP of sales, EMEA & APAC discussing why AI will be a positive force for the wider sports broadcasting and production sector.
Kimberley commented: Smart vendors recognise there is an AI bias and will work with you to address that.
Sustainability was a theme that cropped up in most discussions, and was the focus of the next panel: Green Goals: Can we build a more sustainable sports production industry?
Alex Redfern, EVS, CTO, Brian Leonard, IMG Studios, Head of Engineering, Post & Workflows, Rohan Mitchell, EMG Group, ESG Director and Steve Knee, Cloudbass, Managing Director discussed sustainability in live sports production, with a particular focus on the role played by outside broadcast companies.
Following a vigorous discussion that included a debate about the merits of the cloud and the prospects of remote production, Redfern said: As manufacturers, a stumbling block we face as an industry is that we build things for the worst case scenario and over-engineer just in case'. That's understandably driven by production, but at what point will that balance tip, because we need to reduce consumption?
Read more FutureSPORT 2023 picture gallery
There was further debate on the topic of the cloud, with the second thought leader panel of the day, on cloud TX, contribution and distribution, with Greg Burns, Arqiva, interim director of product, Jonathan Smith, NetInsight. solution area expert, Chris Fellows, Zixi, Solutions engineering manager and Sri Hari Thirunavukkarasu, Amagi, SVP sales, EMEA.
Next, attendees heard from key creatives at Sky Sports, BBC Sport and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports on the subject of presentation studios.
The discussion among Ben Wickham, Sky Sports, director of creative o
North America Stories
25/08/2026
Open, Sustainable, Predictable: What Utah Scientific Is Bringing to IBC 2026 As broadcast leaders prepare to gather at the RAI Amsterdam for IBC 2026, the main ...
25/08/2026
NC State's Matthew Byrd breaks down how an IP-based infrastructure is delivering greater flexibility and scalability for Wolfpack productions...
25/08/2026
Deal expands the DTC reach in-market of Capitals, Wizards, Mystics games and oth...
25/08/2026
The two-year renovation period will create a stadium of the future for the NFL f...
25/08/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
25/08/2026
Shell Energy Stadium in Houston has installed a new L-Acoustics A Series loudspeaker system, designed and installed by LD Systems, a Clair Global brand. The 20,...
25/08/2026
FloCollege is expanding its distribution and product offerings for the 2026-27 season, covering more than 20 NCAA partner conferences across Division I, II, and...
25/08/2026
TNA Wrestling and REVOLT have announced a content partnership bringing exclusive TNA Xplosion matches and content from TNA's library to REVOLT.
Our indust...
25/08/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its Q3 2026 Data Hub analysis showing that FAST sports programming is growing at more than ...
25/08/2026
Amagi has appointed Thomas d'H rouville as Head of Sales for France, Benelux, and Nordics. Based in Paris, he will lead Amagi's growth strategy across t...
25/08/2026
IPC has appointed CCATech as its channel partner in Brazil, expanding the company's presence in Latin America. CCATech was founded in 2023 by Carlos Abrah o...
25/08/2026
FanConnect has announced the FC4, a multi-output media player designed to drive mid-sized video walls, multi-screen concession stands, and multi-display digital...
25/08/2026
JWX has launched JWX Content Hub, a platform for publisher video that combines content transformation, social distribution, audience engagement, and monetizatio...
25/08/2026
Techex has appointed Stuart Almond as Chief Revenue Officer. Almond brings more than 25 years of experience across technology, media, and telecommunications, ha...
25/08/2026
Grass Valley will demonstrate infrastructure connecting SDI, SMPTE ST 2110, MXL, and software-based processing at IBC2026 (Booth 9.A01, RAI Amsterdam, September...
25/08/2026
Franchises are taking greater ownership of production, distribution, and the fan...
25/08/2026
The first-year circuit for former professional athletes leans on LiveU, Starlink...
25/08/2026
Announcing the 2026 Sundance Institute Breakthrough | Focus Features Fellows
L...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Lingopal, the AI-powered live translation and localization specialist, is unveiling new platform capabilities at IBC2026 (11 14 September, RAI Amsterdam), helpi...
25/08/2026
Bminty is supporting TV5MONDE in the evolution of its editorial processes through a new AI-assisted press information generation solution. Combining the Louise ...
25/08/2026
Two Cultures. Millions Reached. One Berklee Connection. Meet Annie Dickinson and Zhengxi Zhang-the couple who turned their creative partnership into music car...
25/08/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud platform for unified broadcast, streaming, and monetization, today announced that Law&Crime has migrated its Court TV channel, s...
25/08/2026
Broadcast Solutions, a leading systems integrator and provider of innovative solutions for the broadcast and media industry, is showcasing the breadth of its ca...
25/08/2026
Thatcham, UK 25 August 2026: Test & measurement innovator, Leader Electronics, has announced that leading broadcast rental company Minitech has purchased a Le...
25/08/2026
Appear's X20 Platform enables visually lossless video contribution with sub-frame latency and full path redundancy for TVTEL's centralised VAR operation...
25/08/2026
World-first demonstration combines 5G Broadcast and Media over QUIC for seamless, ultra-low-latency hybrid media delivery
Big Blue Marble will showcase new dev...
25/08/2026
MNC Software, a global leader in network management and operational support systems tailored to the broadcast and media industry, will showcase its complete sof...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
25/08/2026
Company to Demonstrate Practical AI Applications That Add Value Today and Longer-Term Path Toward Agentic AI
At IBC2026 (Sept. 11 14, RAI Amsterdam, Stand #1.B...
25/08/2026
Serving South Florida with a unique blend of jazz, Latin jazz, salsa, reggae, blues, and culturally reflective programming, WDNA 88.9FM operates as both a tradi...
25/08/2026
GlobalM announced that it is integrating its GMX software-defined media platform with Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), bringing together Oracle's global c...
25/08/2026
NVIDIA is bringing the next wave of RTX gaming to the Gamescom conference running this week in Cologne, Germany, with support for new games, anti-cheat technolo...
24/08/2026
Co-authors Mike Soltys and Garrett Sutton reflect on Rasmussen's vision, intentional optimism,' and fan-first philosophy following his death last week...
24/08/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
24/08/2026
As the broadcast industry moves toward more flexible production platforms, Calrec will present its evolving audio ecosystem at IBC 2026, on Stand 8.C47. The dem...
24/08/2026
Stop Using Boring Static Highlights - Pro After Effects Workflow
Graham Quince August 24, 2026
0 Comments
Did you know you can use After Effects expre...
24/08/2026
Paledusk Performance Captured with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton August 24, 2026
0 Comments
Creative production company THINGS. brings the band'...
24/08/2026
According to OpenRouter data, agentic AI workloads consume 15x more tokens than ...
24/08/2026
The next era of AI inference won't be defined by a single breakthrough chip,...
24/08/2026
To generate intelligence at scale, AI factories run continuously, and their economics are defined by delivered output: tokens per second, tokens per watt, cost ...
22/08/2026
O'Shea Jackson Jr., Dave Franco, and Mason Thames appear in Idiots by Macon Blair, an official selection of the 2026 Sundance Film Festival. (Courtesy of ...