CASBAA Convention Highlights Sports Market

HONG KONG: The CASBAA Convention in Hong Kong this November will feature a focus on the sports broadcasting business in Asia, with a lineup that includes Lalit Modi, the chairman and commissioner of cricket’s lucrative Indian Premier League (IPL).

In addition, there will be a panel discussion on the escalating costs of sports rights featuring Russell Wolff, the executive VP and managing director of ESPN International; and Ma Guoli, the CEO and managing director of Infront Sports & Media in China. The CASBAA 2009 sports panel will also feature Jacques Raynaud, vice chairman of the Eurosport Group in Paris; Arun Poddar, the president of platforms at Neo Sports in Mumbai, and Olivier Laouchez, the president of Trace TV.

“A decade ago sports TV was described as the ‘also ran’ of Asian television,” said Simon Twiston Davies, the CEO of CASBAA. “It’s now a winner across the entire subscription television value chain. Rights owners, advertisers, marketers and platforms all have enormous investments in the business. The stakes are only getting higher.”