Kevin Roberts speaks to Laurent Puons, chief executive of Monaco Mediax – organiser of the SPORTEL conference(s) – about what attendees can gain from SPORTELSummit, the exclusive new thought-leadership event which opens in Miami this week.
Why is understanding the American market so important to executives in the global world of sports media?
The American sports and media industry is probably the most advanced and professionally organised in the world. I’m not saying that other nations and organisations aren’t, but the Americans will always be a great example of how to build a sport from a commercial point of view.
The commercialisation of sport, starting with school and educational programmes, building up to professional, multibillion-dollar-value empires is incredible. How a sport and athletes are built from early stages, then leading to building brands, fan engagements, sales oriented stadiums…all and everything precisely planned and developed to generate profit.
SPORTEL not only has a long history in America, but also is the best platform to unite leaders from all over the world and help exchange cross-continental experiences.
How does the Summit structure and format differ from the SPORTEL market events?
For 29 years, SPORTEL trade shows have been known as real contract markets. In the exhibition, settings rights are negotiated, decided and signed at the shows, making SPORTEL a necessity for the international sports-media industry. However, we had noticed a slight disconnect on a higher level and across continents and this is why we have developed the SPORTELSummit. Only SPORTEL can build a platform for real leaders of the industry to come together and unite deals with challenges and trends for the future of sports and its fans. The SPORTELSummit solely concentrates on “meeting and exchange” providing an intimate setting for visionary thought leadership at the highest possible level. Never before has there been an event that offers the sports industry elite a networking platform that will empower them to gain advantages in business.
What are the key themes and issues for discussion at this year’s event?
To pick one discussion over the other is impossible as the topics of the overall conference are all very important, culturally diverse and will provide participants with great insight and news on major international developments to take home with them. Topics I look forward to are “The Revolution of Watching Sports”, the personal keynote interview with the legendary Oscar De La Hoya, the current developments around soccer in the USA, then from Asia the phenomenal success story of ONE Championship and an overview of sports-media trends in China and then the closing panel on “Building a Brand in America” based on the example of the Miami Dolphins.
What are your hopes and expectations for SPORTELSummit ’18?
It is the first time we organise this event, so we all are anxious for the reactions of the participants and sponsors. My hope is that it is well accepted by the participants and their expectations are exceeded and they leave with insights they didn’t have before. This may be the most difficult part of organising an event for people at this level, providing news to people that usually are the direction to the industry.
What part of the summit are you most looking forward to?
The moment when everybody is seated and the summit begins! It is always exciting when a new event opens and all our hard work pays off. I of course also look forward to spending time with these key members of our industry, in the pleasant and relaxed surroundings of Miami Beach.