Since the first national sports coverage in 1952 TV sport has grown massively to a multi-billion-dollar business underpinned by rapidly changing technology and business models. Throughout the 70’s and 80’s it was the BBC and ITV who dominated sports coverage but gradually this was eroded by the new subscription and pay-per-view operators who brought increased choice and value to the consumer experience. With new production and distribution players now emerging on a variety of platforms, the market place will continue to develop with a voracious appetite for content of all kinds, anytime, anywhere.
This session traces the evolution of sports production and the early technology, discusses where we are today in terms of sports content production and the continually developing technology that supports it --- and a prophetic glimpse into the future in the pervasive and multi-platform sports content environment.
Richard Bagnall With over twenty years’ experience of live sport broadcasting, Emmy award winning Richard Bagnall is Head of Engineering, Live Operations and Channels for IMG. Richard has worked on various live productions including the Academy Awards, Wimbledon, African Cup of Nations and the Eurovision Song contest. He has been an integral part of the development of Premier League Productions live workflows including the launch of the Premier League Content Service, a full time Premier League channel.
Charles Balchin A veteran of over forty years in the television industry, Charles began his career at the BBC starting as a Floor Manager and leaving as Executive Producer. He was then MD of Cheerleader Productions and Head of Special Projects at Sky Sports, before going to the Middle East where he was Head of Sport for the two largest broadcasters in the region. He returned to the UK 10 years ago to join IMG Productions, where he has been Head of Programmes and Head of Development.
