Ahead Of The Curve – Innovation In The Digital Transformation Of Sports Broadcasting

As traditional broadcasters evolve to utilise digital and newcomers like Netflix and Amazon vie for more TV rights to sporting events, keeping pace with the changing landscape in screening and live streaming sports is vital.

Tata Communications, the leading provider of global digital infrastructure services, helps sports broadcasters, federations and rights holders to stay ahead of the competition by embracing digital transformation and adopting cutting-edge technology. Nearly 30 percent of the world’s internet routes travel over its network.

It’s a leader in the increasingly digital, cloud-powered and IP-enabled media and entertainment industry and delivers over 5,000 live sporting events globally including top tier clients across premium sports.

Evolution of consumption patterns and explosion of new content mean that sports broadcasters, content owners and rights holders need a technology partner with a global reach and versatile networks that are not only reliable but also interoperable and future-ready.

As regulatory and commercial factors compel broadcasters to search for alternative distribution channels, the company’s fully managed satellite replacement solution delivers high quality compressed video over a hybrid network.

Tata Communications provides additional benefits to meet the sophisticated demands of sports broadcasters. Its storage and compute services offer a flexible, modular private storage environment for media, so that content owners and broadcasters can create their own business models without disparate cloud tie-ups and capital expenditure.

As OTT goes mainstream in sport, the company is equipped to fulfil requirements with a comprehensive, cloud-based platform that empowers content owners and video streaming companies to perform key backend tasks such as transcoding, analytics, live streaming and publishing and reviews. It also offers a video delivery network for live synchronous OTT output.

“The influx of newcomers investing in sports rights means there is growing pressure on traditional broadcasters and content owners to keep pace.”

Workflow automation allows for slick operations. There’s one web interface that allows content owners to manage their media from ingest to delivery, in an easy-to-use, pay-as-you-go cloud-based service.

Driving efficiencies via remote production

In producing and broadcasting a major sporting event, a major shift in thinking and operations has led to huge changes that are driving down costs.

Media contribution, preparation and distribution are highly capital-intensive for producers of live TV and video content, and their workflows are complex. Migration to IP-based workflows provides new opportunities to content owners to simplify them and achieve substantial cost efficiencies.

Remote production is one option available to live content producers. Enhancing the reach of their content, exploring new monetisation routes and lowering the cost of production can be achieved this way. As content regionalisation and innovation in media formats take a strong hold among business priorities, remote production is expected to become a default choice for live content producers.

The company’s remote production solution ensures a collaborative approach by tying together multiple production hubs with the live event venue and utilising personnel and equipment across more than one facility via an ultra-low latency managed network. This unlocks major opportunities for sports to scale their operations worldwide, and operate multiple events in parallel without needing a full production set-up on-site.

Dhaval Ponda, Global Head of Media and Entertainment Services at Tata Communications, says “The influx of newcomers investing in sports rights means there is growing pressure on traditional broadcasters and content owners to keep pace. To remain competitive, many are looking to expand their global reach by entering new markets and monetising digital platforms in new ways.

“Simultaneously, many broadcasters are taking a hard look at how they operate to boost their profitability by reducing overheads, logistical and engineering expenses. This is where remote production can make a huge difference, becoming an enabler of business transformation for broadcasters.”

Tata Communications is well-positioned to assist. It owns and operates the world’s largest fibre network optimised for media, delivering broadcast-quality video across 300 media hotspots in 125 global cities. This network offers low-latency, reliable connectivity and can be rapidly deployed and dynamically configured on a virtualised platform.

Its global operations centres maintain the network in peak condition through a remote monitoring crew; a dedicated on-site team is fully adaptable to an event’s schedule and turnaround requirements.

“Game-changing” 100G media backbone

Tata Communications has launched a 100G media backbone to meet the industry’s growing bandwidth demands. It underpins the tech giant’s global end-to-end managed Video Connect network.

“eSports enterprises and broadcasters can provide gamers and viewers with exceptional, ultra-immersive 4k viewing experiences without worrying about bandwidth issues”

The new backbone enables broadcasters, sports organisations, OTT companies and eSports businesses to offer their global audiences more immersive viewing and gaming experiences and transform how they operate through full remote production.

Ponda describes it as a “game-changing” development for the sports industry. “Viewers, sports fans and gamers expect immersive, high-quality content – delivered live from the other side of the world or on demand – on different platforms. This 100G backbone and our managed video services will help our customers innovate with agility and become more competitive,” he says.

At major sports events, the new infrastructure will have the capacity to support up to 50 raw video feeds and the delivery of unilateral, localised feeds by different rights holders for their regions.

A 100G media backbone can simplify a content provider’s journey towards deploying UHD 4K videos in real time, which requires 12Gb/s bandwidth when uncompressed – four times more than what is needed for a HD video transmission.

“eSports enterprises and broadcasters can provide gamers and viewers with exceptional, ultra-immersive 4k viewing experiences without worrying about bandwidth issues,” says Ponda.

eSports has become a global industry which is constantly requiring greater tech systems

The opportunities and benefits created by 100 G are not only limited to 4k video transmission. Progressive media and communications companies, for instance, have started testing live 360° video transmission in 8k UHD – the highest resolution available in digital TV.

Ponda adds: “This can usher in endless possibilities when it comes to live video broadcasting and immersive viewing. Such high-performance media infrastructure can, for example, allow sports lovers to use a VR headset and experience a golf tour right from the player’s point-of-view or watch a motorsport race from the circuit.”

A 100G media network can also help content providers streamline the technical aspects of video production. For instance, every event in eSports involves multiple cameras, cutaways, commentary, real-time editing and real-time reactions. A high capacity transmission network can ensure that the data is transmitted in order, on time, and without any redundancies to enable remote production of multiple events in tandem.

Media cloud ecosystem benefits

Further benefits to the sports industry come in the form of the company’s media cloud infrastructure services. It enables content owners, broadcasters and OTT players to create a private, modular media cloud to manage their video on-demand playout and distribution.

Migration to cloud-based workflows enables sports organisations and broadcasters to launch resources faster, achieve better collaboration across remote workforces, deploy in multiple regions at the same time, and, perhaps most importantly, trade capital expenses with a pay-as-you-go model.

Tata Communications’ media cloud infrastructure is seamlessly connected to its media-ready global network and provides the vital link between content acquisition and distribution to audiences. It can achieve a range of transform functions including transcode, digital rights management, review and approve processes, metadata tagging and video analytics.

‘LaLigaSantander Fest’ Raises Over €1 million For Medical Supplies

As part of LaLiga’s efforts to encourage fans to stay at home and to provide entertainment during this time of no football and of quarantine, a unique virtual festival was held on Saturday for more than 50 million people.

‘LaLigaSantander Fest’ was the first global charity festival held to raise funds to support the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic and, under the slogan of “Music and football together against COVID-19”, it brought together top musicians and footballers for the first time ever.

Artists such as Alejandro Sanz, David Bisbal, Luis Fonsi and Lang Lang performed from their respective homes as part of the online event, while players from the clubs of LaLiga Santander also took part. The event was organised by LaLiga and made possible thanks to the collaboration of Banco Santander, Universal Music, management firm GTS, LaLiga players and clubs and a host of the competition’s sponsors.

Aside from Santander, these included: PUMA, EA Sports, Budweiser, Rexona, BKT, LiveScore, El Corte Inglés, Samsung, Panini, Sportium, Deliveroo, Allianz, STIHL, Mazda, Danone, Marqués del Atrio, VITALDENT, Mail Boxes Etc. and RENFE.

Global audience leads to millions of medical supplies

The event was broadcast simultaneously via LaLiga social media channels, and through LaLigaSportsTV, the league’s global OTT platform, while the signal was also made available to LaLiga global broadcast partners. In total 50 international broadcast partners offered coverage of the concert, along with 70 social media accounts and as many media outlets. In total, the event could finally be seen in 182 countries around the world.

As well as providing entertainment to a global audience, ‘LaLiga Santander Fest’ raised €1,003,532. These funds will enable the purchase of 115 respirators, 1.4 million face masks, 12,595 sterile protective suits and 500,000 vonyl protective gloves, with a further donation of 1 million masks from Santander.

These supplies will be directed to those who need it most according to the Spanish government’s health priorities in coordination with the country’s High Sports Council (CSD)……

… To read the full piece and subscribe to the LaLiga Global Fútbol Newsletter, please follow this link: https://newsletter.laliga.es/global-futbol/laligasantander-fest-raises-over-eur1-million/rrss

AELTC Cancel Wimbledon For The First Time Since World War Two

It is with great regret that the Main Board of the All England Club (AELTC) and the Committee of Management of The Championships have today decided that The Championships 2020 will be cancelled due to public health concerns linked to the coronavirus epidemic. The 134th Championships will instead be staged from 28 June to 11 July 2021.

Uppermost in our mind has been the health and safety of all of those who come together to make Wimbledon happen – the public in the UK and visitors from around the world, our players, guests, members, staff, volunteers, partners, contractors, and local residents – as well as our broader responsibility to society’s efforts to tackle this global challenge to our way of life.

Since the emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak in January, we have followed guidance from the UK Government and public health authorities in relation to our year-round operations, alongside developing an understanding of the likely trajectory of the outbreak in the UK. This has enabled analysis of the impact of the Government restrictions on the usual commencement in April of the significant preparations required to stage The Championships, either on the original date of 29 June, or at a later date in the summer of 2020.

These considerations are particularly related to the concerns brought about by mass gatherings and the strain on the medical and emergency services, as well as movement and travel restrictions both within the UK and around the world. With the likelihood that the Government’s measures will continue for many months, it is our view that we must act responsibly to protect the large numbers of people required to prepare The Championships from being at risk – from the training of ball boys and girls to thousands of officials, line judges, stewards, players, suppliers, media and contractors who convene on the AELTC Grounds – and equally to consider that the people, supplies and services legally required to stage The Championships would not be available at any point this summer, thus ruling out postponement.

Following a series of detailed deliberations on all of the above, it is the Committee of Management’s view that cancellation of The Championships is the best decision in the interests of public health, and that being able to provide certainty by taking this decision now, rather than in several weeks, is important for everyone involved in tennis and The Championships. Members of the public who paid for tickets in the Wimbledon Public Ballot for this year’s Championships will have their tickets refunded and will be offered the chance to purchase tickets for the same day and court for The Championships 2021. We will be communicating directly with all ticket-holders.

In addition, we have taken account of the impact that this decision will have on those who rely on The Championships – including the players and the tennis community in Britain and around the world – and we are developing plans to support those groups, working in partnership with the LTA and the other leadership bodies in global tennis. This also applies to our loyal staff, to whom we take our responsibility very seriously.

Ian Hewitt, AELTC Chairman, commented: “This is a decision that we have not taken lightly, and we have done so with the highest regard for public health and the wellbeing of all those who come together to make Wimbledon happen. It has weighed heavily on our minds that the staging of The Championships has only been interrupted previously by World Wars but, following thorough and extensive consideration of all scenarios, we believe that it is a measure of this global crisis that it is ultimately the right decision to cancel this year’s Championships, and instead concentrate on how we can use the breadth of Wimbledon’s resources to help those in our local communities and beyond. Our thoughts are with all those who have been and continue to be affected by these unprecedented times.”

Richard Lewis CBE, AELTC Chief Executive, commented: “While in some ways this has been a challenging decision, we strongly believe it is not only in the best interests of society at this time, but also provides certainty to our colleagues in international tennis given the impact on the grass court events in the UK and in Europe and the broader tennis calendar. We have appreciated the support of the LTA, and the ATP, WTA and ITF in coming to this decision, and our friends and partners who stage these grass court events that are so important in the build up to Wimbledon. I would like to thank the UK Government and public health authorities for their guidance and support, and we will do whatever we can to assist their efforts in tackling the crisis.

“Finally, I would like to thank all those who love Wimbledon for their understanding of these unique and unquestionably challenging circumstances. It is your passion for The Championships that has shaped our event over the years, and will continue to do so, and we look forward to preparing a fantastic Championships for 2021.”

IRONMAN Announces Two New Parters To Bolster Virtual Racing Series

IRONMAN has today announced two partnerships, with ROUVY and Technogym, in order to bolster their new IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series.

As the Official Virtual Training Partner of IRONMAN, ROUVY will offer up to 35 IRONMAN® and IRONMAN® 70.3® bike courses on its platform, providing IRONMAN athletes from around the world a virtual riding experience based on existing event courses.

ROUVY’s technology mixes real-world footage with 3D virtual racing. Athletes will experience accurate elevation profiles, as well as real-time Augmented Reality integration through their avatar allowing them to ride real IRONMAN and IRONMAN 70.3 courses anytime, anywhere.

“This partnership is a cornerstone of our virtual racing strategy. ROUVY is an exciting platform for athletes to use to compete in the IRONMAN® Virtual Racing™ Series. The platform will also be an integral part of the IRONMAN VR™ Pro Challenge,” said Matthieu Van Veen, Chief Revenue Officer of The IRONMAN Group. “Riding on ROUVY is as close as virtual cycling gets to being out on the course.”

The first route to be created will be of the IRONMAN 70.3 Boulder triathlon, known for its stunning yet challenging bike course in Colorado, United States.

“We are thrilled that ROUVY is teaming up with IRONMAN to launch the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series. We have a long-term vision to become the leading global platform for Virtual Cycling and with the IRONMAN partnership that vision comes to reality,” noted Petr Samek, CEO of ROUVY. “Our 1:1 augmented/mixed-reality simulation of the outdoor courses provides highly realistic and entertaining routes for the athletes to explore and race on,” added Samek.

Technogym’s involvement will debut with the recently announced IRONMAN® Virtual Racing, and with the 2020 IRONMAN World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawai’i, as well as the 2020 IRONMAN 70.3 World Championship in Taupō, New Zealand, scheduled for October and November, respectively.

“Technogym has developed a wide range of state-of-the-art smart fitness equipment that provides exceptional indoor training solutions for our athletes. We are proud to welcome Technogym as part of the IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series as we provide a competitive series to our athletes during these unprecedented times,” said Andrew Messick, President & CEO of The IRONMAN Group.

“Over the years we have been working alongside the world’s best athletes and sport events. Today, we are delighted to announce our partnership with IRONMAN, one of the most vibrant and passionate communities in the world of sport,” said Nerio Alessandri, Technogym Founder and CEO. “Technogym will provide to IRONMAN athletes a complete training solution made of the best and most accurate equipment in order to enjoy a personalized training program anytime and anywhere: at home, at the gym or at hotels during race time,” Alessandri added.

Through the new partnership, IRONMAN athletes will receive unique access to Technogym’s range of treadmills, smart trainers, exercise bikes, group cycling bikes, rowers, wellness tools and upper body trainers.
“We are delighted to welcome Technogym to the growing family of IRONMAN partners,” said Jennifer Mocerino, Chief Merchandise Officer at The IRONMAN Group. “Technogym is globally renowned for its innovative design, dedication to sports and determination to help athletes achieve their goals. All of us at IRONMAN are looking forward to introducing Technogym to our athletes through our various events and the exciting new IRONMAN Virtual Racing Series.”

ANNOUNCEMENT: BT Sport, The NBA And CANAL+ Among Speakers For iSportconnect eMasterclasses

iSportconnect are delighted to reveal the first confirmed speakers for our opening group of eMasterclasses, commencing next Tuesday, the 7th of April.

Our first speakers to join are BT Sport’s Matt Stagg, the NBA’s Dan Rossomondo, Sébastien Audoux of Canal+, Clive Cottrell from Racing TV and NOW TV’s Nathan Homer.

We have now confirmed Paul Stimpson, EVP of Rights at DAZN, who will be joining Clive Cottrell, Director of Marketing, Racing TV and Bhavesh Vaghela, CEO of Paywizard, to be part of our opening eMasterclass, ‘Understanding Your Pay TV And OTT Subscribers’, on the 7th of April at 2pm BST.

To sign up for this eMasterclass please follow this link or use the banner at the bottom of the page: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/2/n7v6nb5 

‘Facing the Platform Giants: Consolidation and Competitive Strategies’, featuring Dan Rossomondo, SVP, Head of Global Media and Business Development at the NBA, Sébastien Audoux, Head of Sport at Canal+ and a Brijesh Yadav from Tata Communications, will then take a place on the 9th of April at 2pm BST.

To sign up for this eMasterclass please follow this link: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/3/5v31qfk

Matt Stagg, Director of Mobile Strategy for BT Sport, Nathan Homer, Director of Trading, Broadband & Sports at NOW TV and Heikki Rotko, Chairman of Choicely will then take part in our third eMasterclass, ‘Renewing The Package: Innovation That Wins Audiences’, on the 14th of April.

To sign up for this eMasterclass please follow this link: https://event.webinarjam.com/register/4/zyrkva0

Keep your eyes peeled as more speakers for both these, and upcoming eMasterclasses will be announced in the next couple of days…

Eleven Sports Belgium To Show NBA TV

ELEVEN SPORTS Belgium are keeping house-bound basketball fans entertained with daily access to NBA TV.

NBA TV will bring viewers the best archived action from the regular season and play-off games, top analysis and basketball documentaries every day from midnight until noon on ELEVEN SPORTS 2. From noon until midnight, ELEVEN will then focus in on one NBA team each day as part of its Club Day series, giving fans the chance to take an in depth look at their favourite sides.

Guillaume Collard, Managing Director of ELEVEN SPORTS Belgium & Luxembourg and Group Head of Acquisitions, said: “We want to do everything we can to bring our fans the best content possible while they are stuck at home. Our fans can normally enjoy live NBA action with ELEVEN but we hope that this 24/7 offering provides a good alternative. We would like to thank the NBA for their cooperation in making this possible.”

2021 World Games And Other Major Events To Review Dates Due To Olympic Clash

The International Olympic Committee has yesterday announced the new dates for the postponed Olympic Games 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The new dates, 23 July – 8 August 2021 clash partly with those of The World Games 2021, which were scheduled to be held 15–25 July 2021. The IWGA will now urgently review alternative options, and coordinate all actions with the various stakeholders to ensure the success of the Games. In anticipation of this decision, the IWGA had already been in close contact with the IOC, and they have pledged to help The World Games overcome the major challenges created by the decision.

The IWGA Executive Committee (ExCo) met by teleconference call on Monday afternoon and the Birmingham Organising Committee (BOC) CEO Nick Sellers joined the discussion on the new situation. The ExCo reviewed input already received from IWGA’s main partners and took note of the initial review carried out by the BOC’s CEO and his staff. Of course, substantial further detailed evaluation needs to be carried out before the IWGA is in a position to make a decision on a possible change of dates to similar dates in 2022 or to slightly earlier dates in 2021 for The World Games 2021, but this work will be done very urgently.

In the coming days, there will be organised a teleconference for IWGA Member Federations to inform them about the results of the work by the IWGA and the BOC. At this virtual meeting, the federations will be invited to make their views known on the IWGA proposals.

“In these critical times, effective communication with the member federations is of key importance. Our goal is to find the best solution for all involved, and especially for the athletes. We need to take into account all aspects of the qualification process, event preparation and execution. It is a big challenge, but with effective collective and individual communications with each federation in the coming weeks, we are confident that we can achieve success”, said IWGA CEO Joachim Gossow.

 The World Games is a multi-sport event staged every four years by the International World Games Association under the patronage of the International Olympic Committee. The 11th edition of The World Games will be held in Birmingham, Alabama, USA, 15-25 July 2021. 3,600 athletes from over 30 sports and 100 countries will take part in the Games.

The World Games is one of a number of events that are now suffering the consequences of the Olympic Games being rescheduled, alongside events such as the 2021 World Athletics Championships and the FINA Swimming World Championships.

Sport England Outlines COVID-19 Financial Support For Community Sport

Sport England has today confirmed that it is making up to £195m of funding available to help the community sport and physical activity sector through the ongoing COVID-19 crisis.

The package is additional to any funding support provided by the Government and is made up of the following:

  • A £20 million Community Emergency Fund, which will be opened immediately for local clubs and community organisations to bid into. Grants between £300 and £10,000 are available. 
  • A £5 million pot for existing partners to bid into if they are facing specific and immediate financial difficulty
  • An additional £55 million to support our sectors during an ongoing period of restrictions, to fund new and innovative ways to keep people active and then, when the period of restrictions is over, to help organisations get back to business and adjust to a different environment
  • A £115 million rollover of current funding into 2021/22 to give long term certainty to over 100 well established partners who play a vital role in the delivery of sport and physical activity in England.

Alongside this, given the cashflow concerns in the sector, Sport England has also agreed that it will consider requests to release six months of the coming year’s funding (50% of awards) to its partners, meaning additional funding will be available sooner. 

Sport England is also working closely with Local Authorities and the organisations who run their leisure facilities and has been actively supporting this part of the sector to access the government support now available.

The package follows Sport England’s recent decision to offer major flexibilities to those who currently receive funding – including the ability to change timings, KPIs, targets and conditions, and redirect money to new activity in response to Covid-19. It has been drawn up following significant consultation with organisations across the sport and physical activity landscape in England.

Sport England CEO, Tim Hollingsworth said:

“As it is for so many others, these are extremely challenging times for the sport and physical activity sector. Sporting events are being cancelled, gyms and leisure centres are closed, clubs and community groups are not operating, and children and young people are all at home. This is impacting the sector financially in a significant way, although it is heartening to see huge amounts of innovation and agility, with many operators getting classes online in a matter of days to enable home workouts for example.

“As the body responsible for the growth of sport and physical activity at a grassroots level, we have an important role to play both in ensuring that we support those with short term cashflow concerns and immediate loss of income, as well as those facing medium and long term survival challenges and financial difficulties.

“We want the sector not just to come through this crisis but to be in a position to thrive again in the future and when added to the funding made available by Government this package will ease the pressure on a huge number of the organisations who are central to that.”

“We know that what this funding provides is a long way still from what the sector as a whole needs, and we will continue as a matter or priority to engage with our partners and with Government so that every opportunity for support is maximised.”

Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, Oliver Dowden, said:

“We are doing everything we can to keep Britain active and support the sport sector through these challenging times. This multi-million-pound package of public funding will not only help local sports clubs facing financial concerns but also encourage people to stay fit at home.

“When it is safe to do so, we want our brilliant community sport organisations to bounce back and we will work alongside Sport England and others to make that happen.”

2021 Dates For Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Confirmed

The dates of next year’s rescheduled Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games have today been confirmed.

Following a discussion between the organisers of Tokyo 2020, the dates have been rescheduled for the 23rd of July to the 8th of August 2021, with the Tokyo Paralympics will once again follow the Olympics and run from the 24th of August to the 5th of September 2021.

More to follow… Update: An official statement has now been released:

The International Olympic Committee, The International Paralympic Committee, the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and the government of Japan today agreed new dates for the Games of the XXXII Olympiad, in 2021. The Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will be celebrated from 23 July to 8 August 2021. They also agreed on new dates for the Paralympic Games, which will be celebrated from 24 August until 5 September 2021.

The leaderships of the key parties came together via telephone conference earlier today, joined by IOC President Thomas Bach, Tokyo 2020 President Mori Yoshirō, Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko and Olympic and Paralympic Minister Hashimoto Seiko, and agreed on the new schedule.

This decision was taken based on three main considerations and in line with the principles established by the IOC Executive Board (EB) on 17 March 2020 and confirmed at its meeting today. These were supported by all the International Summer Olympic Sports Federations (IFs) and all the National Olympic Committees (NOCs):

1. To protect the health of the athletes and everyone involved, and to support the containment of the COVID-19 virus.

2. To safeguard the interests of the athletes and of Olympic sport.

3. The global international sports calendar.

These new dates give the health authorities and all involved in the organisation of the Games the maximum time to deal with the constantly changing landscape and the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The new dates, exactly one year after those originally planned for 2020 (Olympic Games: 24 July to 9 August 2020 and Paralympic Games: 25 August to 6 September 2020), also have the added benefit that any disruption that the postponement will cause to the international sports calendar can be kept to a minimum, in the interests of the athletes and the IFs. Additionally, they will provide sufficient time to finish the qualification process. The same heat mitigation measures as planned for 2020 will be implemented.

In a call on Tuesday 24 March 2020, based on information provided by the WHO at the time, IOC President Thomas Bach and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzō concluded that the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 would be held in their complete form and not later than summer 2021. The Prime Minister reiterated that the government of Japan stands ready to fulfil its responsibility for hosting these successful Games. At the same time, IOC President Thomas Bach stressed the full commitment of the IOC to successful Olympic Games Tokyo 2020.

Following today’s decision, the IOC President said: “I want to thank the International Federations for their unanimous support and the Continental Associations of National Olympic Committees for the great partnership and their support in the consultation process over the last few days. I would also like to thank the IOC Athletes’ Commission, with whom we have been in constant contact. With this announcement, I am confident that, working together with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, the Japanese Government and all our stakeholders, we can master this unprecedented challenge. Humankind currently finds itself in a dark tunnel. These Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 can be a light at the end of this tunnel.”

Andrew Parsons, the President of the IPC, commented: “It is fantastic news that we could find new dates so quickly for the Tokyo 2020 Games. The new dates provide certainty for the athletes, reassurance for the stakeholders and something to look forward to for the whole world. When the Paralympic Games do take place in Tokyo next year, they will be an extra-special display of humanity uniting as one, a global celebration of human resilience and a sensational showcase of sport. With the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games 512 days away, the priority for all those involved in the Paralympic Movement must be to focus on staying safe with their friends and family during this unprecedented and difficult time.”

The President of the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, Mori Yoshirō, said: “IOC President Thomas Bach and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee held a conference call today to discuss in detail the revised dates of the Tokyo 2020 Games. Minister for the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Hashimoto Seiko and Tokyo Governor Koike Yuriko joined the call. I proposed that the Games should be hosted between July and August 2021, and I really appreciate that President Bach, having discussed this proposal with the various international sports federations and other related organisations, kindly accepted my proposal.

“A certain amount of time is required for the selection and qualification of athletes and for their training and preparation, and the consensus was that staging the rescheduled Games during the summer vacation in Japan would be preferable. In terms of transport, arranging volunteers and the provision of tickets for those in Japan and overseas, as well as allowing for the COVID-19 situation, we think that it would be better to reschedule the Games to one year later than planned, in the summer of 2021. Notwithstanding the postponement of the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the first time in history, and various other issues that have already been highlighted, the event schedule is the cornerstone of future preparations, and I am convinced that taking this decision promptly will help speed up future preparations. I would like to thank all the stakeholders, including the host city Tokyo and the Government of Japan, for their hard work during this short period. The Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee will continue to work hard for the success of next year’s Games.”

Governor Koike Yuriko said: “In consideration of the global coronavirus outbreak, we need a certain timeframe before we fully prepare for the delivery of Games that are safe and secure for the athletes and spectators. Also, the preparation for the new dates will go smoothly, as the dates match with same timeframe as the original competition dates, corresponding with ticketing, venue staffing, volunteers and transport. Therefore, I believe that celebrating the opening of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 on 23 July 2021 is ideal. The athletes, volunteers, torchbearers and local municipality governments have been concerned about the situation. Since we now have concrete new dates to aim for, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government will commit all its resources, and work closely with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee, the national government and other stakeholders to fully prepare for the delivery of Games that are safe and secure.”

It has previously been confirmed that all athletes already qualified and quota places already assigned for the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 will remain unchanged. This is a result of the fact that these Olympic Games Tokyo , in agreement with Japan, will remain the Games of the XXXII Olympiad.

Member Insights: Eight Tips On How To Get Through The Coronavirus Pandemic For The Sports Industry

With the sports industry currently suffering after all major events being either postponed or cancelled, sports marketing expert and consultant Geoff Wilson advises on his eight tips for those currently working in the sports business.

We are living in strange and challenging times, so I wanted to provide some thoughts for you to consider at this time as a business involved in the sports industry:

  1. Get to know your industry through conducting online research. This is one I have found really helpful for me.  This time at home has allowed me to research what is happening in the sports world and to listen to industry experts. This has included, but not limited to; listening to podcasts, attending webinars and online conferences, reading articles and research papers etc.
  2. Strategic planning. Is now the time to consider reviewing (or even developing your strategic plan). Consider the following strategic steps to follow:

This steps will include research: where are we now: desk research, online surveys and online focus groups with internal and external stakeholders.  In addition to the research, online meetings with key staff should be established to start and review (or define) your vision, mission, values, goals, objectives and actions plans.

This strategic plan does not have be 100 pages!! Focus on the key priorities and ensure you execute them with great planning.

You may want to create a short term plan (over the next 6 months) or a longer term 3-5 year plan.

  1. From a practical level, I would suggest you;

A) Start to create a sales pipeline.

-Who is in your ‘black book’ (who do you know well)?  Can you reach out to them,

-What about your current customers? Can they help with introductions?

-Connect with people who attend the online conferences etc?

The aim is to create a list of businesses whom you can target not only when we come through the other end of this pandemic but also now.

B) Start to review, reduce and control your costs. What expenses can you do without or reduce now. Ensure you keep a tight reign on all expenses. This is important!

C) Ensure you take advantage of government support and help at this time.

  1. Use of technology such as webinars. As the challenge of working from home becomes a reality, it is important for sports organisations to be proactive and use the technology asap. This involves a change of habit and culture but no one knows how long this situation will last.
iSportconnect’s eMasterclasses will be taking place over the next couple of weeks.

Also, when normality returns, we will also see the benefits of using technology alongside the face to face meetings.

  1. Consider online training.I was asked by the Barcelona FC Innocation hub to create an online digital marketing course for sports organisations. This process took time.  This got me thinking how much knowledge many of us have in the sports industry. What better way to share it that to create online courses. There are a variety of elearning platforms out there to help you get started. Do some research into the best platforms, how to structure content and how to promote your course.

In addition to creating online courses, why not take this time to expand your own knowledge by taking courses and improving your understanding of topics such as digital, sponsorship, fan engagement, data etc.

Check out: https://barcainnovationhub.com/product/digital-marketing-in-sports/

  1. Reconnect with your staff. For me, staff is the number one area to focus on during times like these.  Staff are not only the people who deliver your brand promise but also helps you to build your organisation’s reputation.  In today’s world, we often have less time for staff (getting to know them, mentor and train them, get the most from them etc)

We are too busy in meetings and doing emails!  So, I suggest this is now a good time to get to know your staff, look after them and develop them. I believe, if done correctly, this will improve staff loyalty and retention.

  1. Working from home. As you settle into life at home, I suggest you don’t burn yourself out. Try (and I know its hard), to have set times when working from home. I believe staff working a normal week can be more productive than staff who are working ridiculous hours – the brain needs a break!!
  2. Reconnect with your family.This may be a strange one to mention but it’s your family who not only support you in your sports role but now they have time to see you due to the long hours involved in the industry. So spend time with the family. This will be good for your mental health.

About Geoff Wilson

Geoff runs his own sports consultancy business, working with clients such as FIFA, UEFA, AFC and FIBA across the world. He is also on the board of Tourism Northern Ireland. You can follow Geoff on twitter @geoffwnjwilson connect on Linkedin at linkedin.com/in/geoffwnjwilson