SPORTEL CEO Ready for Macau -- Conferences & Conventions

(ATR) SPORTELAsia, one of the biggest sports media and marketing conventions, returns to the Far East for the first time in five years next week.

The 2019 edition of the convention, which runs from March 5 to 7 in Macau, caters to merging the International sports media and technology community with Asian regions. It has not been held in the Far East since Shanghai hosted in 2014.

Among those who are attending are representatives from Spain's La Liga, the NBA, the International Table Tennis Federation, Dentsu, and Infront.

The program includes a session devoted to esports, entitled "The Rise of Esports - Opportunities for Growth". The latest panel, added this week, deals with how to implementinternational professional football standards into the current and potential China football environment.

Ahead of SPORTELAsia 2019, Around the Rings interviewed SPORTEL CEO Laurent Puons.

ATR: What parts of the marketplace look most promising now?

Laurent Puons: OTT direct to consumer and fan engagement continue to grow in importance and are impacting the development of the industry and SPORTEL Conventions. I expect this trend to continue to grow and I look forward to learning what the leaders of the SPORTEL Community are planning for the near and long term future to increase their fanbase. As always in the international sports media and technology industry, exciting times ahead!

ATR: What is new on the program this year?

LP: We have dedicated two conference program events to eSports, which is a SPORTEL first. eSports offers a number of opportunities for our community and it is important that our members understand what options they have withinthis sector. We will also be having events focusing on different sectors of the Chinese sports market, which many of our members need to know, as China is a crucial aspect of their global growth strategy.

ATR: Esports seems to dominate the conversation all around the globe. Is it a bigger force in Asia than in, say, North America?

LP: Both markets are veryexciting and have great potential. The competition in e-sports is fascinating because momentum in what is "hot" and what is "not" can change so quickly. This provides substantial challenges for the companies to retain their consumers and they are always under pressure to produce the next big game to make sure their companies stay relevant.

ATR: 2020 isn't far off. Any special plans for next year?

LP:We will be conducting our annual survey very soon to see where the SPORTEL Community wish to go for 2020. We have options in a number of continents and countries and are ready to go once our members provide us with their feedback.

Puons added that this year is SPORTELMonaco's 30th anniversary and "we could not do it without the great support of the industry!"

Tickets to SPORTELAsia 2019 are still available online until March 3.

Other Conferences:

March 27-28: SportsPro OTT Summit Asia in Singapore

April 11: HIVE Esports Business Conference in Berlin

April 11: Host City Asia in Beijing

April 30-May 1: SportsPro Live in London

May 5-10: SportAccord 2019 in Gold Coast

May 23-24: Soccerex China in Sanya

May 28-29: THE SPOT in Lausanne

June 24-26: Los Angeles Sports Summit

Aug. 29-31: Sport India 2019 in New Delhi

Sept. 4-7: VISTA 2019 in Amsterdam

Sept. 5-6: Soccerex Europe in Oeiras, Portugal

Sept. 10-12: Esports Business Summit in Las Vegas

Nov. 18-20: Sports Business Japan/Stadia & Arena 2019 in Saitama, Japan

Nov. 25-27: Host City 2019 in Glasgow, Scotland

Dec. 10-12: Regional SportAccord Pan America in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Written by Greer Wilson.