IOC Chief Urges Federations to Go Digital

(ATR) Thomas Bach says the IOC is embracing the digital revolution and called on international sports federations at SportAccord to follow suit.

Speaking at the conference’s opening ceremony at the Royal Thai Navy Convention Hall, Bach talked up the Olympic Channel and the way some of the IOC’s TOP sponsors were reaching a global audience.

In this digital age, he said the IOC "sees the future of marketing and sponsorship as digital".

Saying the digital revolution was "a real game changer for us", he told the assembled audience of Thai government ministers, Thai NOC officials and sports federation leaders that "people are connecting with the Olympic Games in more ways than ever before" with "everyone a consumer and a content creator".

"In this digital age, we cannot wait for people to come to us. We have to go to where the people are. And people everywhere are living digital lives," he said.

"It means that, as a matter of priority, we need to engage the young generations around the globe. We must ensure that the values of sport resonate with the next generation.

"This is not just a technological imperative. There is also a demographic imperative for all of us to reach the young generation digitally and connect with the values of sport."

Bach said the Olympic Channel – now in its second year of operation – was achieving the IOC’s objectives. It has already surpassed 1 billion video views across all platforms.

The PyeongChang Winter Games, he added, showed how attractive Olympic sport is for this young, digital audience – "the amount of broadcast content on digital platforms was double that aired on TV".

He said the trend was now reflected across different markets around the globe and in the Olympic Channel, where 77 percent of its followers on social media are under the age of 35.

"The IOC invites the entire Olympic Movement to be a part of this digital future," he said, urging federations to come on board.

To date, 63 deals have been signed with sport federations and organizations. Other collaborations include the World Games 2017 in Wroclaw, which included events of 21 IOC recognized IFs. Content from the World Games was distributed via 130 broadcasters worldwide.

Commenting on the IOC’s TOP program of premium sponsors, he cited the partnerships with Intel and Alibaba to underscore how innovation and cutting-edge technology was connecting the Olympics with a wider global audience.

He noted the "stunning Intel drone show" during the opening ceremony and the company making the first-ever virtual reality viewing of the Olympic Games in real time possible.

In PyeongChang, Alibaba presented its vision for the digital future of the Olympics, using cloud technology and an e-commerce platform to enable the IOC to engage more directly with athletes and fans. It will digitizing the operations for Olympics, improving efficiency and effectiveness of running the Games.

Bach then returned to the IOC’s overarching mission, "to make the world a better place through sport", again highlighting the participation of North and South Korea in a joint march at the PyeongChang 2018 opening ceremony.This coupled with the unified Korean women’s ice hockey team had "sent a powerful message of peace from the Korean Peninsula to the world".

"This is the reason why the global appeal of the Olympic Games continues to be stronger than ever. This is the reason why it is so important to unite a global audience," he said.

"We can only achieve our mission by promoting the role of sport, by inspiring and engaging the next generation with the values of sport."

Reported by Mark Bissonin Bangkok.

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