Hong Kong, September 10, 2007 – The potential business opportunities for sports television in China were highlighted during the August 24th CASBAA Sports TV Forum in Beijing.
With the theme “All-win with the Olympics”, the Forum was hosted by the State Administration of Radio, Film & Television (SARFT) and co-organized by the Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) and China International Television Corporation (CITVC), the commercial arm of state broadcaster CCTV.
Over 300 representatives of Chinese and European sports bodies, along with global sports TV networks and sports management teams participated in the Forum, exchanging insights on how sports TV can benefit the broadcasting industry and economic development within China, as well as the synergies between sports leagues and pay-TV.
With speakers drawn from the Beijing Olympic Broadcasting, SARFT, CCTV and CITVC, the Forum was keynoted by Jiang Heping, Managing Director of CCTV Sports Centre, followed by Jiang Xiaoyu, Executive Vice President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG), Lee Won-Kun, Executive Vice President of KBS of Korea, Zhou Yi, General Manager of Office of Olympic Affairs of China Mobile and Richard Dorfman, General Manager of the Department of Media and Broadcast of A1 GP.
“The broadcasts of Beijing 2008 Olympics will be the first time for many people around the globe to see modern China and much better understand the country, its people and its culture,” said Simon Twiston Davies, Chief Executive Officer of CASBAA.
“There is no doubt that the broadcasting industry is a strong platform for any company to build brand awareness and reach the target audience in a short time. We believe the demand for expanded Olympics coverage will drive demand for pay-TV and serve as a launch pad for the industry.”
At the conclusion of the Forum, Marcel Fenez, the Chairman of CASBAA, thanked organizer CITVC as well as the official Host, SARFT.
“We wish the Games a great success in China. Through our third annual forum, we hope to further promote the sports TV industry, creating a win-win situation for both the TV sector and other business opportunities in China, such as building up the brand awareness for overseas sports leagues and creating a new brand of sports product in China market,” said Fenez.
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About CASBAA – www.casbaa.com
The Cable & Satellite Broadcasting Association of Asia (CASBAA) is an industry-based advocacy group dedicated to the promotion of multi-channel TV via cable, satellite, broadband and wireless video networks across the Asia-Pacific. CASBAA represents some 125 Asia-based corporations, which in turn serve more than three billion people. Members include AETN International (History Channel), Asia Broadcast Networks, Asia Broadcast Satellite, AsiaSat, Astro, Australia Network, Bloomberg Television, Chunghwa Telecom, Discovery Networks Asia, Genesis Networks, Granada International/ITV Worldwide, HBO Asia, Intelsat, Macquarie, MediaFLO Technologies, Motorola, MTV Networks Asia Pacific, Nokia, now TV, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Sony Pictures Television International, STAR Group, Sun Microsystems, TrueVisions, Turner International Asia Pacific, Walt Disney Television International, Zonemedia, Al Jazeera, Amarchand Mangaldas, Asian Food Channel, BBC Global Channels Asia-Pacific, Celestial Movies, ESPN STAR Sports, GMA Network Inc., GroupM, Fu Yang Media, HiT Entertainment, Hong Kong Cable, Irdeto, KDB Skylife, Lovells, Measat, MGM Networks, Minter Ellison, National Geographic, Paul Weiss, Playboy TV, ProtoStar, PT Direct Vision, SAT-GE, Tandberg Television, Tata Sky, Ten Sports, TimeWarner, TV18, Viaccess and Zee TV.
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