Austria Forum 2026

  • Location: Lusthaus Vienna
  • Address: Freudenau 254, 1020 Vienna

Sponsors

 

Title Sponsor

Session Sponsor

Tabletop Sponsor

Schedule

12:00
Registration and networking

13:20
Welcome from Sky Sport and SVG Europe, and opening remarks from title sponsor Broadcast Solutions

  • Jens Fischer, Broadcast Solutions, Sales Director, Senior Sales Manager
  • Philip von Senden, Broadcast Solutions, Managing Director

13:30
Keynote: Sky Austria overview
A forward-looking address offering broad insight into Sky Austria’s strategic direction for 2026. The keynote will highlight the organisation’s evolving priorities across production, content development, audience engagement, and overall investment focus. It will provide a clear view of how Sky Austria intends to strengthen its position across platforms and channels while continuing to refine the way it serves audiences and partners.

  • Michael Radelsberger, Sky Austria, Managing Director

13:50
Panel: Cost-effective sports coverage, sponsored by Vizrt
This session will explore how streamlined workflows, multi-skilled crews, and centralised, remote production can reduce live-production costs. Panellists will share practical examples of automation, simplified toolsets, and cloud-pragmatic approaches that make high-quality coverage achievable even with limited budgets – while enabling faster deployment, reliable operations, and efficient “life after live” content creation.

  • Emil Drexler, Sky Austria, Director of Sports Production
  • Holger Ensslin, DMC Production, CEO
  • Marlene Beran, Servus TV, Commercial Director
  • Bernhard Fuchs, ÖFBL, Media Rights & TV Production
  • Mark Overkamp, NEP Germany, CTO & Technical Director

14:30
Panel: Major events with ORF, including the Winter Olympics 2026 and the Eurovision Song Contest
This panel will look at the creative, technical and operational challenges involved in realising coverage of some of Europe’s biggest live events. Panellists will discuss evolving production models, share behind-the-scenes insights, and highlight the tools, workflows and collaborative strategies needed to deliver large-scale broadcasts at the highest level.

  • Michael Kögler, ORF, Head of Directors
  • Michael Krön, ORF, Executive Producer

15:00
Coffee Break

15:30
Panel: How sports brands can drive tangible value with GenAI
A presentation examining the practical, scalable impact of GenAI in sports media.

  • Eyal Knoll, AWS, Monetisation BD – Media, Entertainment, Games & Sports

16:00
Panel: Adaptive production – Reaching Gen Z in the sports media landscape
This panel discussion will consider how live sports workflows must evolve to capture, manage and distribute content that resonates with younger audiences. The panel will examine real-time storytelling, multi-platform delivery, creator-style production techniques, and agile workflows that enable broadcasters and rights holders to engage, retain and grow Gen Z viewership.

  • Patrick Fritzsche, Presenter, Commentator and Content Creator
  • Viktoria Geresi, ML Marketing, Chief Operating Officer
  • Zlatan Gavran, Broadcast Solutions, Managing Director and COO
  • [Moderator] Kimberly Budinsky, Sky Austria, Presenter

16:30
VAR, Technology, and Decision-Making Under Pressure: The Referee’s Perspective
In this panel, football referees provide insights into decision-making processes in professional soccer. The focus is on the use of VAR, technological support systems, and the challenges of making the right decisions under extreme pressure in a fraction of a second. The discussion will also cover how innovations such as the Ref Cam open up new perspectives for the audience and can permanently change the understanding of the role, perception, and responsibility of referees.

  • Patrick Kessel, DFB Referee

17:00
Networking

Registration for this event has now closed. For all enquiries, please contact Audience Development Manager Livvy Maule-ffinch

This event is for SVG Europe Platinum and Gold sponsors, SVG Europe members and by invitation only from Sky Sport Austria. Places are strictly limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis.