FICTS’ sporting celebration reaches Milan
In the wake of the highly successful, Beijing-staged 30th World FICTS Challenge – Worldwide Final of Beijing Sport Cinema and Television, Milan played host to Sport Movies & TV 2012 – 30th Milano International FICTS Fest from 5-9 December.
Taking place in the centre of Milan, the event brought to the screen more than 1000 champions, with 158 international projections (selected from 968 works from 54 nations) illustrating 55 sporting disciplines, along with 11 matches, two workshops, four exhibitions, four collateral events, two press conferences and 30 award presentations. An impressive total of 97 production facilities and 62 TV networks were involved, with more than 130 hours of material divided into seven sections.
Carying the motto ‘FICTS Is Culture Through Sports’, the Festival was organised by FICTS (Fédération Internationale Cinéma Télévision Sportifs, attended by 113 nations), which is recognised by the IOC. Heading up the Federation is Prof. Franco Ascani, who is a member of the IOC’s Culture and Olympic Education Commission.
Ascani comments: “We have seen a significant participation in the activities of FICTS (Federation Internationale Cinema Television Sportifs) with […] unprecedented media success, especially at the latest 14 Festivals’ World FICTS Challenge in 113 affiliated countries. Sports has clearly become a strategic content provider and supplier of relevant spectators to television channels and, in addition, it has increasingly become a source of social commentary, reflecting science, our society and promoting advertising revenue and long-term investment.
“Not surprisingly, with great continuity sports programmes are the most watched in the world according to the television audience data research; it is the same on the web too. This applies to both the major sporting events (Olympic Games, World Cup, athletics, rugby) and seasonal events such as the national championships of various sports. This is true for TV sports broadcasting specialist stations, but also for [more general TV] satellite and on-demand channels. For example, the values that relate to the television rights of the Olympic Games are on a steady rise.
“We at FICTS, with our thirty years’ experience, believe that it is now necessary [to have] a moment of reflection on the present and future of this industry in the light of the changes happening in the television market. Most of all, this is due to the wide diffusion of multimedia platforms that has led to a constant and greater increase in the range of sporting events around the world (both free and paid subscriptions), and due to the multiplication of emission rights (free, satellite, digital television, cable, Internet) and their market prices in television, as well as the relationship between the sporting event and direct and indirect advertising in all its forms.”
The event – whose media partner was La Gazzetta dello Sport/RAI TV/Infront – also saw Dr. Stefano Bernabino, chief editor of Eurosport International, collect the TV Sport Emotions Award for Best TV Sports Channel of the Year.