Sportel Monaco: Sportstech, fan engagement and rights fragmentation expected to dominate discussions

Picture: Sportel

Sportel will return to Monaco next week (20-22 October) with a look at the trends and developments impacting the sports media rights and sportstech markets. Everything from rights fragmentation and fan experiences to Gen AI and monetisation are expected to be on the agenda across the conference programme and exhibit space.

“Sportel Monaco 2025 is shaping up to be one of the most dynamic yet,” says Anna Lockwood, head of media & sports, Telstra. “The Telstra team is excited to reconnect with our global partners and explore new opportunities in live sports delivery, media technology and fan engagement. We’re particularly excited about the addition of the new Sports Bar where Telstra will be hosting Monday night’s Happy Hour and the return of the Women’s Lunch – both of which are an ideal setting for meaningful conversations and partnerships.”

The company will be showcasing its end-to-end capabilities in global media delivery and managed broadcast services, alongside strategic partner uniqFEED.

” We anticipate several key themes to dominate the discussions this year, many of which align closely with Telstra’s strategic priorities and our commitment to delivering innovative media solutions,” she adds, highlighting generative AI in sports production; streaming and monetisation models; and private equity and investment in sport.

Emil Hansson, product director – media at Spiideo, also expects AI to be a key talking point.

“AI in production will be everywhere, but the real conversations will be about trust, workflows and practical adoption,” he says. “Broadcasters are under pressure to adapt, but they won’t overhaul top-tier productions overnight. Instead, they’re looking for realistic entry points that let them test AI while building confidence — things like additional automated cameras in unique locations, alternate feeds, highlights automation, data integrations, and more.”

The company will be demonstrating Spiideo Play in Monaco. “Our focus is to re-educate the market on what ‘AI-powered production’ really means,” he adds. “With Spiideo Play, we’re showing how producers can start small and then scale up to full automation where it makes sense. We want to guide the industry towards these AI entry points and demonstrate how Spiideo can be a partner across every tier of sports coverage.”

When it comes to AI, the key is to keep it grounded, according to Steve MacMurray, head of digital media development at Globecast. “AI should be seen not as a buzzword but as a practical enhancement to human expertise, improving workflows and unlocking efficiencies,” he explains. “We also expect to hear more about the role of LEO connectivity and its perceived impact on live sports distribution. It will be valuable to gather feedback directly from rights organisations and see how their expectations align with our evolving connectivity portfolio.”

Part of that portfolio, Content Exchange, will be demonstrated at Sportel. “Content Exchange represents an exciting evolution in how sports content is managed and shared,” he adds. “It’s a powerful platform that brings together the full complexity of modern media technology into a single, elegant user experience. By surfacing content intelligently and improving discoverability, it enables rights owners, broadcasters, and partners to connect and collaborate more easily than ever before.”

Read more Sportel Monaco announces final conference lineup

“AI, remote production and localisation of feeds are the topics of conversation we expect to dominate,” says Fabien Robineau, chief commercial officer, Eurovision, who is “looking forward to reconnecting with the industry and sharing the latest exciting news from the past 12 months” in Monaco.

“Our focus is to articulate how Eurovision is about value creation, changing and staying relevant in the new fragmented world of technical distribution with IP cores, workflows and distribution, maximising flexibility while safeguarding rights,” he adds.

Indeed, the changing world of sports rights will be a key topic during the event, with sessions looking at the challenges rights holders face when selling media rights in APAC and the opportunities around new revenue streams.

Paul Calleja, CEO, GlobalM, expands: “I expect fragmentation of rights and distribution models to dominate the discussion. Everyone is looking for ways to monetise content across more platforms, but the infrastructure has to keep up. Cloud vs hybrid vs private network delivery will come up a lot, as will orchestration, automation, and cost efficiency. Underneath it all is the same challenge: how do you deliver more feeds, to more destinations, with less overhead? That’s what the industry is really trying to solve.”

He continues: ” I think we’re going to see an increase in the need for sports rights to be delivered in a more granular way. The era of the single world feed is gone. Sports leagues now have a growing mix of rights packages, live matches, highlights, social, digital, betting, all requiring flexible delivery. Broadcasters and rightsholders can’t manage that with rigid legacy systems. An intelligent, IP-based delivery solution is what’s needed to keep pace with this demand.”

At the show, GlobalM will be highlighting its GMX1 platform and the new GMDC control layer, both designed to simplify workflows while scaling to meet the complexity of modern rights distribution.

Also exhibiting this year is ViewLift, which will be demonstrating how its end-to-end streaming platform empowers sports organisations to own their digital ecosystems. “We’ll highlight our AI-powered tools, Data Insights Pro and FanAssist AI,” says Rick Allen, CEO, ViewLift.  “We anticipate a strong focus on direct-to-consumer strategies, AI-driven personalisation, and monetisation models that balance subscriptions, advertising, and sponsorship. The convergence of sports, data, and technology will be central, particularly around how AI and analytics can enhance fan engagement, automate operations, and optimise content performance. Other key themes we expect to see are the globalisation of sports IP, private equity investment in teams and leagues, and the role of CTV in live sports growth.

“With the sports media landscape evolving rapidly, Sportel is an ideal environment to showcase how ViewLift is helping rights holders expand their digital reach, monetise effectively, and engage fans globally across every screen. We expect to come away with new partnerships, product insights, and collaboration opportunities that push the boundaries of sports streaming.”