SVG Europe gears up for major programme of sports technology events for 2015

2015 will witness the busiest programme of sport technology and production events in SVG Europe’s history, taking us around Europe from Amsterdam to Barcelona, Berlin, London and Manchester. We will also stage events in and around three of the biggest trade shows in the calendar – IBC, ISE and NAB.

First on the agenda is the Sport Facility Integration Summit @ ISE/RAI on 12 February. SFIS is a new-format event focusing on the business opportunities and challenges of integrating the latest AV technologies into sports venues. For the 2015 event, SVG Europe has partnered with Roland Hemming from leading audio and AV consultancy RH Consulting to devise a programme that will also examine the relationship between integrators and broadcast professionals.

Football continues to be a primary driver of sports broadcast technology innovation. For the 17 March Football Production Summit in Barcelona we have identified the emergence of numerous key technologies and techniques — from remote production to 4K — and their application via the top European Leagues.

We then join our SVG US colleagues for the Chairman’s Forum at Red Rock Hotel Las Vegas 10-12 April. Scheduled ahead of the NAB Show, the Chairman’s Forum provides a relaxed environment in which event attendees can find out about the latest business and technology issues through a series of general conference sessions and workshops. Extensive networking opportunities and golfing activities contribute to a weekend that provides the ideal entrypoint to a productive week on the showfloor.

Everyone loves a party at NAB! Presented by Sports Video Group sponsoring companies, the Pre-Game Party 12 April is a must-stop on the annual NAB itinerary, giving SVG Europe members, sponsors and invited guests the opportunity to enjoy fine cocktails, food and conversation before the exhibition gets underway the next day.

We’re delighted to announce Manchester United FC as the venue for our SportTech Europe 2015 conference on 7 May. Whilst Football Production maintains a single-sport focus, SportTech Europe occupies a broader canvas, looking at the hot-button issues affecting the complete panorama of sports broadcast production in Europe. The day includes a tour of the venue.

In 2015, SVG Europe will complement its general-appeal technology summits with a select programme of specific country events, commencing with the Champions Summit in Germany. Broadcasters and technology providers who come to Berlin will have the opportunity to discuss the issues currently affecting German sports broadcasting and – as with all SVGE events – make valuable new contacts. This event will take place in the week of the 2015 UEFA Champions League Final at the Olympiastadion in Berlin.

In September we return to the NH Grand Hotel Krasnapolsky just ahead of IBC (10 September) for our Sport Production Summit. The challenges and intricacies of contemporary sports production workflows come in for close scrutiny at our annual Sport Production Summit. The FIFA World Cup, UEFA Champions League and Commonwealth Games were among the tournaments to receive attention at the 2014 event – and visitors should expect a similarly top-level line-up in 2015.

At the RAI on the evening of 12 September we present the 2015 Sport Production Awards. In 2014 the Sport Production Awards honoured the main production providers and decision-makers behind the latest editions of the FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games, as well as giving a special award to Sportvision for its groundbreaking provision of graphics and tracking data for the 2013 America’s Cup. Once again, SVG Europe will celebrate examples of outstanding production and technical achievement at the 2015 Sport Production Awards.

Our final scheduled event for 2015 is FutureSport on 1 December (location TBC). FutureSport provides equal opportunity to look back at the year (almost) gone – and ahead to what technologies and events are likely to define 2016. A combination of single-presenter talks and panel sessions illuminates the state of the industry in the final SVG Europe event of the calendar year.