Media directors close two weeks of EBI Annual Workshops
The focus was on a new competition format that takes effect in October and features 30 round-robin games in which all teams face all others at least twice
Club professionals specializing in media and communications were the special guests for the final session of the Euroleague Basketball Institute's Annual Workshops on Wednesday to conclude two weeks' worth of brainstorming designed to give Turkish Airlines Euroleague fans the best possible competition going forward into a new era of European basketball.
Once again, the focus was on a new competition format that takes effect in October and features 30 round-robin games in which all teams face all others at least twice, offering fans the chance to see every single one of the best teams and players for the first time in the same regular season.
"It's important for us to work more closely with you to implement the different strategies around communications in line with the new era we are starting next season," Jordi Bertomeu, President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said. "We have to fight for every single fan. Now is the time to share with you new strategies, and reenforce old ones that worked, in order to sell our product with the objective to engage more fans and new fans."
More and better games was the starting point for a wide-ranging exchange of ideas of how to communicate the dynamic changes through the media and to capitalize on the ground-breaking nature of a season in which fans are guaranteed for the first time to have the very biggest clubs coming to their arenas and television markets.
"Definitely, the fact that all the big clubs are coming to our city adds value to the competition and to every single game," Nikolai Tsynkevich, CSKA Moscow's Media Director, said. "First of all it will help us promote the sport, because the new system is not only about having bigger clubs, but the system is simpler, and with a simpler system it's easier to explain to new fans and also new media who are interested in covering basketball. I expect that we will widen our media base and the fan base at the same time."
The media directors were also treated to a detailed plan of the TV production improvements that are planned for the 2016-17 season and beyond, most important among them the production of all Euroleague games being coordinated by the competition's new joint venture partner, IMG, a worldwide leader in the sports entertainment industry.
"The bottom line is that, together with IMG, we are preparing a lot of improvements that will make the TV version of our games more dynamic than ever," Andrea Bassani, Euroleague Basketball's Director of TV and New Media Rights, said. "We want to build the stories of your players, your coaches and your clubs, which is why cooperation among all of us is more important than ever."
The explosion of digital platforms was the subject of another discussion, and in particular the need for all clubs and the Euroleague to share ideas in the run-up to games and to interchange more and more content for the benefit of fans in both the local and international markets. Additionally, an emphasis was made on adapting to a generation of fans who consume entertainment across multiple platforms and formats.
"The audience is changing dramatically," Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, Euroleague Basketball's Director of Brand & Communication, said. "We have to make a big effort to understand the new generations, how to approach them and what kind of content they want. And we need to deliver that."
Going deeper into digital strategy, the media directors heard from guests Geoff Reiss of Heed, a joint venture between AGT and WME|IMG, who shared some elements of a developing, long-term plan with Euroleague Basketball that will see clubs and leagues coming together to build unified and consistent platforms across digital to better engage with their audience and multiply opportunities from a collective approach. He spoke about harnessing social media tools to build direct relationships with fans and communities based on, among other things, conversational interaction with players and coaches, live video, social real-time correspondents going behind the scenes at clubs and analytics to produce more of the content that audiences want.
"Tremendous value has been created for leagues by pulling these resources together," Geoff Reiss said. "The outcome of this will significantly benefit fans, clubs and the league as a whole."
The EBI Annual Workshops, in their fifth season, proved more valuable than ever by bringing together professionals in the coming at the dawn of a new era for European basketball that begins with opening day of the 2016-17 Euroleague season on October 12.
"All the Euroleague teams have great fans who love basketball," Ilker Ucer, Men's Basketball Media Manager for Fenerbahce Istanbul, said. "What the Euroleague wants to do is create more value for them. The new system is increasing the amount of quality games, which will help the fans to see more quality European basketball. As part of that, we as clubs will be trying to improve everything we do, and with that effort I am sure that the Euroleague will be better and better in upcoming years."
Once again, the focus was on a new competition format that takes effect in October and features 30 round-robin games in which all teams face all others at least twice, offering fans the chance to see every single one of the best teams and players for the first time in the same regular season.
"It's important for us to work more closely with you to implement the different strategies around communications in line with the new era we are starting next season," Jordi Bertomeu, President and CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said. "We have to fight for every single fan. Now is the time to share with you new strategies, and reenforce old ones that worked, in order to sell our product with the objective to engage more fans and new fans."
More and better games was the starting point for a wide-ranging exchange of ideas of how to communicate the dynamic changes through the media and to capitalize on the ground-breaking nature of a season in which fans are guaranteed for the first time to have the very biggest clubs coming to their arenas and television markets.
"Definitely, the fact that all the big clubs are coming to our city adds value to the competition and to every single game," Nikolai Tsynkevich, CSKA Moscow's Media Director, said. "First of all it will help us promote the sport, because the new system is not only about having bigger clubs, but the system is simpler, and with a simpler system it's easier to explain to new fans and also new media who are interested in covering basketball. I expect that we will widen our media base and the fan base at the same time."
The media directors were also treated to a detailed plan of the TV production improvements that are planned for the 2016-17 season and beyond, most important among them the production of all Euroleague games being coordinated by the competition's new joint venture partner, IMG, a worldwide leader in the sports entertainment industry.
"The bottom line is that, together with IMG, we are preparing a lot of improvements that will make the TV version of our games more dynamic than ever," Andrea Bassani, Euroleague Basketball's Director of TV and New Media Rights, said. "We want to build the stories of your players, your coaches and your clubs, which is why cooperation among all of us is more important than ever."
The explosion of digital platforms was the subject of another discussion, and in particular the need for all clubs and the Euroleague to share ideas in the run-up to games and to interchange more and more content for the benefit of fans in both the local and international markets. Additionally, an emphasis was made on adapting to a generation of fans who consume entertainment across multiple platforms and formats.
"The audience is changing dramatically," Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, Euroleague Basketball's Director of Brand & Communication, said. "We have to make a big effort to understand the new generations, how to approach them and what kind of content they want. And we need to deliver that."
Going deeper into digital strategy, the media directors heard from guests Geoff Reiss of Heed, a joint venture between AGT and WME|IMG, who shared some elements of a developing, long-term plan with Euroleague Basketball that will see clubs and leagues coming together to build unified and consistent platforms across digital to better engage with their audience and multiply opportunities from a collective approach. He spoke about harnessing social media tools to build direct relationships with fans and communities based on, among other things, conversational interaction with players and coaches, live video, social real-time correspondents going behind the scenes at clubs and analytics to produce more of the content that audiences want.
"Tremendous value has been created for leagues by pulling these resources together," Geoff Reiss said. "The outcome of this will significantly benefit fans, clubs and the league as a whole."
The EBI Annual Workshops, in their fifth season, proved more valuable than ever by bringing together professionals in the coming at the dawn of a new era for European basketball that begins with opening day of the 2016-17 Euroleague season on October 12.
"All the Euroleague teams have great fans who love basketball," Ilker Ucer, Men's Basketball Media Manager for Fenerbahce Istanbul, said. "What the Euroleague wants to do is create more value for them. The new system is increasing the amount of quality games, which will help the fans to see more quality European basketball. As part of that, we as clubs will be trying to improve everything we do, and with that effort I am sure that the Euroleague will be better and better in upcoming years."
E. Carchia
@Sportando
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