Sportel Rendez-vous Buenos Aires, a great event to Latin American Sports Industry evolution

This week the Sportel Rendez-vous event dedicated to the America was held in Buenos Aires and today I bring some insights from the event.

Sports Value had the honor of being a partner in the event, alongside giant global sports brands!

Some event details

SPORTEL Rendez-vous Buenos-Aires in numbers:

More than 400 participants from about 220 companies

45 % of C-level attendees

28 % of content buyers

More than 60 news companies

31 countries represented

45% LATAM, 20% North America, 30 % Europe, and 5 % other (Asia, Middle East).

Here is a video of the event,

Technology as a driver

What became clear was the need for sports marketing to seek success and assertiveness in campaigns through technology, in addition to fostering a closer relationship with fans.

I participated in a very rich panel on Artificial Intelligence, which made this even more evident.

The event featured numerous speakers with notable solutions and professional experience, providing rich information and invaluable insights.

Here, I highlight some of them:

Latin America: The real land of opportunity

The panel featured executives with deep knowledge in developing relevant businesses in Latin America, including Arnon de Mello Senior VP for LATAM at the NBA, Guillermo Santa Cruz VP LATAM at IMG, and Ruben Austermann, Head of Europe & LATAM at Bundesliga.

The session was moderated by Callum McCarthy , editor-in-chief of Sport Business in UK.

The examples discussed highlighted how challenging and profitable it can be to develop projects in Latin America.

The challenge is to understand the differences between countries, have solid planning, and work hard so that strategies yield results. The success of the NBA in Mexico and Brazil serves as an excellent benchmark for the industry.

Reaching a new Generation: Trends in Streaming & Digital Content

The very rich panel included Lowell Conn , president of Protocol Sports Marketing, Juan Pablo Buscaglione Meyer from Fanatiz, Barrick Prince from Creator Sports Network (CSN), and Gonzalo Luthard from Sportian, which is partnered with LaLiga.

The panel showed how challenging it is to monetize rights and content in the digital environment. It is clear that either the fan pays or is financed by advertisers; the model needs to be profitable.

Barrick Prince from CSN, who works exclusively with Gen Z and Millennials, emphatically stated that young people are not willing to pay for content. ,

His work is to enhance sports properties for this audience, working in partnership with creators. CSN won the pitch competition that took place during the event.

Amir Somoggi, from Sports Value, was one of the judges.

AI Shaping the Future of Sports: A New Era of Creativity & Innovation

The debate featured Ignacio Iturraspe , director at Stats Perform, Massimo Magrì , director at TGI Sport-Supponor, and Felipe Cabrera , director at WSC Sports. The panel was moderated by Amir Somoggi , from Sports Value .

Artificial Intelligence is already a reality in sports marketing, and its benefits are so numerous that it makes no sense for teams and leagues not to be attuned to this wonderful technological tool.

Whether in broadcasting to optimize advertisers' budgets as Stats Perform works, or using technology to change static advertisements in broadcasts virtually and automatically according to the target market, as Supponor does.

Or in the videos personalization for fans with much more efficiency, as developed by WSC Sports.

According to the experts, AI can also help to bridge the gap between less developed markets like Latin America and the developed world. The use of the tool can reduce costs and increases efficiency.

In Convesation with Javier Tebas, LaLiga president

A highlight of the event was the conversation led by Andres Eliceche with Javier Tebas Medrano , president of LaLiga.

Tebas demonstrated his knowledge by analyzing the global football scenario and how a league should operate so that all clubs benefit, very similar to the model adopted in the US.

He cited the example of Argentina, which does not accept the corporate model, as an obstacle to market development.

I was able to ask about Brazil, since Tebas had been here before the bizarre formation of two leagues here explaining to the clubs what should have been done.

The clubs did everything the opposite and squandered a great and unique opportunity to change their lives forever.

Tebas mentioned that it is an error to establish teams as companies without control, the Financial Fair Play. In practice, without rules, magnates spend far beyond budgets on signings and salaries.

This is currently proven in Brazil, with all the teams bought by foreigners accumulating huge losses.

LaLiga′s president masterclass!

Lossses Brazillian teams SAF (Sociedade An?nima do Futebol) 2022 & 2023 - US$ million