SVG India Summit Draws 120 Industry Professionals To Star Sports in Mumbai

The inaugural SVG India Summit was held on April 30 at the Star Sports headquarters in Mumbai, bringing together more than 120 sports-production professionals from across India for a day of panel discussions and networking focused on one of the world’s growing sports marketplaces.

More than 120 sports-production professionals from across India and beyond made the trip to Star Sports in Mumbai for SVG’s first-ever event in India.

“The event opens up a new era for SVG as we look to help sports-production professionals in more and more areas of the world come together to share ideas, identify challenges, and develop solutions that will make sports-content creation better and more effective,” said Ken Kerschbaumer, co-executive director, SVG. “And the entire Star Sports staff deserves a big thanks for making the event run super smoothly.”

The event was sponsored by Tata Communications, Vizrt, Devlin Design Group, and Signiant.

In the event’s keynote, Sanjog Gupta, head of sports, Disney Star, discussed how sports-content distributors need to move beyond long-established legacy workflows to better meet the needs of fans who increasingly rely on new digital means of getting their sports content.

“Our world is changing, and nowhere is this pace of change more rapid or more visible than in India,” he said. “India is at a significant milestone in its sports journey. Sports in India is on the move, propelled by socio-economic, societal, lifestyle, and institutional forces. The burgeoning Indian middle class is projected to hit 500 million by 2025. This will correspond with increased discretionary spending, meaning higher spending on avenues of recreation and entertainment, which include sport. The powerful Indian consumer’s consumption basket is likely to include more sport as we go forward.”

That was followed by a discussion between Gupta, SVG U.S. Chairman Mike Davies, EVP, technical and field operations, Fox Sports; and Kerschbaumer about large-event production, pre/postgame coverage, the role of the cloud, and more.

Beginning the SVG India Summit, (from left) SVG’s Ken Kerschbaumer, Star Sports’ Sanjog Gupta, and Fox Sports’ Mike Davies discussed a wide range of issues.

The day’s sessions gave some of the most important names in India production a chance to discuss recent developments and the growth of sports like cricket both inside India and around the world. Among the key executives taking the stage were Saeed Izadi, president, Singapore and Middle East, NEP India; Rajat Nigam, group CTO, Network18 Media; Ajesh Ramachandaran, Executive Producer, ICC TV; Harsh Mittal, chief architect, Disney+ Hotstar; Gajendra Tijare, head of broadcast technology and operations (BTO), Disney Star India; and Prashant Khanna, head of field operations, studios, and R&D, Disney Star Sports.

From left: Saeed Izadi, President, Singapore and Middle East, NEP India; Rajat Nigam, group CTO, Network18 Media; Ajesh Ramachandaran, executive producer, ICC TV; James Rego, head of broadcast and production, RISE Worldwide; and Brijesh Yadav, global head of sales, sports, and media business, Tata Communications

“On behalf of the SVG, I just want to extend a big thanks to Prashant and Sanjog for allowing us to finally hold this event,” said Davies. “Without their support, this would never have become a reality, and, in fact, it is something we have been discussing since before the pandemic. It has been beyond a long time coming, but it was worth the wait. To have a chance to see firsthand the Star Sports facilities and studios as well as learn about how we all face similar challenges and need to learn from each other was phenomenal.”

Look for videos of the sessions to be available on SVG Play soon!