n terms of live and canned
sports content, we deal with
over 200 prime clients and
events, from the Rugby World
cup to Wimbledon, to the
Open Championship, APT
Masters, to some of the lesser
known sports in the extreme action
genre. Through our media house
we also provide a logistic solution
for the delivery of live feeds where
we might not necessarily represent
or manage those rights on behalf of
various federations. And we provide
Host Broadcast Services – for example
for the World Cups, theAsian Games,
and the European Tour with whom
we have a joint venture.
So on the HBS side we are
probably the biggest independent
broadcast company now. Recently
we have been very active in
acquiring and bringing into the fold
various digital companies that
provide solutions in terms of
streaming ‐ these sports data
services are used for information,
for betting, for analysis and so on.
Who commissions IMG?
What we do a lot is make
documentaries for federations who
want to showcase their history or a
particular athlete or event. We have
produced the official Olympic
series; we do previews to big events
such as the Rugby World Cup. All
to build interest in the lead‐up to
those events so that the live is well
documented before it happens. The
process either starts through us
proposing the idea to the federation
or the federation coming to us with
a request, or sometimes it comes
through a sponsor interest.
The documentary ready, then what
happens?
It will get marketed through our
global distribution network of 35
offices, all of whom have daily
contact with broadcasters. So we
would seek either to sell this to
them or to include it as part of their
live package if they are doing the
live event. At other times, in order
to promote an event that maybe is
not that big in a particular part of
the world – for example badminton
in Latin America – we will place
those contents with a broadcaster
who is willing to take a chance on
The big
advantage
of the
Latin
American
market is
that it
quickly
assimilates
new tech-
nologies
“
▼
THE CHANNEL
|
ISSUE 2 2013
|
25
Founded in 1960 with
a handshake
between Mark
McCormack and golf
legend Arnold
Palmer, IMG has
grown into a global
operation connecting
brands and
audiences. IMG
Media is the world’s
largest independent
producer and
distributor of sports
programming and
promises a seamless
solution for both
rights holders and
broadcasters. We
asked Felix Alvarez-
Garmon what's on
offer – as IMG's SVP
he has looked after
LATAM & USA for the
past 17 years
I
SPORTS
ANDRIGHTS
