Monaco, 6th October 2026
The global sports industry is entering a new era in which media, technology, data, investment, brands and fan engagement are increasingly interconnected. At SPORTEL Monaco 2026, leading executives from across the sports ecosystem will come together to examine how these forces are transforming the way sports content is created, distributed, monetised and experienced.
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Taking place on 19 and 20 October at Monaco’s Grimaldi Forum, as part of SPORTEL Monaco (19-21 October), the 2026 Conference Programme brings together an exceptional line-up of thought leaders and innovators from across broadcast, investment, leagues, digital, technology, brands and entertainment.
Through keynotes, masterclasses, panels and client case studies, the programme will examine the major trends shaping the next phase of the global sports business, from AI to direct-to-consumer, to new distribution models, remote production, data-driven fan experiences, live sports betting, sponsorship, women’s sport and esports.
At the heart of the programme is the question of how sports organisations can create and capture value as audiences become increasingly fragmented and the traditional boundaries between media, technology and entertainment continue to disappear.
Business tech dominates the masterclass programme, including: “The New Global Sports Ecosystem,” where leading executives Jeff Roth (Bruin Capital), Hillary Mandel (IMG) and Peter Bellamy (Deltatre), led by Imran Yusuf (SportBusiness), will explore the rapid globalization of digital, changing fan behaviours and how investors are identifying and evaluating emerging opportunities across the evolving sports value chain.
Bruin Capital’s Jeff Roth commented ahead of the conference, “In a world where media consumption has become so fragmented, leagues and teams have had to become much more direct-to-consumer businesses. They’ve had to really focus on customers in the way an e-commerce business would, but the path to growth just isn’t as simple as traditional media rights being linear and moving up and to the right. You have to invest in new areas, grow internationally, and follow where the consumer wants to go.”
AI will be a major theme throughout the programme, with the industry moving beyond experimental towards practical applications across content, audiences, operations and commercial strategy. “Defining Your Corporate AI Strategy”, one of two masterclasses led by Ken Kerschbaumer (SVG), will examine how AI is reshaping sports media, from content creation and fan engagement to monetization and operational efficiency, while considering the continuing importance of human creativity and editorial judgement
The panel will feature Danny Townsend (SURJ Sports Investment), Prashant Khanna (JioStar), Marcin Serafin (Live Park – Ekstraklasa) and Paola Marinone (BuzzMyVideos), who will share their personal experiences and vision for the future.
The transformation of live sports production during major sporting events, including the Olympics and the recent World Cup, is proving that remote production does not equate to lower quality in production. The masterclass, “The Future of Production: « Which Way to Go? » featuring Lowell Conn (Protocol Sports Marketing), Sarah Jakob (LiveU), Carlos Silva (TNA Wrestling) and Dominik Scholler (Bundesliga Media GmbH), moderated by Will Strauss (SVG Europe), will dive into how organizations leverage new ways of working to improve efficiency and control costs.
The final masterclass, “Live Sports Betting: The Technology, Data & Fan Experience”, Adrian Gatt (AWS) and Steve Carter (Bolt6), led by Ken Kerschbaumer (SVG), will examine the opportunities and challenges facing sportsbooks, rights holders and fans – including scalability, latency, integrity and regulation.
A keynote interview with the legendary LALIGA President, Javier Tebas, “LALIGA’s Next Frontier: New Broadcast Models, Formats and Challenges”, will offer insight into how the league is approaching innovative distribution models, strategic partnerships and content development, while addressing piracy, audience fragmentation and the changing media landscape. A second headline keynote from Mediapro will be announced shortly.
An innovative showcase of client presentations, panels and partner case studies will include YouTube, which will feature prominently in the programme with three sessions examining the platform's growing role in sports distribution and fan engagement. In "The Value Multiplier: Making YouTube Fundamental to Your Distribution”, Jonny Keogh (YouTube), along with Scott Melvin (The Overlap), will examine how the platform can provide global reach, diversify revenue streams and support the next generation of sports fandom through creator-led storytelling. A further session, “Reaching the Next Generation of Olympic Fans,” will feature Jason Wachs (YouTube) and Srinath Sripath (IOC), as they explore how the Olympic Games are navigating an increasingly dynamic media ecosystem. Then, “LiveMode, YouTube, and the Next Era of Live Sports Broadcasting” with Pedro Pina (YouTube), Thiago Tourinho (LiveMode), moderated by media expert Evan Shapiro (ESHAP), will give key insight into how LiveMode broke World Cup broadcast records and how creator communities and brand partnerships drive modern fan engagement and are influencing the future of live sports distribution.
Carrying on the live sports thread, the programme will also look at the growing importance of personalization. In “Personalization and Storytelling in Live Sports”, Kish Patel (Dolby OpIView) will explore how technology can reshape engagement, retention and monetization. The evolution of free streaming will be examined in “Local Fans, Global Reach: How Free Streaming Is Expanding the Sports Experience”, moderated by Keith Bedford (Wurl). This panel will discuss how free ad-supported streaming TV is giving teams, leagues, and media companies new ways to strengthen local connections while reaching fans around the world. AI and automation will also feature in “Highlights 3.0: The Next Era of Live Content Is Human-Led, AI-Accelerated”, with Volodymyr Boiko (Epic Clips) exploring the evolution of broadcast-quality highlights produced within minutes of the live moment.
Immersive tech will take centre stage with Phil Ventre (Pixotope) and John Murphy (BBC Sport) during “From The Studio to the Live Game, How Advancements in Graphics Technology are Reshaping the Present & Future of Live Sports Production”, examining how XR and virtual production can create new commercial opportunities, including sponsorship and in-game revenue. Carrying on the immersive theme, the XR Sports Alliance with “Learnings from the FISE World Series Immersive Project”, the world's largest annual urban and action sports festival, will be unpacked by partners Charles Edwin Rolot (HBS) and Jose Somolinos (Accedo) and moderated by Patrick Costello (Qualcomm).
Elsewhere, Lawrence Bowden (Deltatre) and An Dang Duy (World Athletics) will share how together they are “Reinventing the Athletics Experience: Broadcast Graphics, Data and Digital at the Ultimate Championship”. Then, the challenge of distributing live events globally and reliably will be addressed in “The Role of DTC Digital Infrastructure in Global Event Distribution”, featuring Manik Bambha (ViewLiB), Gibran Khan (FISU) and Victorien Tixier (ScorePlay). We then go behind the scenes with Chandradev Bhagat (Grey Mafer Entertainment) for a sports documentary, “Beyond Competition: How Grassroots Sport Can Transform Communities", about India’s largest rural sports festival and the extraordinary challenges of filmmaking in its most raw and immersive setting.
Esports returns to the agenda, as the industry looks to build sustainable global properFes and connect with new generations of fans. “Beyond the Broadcast: How Esports Is Expanding the Global Sports Audience,” where Mohammed Alnimer (Esports Foundation), Bertrand Amar (NEO – New Esports Org.) and Patrick Maitrot (Warner Bros. Discovery), led by Giovanni Aquilan1 (SPORTEL), will share insight on the growth of the Esports World Cup (EWC) and Esports Nations Cup (ENC) and how broadcasters, platforms and rights holders can work together to create new value.
SPORTEL’s popular “Pitch Perfect InnovaIon Contest” will bring together a select group of SPORTEL newcomer companies (BuzzMyVideos, Epic Clips, Media DisIllery, Pixotope, ValkaAI, Wyplay, among others), who have a creative or innovative solution to showcase during their three-minute pitch and two minutes of questions with judges, to win prizes and prestige alongside other emerging innovators.
“SPORTEL Monaco has once again confirmed its place as the intersection of sports media and tech, which is evident in the largest programme to date of client case studies between tech providers, leagues, broadcasters and industry partners and confirms how key tech is to the evolution of the business of sports media. We are very pleased to welcome several major organisations for the first time to the programme alongside some traditional and startup innovators, proving that SPORTEL’s diverse programme provides a platform for all players from across the ecosystem to communicate their latest partnerships and solutions,” said Marine Picoulet, Executive Director, SPORTEL Monaco.
NEW! On Monday 19 October, a dedicated CMO Brand Programme in partnership with Qualcomm, founding member of XR Sports Alliance, was created for the SPORTEL community to connect with senior brand decision-makers. Leading marketing executives Ashish Babu (TCS), Rory Miller Cheevers (Revolut), Paddy Carberry (Guiness/Diageo) and Garret Ponder (Qualcomm) will join a behind-closed-doors panel for “Brands & Sport: harnessing the full value of sponsorships in the age of Tech, Data & Total Video”, moderated by Imran Yusuf (SportBusiness), exploring how brands and sports properties can create value for one another and how that relationship is evolving. A second lunch event panel on “Brands and Sport: Rethinking the Role of Sponsorship in the Age of Media, Technology and Content”, moderated by Stéphane Corbule (RTL AdAlliance), will explore how brands evaluate sports partnerships, from global rights versus local relevance, and teams versus leagues, to data versus emotion and exposure versus engagement.
On Tuesday 20 October, the popular Women’s Lunch networking event and panel, in collaboration with AWS, will dive into “Women’s Sport: From Momentum to Market – What Will it Take to Unlock the Next Wave of Growth". The panel will be moderated by Fiona Harold (AWS), with panelists Elizaveta Bracht (Athlete), Danny Townsend (SURJ Sports Investment), and Frank Leenders (FIBA) debating what it will take to move women’s sport from a compelling growth story to a mature and investable market.
Full Conference Programme: https://sportelmonaco.com/programme
