Source: MIL-OSI Submissions
Source: Women in Sport Aotearoa
Over the past few weeks, we have seen unprecedented disruption at all levels of sport and recreation in Aotearoa New Zealand and around the world.
Women in Sport Aotearoa and our partners at Trans-Tasman Business Circle SportsConnect are delighted to bring you a free series of live interviews with key leaders.
Time: 11.30am (dial in from 11.25)
(To avoid long queues in the waiting room on the day we do recommend you register in advance)
Jeff Latch, Head of Spark Sport.
We are delighted to welcome sports reporter Zoë George as our moderator this week.
Spark Sport entered the New Zealand broadcast scene in February 2019, offering kiwis their first sports streaming alternative to traditional Pay TV. From the very beginning, Spark Sport has been ambitious in its approach to content acquisition, winning the rights to the Rugby World Cup 2019 (men), Rugby World Cup 2021 (women), Formula 1, Premier League, NBA (basketball) and FIH (hockey), to name just a few. It has actively pursued women’s sport content in the past year, with kiwis now able to watch live White Ferns (cricket) and Black Sticks Women (hockey), and tune into WTA (tennis) tournaments. As COVID-19 took hold early March, global and domestic sport came to an unprecedented standstill. This week we talk to Jeff Latch about what this has meant for Spark Sport, what the future looks like for the business, and the role he thinks broadcasters should play in making sure women’s sport is not left behind in the wake of the pandemic.
In particular, Jeff will talk about:
– How COVID-19 has impacted the Spark Sport strategy and the decisions made in recent weeks;
– The next 6-12 months for sports broadcasting generally, plus a view on the long-term impact of COVID-19;
– Viewership during lockdown and the changing nature of content, such as the emergence of eSport;
– Spark Sport’s women’s sport strategy and plans for the 2021 Rugby World Cup (women);
– The role broadcasters should play in protecting women’s sport against the impacts of COVID-19.
ABOUT JEFF
Jeff Latch is a Senior Executive with an extensive background in Television and Digital Media. He has previously held senior roles at TVNZ including Head of Television, Director of Content and Director of Sales. Prior to his time at TVNZ he was a foundation shareholder and CEO of Sportsinc, a local NZ production company, COO of Touchdown Television and General Manager of Moving Pictures, the standalone subsidiary of TVNZ that was responsible for all TVNZ, Sky TV and Mediaworks Outside Broadcast productions. His current role is Head of Spark Sport where he is responsible for managing the financial and operational performance of Spark’s stand-alone Sports Streaming business.
Leadership from Lockdown is a brand new series designed to:
– Listen to the stories of a varied range of top leaders from across sport and active recreation
– Explore the major decisions they have made (or reacted to) and their decision-making processes
– Understand the practicalities of managing staff, stakeholders and volunteers through significant change
– Find out about the process of redeveloping an organisational strategic plan and budget “on the fly”
– Learn about opportunities and challenges unique to their particular position or type of organisation
– Hear authentic insights about the journey they have been on personally, as they lead from lockdown
